Notice Before Legal Action

Thanks Johnny.  I hope you are right about that i have a lot riding on it.  There was a reason I allowed my loans to go into default to begin with.  I qualified for interest relief in the first 2 years but things happened to me at school...I know this is a site dedicated to SL concerns but, I'd like to ask anyone out there if they have experienced the same problem as I have and if so, maybe we could take it offline.  The is what happened to me...the local college claimed I uttered a verbal threat to one of their employees.  They even had a notice delivered to my door to tell me to stay off campus or I would be arrested.  Without going into the details, I didn't but it served their purpose as I already had a lawyer filing suit against them for refusing a medical certificate.  The then Harris government was on a witchhunt for single female parents back then and didn't really give a damn--even when I was racking up SLs.  They did go so far as trying to contact the college by phone but the college refused to answer the phone call.  In fact,  the person in Queen's Park who you voice your concerns to told me that she gets at least 160 similar phone calls a year.  You have to keep in mind that the president of the educational institute has carte blanche--they can and do anything they want to.  I see it this way,  I was an outsider in the community, had "control" of the course, and this fuelled resentment from the community on which they decided to act.  But what did i Get out of this?  I lost time, money and now I have ulcerative colitis.  It doesn't stop there however.  Determined to finish something, I enrolled in the distance education program at Waterloo....e-mail me it you are interested in knowing more or are one of those 160 that get screwed every year. Thanks for listening.

That's awful.  They robbed you of your dream.  It's a dirty world we live in.  Yesterday when I received the notice, i flipped (no one is more worried than I about my financial future).  I sat at the computer and composed an e-mail to McGuinty.  But I didn't just stop at the student loans, I was ready to tear-down the company that last employed me--a company that controls the commercial/industrial/shopping centre database for all of Ontario.  I figured I had leverage and I was going to use it.  After I finished that e-mail, I wrote one to the Dean of Science at UW.  You see, it sure would be nice to be part of the group, but if I can't, then I don't plan on them sucking-up my life either.  Especially when they did it on such illegal grounds! They ARE Cowards.  You have to keep them out of your feelings of self-worth or you will be in BIG trouble.  However you handle it, this is your community too, and YOU ARE entitled to all of the rights and obligations that everyone else has.  When I hear people putting off having families and giving up on their life I go nuts!  Tearing down those barriers is the only way to go.   

Current events are useful yes.  Marc Lepine's attack on the McGill engineering women..and the then president of McGill at the time is who now at Waterloo..   The knife cuts both ways.

When in conflict with the Universty of Waterloo, I made direct contact with the RCMP prior to my discussions, drawing them into being the eye-witness lest anyone made it look like I was out-of-control. 

Anyone can minimalize my situation all they want, but I remember day-in and day-out the consequences of that lawyer not following through...

You have to remember that there was not utterance of a threat, but there was a conversation in which I was distressed (1995) and rightly so.  The Fabrikant incident made people paranoid about hostile feelings in academia as you say and consequently rules are enforced.  But realize that in my case, by casting dispersion on my character, they didn't have to deal with what preceded it. 

But take a look at what Lepine thought about women: http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/spree-killers/marc-l epine/

My experience in life suggests to me that men seem to think that there are two kinds of women--the ones that live under their roofs and the ones that they use as scapegoats.  I was pretty much alone in the city of Sarnia, had every cent invested in the house and had no job prospects in TO.  That made me somewhat vulnerable, a good scapegoat don't you think?  Also you should remember the Harris takeover was in full swing (1995/6)--there was quite the frenzy to set things straight with his followers getting the spoils. 

My point regarding the Lepine incident being, that they (the men responsible for my demise), must share the same despise for women as Marc Lepine.  But, men in high positions don't go around shooting women.  They have other ways.  Lepine's case is as convenient for my case as the Fabrikant case is for them hence the knife (hysteria) cuts both ways.  There are similiar elements--it was in academia, it was an engineering course that I was in and I was proficient and they weren't. 

Why wait so long you might ask?  As I said previously, I have colitis, something I was diagnosed with following the months after this happened.  Every time I would confront the situation I would find myself out of remission and hemorrhaging.  It was a pretty good deterrant.  So I let it lie.  But now, since the collections person sent me the notice and I have been on this forum, I have returned to a distressed state and I am once again medicating.

If we were to know all that is involved when borrowing vast sums of money (SLs) would we do so?  If I weren't allowed to do well and complete my studies would I do so?  No.  Whoever has the knowledge  has the power and this is the game.  But I was just trying to get gainfully employed.  And in my mind, I was an innocent bystander.

Sorry if I seem emotional, my mind gets a little clouded during these times.

Yes that is the way it works in business--you agree to work together to attain your life objectives.  But then there are some who think that government money can be used for their own personal objective.  And therein lies THE BIG DIFFERENCE.  Most recently HRDC in Peel.  They were all working towards their personal objective but OOPS--they got caught. HMnnnn.

Well that's depressing kevmetric.  But maybe you can answer this.  My degree is a 3-year general science degree, pretty useless if you want to be practicing science right?  But I did have a past career developing software--even worked on contract with Northern Telecom.  So when I got laid-off I went to the EI office and asked if I could get training.  EI sent me on a YMCA REACH program to "discover" want I wanted.  I finished the 1-month workshop and came up with a need/want for lab skills.  EI said no--unrelated to what I was doing (property tax assessment clerk). I said that I invested $40,000+interest in student loans in science, the field that I was in was suppose to be temporary (a phase-in tax scheme with the Harris government) and it did not even provideme with any new skills.  They said tough.  They told me to find five job ads each having the same title, each placed in Toronto and each missing the exact same skill.  This seemed like a kindergarten exercise at the time but you would be amazed at the difference in ads for more-or-less the same thing.  I can't help but think now that it was no wonder they have a glut of money to funnel back into their own pockets.  Anyway, the question:  having student loans in collection, does it affect you in these situations where you are looking for FREE edumacation from HRDC? Thanks loads, Kim

 The letter is a standard tool that they use to "motivate" you to respond - and act.

 The business psychology:

 1) Collection agencies know that people fear having their credit reports tarnished as a result of collection activity. In many cases, the damage to a credit report is already done when an agency is involved. When the letter states "your name may be registered with various credit bureaus ..." is a method of instilling fear and urgency that will prompt you to act immediately. It basically serves as a reminder to the fact so they can get you to respond.

 2) The statement in the letter that reflects "Failure to answer our last communication indicates no intention of settling the amount indicated" is used to create the same level of fear and urgency as described in item 1. This particular line is one that tends to attack the integrity of the debtor by suggesting that the debtor has no intent to pay.  

 So, this letter that you have received is one that is meant to motivate you to respond. It is a standard letter that is used by every agency but not in the same wording.

 Johnny

Here is an update on the EI training request.  Apparently Ray Cullen's office had repeatedly contacted someone in HRDC by the name of Teresa Demaso (sp?).  My last phone call to his office did get a response from her.  That was two weekes ago.  The conversation ended with, yes, you were "treated" incorrectly and I will return with an answer, promise, in 48 hours.  Again, two weeks later and no answer.  Now, I am not sure if this is another "tactic" to make you blow your cool and go away or the HRDC contact is swamped with complaints.  From my experience I expect it to be the former.  This whole thing, from school to work to student loans all schmacks of conspiracy.  I have to admit, I have becoming quite the pessimist.