This website is a testimony to the problems Canadian Student Loan borrowers experienced from approximately 1996 to 2008 and until their loans were paid off.

The privatization of the Student Loans system by the Chretien and Martin Liberal governments broke the system and defaulted thousands of borrowers who were trying to pay their loans. There were even stories of suicide due to the harassment of borrowers.

Read the report that I prepared back in 2007 here. Canada Student Loans-The Need for Change Fortunately the new Conservative government at the time revamped the program and fixed the system for new borrowers, but borrowers under the previous program were left with ruined credit and continued harassment from debt collectors.

I call on the Canadian Government to apologize to the borrowers affected by this fiasco and make amends.

Unfortunately the Liberal government is again clobbering the Education system with their upcoming changes to International Student Visas. Yes, there's a problem, but instead of a well thought out plan, they have pulled the emergency brake on the train causing a derailment. This has introduced unprecedented instability for both private and public education institutions who serve both international and local students.

Universities can't plan. I've heard of courses being cut because the government has no process in place for universities to send the newly required acceptance letters to the government.

This means that students who have been accepted can not attend courses that start in the summer 2024 semester. With cut sections, current Canadian students will have trouble getting courses, and may have to switch to part-time which changes their enrollment status and might trigger repayment of their loans or ineligibility for funding. I've seen this before. It wreaks havoc on the student loan borrowers.

Again, the Liberal government has messed up the education environment. Will the new system needed in a rush for the acceptance letters be the new Arrivecan scandal?

I call on the government to implement a slower phased in approach and delay the requirement of the acceptance letters until a process is in place to submit these letters.


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grasshopper View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote grasshopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Financial Questionaire Violates Privacy Laws
    Posted: 03/September/2010 at 3:57pm
"Funny thing is, wouldn't the CRA have all the info they are asking for anyway?  I file a tax return every year. "

You know, river, that was the exact thing that I was thinking and I even asked the agent the very same question.  Her response was that their department didn't have access to that information.  I thought this was very unusual.  Then they asked me to send them a photocopy of my stub from the province.  (I am on provincial assistance - disability and have filed my tax return.) 

On a related theme, I was also sent an "Authorization to release medical information".  I am very hesitant about releasing any medical information to the government.  The form authorizes "officials of CRA with the medical and employability infomation requested in Part 2 (financial info form)....  This information will help the CRA officials in the administration of my file." 

Now, if the province has the medical information it needs to find me disabled, then why would the CRA need another medical form?

Another question is who are these "officials" and how will it help with the "administration" of my file?  Administer it how?  Also, the address is in Quebec - the Outaouais office - ARGP.  That in itself raises all sorts flags for me.  Would the different legal system in Quebec have an impact on my privacy and how my information is handled? 

Perhaps I am being overly paranoid?  It has been almost seven years since my diagnosis and over ten since defaulting on my student loan.   While there has been some improvement in my functionality, it is not enough to sustain me and certainly not enough to begin payments to the CRA.  I do not want to have the wrath of the government upon me because as Johnny stated in a previous forum, I can't afford it! 

Is there any clear, coherent guidelines regarding these darn forms?

Kind regards,

Alex
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote river Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/July/2010 at 11:53am
I have had a loan in collections for a few years now.  In this past year the CRA has taken over the collection efforts.  Since the loan has been in collections I have made regular, consistent payments.  I have not missed a month payment since it going to collections.   CRA has never contacted me to discuss anything and I assumed the amount I was paying was sufficient.

Today I received a financial questionnaire.  There is absolutely no way I will be filling this out.  Should I be contacting the officer and make him aware how ignore the letter and keep making my regular payments.
 
paulaffleck, How long did you avoid filling out the questionnaire before you had the loan paid off? 

Funny thing is, wouldn't the CRA have all the info they are asking for anyway?  I file a tax return every year. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/January/2010 at 6:40am

They may try to corner you into committing to pay the loan over a 5-year term. However, your income clearly does not support that sort of payment. You do blend into a financial hardship that they consider. Of course, it also depends on the rest of your financials though.

If you want some help getting this on a track that you can monitor and manage, let me know!
 
