OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

In 2002 My son wanted to attend Chubb Institute in New York.  When applying
for financial aid we were told that before he could be considered for any
other aid I had to apply for a parents loan.  Given that I was only making
250 a week and had just had an auto repossessed I told the financial aid
office I was certain I would be denied.  I filled out the application and
was never told I had been granted a loan for over 13,000 so we thought that
with his own federal loan they had found grants for him.

In February 2004 a lawsuit was filed against me in NY By Sallie Mae.  They
claim to have given service to someone they state was a "co-tenant" named
Jorge Torres.  At no time have I ever lived with anyone by that name.  The
owner of the house I lived in is Juanita And Julio Torres who are my aunt
and uncle.  Sallie Mae has since filed in Florida to recognize  this
judgment and have stated they sent me a copy at 21609 Sally St SE Palm Bay
Fl.  My address is 1069.  They then sent a summons for a deposition to 31069
Sally st.  The process server located me due to her ability to figure out
that there is no address as stated on her paperwork. During the deposition
their attorney asked me if my address was 21069 Sally St and I said no.  He
then asked me what it was and I provided him with the correct address  In
December they filed for a garnishment with no notice to me whatsoever.   I
asked their attorney for a copy of the promissory note they claim I signed,
it took him in excess of 30 days to get it to me and only after I notified
him that he failed to do so did he email some document to me and while the
signature is close it does not appear to be mine. The copy of his letter
prefacing the copy of a promissory note shows he used the address he knew to
be invalid.  This leads me to believe he deliberately did so use a fake
address in order to prevent me from any self defense  Additionally I had
asked 2 other collection agencies for this beginning in 2008 and their
current attorney has chosen to NOT send me a copy of all pertinent court
documents filed here in Florida including the garnishment at to my correct
address and in all likelihood has told the court he has while using an
address he knows is false in order to once again deprive me of my rights.

Now to add insult to injury Sallie Mae has turned this over to Allied
Interstate for additional collections in spite of the fact that they are
garnishing me!!



Their actions forced me to move in with my son and has resulted 
in even more serious damage to my credit.  I find myself at the age of 
57 facing a bleak future (what's left of it).  I may never be able to 
obtain my own home even as just a rental. I suffer frequent bouts of 
insomnia and my ulcer is nearly always actng up.  This in spite of any 
requests I have made to Sallie Mae directly to explain why they created a
 fictitious character upon whom to provide service and why their 
attorney in Florida uses an address he knows is incorrect

The 
fact that they have engaged in fraud in two states leads me to believe
that this is a common practice for Sallie Mae.
Is there any way to vacate this in both states? 
I really don't know and so far have been unable to obtain legal 
representation in light of the fact that with Sallie Mae taking 360 
every 2 weeks I will never be able to.

Each state should pass a law stating that in order to borrow money to pay for a state college high school seniors must attend a student loan debt lecture given by college seniors - not the school finance office. In other words…don’t go to college on student loans…it’s just too risky. Once the pool of incoming fresh meat dries up the colleges and lenders will have a reason to make some changes, but as long as there are new suckers to be had this nightmare will continue. It may be too late for a lot of you, but you all could really help others by getting involved in warning young people about the trap that’s been set for them.

Mark Twain did it.  Henry Ford did it.  Johnny Unitas did it, too.  So did Burt Reynolds, Wayne Newton, Donald Trump, Jose Canseco, and MC Hammer.  Even George Jefferson did it when, after “moving on up,” he started moving back down.  Millions and millions of people have done it.  So why can’t I?

            What all these guys did, what I can’t do, is file for bankruptcy.  All of them made bad investments, borrowed too much money, and maybe spent too much too. But when the courts saw the drastic discrepancy between what they owed and what they were likely to earn, they interceded and worked out a deal that allowed them to pay only a fraction of their debts. 

            And what about me?  I made a bad investment.  I invested in myself and in the future of our education system, two lost causes in retrospect.  I borrowed too much.  The federal government was only too happy to subsidize my borrowing of significant sums for every year of graduate school.  I spent too much.  I went to study in another country in pursuit of my chosen career path, and traveled to still others in the effort to advance its cause.  But what did it all come to in the end?  A whole lotta nothin’.

