Question: Dear Steve, Hi, I’m currently in bankruptcy which will be done in a couple of months for my $20k in credit card debt. However, my next battle is to figure out how I will pay for my $190k in student loan debt. These are both federal and private loans. Private loans from Sallie Mae. … Read more
Cases tossed out against Benjamin Zuckerman, Berger Singerman, Chantel L. Grant, GM Law Firm, Gregory Fishman, Julie Queler, Kevin Mason, National Legal Staffing Support. The cases involving the student loan assistance companies above were dismissed by the Court ending a previous flurry of suits attempting to recover money for consumers. The reason why it appears … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I owe close to $40,000 in private student loan debt. The interests rates are 10% or more on some. The payments are way too high for me to make. I stopped paying in 2016. I am getting letters in the mail from U.S. Asset Management through the court of common pleas in … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I’m 70 years old with almost $250k in federal student loans. I’ve been on IBR and have a $0 payment so far and am on SS. When my IBR tenure is completed (25 years), will the amount that has been “forgiven” be considered Capital Gains, and thus will I have to pay … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I took a federal student loan for grad school in 1975. My Social Security now is garnisheed. Since 1993 loan collection has taken $35,000 from me, and not one cent has been applied to the loan amount only to interest. Is it legal not to put payments on to loan principal? Do … Read more
The Department of Education has just announced a new policy that subjects third parties to up to “criminal penalties that include a fine of not more than $20,000, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, beginning one day after the date of publication of this notice.” It does appear that nonprofits get a … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My father took out student loans for me, and I was a co-signer. I took out my own student loans in only my name as well. We agreed that we would each pay the loans in our own names. So after I graduated, I began making payments on the loans in my … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have had been a part of USA Student Loans for about 6 years and I have had recertification of Student loans every however today I cannot reach them. Can you give me another number to reach them? Ike Are they still in business? Answer: Dear Ike, If you are talking about … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am a current third-year medical student that wants to drop out and pursue a different career. The student loan that I have is around 200k and paying that off while searching for new employment would believe me with next to nothing to support myself. How realistic is it that I can … Read more
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced it is requiring a Tustin-based student loan debt-relief company, Amerifed Doc Prep LLC, to pay penalties and refunds totaling more than $1.37 million after finding the company violated the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) by collecting illegal advance fees prohibited under the federal Telemarketing … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, As co-signer, my debt was discharged due to disability and hardship. Is the original borrower still responsible for his own debt? The loan was through Discover, for about $25,000, with me paying on that loan for 10 years. The original borrower, the student, ran off and hid with no contact. I’m just … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I was poached by Sallie Mae (predatory lending) through ITT before they got caught. I have 15k in private student loans through Navient now. I didn’t finish school because I found out the degree they offered was not worth the paper it was written on. I want to stop paying on this … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, In 2015, I was 15/16 years old and went to two community colleges in Florida. Unfortunately, I did not graduate because my grandmother, whom I lived with (who supported me), got sick and died in 2019. At which point, I was homeless. I am currently living in a halfway house. I was … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have student loans from 40 years ago that has gone from 18k to over 70k. I also have 1 loan for my son’s freshman year of college, now about 18k. I paid some of mine years ago but then went through a time of multiple layoffs and low-paying jobs in the … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My husband and I are 60. We have put 4 children through college and ourselves as well. We stopped paying our credit card bills 4 years ago, and we now have 13 of them in collections. They total approximately $15,000. We have together about $140,000 in student loans. We bring home $6400 … Read more