Leon Said:

Will the Dept. of Education garnish paychecks for unpaid student loans?

We Answered:

They gave you their 3 cents... but here's my 2 cents...

If it is YOUR loan they will garnish YOUR paycheck.
If it is your WIFE'S loan they will NOT garnish your paycheck.
You are right they are using scare tactics.
The best thing for your wife to do is to negotiate a minimum monthly payment.
MAKE SURE that the payments qualify for what is called a "Rehabilitation Payment Program".
When your wife calls them she will need to really negotiate with them.

Things you should have ready:
-paycheck stubs
-bills (statements)
-and other proof of income/obligations

As far as your tax returns concern, if you filed jointly and they took YOUR tax return
you might be able to file a "Injured Spouse" Claim and get YOUR portion back at least.
If she decides on the "Rehab" program try to complete the program ASAP
that way next year your tax return will not be offset.

Hope this helps,
Mr. K
The Rogue Student Loan Collector

Hector Said:

Student loans from the US dept. of Education?

We Answered:

Cari:

The servicing company for your old loans has nothing to do with the source of your existing loans - nor does it have anything to do with whether you will receive an overage check.

Whether you get an overage or not depends on the amount of loan that you qualified for and the amount that you owe your school for tuition and fees.

Your loan eligibility was provided to you when you received your financial aid offer letter. If you're asking about Stafford loans, an undergraduate dependent student can borrow $5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a sophomore and $7500 as a third and fourth year student. These amounts have nothing do with the lender - every lender makes Stafford loans according to the program rules that are established by the US Congress.

If you received an overage check in the past, but you're not receiving one now, one of several things happened:

1. Your school "bill" has gone up enough to chew up any overage that you might have had in the past. If you typically took 12 credit hours and your school charged you $5000, and you now take 16 credit hours, for which your school is charging you $6700, then it's easy to see where $1700 dollars of your old "overage" has gone.

2. Your school has changed its policy on refunds. We're seeing questions here from students who have discovered that their school has chosen to "hold" overage money to apply to any future charges. I don't quite understand the legitimacy of this change, but the schools are electing to wait until the end of the school year to settle out student account balances. If there's money left at the end of the year, you get it - but they hold it until then. I can see how this benefits the school, but certainly not how it benefits anyone other than the most financially irresponsible students.

You should have the ability to go online through your school's website, log in to your personal account, and review your billing statement. It will show you exactly what you owe, what aid you received, how that aid was applied to your balance, and what's left. If you're not sure how to do that, you can contact the registrar's office, or the financial aid office, and they'll put you on the right track.

Every school handles its own financial aid process differently, so I'm afraid that no one can tell you exactly why you haven't received overage money you may have received in the past. A call to the cashier's office or financial aid office will answer any questions that you might have about your student account.

Good luck!

Leonard Said:

Student loan default, Dept of Education referred it to a collection agency, which is suggesting a rehab progra?

We Answered:

Yes, its a moneymaker- a huge one. They will, just like any loan, take the interest first then take the principle unless you pay in bigger chunks than the minimum. Sorry, theres not much to be done except possibly declare for bancrupcy (and thats not much of an option since this debt isnt a huge one- you may try seeing if they can work out a better payment plan and hire a budget lawyer type of person (not sure what there called) to help work out payments etc.

Julio Said:

Will my stimulis check be garnished for student loans for the Dept of Education?

We Answered:

If they are in default, yes, the same rules apply as to your regular tax return.