            Actually, far less than nothing.  I wish it was nothing.  But, no, my hard work and determination and years of sacrifice came to -$62,000, -$77,000 with the collection agency’s punitive penalties.  And who hired the collection agency?  The same federal government that was only too happy to subsidize the loans in the first place.

            In the eyes of my government I’m sure my paltry five-digit debt looks like nothing.  After all, that government itself is in debt well over $15 trillion.  And to all those famous people I named above too, I’m sure my debt, equal to the amount which an unsuccessful stockbroker spends on a car, looks like a trifle.  Well, maybe not to Mark Twain or Henry Ford, but there’s been a lot of inflation in the century since they went bankrupt.  In any case, unlike the federal government, which doesn’t really seem to have to answer to anybody, and unlike the famous names on my list, who at some point earned oodles of cash, I am and have always been worth nothing.

            Oh yeah, I’ve got an education…in philosophy.  But philosophy factories that pay six-figures don’t seem to exist.  In fact, no philosophy factories seem to exist at all.  There are only universities, and they are cutting back on the humanities more and more.  Besides, I failed my first dissertation defense anyway, and my funding and visa ran out before I was able to try again.  So I didn’t even get the chance to impart to another generation of duped teenagers the worthless academic wisdom to which I’d devoted an entire decade.  My hopes and dreams and ten years of studying and reading and writing 80 hours a week were dashed to pieces, along with my right to live in the place where, for eight years—most of my twenties—I’d called home. 

            And when I came back to America with my tail between my legs, devastated at having to abandon a ten-year project that was my plan for the future, did the federal government receive me with a friendly, “welcome back to the land of opportunity?”  No.  All they said was, “where’s our money?”

            Where’s your money?  It’s in the same place that your promises of success with hard work and education are, the same place that my happy and productive future is, the same place as your American Dream: the wonderful, magical fantasy world of Neverneverland.

            No one’s going to give me those ten years of my life back.  No one’s going to give me back the space in my brain that I spent years filling with what turns out to be completely useless information.  And no one’s going to give you back your money.  All I can do now is teach English part-time at an hourly rate, and the money I make from that I need for things like eating, and housing, and paying for gas and car insurance to get to my low-paying job.  Oh, and health insurance that I won’t use and can’t afford.  Just accept it, federal government, and let’s agree to a lower amount that I can reasonably afford.  Don’t worry, you’ll never be as shafted by taking less as I have been by buying all your BS.

            Johnny Unitas was too old to play football again.  MC Hammer was too old to make cool music again.  Burt Reynolds had a miraculous comeback, and George Jefferson had a minor one.  Wayne Newton and Donald Trump sold their proverbial souls to make money again after they went bankrupt.  Unfortunately, no one wants to buy mine.  Unless, you do, federal government.  I’ll sell you my soul for $77,000, what do you say?  I’ll even sign in blood and everything.  But I must warn you, it’s pretty well disillusioned, pretty well corrupted, and pretty much broken.

            If that doesn’t work for you, how about you just let me declare bankruptcy like all those other schmucks that made some bad decisions and now have to live with them?  After all, what is to me a tidal wave threatening to destroy my life is only a drop in the ocean of your own financial stupidity.

            Bankruptcy for student loans, because we were our own bad investments.

I’m 27 yrs old and I owe about $22K in private loans. When I checked the balance the loan grew to $39K. I took the loan out about 5yrs ago and I have had to do forbearance during the course of the five years because of the fact that I was not making enough money. I was on and off jobs and whats really worse is that when the economy collapsed, it has become hard to find stable employment. I have been unemployed for the past 2yrs. Finally, I got a statement from Sallie Mae saying that I had to pay the full loan upfront or other wise I was going to into collections. In order for me to get into a repayment program I had to use a bank account so that they could debit the monthly payments. I had to borrow money just so that the loans would not go into default. The customer rep Teresa told me that if I default, its like defaulting on a mortgage. She even told me that I can let the loan go into default and that maybe the debt collector would settle with me. Sallie Mae is nothing but a botched company that takes the principal amount and triples it. I even tried to settle the loan even with a 1% to 2% and they said we cannot do that. They should know that if something happens in which someone becomes deceased especially if you do not have children nor are married, Sallie Mae you lose the money that was owed to you. There will be no one to go after. They need to accept the money that is offered and at least look that I am willing to pay. People if you must file a complaint with consumerfinance.gov they will listen as action must be taken.

