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ayb446
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Joined: 19/April/2016
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Topic: OSAP overpayment Posted: 19/April/2016 at 1:01pm |
Hi there, I received a letter today saying that I was overpaid OSAP in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016. I have been a post-secondary student for 11 years and am currently completing a PhD (one year left). I have been informed that I owe $8,400 and am completely floored that I was not contacted earlier (ex. 2010?!). This is the first correspondence I have ever received on this matter. Not paying back the amount would mean that I would be ineligible for funding in 2016-2017, and I believe that it would make me ineligible to win SSHRC or to continue receiving OGS. I really wasn't expecting this, and don't have the financial means to pay it. I don't have any family that could help pay either. I do have the option of using an existing line of credit to pay it off, but I'm not sure if there is a better option. I did contact the NSLC but they were completely clueless as to how to best proceed, or whether this would impact my current or future government scholarships. Any advice on how to move forward is appreciated.
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SolveStudentDebt
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Joined: 05/November/2003
Location: Canada
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 6:14am |
They are clueless about hot to proceed - and they just won the contract again for the Canada student loans program a week or so ago. It smelled funny for the last decade and a half, and it still smells funny today. Oh media, why art thou comatose?
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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting. solvestudentdebt.com
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 6:15am |
Contact the MTCU in Ontario and ask them. I doubt they will tell you anything other than to set up a payment plan and wait it out.
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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting. solvestudentdebt.com
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administrator
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Joined: 25/January/2003
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 6:58am |
I think the line of credit may be the option.... make sure it's a student low interest loc... the only way to look at it is that it's a cost of getting your degree. The cost of not paying it off and losing your funding is much higher.
Talk to the financial aid office at your school and see if there are any opportunities for grants based on your financial situation and research work.
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Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
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Royal-NCO
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 7:41am |
Recalling my experience with the Payday loans and the class action suit against Cash Store, it occurred to me: Has anybody every attempted a class action suit again the provincial/federal governments over the Student Loans? I know that there are some borrowers who have willfully screwed the system, but I am almost certain that a majority of the defaults are administrative errors, or an intentional act of profit seeking - an observation noted by this forum's administrator in 2006 in regards to CIBC - a reality that I am sure also applied to Royal Bank with the issues I had with them.
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 9:07am |
I presented the general situation to a couple of law firms but since our issues were not all the same it was going to be difficult under Canadian law to get a class action certified...
If anyone has a differing opinion and the time to work on this I'd welcome efforts and information...
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Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
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ayb446
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 12:27pm |
Thanks so much for all of the replies -- it is nice to feel some solidarity or empathy at the very least! I am not incredibly financially savvy, nor am I familiar with the legal boundaries of situations like these. I do gather that there is no statute of limitations on debts owed to the crown.
Luckily, my line of credit is a student line with an interest rate of prime+1. I can't imagine what I would do in a situation where I didn't already have this type of credit available.
My next steps will be to try to get evidence of exactly how and why I owe the money quoted, and seek answers as to why this is only being brought up now. I haven't had to deal with OSAP or NSLC directly in the past, so I'm not sure how fruitful these conversations will be.
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Posted: 20/April/2016 at 3:09pm |
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Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 21/April/2016 at 4:41am |
Evidence is what you need in order to hold them accountable. Filing a complaint without anything to prove it will go unanswered and unattended. It is the way the system works. What is most baffling is that complaints that have merit are continuously ignored by them in such an arrogant manner. They do this because they know poor people do not have the financial resources to afford an attorney. Attorneys charge BIG money, and a lot of the times that big money paid is not returned with any real value other than personal opinions that are told to be professional. It is quite common in the law profession unfortunately.
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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting. solvestudentdebt.com
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Royal-NCO
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Posted: 21/April/2016 at 7:29am |
Johnny wrote:
Evidence is what you need in order to hold them accountable. Filing a complaint without anything to prove it will go unanswered and unattended. It is the way the system works. What is most baffling is that complaints that have merit are continuously ignored by them in such an arrogant manner. They do this because they know poor people do not have the financial resources to afford an attorney. Attorneys charge BIG money, and a lot of the times that big money paid is not returned with any real value other than personal opinions that are told to be professional. It is quite common in the law profession unfortunately.
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You know Johnny, you've always said that you only support those students who have acted honourable in their handling of their loans. i.e. those who have not intentionally screwed the system.
