Student loan Wage Garnishment - How can I remove them?

The only way to get out of the garnishment now is to rehab, That would require you making 9 payments over and above the garnishment., How much do you owe?

To much 66,000, they told me that but i cant do that and live

the mess up thing about it is they don't give u any room to get back on your feet. Now i an college dropout because i cant afford school and my choices as a work man are low because i cant make any real money i guess that life lol.

How is offering you 3 years unemployment deferment messing things up? I think that is plenty of time to get on your feet.

what 3 unemployment deferment? Never got that and the 3 year after i left school i had three jobs and one them close and the other didn't pay enough I was also on unemployment most of the time but that's the past. the only thing I care about now is finding a way to stop it. If I get another job will they garnish that one too are could I set u an payment plan with them?

Did you contact your lender? Do any reading or research? All federal loans come with the opportunity for 3 years unemployment deferment PLUS forebearances. You had to apply for it.

Go to the stickies of this forum. Apply for a Direct Loan Consolidation. Because you are in default, you will automatically be assigned to the Income Contingent Repayment plan.

I ask because Dept of Education took my State and Federal tax and the CA indicated they sent me a notice of the garnishment when they did not. I was also unemployed last year for 5 months. Do you know the time frame the CA can proceed forward with a garnishment after the loan has so called default? If you can help me with any information, or the book, it will be well appreciated. Thanks in advance

So called default? They took your taxes....you definately in default.

Does your guarantor have your current address? They may well have sent you a 30 day notice of garnishment but it is your responsiblity that they are kept updated on your current address. They can proceed with garnishment anytime after you have defaulted.

Can someone help put me in the right direction. I had a student loan CA contact me at work this month. I took the call because I want to rehabilitate my loan and start making punts. Well the CA just had to have a pymt this month although I told him I couldn't start the pymt until the 1st of April. Now, he has threaten me with a garnishment even though I agreed to start making pymt. I even gave him my checking acct info to withdraw the monthly pymt to start the rehab program. Do I have any options here?

Call back and talk to a qualified manager. Even if they opted to garnishment, you get the 30 day to appeal notice, which means you could have started making payments by then. If they push it, call the student loan ombudsman.

Am a full-time fireman and am under Wage Garnish. I owe $50k and i pay $320.00 to TGI. Am a single dad with 2 kids and I only make 33k a year. Paying $320 month is really hurting my pocket thats about 10% of my pay. What kind I do, I need help.

Hi, I am a single mother of two, battling stage IV cancer (fighting since 2008) and on disability. My monthly pay has been garnished, I was going through chemotherapy and surgery, and I am in the process of requesting a discharge on my loans. I was wondering if you could tell me how long it takes for approval, if they refund any monies taken, and any other pertinent information or additional steps I should take...

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I dont mind them collecting the money. If i can just get them to lower the rate and to take me off of wage garnish. In the near future I would like to buy a house but this is hurting my credit. Is there anything I can do to get out of wage garnish. How come teachers, nurses, law enforcement, military can get there loans forgiven but firemans cant. Dont get me wrong I can understand teachers but Law enforcement. I put my life on the line just like they do, but yet we dont count for anything.

You wont get them to lower your interest rate...it is set by federal law.

As for loan forgiveness, I dont see why a firefighter wouldnt qualify....it is public service,. However it takes 10 years of voluntary repayment to qualify.

FYI....I just googled it....firefighters do qualify. Do some searching.

SOAPLADY I was reading around the internet and it says it takes 270 days of non-payment for loans to go into default. Does this mean I can make 1 payment every 9 months without getting sued?

Federal loans dont sue as a general rule...they can garnish wages without a court order.

You could technically cure an impending default with one payment...however if you stop paying again, it shows intent not to pay...and they can default you

When Sallie Mae calls all day long, does that mean delinquent or default usually?

Could be either.

Do garnishment laws go by the state where the loan originated or where you currently reside? E.g. a private student loan taken for college in Missouri but currently live in Pennsylvania where they can't garnish for them.

They go by where you reside. They may not be able to garnish your wages, but your wages and property could be subject to seizure.

