Student Loan Garnishment

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The agency is the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority- so they are sort of a state agency- they are not available after 5:00pm, or weekends,so in order for me to speak to them I actually had to take time off from work so I would not miss them- I work during the same timeframe that they do 8:00am - 5:00pm, I cannot call long distance from my work phone, so there was no other option. i did indeed answer their letter regarding my wage garnishment, I was told to pay a cetain amount- to which I indicated I was not able to afford at the time, and asked for a lower amount that would make it easier for me to pay and woiuld satisfy my loan committment(s). They flat out said no. Garnishment proceeded the following month.

I am still employeed and would never ever quit my job to avoid a garnishment! I am considering welfare because the garnishment has taken money that I need in order to pay for my bills- so I have moved in with a friend so I would be able to share the rent and other expemses, I no longer have a cellphone- can't afford the plan, and the track phones are just as expensive- I have an old fashioned land line, so calls I make are done once I arrive from work- which is well after 5:00pm or early - prior to 8:00am. In order for me to get myself out of default and to make those extra 9 [ayments at the amount that the NC College Authority deems acceptable- I will have to apply for NC HealthChoice- which is a low income health insurance for choldren ONLY- nothing for myself. As well as whatever other financial assistance I can qualify for.

[COLOR=black]Thank you SoapLady- please let me respond to your inquiries:[/COLOR]
[QUOTE][COLOR=black]1. [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Did you attempt to work with the agency prior to the garnishment? Did you respond to the 30 day garnishment notice with a request for a hearing to prevent the garnishment?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=black]Yes- I called them, I asked them to give me a rate that I could afford, they flat out said no- the garnishments started the next month. I contacted them several times and they did not want to help- just asked for more money. [/COLOR]
[QUOTE][COLOR=black]2. [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Collection agencies to not provide statements....they is no legal requirement for them to provide one. They are not billing or servicing companies. You can call or write a couple of times a year for a payoff balance and payment history.[/COLOR][/QUOTE][COLOR=black][FONT=Arial Narrow][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]My ???collection agency??? is a state agency, the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority- they hold my loans, and if I get out of default return them to the NC College Foundation to complete payment. I have called on several occasions and still no help. And if my wages are being garnished- or making payments- I should get a balance of what I owe- we all should no matter what entity it is being paid to. [/COLOR]
[QUOTE]3. [COLOR=black]Why would you take a day off to make a phone call? Student loan collection agencies are not strictly 9-5....when I was collecting I worked until 11pm central time 2 nights a week so I would be available for callers across the county. This is generally a client requirement...plus Saturday hours.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
Not all agencies are available late in the evening or Saturdays- that would have been great in my case- but the NC Education Assistance Authority are not. And it was not just one call- it turned into several calls- leaving messages, returning calls to see if my caseworker was available, waiting for a return call(s) etc.- imagine sitting at work and doing all of that- can???t happen. Since this is such an important issue I made the time to take care of this.
Who said anything about quitting a job (why make less money than I already am??) to avoid a garnishment? There are a ton of working poor- I am one of them. I need welfare to survive since my paycheck is being garnished- 15% is a lot of money for someone who makes a low salary- even with a college degree. I am considering taking my kids off my insurance policy so I can afford to have money for their school lunches, public school uniforms and food on the table, lights on and water- you know the basics- not to get my nails & hair done. And I am pursuing the parent for support.
I owe $12,500 or so- I am requesting a hearing, again, to see what can be done. I have also sent a request to the Student Loan Omnibus to see if they can provide me some assistance in dealing with this agency- and the system is broken- if you go into default it should not be such a nightmare to get out- and no agency should have the authority to get you fired (state and federal employees ??? I am an NC state employee) or to take your professional license because of a defaulted loan. I do not blame the system for my part in this mess- on the contrary I tried to do the right thing and let them know what I could afford- and tried voluntarily pay them $50.00 per month. I will definitely request another hearing to see if they can reduce my garnishment- I was unaware that I could do so- thank you for that bit of knowledge!

Did you respond to the garnishment notice IN WRITING as directed?? You will not get a hearing if you call.

