What to do about student loan payments misdirected during Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
September 10, 2007 4:07 PM Subscribe
I made $3,000 in payments on my student loan during my Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but they were not applied to my loan balance. What should I do?
I just had a chapter 13 bankruptcy discharged successfully after 3 years. When I filed chapter 13, the trustee told me to continue making payments on my student loan. I had been paying about $100/month to Sallie Mae. On finding I could no longer access my Sallie Mae account online, I called them to find out what they wanted me to do. The representative told me they couldn't bill me since I was in bankruptcy, but gave me the address where I could send my payments, and told me to write my SS# on the checks so they'd know where to apply the payments. I made the payments every month by check, and they cashed them.
Last February I checked my credit reports and found they showed the loans had zero balance, with a claim filed with the government. I called Sallie Mae again to find out what my balance was. I spoke to a rep in India, and he told me it was paid in full. I sent a letter to Sallie Mae requesting an accounting of the activity on my account since the bankruptcy was filed, and stated that per their rep saying the loan was paid in full I would send no more payments until I received such documentation. I never received anything in return.
Last week I got a letter from Sallie Mae stating my payments were to resume now that the bankruptcy was over, as of October 5th. The total balance on the loan did not reflect any of the approximately $3,000 I had sent them during the bankruptcy! I called them, and after going through a guy in India, a rep in the US, and her supervisor, I was told they sold the loan to the guarantor (Connecticut Student Loan Foundation) as soon as the Ch. 13 was filed, and that I had been supposed to pay CSLF the whole time. She said they'd been forwarding the money on to CSLF. Now that the bankruptcy was over, CSLF had sold the loan back to Sallie Mae, but without reflecting any of the $3,000+ in payments I'd made. She said if I wanted to dispute the loan amount I would have to document the bankruptcy, all my payments, etc, and that if I didn't make payment by Oct. 5 the payment would be reported to the CRAs as late.
I tried in good faith to make the payments I owed, I contacted Sallie Mae twice via phone and once via letter and they never mentioned that I shouldn't be paying them, and I never received any communication from CSLF the whole time. She is supposed to mail me a summary of all the payments they received during the bankruptcy.
I don't want to end up being charged interest on the amounts I already paid. I can't afford an attorney. Was it legal for Sallie Mae to cash my checks during that time? Should I call or write CSLF? What should I do?
I just had a chapter 13 bankruptcy discharged successfully after 3 years. When I filed chapter 13, the trustee told me to continue making payments on my student loan. I had been paying about $100/month to Sallie Mae. On finding I could no longer access my Sallie Mae account online, I called them to find out what they wanted me to do. The representative told me they couldn't bill me since I was in bankruptcy, but gave me the address where I could send my payments, and told me to write my SS# on the checks so they'd know where to apply the payments. I made the payments every month by check, and they cashed them.
Last February I checked my credit reports and found they showed the loans had zero balance, with a claim filed with the government. I called Sallie Mae again to find out what my balance was. I spoke to a rep in India, and he told me it was paid in full. I sent a letter to Sallie Mae requesting an accounting of the activity on my account since the bankruptcy was filed, and stated that per their rep saying the loan was paid in full I would send no more payments until I received such documentation. I never received anything in return.
Last week I got a letter from Sallie Mae stating my payments were to resume now that the bankruptcy was over, as of October 5th. The total balance on the loan did not reflect any of the approximately $3,000 I had sent them during the bankruptcy! I called them, and after going through a guy in India, a rep in the US, and her supervisor, I was told they sold the loan to the guarantor (Connecticut Student Loan Foundation) as soon as the Ch. 13 was filed, and that I had been supposed to pay CSLF the whole time. She said they'd been forwarding the money on to CSLF. Now that the bankruptcy was over, CSLF had sold the loan back to Sallie Mae, but without reflecting any of the $3,000+ in payments I'd made. She said if I wanted to dispute the loan amount I would have to document the bankruptcy, all my payments, etc, and that if I didn't make payment by Oct. 5 the payment would be reported to the CRAs as late.
I tried in good faith to make the payments I owed, I contacted Sallie Mae twice via phone and once via letter and they never mentioned that I shouldn't be paying them, and I never received any communication from CSLF the whole time. She is supposed to mail me a summary of all the payments they received during the bankruptcy.
I don't want to end up being charged interest on the amounts I already paid. I can't afford an attorney. Was it legal for Sallie Mae to cash my checks during that time? Should I call or write CSLF? What should I do?
What acoutu said, plus continue making the payments as they now say you should -- first, this will ensure you're acting in good faith, second, this will prevent current "delinquent" payments from clouding the issue, and third, once this is all straightened out you should be able to get your overpayment back -- but keep good records.
posted by davejay at 4:27 PM on September 10, 2007
posted by davejay at 4:27 PM on September 10, 2007
Along with the above, stop trying to do this over the phone. Submit everything in writing, start keeping copies of everything you submit (should've been doing this already - now you know), and when you do telephone to follow up, only reference communications you've already made. As soon as you hear something, request a copy in writing and do not back down from this request. If you discover you're talking to someone who's not authorized to communicate with you in writing, you're wasting your time; ask the call be escalated to someone who is.
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:23 PM on September 10, 2007
posted by ikkyu2 at 6:23 PM on September 10, 2007
Talk to the trustee and see if she can do anything for you.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:20 PM on September 10, 2007
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:20 PM on September 10, 2007
If you prefer to use the phone, buy one of those $10 "call corder" devices from Radio Shack and tape your calls. (This is legal in Canada, but I don't know if it is legal in the US.) That's what I did when I was accused of not making payments on a loan once.
posted by acoutu at 10:18 PM on September 10, 2007
posted by acoutu at 10:18 PM on September 10, 2007
If you prefer to use the phone, buy one of those $10 "call corder" devices from Radio Shack and tape your calls. (This is legal in Canada, but I don't know if it is legal in the US.) That's what I did when I was accused of not making payments on a loan once.
I did something similar once when having to deal with a bogus collection agency. Remember, they're probably recording all of your conversations to gain an advantage so you should do the same. In the US "wiretapping" is covered by state law in your state so be sure and look up if it's legal for you to record your conversations and if you need to inform the other party.
posted by TungstenChef at 2:43 PM on September 11, 2007
I did something similar once when having to deal with a bogus collection agency. Remember, they're probably recording all of your conversations to gain an advantage so you should do the same. In the US "wiretapping" is covered by state law in your state so be sure and look up if it's legal for you to record your conversations and if you need to inform the other party.
posted by TungstenChef at 2:43 PM on September 11, 2007
Shannymara - I am a Vice President at Connecticut Student Loan Foundation (CSLF) Please contact me at 800.237.9721 x 224 or rcroce@mail.cslf.org and I will help you resolve your problem.
posted by rcroce at 7:49 AM on September 12, 2007
posted by rcroce at 7:49 AM on September 12, 2007
« Older Injured rubbery-faced monkey puppet needs help | Put the left trigger to the plastic casing:... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by acoutu at 4:18 PM on September 10, 2007