Private Student Loan attacks after 7 years

[steveNY444]

Hi,

Back in 2008 I was given a student loan for approximately 5,000 dollars from myrichuncle. If any of you are familiar with this company they went out of business due to some loan scandal and has since sold their debt to a junk debt collector. This junk debt collector then sold it to yet another junk debt collector. Neither of these companies notified me that the loan was sold to a different creditor. So the time comes 6 months after I graduate to start paying up so I go to pay and realize there's no one to pay because the company doesn't exist anymore! But at that point there is an open account on my credit report that is delinquent and getting worse with time. So i panic and dispute the loan with each of the 3 credit bureaus and naturally is was taken off because the company that does not exist anymore did not respond within 30 days like it is required to. That was 4 years ago. OK so great, my debt just vanished, right? wrong. I got a strange letter from a company I never heard of before called Younomics that told me to start a plan to "bring my account into good standing". So I think, what the hell is this? turns out its the loan that appreciated to roughtly a 10k balance. However, this account is not on my credit report at all. And also, the statute of limitations has gone an went because it is over 7 years old. So why should I pay it if it's not affecting my credit and they cannot take me to court? One other thing to mention is that I'm about 1030 days late on payments which is racking up late charges but it shouldn't be still outstanding, it should go into default after 270 days of non payment. So something seems fishy there. Does anyone have any advice or could comment on what this company could do with me if anything? Thanks in advance!!

[rennigade]

Sounds like you scored on this deal. Dont respond to any of their letters, phone calls, etc. Not your problem anymore.

And if for some reason it is your problem...settle the debt for $2k. Get something in writing first before you pay of course. Some of my dead beat friends used to pull these stunts all the time. Makes me think I was the dumb one for saving my money and not racking up debt.

[steveNY444]

Sounds like you scored on this deal. Dont respond to any of their letters, phone calls, etc. Not your problem anymore.

And if for some reason it is your problem...settle the debt for $2k. Get something in writing first before you pay of course. Some of my dead beat friends used to pull these stunts all the time. Makes me think I was the dumb one for saving my money and not racking up debt.

Thanks for your feedback! I'd rather pay zero of it quite frankly simply because i was in a serious jam with the fed not giving me money since my FAFSA didn't reflect parent income because my Mother didn't want to submit that information to the government - long story. So I had to get a private loan and in the short notice, this was the only bunch of sharks I could get it from. And it pisses me of that they handled the debt like this and are still charging me over 10% interest plus fees! if that's not predatory lending in a job market like this, i don't know what is!

[dczech09]

If the statute of limitations is 7 years, that means that the debt is not collectible after 7 years have gone by from the date of last activity. So not necessarily that the account is 7 years old.

I assume your debt was a private student loan?

Based on what you have said, I do not think they can enforce the debt. If I am wrong and some information surfaces that would make you legally liable, then consider doing a debt settlement. The absolute most you should have to pay is $5,000 (the original balance). Any of the fees that built it up to $10,000 should be a non-issue.

From this point on, if the trash collector calls, DO NOT make any statement of ownership on the debt! If you do, and they record you saying it, that could re-open the statute of limitations and you will have a zombie debt issue on your hands. So do not under any circumstances acknowledge ownership of the debt unless of course information surfaces that could be held against you in the court of law.

It sounds like you do not owe any money, but that is only based on the limited information that you have provided. Do not acknowledge the debt to any collector and tell the collectors to quit calling you.

[kork13]

As stated, you should do absolutely nothing. Ignore the supposed debt collector, and never respond to any of their letters, phone calls, or otherwise. Under no circumstances whatsoever are you to give them a dime in payment - doing so will actually restart the statute of limitations. If they actually go so far as to file a lawsuit & issue a subpoena for you to appear in court (they won't, because they have no valid case), you should countersue for your associated legal fees. They will lose, because the debt is outside the statute of limitations.

Read up on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Wikipedia actually has a fairly clear, concise, and accurate article about it. Basically, it requires collectors to behave themselves. If they continue to harass you, you can send a letter by certified mail stating that you refuse to pay the debt, that you are requesting that they cease all communication with you, except to either provide written & certified verification of the debt, or to inform you of their intent to litigate the debt, in accordance with the FDCPA. Also state that failure on their part to obey your request will result in you filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, and your intent to file suit to claim statutory damages against them if they violate your rights under the FDCPA. This letter should stop the problem permanently. If not, document everything, retain evidence to prove they continued to contact/harass you, and get in touch with the FTC to follow through with your stated threat.

[GrimJack]

One last point to consider - if you do pay any money on the debt, do not use your regular checking account; once they have that, it gives them something to work with.

[steveNY444]

One other thing I'm concerned with is the SOL. When does it kick in? from the time it was dispersed or the time it was officially put into "default" status? If the default status, I have a few years to go. But another thing I'm banking on is the fact that they don't have the document I signed since the debt was sold twice.

[disneysteve]

While I hate debt collectors as much as the next guy, I'm bothered by one tiny detail here. You DO owe this money. You borrowed it with the legal obligation to repay it so arguing about the statue of limitations raises an ethical issue in my mind.

I totally agree that you shouldn't pay more than you borrowed plus reasonable fees and interest, and I'm fine with negotiating a reduced settlement. I would agree with the earlier suggestion that $2,000 will probably clean this up.

Definitely don't give them access to your account in any way. Definitely get the settlement amount in writing indicating that the loan will be paid in full. Definitely pay with a cashier's check or money order so that they don't get any of your account info.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

While I hate debt collectors as much as the next guy, I'm bothered by one tiny detail here. You DO owe this money. You borrowed it with the legal obligation to repay it so arguing about the statue of limitations raises an ethical issue in my mind.

I totally agree that you shouldn't pay more than you borrowed plus reasonable fees and interest, and I'm fine with negotiating a reduced settlement. I would agree with the earlier suggestion that $2,000 will probably clean this up.

Definitely don't give them access to your account in any way. Definitely get the settlement amount in writing indicating that the loan will be paid in full. Definitely pay with a cashier's check or money order so that they don't get any of your account info.

Right, wrong, corporations do this stuff all the time. Same with strategic defaults. The damage to his credit has already been done.

Save your money. Life is short.

[disneysteve]

Right, wrong, corporations do this stuff all the time.

That doesn't make it right.

We can agree to disagree here.

[Petunia 100]

If you took the loan in 2008, which was only 6 years ago, please explain how the loan has been in default for at least 7 years?