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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote janna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/January/2010 at 4:57am
I think I currently owe about $12000 but originally it was $14000. (Well, when it went into collections that's how much it was. The original loan itself was something like $25000 - we're talking CSL through RBC in the late 1990's - I graduated in 1998 - and it was the largest loan.) I bring in about $13000 per year through a contract I acquired last April. So I only make about $1083 per month, on average.

I have two loans through the NSLC, from 2001, that are in good standing and are being paid off no problem. This one that's in collections is the only one that went to collections and the only one I'm still paying in any way aside from the two with the NSLC. If I could just get rid of it, I would. But that's really not an option right now. It took me until 2008 to become financially stable, not that the loan people care about that or the fact that their crap policies have decimated my credit rating.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/January/2010 at 2:25am
How much do you owe? How much do you earn? I will tell you what they will be looking for.
 
The internal policies that the Non-Tax directate (CRA) sets out are not readily available to the public. That is a major disadvantage to the population of student loan borrowers in trouble. This  policy has been designed so that the level of repayment increases and loans arer paid back ina  shorter amount of time. This new position (policy) further illustrates the influence the financial industry has within the government of Canada. Basically, CRA  thinks it is bank and a collection agency. It sees the world through that same lens.   
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote janna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/January/2010 at 4:51pm
So should I just ask the agent how much they would normally be asking in terms of a monthly payment, since I am not in a position to pay off the full amount at this time, or should I just say (again) that regardless of what their form were to come up with regarding how much I can afford, the fact is that I can ACTUALLY only afford $400 a month, which is what I've been paying for the past year. I am trying not to be argumentative with them. We communicate via e-mail and letter mail. Every time they ask me to phone, I state that I am only willing to communicate in writing. (This is both because I want written evidence and because I have a ADHD, which makes it really difficult to follow spoken conversations on the phone or in person. Not that I've told them that.) I'm willing to cooperate, and I want to pay what I owe, but I can't afford to pay more than I am, and I don't see why I should fill out a form that's going to either show that I shouldn't be paying them anything or make them think I should be paying them twice what I'm paying right now.

FRUSTRATING!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote paulaffleck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/January/2010 at 3:09pm
It's amazing, the dearth of information about student loans.

When I was in massive default, and in a state of utter panic, it was the information on this website that gave me information sufficient to feel empowered enough to deal with collection agents.  I had HRSDC's third-party collection agency, ARO, hounding me, and I stuck to my guns about paying only 3% per month only because of information about my obligations, posted by Johnny, on this website.

I note that nowhere could I find this information in any readily accessible fashion, on any governmental website.  And here we see how quickly policies such as this change.

I'm not in student debt any longer, but the problem is only going to get worse for a lot of students, and for this reason I hope that this website continues to assist many students, because the information is just not out there, or it's out there but so disorganized that interpreting it is impossible.

-P


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/January/2010 at 2:11pm

Actually the 3% of principle requirement is no longer how they work it. THier internal policy now is setting the required payment to a "term" now, which is either amortized over 5 or 7 years, depending on the size of the total loan. So, for example, if you owe $10,000, trhey will want it repaid over a five-year period. Larger balances they set at 7 years.

Twisted.
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote paulaffleck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/January/2010 at 5:41pm
Refuse to complete the form, and pay 3% of the original loan amount, which I understand to be compliant with HRSDC guidelines for third-party collectors.  It's what I did, and until I completed repaying the loan I rarely heard from the collection agency.  When I did, I reiterated to them, my position.  Hope this helps.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/January/2010 at 4:53pm

The student loan system cannot penalize you because your spouse or partner does not want to divulge financial information. However, the system seems to take the position that unless you provide it they won't assist you. You are correct though. The system behaves as though no laws bind them in any way. Interesting topic. Let's see where this goes.

 
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote janna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/January/2010 at 4:15am
I'm sitting here with one right now, and I'm wondering about how to fill it out. I have no problem filling it out, but figuring out how much I spend and how much I make is difficult. I'm self-employed and make anywhere from $400 to $1400 per invoice, depending on how much work is completed prior to my sending an invoice. I don't send the invoices regularly (though I do usually send them once a month), and I only have one client at the moment.

I live with my fiance, who works full-time. His income pays most of our living expenses. Mine pays my specific expenses (e.g., loan payments, car insurance). I have no personal savings and I refuse to divulge any information about my fiance's finances due to privacy concerns.