From the Department of Ed's website....same rules apply to NCSEAA

[QUOTE]To avoid garnishment of 15% of disposable pay, the borrower must:

• Negotiate repayment terms acceptable to ED or the Private Collection Agency (PCA) and ensure that ED receives the first payment by the response deadline date on the garnishment notice, which is 30 days from the date the garnishment notice was sent;
  
• Make a hearing request in writing postmarked no later than the deadline on the garnishment notice;
  

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My reason? She is a single mother, not receiving child support and she qualifies for the assistance!!! DCS will also help to pursue the child support as well. A lot of working moms dont realize they qualify for food stamps or the free lunch program.

The docs you linked are for the US Department of Ed. Her loans are with a FFELP lender....sending them to the DOE will result in nothing as they do not administer her loans or the garnishment.

NCSSAA is a difficult FFELP lender to work with. ...they are an old client of mine. She did not follow the procedure to the T during the 30 day window, asking for an hearing in writing. Appeals once the garnishment have started take a long time and she needs to provide a full financial statement of income and expenses, just like the DOE asks for.

I am currently getting all my documents together to request a hearing for my garnishment. I did look into the NC DHS to see what I qualified for- apparently social service programs look at your gross not your net income- so I do not qualify for any need based programs, although I am still going to apply for the NC Health Choice program- who knows, at this point if they say yes then that???s good, if they say no then oh well. I have lost so much that one more thing makes no difference.
I have literally about given up dealing with the NCSEAA- they are beyond unpleasant to deal with- I have been yelled at, treated like a common criminal and still no true resolution. They have taken my tax refund ( just over $5,000) this year, which I desperately needed to catch up on my car payment and a few other bills that I have fallen behind on, and I am assuming that my meager state tax refund ($313) will also be taken- and I have applied for loan consolidation- which after all the garnishments ( wages & taxes) will be significantly reduced- and hey, I still get to have my credit torn to shreds (since the default will show up as unpaid, but no less a default, it will remain on my credit report for 7 years) ??? go NC government, you really showed me!!! And they have recouped about $3,000 from me this year alone from my paycheck. One of my favorite comments from the NCSEAA agent was that ?????? if you ever get about $2,500 don???t send it to us, break it up into 9 payments??? lump sum payments do nothing for you.??? Maybe I will ask the IRS to break up my tax refund into 9 smaller payments to oblige the NCSEAA- but we all know that won???t happen!
I have learned some valuable lessons through this process-
1. Never call- apparently only written notices work in this electronic day and age- this agency works in the good old paper system where they can state they never received it and so they never get your documents- hey that???s easy enough. But my not getting their documents doesn???t matter- they call that something like not reasonable- or not their fault as they provided due notice.
2. They have tight deadlines- when you receive something from then dated 2 weeks prior to when you get it- you only get a few days to get everything together- then when you send it in- hey guess what?? It never makes it to the person it who needed it!!
3. Unfortunately you are now a victim to their whim(s) - it is easier to meet our maker than to get out of default- and if you happen to meet your maker (die) before the loan is out of default- they can go after your insurance policies too!!!!
The sad thing is that my children will be going to college in a few years- and my defaulted status affects their ability to get any type of financial assistance- what a heap of dung! And hey- I only have a Bachelors Degree that I decided to complete later on in life so I could provide my children with a better life- that turned out super.

[FONT=Arial Narrow]Opps- sorry for misstating- "I still get to have my credit torn to shreds (since the default will show up as unpaid, but no less a default, it will remain on my credit report for 7 years)" - it will show up as defaulted- paid in full- which in the credit world means absolutely nothing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][FONT=Arial Narrow][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3]Anyone know how to get my tax refund back- ?? I really need it.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Since you are not in voluntary repayment, you will not be getting it back.

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You only posted a portion of my response- please allow for all to read the entire post-

In this day and age I am not surprised that a lot more folks are going into default (which they are)- gas prices are sky high, food costs have gone up as fast as gasoline- heck when I go to the grocery store I get less food and spend more money- I happen to live in a state that has not given state employees a raise or a cost of living increase in over 4 years to it???s state employees ??? of which I am one of. Which state are you living in that you have not felt the crunch of this finacial crisis we are all in- ??

You are missing the point....with the Direct Loan Consolidation income based and income contingent repayment plans, paying student loans is made affordable. The Direct Loan program will lower payments below what is expected if you contact them. When I was working as a financial aid officer, we tried to make sure all borrowers knew to consolidate their loans as soon as possible to take advantage of the payment plans. This was all part of the exit interview, to make sure borrowers knew of their rights to deferment/forebearance and to learn their options so they would not default.