Hi, I appreciate if anyone can share his and/or her knowledge regarding my student loan. I took out a Stafford Loan and graduated from the grad school in 2000. I started paying back my loan right away except for some deferments due to job loss up until 2005 March( total that I paid from 2000 untill 2005 was $12,389). In November 2004 I got divorced, six months after that I got laid off from my job and it has been 6 years since I haven't had a steady job as an engineer. In 2006 May, I had to declare banckruptcy and I had an adversary case against Sallie Mae. Since I had no place to live (basically homeless) starting in June 2006 I put down another address but unfortunately person had a stroke and was in the hospital so I never received the court order and I couldn't show up ( I found this out later when she was out of hospital half paralyzed). Up until 2008 I was homeless, no car, no bank account, no place to live, I pumped gas and slept in the gas stations. In 2008 I took a ride from the east cost to Texas with the hope of finding some work and getting back on my feet again. I got some luck in Texas I worked 4 months during 2008 at a university with minimum wage, this continued in 2009 and half 2010 since then I have been unemployed again. ECMC contacted me, they garnished my tax returns first for 09 and 10 and now they sent me a notice about wage garnishment. I had told them previously that I will go back to the bankruptcy court to re-open my adversary case against Sallie Mae because Sallie Mae sold my defaulted loan to ECMC with additional charges and ECMC added more to it making double compared to what I originally borrowed. My first question is how to respond to wage garnishment notice, should I request a hearing ( since I have been unemployed there is nothing to garnish) and i f I do which is the best way to request a hearing? Secondly, What are my chances on going back to the bankruptcy court to re-open the case against Sallie Mae because I think I can prove due hardship so that judge can make a fair ruling at least bringing the amount to reasonable level. Thanks in advance...

ECMC is a guarantor....Sallie Mae filed a claim with them. ECMC added the federally mandated collection fees, not Sallie Mae. Your interest has been accruing and capitalizing.

It is not likely 5 years later you are going to get an adversarial case reopened since you failed to appear at the last one. Plus one of the tests now deals with the income contingent repayment plan thru Consolidation....no income, no payment.
Not to mention the attorney costs involved would be high.

Strip your resume and find work....I had to do it when I moved.

Thank you for your response soaplady. I found out that I can re-open the case at any time this is what the court clerk said so I think it is my chance to fight it but on the other hand should I respond to this garnishment notice or ignore it since I don't work?

I'm not getting the difference between wage garnishment and seizure.

Consolidating your loans is one way to HELP you.but that doesnot make it go away. you still have a whole new BIGGER loan to take care of.The pymt is lowered but if you ever fail to make payments on your new loan it goes back to a CA and a 25% down payment is requiered to get take care of your loan,plus your mothly payment. your interest rate is also higher. Consolidation is a privilage, it does help you out if youre trying to get back on your feet but alot of ppl abuse it, then when they really cant start paying on the defaulted (already consolidated loan) it seems imposible to make an arrrangement,. best advice i can give you is look over your finances as soon as you get a letter stating you have 30 days to dispute it,and call the CA before it goes any further.remember your still acrewing interest everyday, and consolidated defaulted loans acrew more interest DAILY.

Consolidated loans do not accrue interest any faster than unconsolidated loans.

Consolidation gives you the opinion of "income based or income contingent repayment". It makes your payment AFFORDABLE.

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My wages were being garnished for student loans and I tried to do what you did and send in my bills to the collection agency. It took them 8 weeks and then they told me I didn't qualify to have the garnishment stopped. I asked why it took them so long to respond and they said they had up to 60 days to reply by law. I ended up contacting a professional company called Default Student Loan Assistance from the internet and they got it stopped in about 5 weeks.

I'm just looking for some information. I have federal student loans which, including all the fees, etc., total about $70K. I tried to get them out of default and rehab the loans, but was told I needed to put down $5K and then pay $800/mo. This was impossible and the CA essentially told me too bad.

Eventually garnishment started. It is 15% of my disposable income. It's difficult, but I'm scraping by. I called today to again discuss rehabing my loan. I knew I would have to pay something above and beyond the garnishment, but I was told I would need to pay no less than $480 in addition to the garnishment - in total about $850/mo. This is impossible. I mean paying $100 above the garnishment would have been a stretch, but I probably could have managed for 9 months. I'm a single mom who gets no outside support. $850 is unreasonable.

I did call the Ombudsman's office. I was given specific contact info for a supervisor at my CA (I'm waiting on a call back). They said to see about removing the garnishment and working out a rehab amount. I don't see this going very far considering my past experience... Then she said if that failed, I should request a hearing. She said at the hearing they could remove the garnishment and help me with getting into a rehab program with a more reasonable payment (for me).