I tried filling it out once already, and thought I would put the average for my invoices down as my income. If I take my total income so far and divide that by the number of months I've been doing this contract work, I only make $1000/month. Then when I split out our shared expenses (e.g., rent, groceries, cable) and put in my personal expenses (as above), I end up in the hole by more than $300. That's when I include the $400 a month I am paying the collections agency (ARC). This is the only thing I owe now, and I would love to get rid of it, but my credit rating still isn't good enough to get me a loan to be able to just pay it out (I think I still owe over $10,000 total).

I don't particularly want to send this form in with that huge a discrepancy on it. I can just imagine the response: "How are you surviving if you're that much in the hole each month?" Um, well, I don't actually have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, because my fiance's income pays for that. "Then why can't you pay us that $1000 per month that you make?" Because I have to pay for other expenses, too, and the $400 is all I can really afford!

Help?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote beerstud Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19/June/2009 at 9:15am

I used to get statements all the time from CBV that showed how much I had paid and the amount outstanding. I pay using online banking, so I can use my statements to prove I am paying. I asked CBV about the lack of receipts sent out since January this year, they 'swithched to a new system and are having problems printing', was the response. Hmmm in this day and age that would be unacceptable for any piece of software in a business or home setting, to be on the market for 6 months and not be able to print. So the "real" reason is likely they do not have to provide receipts and thus are not bothering to. Maybe it is because of the new collector 'Abdul' who looks after my account, maybe he does not know how to get the computer to print.......... :lol:

Since my loan is with CIBC, but handled by those wonderful professionals at CBV Calgary,  do I have to fill out the financial questionarre? They send out this document, at least twice a year, very unprofessional looking, crooked on the sheet, not much space to enter information or to add any information. Also, the form is so poorly designed it looked like it was made on a typewriter and then scanned 15 years ago. Some places the information is for yearly amounts, other spots it is for monthly amounts. Hmm I just add it all together but do not hand in any paystubs. But I am wondering if this is an invasion of privacy under FOIP?

I do not enter any information in regards to my spouse, as this is FOIP. Is the entire form FOIP? I wonder is it actually being sent back to CIBC or does it just have their logo on it for CBV to collect more monies out of me.
The bank or national student center cannot help as the loan is in collections with CBV.
But if this was really for CIBC, would the form not look professional? Instead of this garbage form :?:
What happens if I do not submit the form, can they do anything to me?

Also, I looked at my credit bureau, they CBV are hitting my bureau twice a month some months????
Not sure of why, but it this counts as a hit on my credit bureau, no wonder my score does not really improve and getting credit is next to impossible.
The other thing, my student loan shows up twice on credit bureau, once for around 21000 which is the amount owing, and a second time for over 26000 which is the original amount.
Since that acccounts for almost 50000 of debt, imagine trying to obtain any credit, especially with both having R9 rating.
How can I get one of these off my credit bureau? Beg and plead with the bureaus?  Should they be listed twice? The lady at the loans at the bank says no, but.....

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07/March/2008 at 4:39am
It means anything you send to the collection agency, send also to CIBC showing that the agency has received it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cadillacjerk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06/March/2008 at 5:53pm
you wrote>The best thing to do inthis case would be to copy CIBC National student Center on the financial information.
 
Johnny: Forgive my ignorance we are not sure what this means. Please clarify..
 
To reiterate; my wife's loans are 10 years old. For various reasons we declared bankruptcy in 2003 and in 2004 we were discharged. Her student loan was listed in the bankruptcy along with the rest of debts at that time. We never heard anything about this loan until Feb of this year when CBV came along starting with the threats and harassing phone calls. She has never said she will not pay, as a matter of fact she has offered to make payments but this idiot has not told her who to make payments to or interest rate or any other pertinent info, other than her to wire a 1000 dollars  immediately to some address that she can't verify and then go get a loan for $25000 and send that too. (which is impossible to do with a bankruptcy and this student loan blotch on her credit report)
 