I graduated in 1998 with a degree to teach Spanish, was told my “loans” were forgivable because I was to teach a critical needs subject AND in a critically needy district.  I owed at the time $44K.  Well, a single mom on a teacher salary can barely afford to live.  Deferred for 3 years, then payed some then did economic forbearance on and off.  Was advised to consolidate from SC Student Loan Corp to Direct Loans to get better repayment options.  so I did.  Guess what? that locks you in at whatever rate you had.  8.25%!!!!!  Now, in 2012, I owe $96K!!!  Insane!  I am not a doctor!  I did not attend Med School!  I will never be able to may 120 payments!  NUTS!!!!!

I was the first and only child in my family to attend college. Without any financial guidance whatsoever, I was told that it was the key to unlocking my dreams. For, nobody could get a job without going far. So, I signed up for an Associates Degree.

I needed books, so I took out a loan for books. The friendly financial aid clerk handed me some paper work, I filled it out. It seemed very straightforward. My check arrived an I got books and other living expenses paid. This was great. Accomplishing my dream.

Then I find out that I am accepted as a transfer student to a 4 year BA. Wow! The Big Time! I worked hard. Why not? I accepted. But, sir, you will need to come up with a few thousand dollars. Sign here, sign there. It wasn’t like a mortgage, just a few slips a paper. It was a very covert process. But, I noticed that each loan the university would receive hundreds of dollars totaling thousands of dollars over the years. 

All of this loan business started around 2000-2001. We are now in 2012 and I owe 140,000 dollars from education obtained from public schools. I couldn’t work a full time job, so I had to borrow money for living expenses too. I even received a few scholarships, but they were small. 

I have a BA and an MS. I support a spouse and my parents. I owe $140,000 dollars. My monthly payments are $900 dollars a month. I can’t afford a home—barley make rent, groceries and transportation. I would gladly bargain for half. There should be a cap on our monthly payments. $900 is reasonable if you’re making $150,000 a year. But $40,000 and 50,000 dollar salaries today aren’t what they were ten years ago. 

Rent has gone up, gas has gone up, food, utilities, everything—all the life essential resources have increased, but salary stays the same. I can’t afford it.

In January 2002 i had just begun my 2nd semester of junior year at Tulane University majoring in Classical Studies when i suffered a major brain haemorrhage in the basal ganglia region rendering the right side of my body completely unresponsive. Since that time i’ve remastered the art of walking but my right arm remains useless.  My income during the last decade has been & continues to be only Social Security Insurance & Disability which provides the minimum to afford my rent & necessary living expenses.  When my cognitive abilities had recovered sufficiently for me to be once again in charge of my own affairs i dutifully filed & received deferment after deferment from Sallie Mae. 

As my mental abilities fully returned so did my interest in history, though i dreaded a return to formal academia, instead setting my own course of study.  My path lead me first to the recent history of the 20th century and the Cold War particularly which required a better understanding of Russian history than i had ever received.  When viewed objectively, without the prejudices of our childhood i was shocked to discover that the leaders of the Russian Revolution, Lenin and Trotsky, were in fact the original champions of the 99%, seeking to establish a truly democratic world order and that the horrors committed in the name of Communism in the 20th century only came to pass after the reactionary coup of Stalin when the Soviet Union became “communist” in name only.  The book written by Leon Trotsky from exile before his assassination, The Revolution Betrayed, remains required reading for any class conscious individual. 

My last deferment ended over a year ago, Sallie Mae first began calling my elderly grandfather’s house last summer as that was the last contact information they had for me.  The callers would not accept his explanation that i no longer lived there & continued to harass him daily so several months ago i visited their web site to update my phone # and alleviate the stress from my dear grandpa.  Now i get their daily call that is always ignored with the same pitiful voicemail which i promptly delete.  I have no other loans or lines of credit nor would i seek any so the damage this does to the Capitalist fiction that is my “credit score” is of no meaning to me. i do not think this corporate entity has the ability to comprehend with whom they are dealing.

Workers and Students of the World unite!

We have nothing to lose but our chains.