Student Loan in default, now West Assest calling - pls help

Keep in mind that the student loan division of West Asset will be different from their credit card and junk debt division...they have been working the DOE account for a long time and if they were that bad, they would have been kicked off the contract a long time ago.

Rehab you would be looking at a standard payment of around $216 per month. You are entitled to reasonable and affordable payments based on your household income.
or
go straight to consolidation now. Since you have been in default 6 years, this is due to drop off in a year. You could go straight to consolidation and the income contingent repayment plan.
Keep in mind they will probably be seizing your income tax return.

Well I've talked with West Asset Management twice, giving them details and so far this is how it's gone (in a nutshell):

Me: I'd like to talk about rehabing my defaulted loans
CA: You'll need to put a down payment of ~$7,000
Me: no can do
CA: (suddenly some guy jumps into the conversation speaking really fast) how much can you pay for a down payment?
Me: I dunno, kind of depends on if I get my tax return of $3K, I'd like to use that as a down payment
CA: (same unknown guy) 90% of the time if you are on a payment plan they won't take your tax return
Me: that's interesting, I still can do 7K, it's way more than I have in the bank
CA: (same unknown guy) give me your best estimate of what you can pay
Me: I dunno.........maaaaaaybe $1200?
CA: hold on...
long wait
CA: you there?
Me: yup

then thier crappy phone system disconnected me (has done that every call I make to them).

Do I have to make a down payment? I Net about $1900 a month and my expenses are like $1700 a month

:(

No down payment is required by the Higher Education Act to get into the rehab program. They can ask...but they cannot demand or make it a condition of rehabbing.

Hi Soaplady,

thanks so much for your help!

I want to consolidate through the Dep of Ed, and to do this I need to rehab my loans rather than consolidate now. am I going to be shooting myself in the foot? I'd just much rather deal with a government entity than a private company.

It you want to consolidate, you do not have to rehab first. As a general rule, it is better credit wise to rehab first, but a lot of people go straight to consolidation.

Quote:

Ok then you have grounds to call the student loan ombudsman and file a complaint. Phone is in the sticky section.

I wanted to mention the reason west asset is giving for demanding a down payment is that my defaulted loans are so old and that I have never made a payment on (that's true I never made a payment). They are also saying that I will need to provide name and contact details of three people I know for references to proceed with the rehab.

is there any situation like mine that would allow them to require a down payment?

The reference part is true....we always had to get new ones as part of the rehab paperwork.

West can give any reason they like, but the bottom line is that they CANNOT make it a condition of rehab. Plus, if you dont have it, you dont have it.

Well, I called the ombudsman number and spoke with a representative and he said based on the information I gave him, he was recommending it to be investigated - not sure how long that will take.

meanwhile, should I call west asset and let them know that I talked with the ombusman? Should I continue to try and negotiate a reasonable monthly payment, or wait to see what happens with the ombudsman?


the weirdest thing was how west asset was trying to get me to pay, $235 by friday of this week , $600 (the down payment) next month but no monthly payment, then $235 every month after that for 9 months. when I was told that West Assest required the downpayment and it was thier condition the guy followed up with "I wouldn't be asking you to do this if it was against the law" and then near the end he said "nothing I say is binding" it was quite frankly just bizarre, and I became concerned that if I did manage to scrounge up and pay they would just change the conditions on me - if nothing they say is binding then they can just do whatever

Wait on the ombudsman...it is likely your account will be pulled and placed with another agency. This is also the time to write a written complaint to the guarantee agency....all CA's are graded on complaints.

Okay , here's an update:

ombusdman finally got back to me after two weeks (on the 16th of Feb) and gave me the number for a West Asset Quality assurance manager, who I called who said that everything the agent I spoke to was consistent with their policy. When I pushed the issue of how I was told a down payment was required she said "yes, that's something our agents are allowed to ask for" to which I said "he wasn't asking for it, he said it was required". She immediately switched gears to tell me that my account had been forwarded to the wage garnishment on Feb 6 and gave me a contact name and number there.

I called the wage garnishment contact and was offered $190/month with no down payment but my debt was switch for a 9 year repayment to a 20 year repayment (can this be changed in the future if my situation improves?) which I took & made a one time payment on my card so I could setup another account for them to draft from on a monthly basis.

Even though I finally did get a reasonable and equitable payment for a rehab program I'm still a little steamed at West Asset for jerking me around - The same west assest agent that told me a down payment was required was also the one that said nothing he said was binding, which really got me worried that they wouldn't follow through on anything that was worked out and the final straw that made me call the ombudsman.

How do I found out the who the guarantee agency is so I can send them a complaint letter?

It should be on every letter you receive from them or log into NSLDS.

If you are going to rehab you will only be with them for 9-10 months. Then rehab. Then immediately consoidate with the Direct Loan Program. You will have the most options with them .