I'm just a little loss. All of this is confusing and the CA is downright rude and seem completely unwilling to help or work with me. Seriously, am I better off just being garnished for the rest of my life? I'm at a point where, ridiculously enough, that seems like the most "reasonable" payment. I'd like to get this squared away, but I'm feeling pretty discouraged.

No downpayment is required for rehab....if they made the downpayment a condition of rehab, they broke the rules. They can ask for a downpayment, but they cannot make it a condition

With your balance, you are entitled to reasonable and affordable payments under the Higher Education Act. HOWEVER...this works two ways....has to be affordable to you AND reasonable based on your balance. A $50-$100 payment might be affordable but would not be reasonable ...your interest is around $400 per month. For a rehab with your balance a payment of $400-500/ month would be reasonable.

You should have gone straight to consolidation with Direct Loans....you would have come out better with an IBR or ICR repayment.

OK, so if I make an additional payment of $100 in addition to the garnishment (about $370), this will be a total of $470/mo. I can do this - just barely. However, they will not consider anything under $480 plus the garnishment amount (so $850 total). This is impossible.

So again, I guess my question is, if the CA is being reasonable with their rehab payment requirements, and if those requirements are completely out of my range, I should just resign myself to being in default and garnished... forever?

Is requesting a hearing even worthwhile in this situation? Can the judge "force" the CA to rehab my loan with a payment s/he defines as reasonable?

Did you request a hearing when you got the garnishment notice?

The CA maybe reasonable....I cannot see the whole picture on the information provided. When I handled garnshments, I looked at the entire picture, starting with the appeal letter/call. How much money was made, bills including rent/mortgage, food, utlitlies, reasonable car payment and insurance/gas, child care expenses and misc expenses. If someone was living within their means I usually approved the appeal. Unreasonable expenses didnt cut muster...I remember guy whose food budget was $800 per month for one person....he "had" to eat organic. Sorry...that didnt fly. Or a new mustang payment....nope...sell it, take the bus (they lived in NYC.) Tithing or private schools or paying childrens college expenses....those didnt make the cut either. So what it will come down to is A..did you file an appeal within the 30 days and then provide all backup documentation... B..are you expenses reasonable? If they didnt follow the reasonable and affordable route and if they demanded a down payment as a condition of rehab, you may be able to get the garnishment stopped., I would pursue the Ombudsman if B is the case.

She didn't even give me the opportunity to provide a statement of my expenses. I assure you - I am living within my means. No fancy car, no vacations, no tuition expenses for my son, no tithing, etc. I prepared a spreadsheet of my expenses and was ready to go over it when I called, but she told me that my expenses weren't of concern to her and I needed to pay the "set in stone" amount of $480 + garnishment. I'm hoping that the specific individuals the ombudsman referred me to will give me the opportunity to work with them.

As for the appeal, no I didn't send it. I knew I could afford the garnishment amount. I wrongly assumed I'd be able to work something out with the CA so I didn't see the point. I was admittedly foolish and have made this situation worse. But I'm trying to dig my way out of it. If there is a chance that a hearing will allow me to pay reasonable/affordable payments and rehab my loan I definitely want to do it. This is so complicated. I'd like to do what's right. I want to offer more than my garnishment amount. But I see no incentive for doing that if it's not going to help my situation in the long run.

BTW, I really appreciate all your feedback. There are so many things I *should* have done. But now I'm at a point where I need to accept those mistakes and move forward with whatever I can do now.

The answer to your question about a downpayment being required to enter into a rehab program for a wage garnishment is yes and no. What the CA will usually do is ask for one but will waive it if you agree to usually make the first payment within 2 weeks, or by the end of the month whichever comes first. Some will even let you file your appeal to the garnishment over the phone, but its only a few of them that will do this. Usually you have to file the appeal through the Department of Education who have up to 60 days to issue a ruling. Your garnishment doesn't stop during this period though, and unless you can prove some extreme financial hardship they are rarely dismissed. Sometimes they may lower the percentage amount and enter you into the rehab program but they make up the difference in the percentages by requiring you to make the "voluntary" payment which is equal to the percentage difference amount. so in essence you really are losing the same amount every month. I know you've probably seen a lot of companies advertising they can get you out of garnishment but they usually charge ridiculous prices. I however did find one that helped me with my garnishment and they were more than reasonable AND they got my garnishment lifted in 45 days. What they charged me was actually less than what i was being garnished monthly, so taking that one time hit to use their service even though it was tough was well worth it. They even offered to let me make payments if I was unable to afford to pay their fee all at once, very cool people. Do a search for "student loan wage garnishment" and you may see their ad. Hope that helps.