The reality is that the system is setup up to screw and profit from every student. In some twisted way, those students who manage to screw the system, frankly deserve some applause.
... and don't even attempt to argue that the students who screw the system are the ones who make the system hard to crack. I don't believe this for a second. The system was very corrupt long before a few students managed to exploit it.
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Royal-NCO
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Posted: 21/April/2016 at 7:34am |
In other words, I feel somewhat vindicated knowing that someone managed to stick it to the institution who stuck it to me!
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Posted: 22/April/2016 at 2:06pm |
Johnny - I think you posted this under the wrong topic... this was about an osap overpayment. Regarding the issue of screwing the system... the bankruptcy laws needed to be changed because of number of people avoiding their loans... but a study showed it was mostly law students doing this... go figure... yes the system is corrupt. Money being made on the student loan system... read the book Debt Sentence by Tom Pawlick....
Now lets please return back to helping this person with their OSAP overpayment which is a common problem and needs to be fixed.
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Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 25/April/2016 at 9:26am |
Many people are screwed by the system. The system is built to drive in revenue, bonus incentives, and huge profits for the private business that dominates this sector (DH Ltd) - and to administer a government program.
I don't help people screw the system. People who intend on screwing the system that have benefited from their education socially, financially, and professionally, and have everything they need because of it, and refuse to pay it back, are the ones I do not help. I have been confronted by a number of people who came to me for help only to turn the tables and push me to help them screw the system. Those are the ones I refuse and walk away from. There is a blog out there consisting of most of those creepy people I have had the misfortune of having to deal with. There is a small portion of that population who is of this disposition, of course. Everyone in life learns from experiences. The argument that those who have been caught by the system screwing the system has made it difficult for others to do so is a valid one. Yes indeed. It is because of this that they are aware of where the many loopholes (and gopher holes) are.
There are a LOT of people who have been screwed by the system and are angry as hell, and want the system to be accountable. Unfortunately, some of them want revenge. The system has demonstrated itself as impervious to accountability, with impunity. So, what choices do people have? You can fight the system like Braveheart did Long Shanks only to be martyred in the end, you can throw your hands up in the air, do nothing, then dig a hole and live like a gopher until one day you can poke your head up to see if it's ok to live normally again, or you can confront the issue and deal with it strategically and responsibly despite what wrong the system may have done to you. The greater benefit goes to the one who does the right thing. But what is right? This is the conundrum for many because they cannot see through the thick fog emanating from the broken system. Is it broken though? Apparently not if you know how much money the private organization in charge is raking in. It is broken for you - but that is what makes them the money. Mark is correct in that composite.
everything we write and exchange here help people, Mark. It is not a "fight". It is awareness and the delivery of it that is my intention here.
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Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting. solvestudentdebt.com
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Royal-NCO
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Posted: 25/April/2016 at 7:32pm |
Sorry, for my angry suggestion of acting out against the system, but I had just read this:
http://canadastudentdebt.ca/forum_posts.asp?TID=3225
I am only now starting to really understand what happened to my loans over a decade ago.
You know you talk about doing the responsible thing and working with the system, and that is all fine and dandy. Unfortunately, when you're in the middle of it with the knowledge, or lack thereof, that I possessed at that time, you truly don't know how to work with the system. This was the second time that I had been through the process of having to pull my loans out of default due to their errors. The first time I was successful, returned to university, and received new loans - only to watch them screw it up and screw up my credit just as I was finishing my last year. At the time, I sure as hell did not know what to do when several people of the line refused to acknowledge their error. Little hard to pursue my intended career with a destroyed credit rating due to collections and bad trades.
Working with the system is a nice thing to say, but reality as a student in the middle of it is entirely different!
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sacha88
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Posted: 27/June/2016 at 2:52pm |
It is really not funny. I spoke to a co-worker of mine and he, too, was given a notice of overpayment. Something just doesn't seem right. As for myself, OSAP has gone back to 2014-15 year in addition to the extension of funds for that summer. I haven't received my form yet, but it looks to be around ~$8000. I graduated this year (THANK GOD!), but I was really hoping to take a post-grad certificate... and then... BOOM!! "PAAAYYY US-S-S-S..." Like zombies, they come out of nowhere and abolish all our hopes and dreams. Alas, it appears that I won't be able to pay it off in time and wonder whether I should just start looking for a full time job, rather than paying it off. Deeply appalled.
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