Claim Issued Against Me

I just received today a legal claim from the Newfoundland Student Loan Corporation against me to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, saying I have ten days to respond.

I have no ability to make payments on this, and no clue how to respond.  I am unemployed, with many other debts to creditors and family.

The amount I'm told I am owed is in excess of $10,000, and might as well be for a million, as I have no stream of income, or even much in the way of belongings or a permanent residence.

I have no clue how to respond or deal with this, nor any idea what could be hoped to be gained from this action by them, as I have nothing that could be taken as repayment.

I've been looking into this as best I can, though the prospect of all this has me rather frazzled--to put it lightly--and I am doubtlessly missing a lot, so any help or advice would be appreciated.

There are some things to consider.... has it been 6 years since you acknolwedged the debt?  The loans might be stats barred at this time, or approaching that time limit.... hence the notice... 

You may want to read up on the 'stats barred' forum.... if the loan is not stats barred, bankruptcy might be a way to deal with it, but there are consequences.  John and I disagree abit on that option, but we do agree it should only be a last resort.  I suggest you talk to Johnny about whether the loans are stats barred.

BTW, some of the case law has ruled that it would be from when you last attended school from education funded by Canada Student Loans....    Other cases were that people stopped going to school/graduated... then started a new program with their own funding.... so more research into the actual cases might be needed to compare your case.

To add:

Just to evaluate my options, I spoke to a Bankruptcy trustee group here, Janes and Noseworthy, and the gentleman I spoke with was pleasant and informative.  He told me of the $1500 cost, then warned me that though the wait period of seven years might be from when I last received a loan, I should wait until it was seven years until I was last in school.  He also told me that since I had no income for them to claim, I had no reason to rush into it or worry.

He gave me a number to call about checking for the activity on my loan, but warned me that doing so would alert my creditors and prompt them to start harassing me further.  He told me to check into things, and then once I was sure of the time since I was last in class and I had decided I wanted to continue, I could make an appointment to speak with them further.

After seeing the warnings about many such people who try to exploit peoples fears and rush them into declaring bankruptcy, this seemed a positive experience.  I'm not in a rush to make any decisions, and though the legal papers were frightening at first, I'm trying my best to piece together what should be my best move before responding--or if I should respond.

Since my provincial loan is still in the hands of the Newfoundland Department of Advanced Education and Skills: Student Loan Corporation, this legal work was intended to prod me into acknowledging the debt before the 6 year period was completely up (if indeed it isn't already).

Thanks again, I'm very glad to see a place like this exists to help those lost in this confusing mess of student loan troubles.

I'll do just that, thank you.

And I apologize for posting this threat to the wrong forums.  In my hurry to try and seek help I didn't realize I had moved from the "I'm being sued!" forum.

Good point. I don't administer bankruptcy.   I just help people clean up the huge mess it leaves behind in cases where these assignments were not the right choice.

That is a very valid concern for a lot of people who are in debt to the system. This broken system does feel that if one person owes a student loan then anyone that marries or resides with the borrower in a common law manner is equally responsible. That, people, is a VERY broken system.