Feel free to contact me in private if you want. I don't like to get into too much detail about my experience in a big public forum like this, but I know what its like to go through a situation like you're in. I was in garnishment for over 2 years and it sucked!

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I was paying on my student loans for a few years. They were also taking my tax returns. at that time I owed 8900. I would pay for about 6 months, and they were keeping my tax returns for about 2000 a piece. I would lose work, or change jobs, stop paying for about 6 months. I was having a lot of trouble maintaining employment. I lost a job and got into a bad spot - I finally got another job. a very good one. My fiancee also got a very good job and we were finally making ends meet. That's when I got a writ of garnishment for the full amount, and also got diagnosed with 6 brain tumors (small and as of now benign). I didn't worry about the garnishment I focused on health. medical bills started to pile up, and I was working to pay them down, so I could still get hospitals to treat and work with me. I was suddenly making a lot less, and that was ok with the dual income. We could afford the garnishment and it seemed like an easy way to get the loan repaid. I should've paid more attention, the hindsight is killing me.

Last month, my fiance made it known that she was leaving me for a co-worker, and that she wanted me to move out. Ok. Can't make someone love me. Problem is: the car was in her name, she'd be keeping it. The apartment isn't one I could afford myself, not with the bills and the garnishment and having to add a car payment so I could keep my job. I'm homeless now, couching it for 2 months with a co-worker. I got a car with a high interest loan, and now I can't afford rent even at low income apartments and still be able to afford gas, food, or medical expenses.

I feel so low, stupid, and ultimately beaten. On top of all these emotional and health issues I'm facing down, now I'm in worse financial shape than ever. I have read all over these forums about rehab (which I probably couldn't afford). They garnished my wages six months ago, can I still request a hearing? Is there anything I can do to lower the payment, or set up something that isn't garnished, say go back to paying a direct monthly payment? I don't even know who is garnishing my wages, whether it is the government directly or a CA, without having any of that paperwork does anyone know a way to find out?

I apologize for my story. I just need help, I found this page and have read a lot, but the questions I have I couldn't find answers too. I don't want to be a deadbeat and that's all I can seem to feel about this right now. If you've taken the time to read this, thank you.

I have read most of the posts here... I thank each and everyone of you for such good information regarding defaulted student loans, garnishments and harrassing collectors.
Here is my situation...I have had several student loans, have paid many of them off but life altering situations didnt allow me to pay off 2 of them. As of now I am in default and have been garnished, prior to being garnished I asked to work things out with them, well..quiet naturally the answer was... (in such a nasty tone) You should have taken care of it when you were supposed to, and you wouldnt have to be asking for extensions now).. I was truly outdone, but nonetheless, I am paying by them garnishing my wages, Now I have another student loan holder calling and harrassing threatening to garnish my wages. Is it possible for more than one student loan to garnish at a time. Hell, I am an underpaid teacher, who is not yet fully certified because I cant go back to school to get my degree, which makes my pay not amount to most teachers pay,and they are taking my wages monthly and still I cant get no assistance. I always thought that there was help for people who were in the educational field. If anyone know of any form of help.. Please let me know... I am a high school special education teacher, I love my job but the Dept of Ed is killing my pockets

The one that is threatening....get it consolidated with direct loans ASAP...which is what you should have done a long time ago!!!

I got a grant in the late 1980's for a truck driving school. After completing the written course from home, went to do the driving part, and it turns out the whole thing was a scam. They had taken off with our grant money. There was no driving course. A few years ago I started getting my wages garnished. I don't even remember the name of the phony truck driving school at this point. Is there anything I can do to stop this unwarranted garnishment?

You mean you havent done anything prior to now??? Have you contacted the US Department of Education? You probably took out more than just a grant...you probably got loans too...truck driving schools are not cheap. Have your taxes been taken???

Look in the sticky section...or google "US Department of Education Closed school discharge "

well actually this is for a friend of mine.. he did have contact with the dept of education and told them about the school but they didn't believe him.

I do not believe they did not believe him...he probably did not follow thru properly. The DOE has a closed school division that deals with closed schools.... he can find a contact here. http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/helpContactInformationDetailedList.jsp?contactname=Closed%20School%20Contacts

i know they didn't believe him because i was pretending to be him . i talked to a guy on the phone who had the power to decide to garnish wages or to not garnish wages and he was a guy who seemed to be power hungry. in my frustration for him to believe me, i probably carried a tone he didn't like.. my friends friend swears the name of the school was 'great american trucking school' in phoenix , which is not on the list

Well you talked to the WRONG people. It is not up to the CA to research closed schools. If you or him follow the links I posted, and talk to people at the DOE....ask the DOE what the correct name of the school was, maybe you can get to the bottom of this.

