“Dear Steve,
I borrowed upwards of $70k (now $95k) from Student Loan Xpress for a higher education degree in 2006. I have the degree, but I’m not making the kind of money required to pay back this (and many other loans). I have been unable to make any payments to this loan… but am on a repayment schedule for all my other loans
My question is this… student loan xpress dissolved, from what I understand, was less than reputable practices. Since then, American Education Services has been ‘servicing’ the loans. When I originally took the loan, I made the agreement to pay back Student Loan Xpress (now gone)…
Am I legally bound to repay a company a didn’t borrow from?
How do I know that they paid for my loan at face value?
Am I responsible for a ‘pennies on the dollar’ deal they may have made?
The collection company I spoke with says my loan is in default, but they have refused to provide debt verification or validation…
Any suggestions?
Jack”
Dear Jack,
Are these private loans or government subsidized student loans?
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I have 4 separate private student loans with American Edication Service which I believe is held by The National Colligiant Trust you have mentioned settlements with. I originally borrowed 70k and now with interest owe roughly 141k and growing.
With no end in site I unfortunately defaulted on January 14, 2018 and am now past 120 days delinquent into currently my 5th month of default. I have never paid one cent to AES as my original debt was held with a company called Student Loan Xpress which is who I obtained the original debt from and have never understood or had proof that AES owns the rights to my debt and I’ve heard mixed things about this. Hopefully you can help to clear up some potential misconceptions.
I would like to know your recommendations and what you believe I could potentially negotiate a settlement for and have a consultation with you in order to answer some of my various questions. Thank you!
Of course, every situation is different. There are some big issues if these are truly NCT loans. They may not be collectible at all. In that case you’d need to speak with a student loan attorney in your state. Here is my list of attorneys with experience. https://getoutofdebt.org/102304/list-student-loan-attorneys-consider-assistance
If you wanted to talk to someone else with experience in these types of complicated situations then I would suggest Damon Day at https://damonday.com
Thank you both for your input. I’m trying to get an attorney’s guidance, but it seems like there’s little interest.
I’m trying to find the Master Promissory Note to find my obligation, as I think another option to this mess might be the Statute of Limitations of collecting on this loan.
Overall, I don’t think AES has any claim to this debt… I’ll update if I get any other info.
hi Jack, i know it’s been two years and you might not be on this site anymore. but i was wondering if you found a way to resolve this situation. thank you!
Jack, Steve – any progress with this? I’m finding myself in a similar situation to Jack. Haven’t heard anything about my Student Loan Express loans since I graduated 6 years ago. About a month ago, a company called Financial Business Consumer Solutions showed up on my credit report, trying to collect a relatively small portion of the total loan.
Suggestions? I’m desperate for help!
Look at the debt validation article on this page. https://getoutofdebt.org//48308/the-get-out-of-debt-how-to-guides-series
I’m also in that situation. FBCS, just recently, is also listed as a collection on my credit report. I used to have a collection under a different collection agency for the same loan, but I contacted AES and Federal Student Aid, and they informed me that all my loans are in good standing, and shortly after that, that collection was removed from my credit report. Now it’s reappeared under FBCS, and I’m just livid. I have no idea what’s going on…
Be careful, and dont make any payments unless you absolutely have to. This is exactly what happened to me, and I almost made the mistake of cutting a deal with FBCS!
First things first, you’ll want to figure out if they can still legally collect on your debt. In my case, enough time has passed since i last paid on these loans that they meet the statute of limitations. In other words, FBCS (or any other collection agency for that matter) cannot legally sue me to collect this debt anymore. Legally, their only possible action at this time is to harass me with phone calls and report this debt on my credit report.
Lucky for me, the statute of limitations on credit reporting for these debts will run out in a few short months. As far as i understand it, as long as I continue to not pay FBCS for the next few months, then I will get manage to dodge this debt entirely.
Don’t be afraid of these scumbags and their scare tactics – its all a show. Do your homework on the statutes of limitations in your state, talk to an attorney if you’re able to (I wasn’t), and who knows – you might just luck out! GOOD LUCK!!
Jack-
The student loans purchased by AES are going to need to be repayed no matter what validation tactic you decide to take. AES although a loan servicer does own the debt and can continue to collect on it until paid in full. There may have been a contingency agreement with the prior lender to recieve further compensation once more accounts were collected. If loan xpress dissolved it was most likely to open a new company to direct funds too and limit the liability of discerning practices.
For private loans typically they have repayment or get out of default plans. I have worked with AES in the past and they have internal programs available to those in default. Typically they require you to make payments of 1% of the balance for 9 months or 270 days. This coincides with the federal loan repayment plans available and then after the 9 payments they may have other programs to help you. Get everything in writing and don’t be afraid to ask for the forever plan. AES has also taken lump sum settlement of 30-40% of the balance cash on the spot but if you don’t have it then you are going to need to take aggressive action towards getting that payment manageable.
They will want you to document your income and provide some other info for them but they should want to take payments of whatever you can afford. Also ask them to work with you to remove negative connotations on your credit report regarding the default status if they have placed collection statuses on your credit report.
Good luck… post how you do i’ll keep an eye out and wait to hear what happened.
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Any thoughts?
Sorry, I missed your first comment.
We can assume that Student Loan Xpress sold or transferred your loan to a new owner. But we have no way of knowing if they did that properly without you asking for verification of the debt and you receiving it.
It doesn’t matter if they paid for your loan at face value, they bought the entire debt and own an agreement for you to repay the entire debt.
Not sure what kind of deal they might have made. If they did make an offer it might be an excellent way to resolve this situation.
Since the collection company is uncooperative and we are potentially talking about a lot of money, I would ask you to consider getting an attorney to represent you and get the validation of the debt. You can find a consumer attorney through NACA.net
Here is a good example of the type of debt validation you should be asking for https://getoutofdebt.org/43151/debt-validation-finally-defined-what-you-should-ask-a-collector-or-creditor-for-to-validate-a-debt
Hi Steve,
Private Loans.. Not government