So it has gone like this... he phones the house at 7:45 in the morning or at 8 30 at night demanding she call him, he calls her work demanding the fax number or to be put through to the payroll dept. or speak to her manager (thankfully she is the office manager and does payroll) or his favourite thing is to call our (company) cell phone 3 or 4 times a day and berate her or leave cryptic messages. To be honest; its getting to the point where I want to get physical with this moron, but that creates a whole new set of issues. For now we can just let him rant, although we are screening all calls its hard to do with a business. She did send off the form (unsigned and no payroll stub) and we are waiting to see his heartfelt reaction to this. It seems to me these types of clowns never seem to drop dead from stress yet they are carriers....
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather restraints.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04/March/2008 at 7:30am
The best thing to do inthis case would be to copy CIBC National student Center on the financial information. Collectors try to manipulate borrowers based on the information they provided. For example, if you claim to pay 100 per month for emtertainment, and 100 for clothing, they will argue with you about that. People do have the right to live and enjoy some entertainment, such as a movie and a dinner out with a loved one. Or, take their child or children out to a movie, and a meal at Pizza Hut. The costs for entertainment are balanced, but collectors and governments try muscle people about these expenses.
 
If you need help, let me eknow.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cadillacjerk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04/March/2008 at 6:58am
if you are referring to my situation Johnny, her student loan was with CIBC. My friends problem was from a divorce scenario, his ex had run up a stack of bills.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04/March/2008 at 1:31am

Is it a Crown debt or an Ontario loan? Bank risk?

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Ok here goes, my wife is working for my little computer company, as explained before, in a previous post (somewhere on this site). She keeps getting ugly phone calls on our company cell phone from the warm hearted souls at CBV. They kind of gave up phoning her work (as often) once it was explained that she didn't work for them. However, they have now sent her this financial info form which asks her, among other things, what she spends on toiletries. (I guess they will want her to cut back on the jumbo pack of TP that we spoil ourselves with.) At any rate she filled it out honestly using her wages alone and with no extras she is already 150 amonth in the hole. This form makes no provisions for a spouse’s income (not that she would divulge that) and oddly enough does not ask for her SIN or any employment info.  So against our better judgement and against the esteemed Ottawa Girl’s advice, we are going to send it off. I will keep you posted. I fully expect them, in due course to figure who she does work for, and start turning the heat up on me.

 

A few years ago when a buddy of mine was being harrassed at his place of work  by a well known CA; soon after these collection clowns went ahead, got a court order to garnishee his wages. The company refused to act on it for the longest time until they too were sent a notice that they(the CA) would inturn sue the company for twice what he owed. Needless to say they folded and took the money off each pay cheque. I have often wondered the legalities of that.

 

Some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather restraints.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29/February/2008 at 12:15pm
You work for the government, OT? You are aware of the privacy laws. as far as the govenrment carrying out action against borrowers who refuse to provide full disclosure of total household finances, you can contact any number of the legal agents that represent the AG in this matter and ask them if such a thing occurs. If you are challenging that, go do your research. You have the facility. Go get er done.
 
The problem is that the government wants to collect money, and the more people become aware of their rights and certain freedoms that surface as a result of awareness, the more difficult it is for the collection groups to collect using the archaic methodology of their paradigm. I read you - and understand you. However, you cannot beat the system. Being able to live and be productive while the system is doing its deeds is what is important.
 
Do you want to see people go to court and fight for themselves? This is not a landlord/tenenacy issue. This is a government in the form of a 400 lb gorilla. Like I said - you go arm wrestle with one of those and see for yourself. If you beat Revenue Canada in a suit, demonstrate the case. Surely it is in public record.
 
 
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29/February/2008 at 12:04pm
So you hang up, and they call back, and you hang up and they call back, and then you dont answer the phone ...thats the exact story thats been posted here so many times.

I wish it were different. I had my own case with HRDC. They were obviously not following the law. In one case they were quoting a regulation that didnt exist. So after 6 months a reporter took up the story and they admitted there was no such regulation.... but it took reading 35 pages of legislation, getting a second opinion, trying to find a reporter....and after I won that point they countered with another point that didnt follow the regulations... In the end I would have had to sue them in the supreme court of canada to get them to follow their own regulations. I didnt have the time or the money to do so.

So particularly with student loans, just because there is a regulation, it does not mean that its followed. I mean, HRSDC's directives say that CA's are supposed to treat borrowers with respect and not be abusive. Is that being followed? Nope! I wish it were, and thats what this site is about.

I hope, Ottawa Gal, that you can take up the cause and fight for some of the members here on these issues! We need more people raising the issue in media and in legal circles.
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