I agree. Not only is life "pretty much over for me" but I believe I need to end my life to make a statement of some kind... The student loans I took were for education, and then I took that "education" and used it EXCLUSIVELY FOR SERVICES RENDERED TO THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS A FACT and a matter of record. So what I am saying is that I used the "education" to better the world we live in. Yet... I own no property, I have an old car, and nothing much in the bank. STILL THEY GARNISH MY WAGES OVER $600 PER MONTH. This has been going on for over twelve years. It seems there is no end to it, so the only way to end it is to end my life. You'll read about it in the news... You may think I'm crazy but I'm just backed into a corner I can't get out of. I can only hope my end will be someone's beginning. I don't have any other way out. Just know I did love the world and the people I connected to. Hugs and kisses, sorry for those I hurt... Love ya all, LK

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Well, "soap lady" you are truly lacking in the dept. of compassion. Yeah, maybe I'm a "drama queen" alright, but you have no idea what I'm capable of. You have no right to judge me. Especially me and on your speculation of what my "take home" is, you have no idea what my other biils are... so stop judging and be for real. My sister,God rest her soul, said "desperate people do desperate things" and o boy was she right about me and my situation. I am that desperate person! Like I said, read about me in the news... You are no "lady", just pretending like every body else. Shame on you, man...

Speculation on income? The department of ed has a formula of disposable income....gross minus taxes and health insurance....that is the point your garnishment is calculated. So if your employer is calculating your garnishment properly, it is pretty easy to figure out your take home pay. 401K and any other deductions are your choice. Anyways, what came first?? The student loan or the bills?? My point is you had the opportunity to avoid this by consolidating years ago. Sorry, but I will not sugar coat the facts....in this day and age and with the payment plans that have been in place with the department of ed for the past 2 decades, there is absolutely no reason for any default....even with a zero income you can consolidate and stay current with a zero payment. You didnt make your student loan a priority....so your guarantor did. So either rehab your loan by buckling down and making payments over and above your garnishment or learn to live on a budget. I am not here to be your therapist....just present the cold hard facts.

Hi Soaplady,

I have a fairly unique situation and am hoping you can direct me in the right way - both ethically and in my financial interests.,

I took out federal student stafford loans for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees back in the 90s and early 2000s. I was doing graduate work in New York City in 2001 when the towers went down, and it was very traumatic for me. I dropped out of school a week later, left NYC and pretty much dropped off the grid. I struggled for many years with the personal losses of so people I was close to at the same time - no income, no tax records, wasn't even thinking about student loans.,

A few years later we got a notice about student loans and my grandparents (now passed) offered to pay them and help me out. They got the free and clear on the payments and I thought it was all good. Well, I have recently re-entered the real world again and found out they only paid off the loans given to me by the school, not the federal ones, which are now 10 years defaulted.

I started working a few months ago, and the calls I originally thought were fraudulent pretending to be collectors are actually the real thing. So here is where I need some guidance - I am making a good salary and would like to pay off my loans, however with 10 years of interest tacked on I am shocked by the amounts: my $42k of loans have nearly $20k additional interest on them. I am hoping that considering the situation, I can work out a plan to repay with a reduction of that interest amount.

/p>No garnishment has started, however I did receive calls claiming they needed a call TODAY or they would contact my employer. A friend I spoke with who once defaulted said they can't do that until I have been working for a year, but I don't really want to play with the rules - I want to figure out how I can repay them without creating financial hardship for myself.

/p>I would really appreciate any advice. Should I contact the department of education or the scary collector from the garnishment department that has left a few voicemails for me (I was out of town for work for the last week, and came back to three identical messages)? I know the collector just wants to make as much as he can, and I have heard so many horror stories about people who tried to do the right thing and ended up with demands they could not meet. I have heard tales of people getting in more trouble because they agreed to make payments that included small print that led to much higher fees/interest they could not climb out of.

/p>Please help! Who should I contact and what is my best course of action? Should I just get a lawyer to help me deal with this? I don't have much savings, so anything worked out would have to be on a paycheck to paycheck basis.

/p>Thank you in advance,

/p>Remi