I understand the point- but now that I am in default all of that prior counseling is a moot point. When I tried to get assistance not one person at the NCSEAA even mentioned the consolidation process as a viable option. I want to get out of default- I applied for a consolidation- and am working towards getting this financial burden of a garnishment resolved as soon as possible. I also would like to have my tax refund(s), but that of course will not happen.

I realize that if I had waited to file until AFTER I was approced for the consolidation I most likely would have received my tax refund back-

I did a little bit of research and came up with this:
[FONT=Arial Narrow][/FONT]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman]If you have NOT filed your tax return and have applied for a William D. Ford consolidation loan- then wait to file until AFTER you have received notification from the Direct Loans folks that they have approved your loan application and then wait an additional 2-4 weeks to file so they can pay off your loans. [/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][COLOR=black]1. [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Contact the FMS ([/COLOR]800- 304-3107 with questions about a delinquent debt) [COLOR=black]folks- make sure that your name has been cleared from the offset database- if not, contact your collection or guarantee agency[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][COLOR=black]2. [/COLOR][COLOR=black]When you contact your loan holder- have your loan consolidation paperwork handy- and remind them to remove you from the offset database[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][COLOR=black]3. [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Make the same series of calls to make sure you are in the clear- then FILE!!!!!!![/COLOR][/FONT]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Arial Narrow][/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]Challenging a Tax Refund Offset [/COLOR][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman]You can request a hearing to challenge the tax offset. The I.R.S. has said that you must appeal to the Department of Education if you want to challenge an offset after it???s already been done.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman]The main defenses to tax offset are (this is not an exhaustive list):[/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]You have repaid the loan,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]It is not your loan or there is some other reason why you do not owe the money,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]You have already entered into a repayment agreement with the loan holder and are making payments as required,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]You have filed for bankruptcy and the case is still open or the loan was discharged in bankruptcy,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]The school failed to pay you an owed refund,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]The borrower is dead or totally and permanently disabled,[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]The loan is not enforceable, for example because of forgery, or[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]?? [/COLOR][COLOR=black]You are eligible for a [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][URL="http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/loan-cancellation/problems-with-your-school/closed-school/"][COLOR=#0066cc][FONT=Times New Roman]closed school discharge[/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman] or [/FONT][/COLOR][URL="http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/loan-cancellation/problems-with-your-school/false-certification/"][COLOR=#0066cc][FONT=Times New Roman]false certification discharge[/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman].[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman]If you want the offset to be on hold while you are challenging it, you must file a request for review at the address written in the offset notice by the later of 65 days after the date of the notice or 15 days after you request to see your loan file. It is a good idea to make this request so that you know what is in your file. You must make a written request if you want to see the loan file and you must do this within 20 days of the notice. You can request a hearing after these deadlines, but the offset will generally not be held up while you are waiting for your hearing.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman]The Department of Education provides this [/FONT][/COLOR][URL="http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/treasury.offset.payments.html"][COLOR=#0066cc][FONT=Times New Roman]explanation[/FONT][/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman] about tax offsets.[/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Arial Narrow][SIZE=3][COLOR=#333333]?? [/COLOR]Hardship Caused by Offset of Social Security Benefits, Federal and/or State Income Tax Refunds, or Other Payments[COLOR=#333333][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[COLOR=#333333]Before the Department referred your defaulted student loan(s) or grant claim(s) to the Department of the Treasury for offset, the Department offered you - either directly or through the guaranty agency that holds your loan - an opportunity to avoid offset by either agreeing to repay the debt or proving that you do not owe the debt. As explained in that notice, unless you took one of these actions by the 65-day deadline, the Department would request that any federal and/or state tax refunds and other payments owed to you, be withheld and applied to satisfy the debt. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Calibri]If you claim that this withholding action is causing you and your dependents financial hardship, the Department may consider modifying or suspending withholding action. To present your claim, you must contact the Department or the guaranty agency that holds your debt, and must submit documentation satisfactory to the holder of the debt to support your claim. The Department or the guaranty agency, as its designated representative, will consider your claim and may agree to modify the withholding action. You may be required to complete a statement of financial status. My next step is sending in a request to the Department of Education- I will let you know how that goes-[/FONT][/COLOR]

The Department's U.S. Postal Service mailing address is:

U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202

You have a FFELP loan with North Carolina....sending a request the DOE wont do anything. They have no control over the loan.