has it been 6 years since you made any payments ?  because your loan may be stats barred.  johnny would be my recommendation to get to the bottom of it all for you.

good luck

i know that when you default on your osap lonas they are supposed to notify you registered mail that your account is going to collections, which agency and how much you owe...

I never received official notification that any of my loans were going into collection...just the threat, then the phone calls at work. Luckily I did my homework and told them that they weren't allow to call me until I received something in writing. Then I'd hang up.

Our receptionist started screening those calls and told another collection yahoo the same thing; he whinged, "But then it will be to late!!" What, past his payday cutoff?

Poly

The banks turn over the outstanding debts to the CA's when all efforts to elicit a payment have failed. That is, if the debtor does not respond to the three form letters sent by the bank, it is then turned over to the third party collectors.

I assume this is what happens. I guess it cuts too deeply into the bank proifit to use their resources for the purpose of collecting overdue student loans. THey would cerytainly save alot of frustration and stress if they would try to work with student debtors instead of outsourcing this duty to the CA's. Despite all the glossy adverts put out by the banks (portraying well scrubbed sucessful suburban couples and accompanied by a soothing voice-over) the bank is not our friends, nay our worst enemy. To quote Hamlet, "One may smile and smile and still be a villain."

I blame the banks (and the federal government whose responsibility it is to regulate them) for the fact that my loan is in collection. When I graduated in 1999, my non-negotiable repayment of the studen loan ammoritized over 10 years was about $400.00 per month. I told them that I wanted to re-pay, but at that point in time, not on those terms. As I said, I offered almost 60% of that payment per month to no avail. Soon after the loans went to collections and that is where I am at today. I got a consolidation loan to pay off the non-guaranteed portion of the CSL and my provincial loan, but I am still in it with HRDC to the tune of $8000. 

That's my rant for the day.

Hope everyone else is well!

I guess it would cut into the banks profits too much if they were to actually send any written letters at all (Edulinx take note).  How can I respond to a letter that was never sent in the first place?

I hate those damned tv ads featuring CIBC and Scotiabank.  Awful.  Totally caters to those Upper-Middle-Class-SUV-Suburban-Utopia-Sleepy-TV-Watching-Dw ellers [TM].  If their neighbour's lawn is not mowed correctly, its the worst crime in the world because they have nothing better to do with their time than to save on taxes and cut on social services. 

My rant for the day.

Form letters? What Form letters?

I laugh at those commercials too.  They should have a guy sitting in a big green leather armchair in excruciating pain from hemorrhoids and the caption read "student loans can be this comfortable." 

or someone in an operating room because they have to sell a kidney to pay their csl payment - that would be funny.

but then the colleges and univerities would be up in arms because everyone would be afraid to pursue  the overpriced eduacation that they brainwash us into thinking will provide us all wonderful high-paying jobs at the end.

and have you seen the size of these houses on the scotia mortgage commercials ??  my god, what do you need 3000 sq ft for ?  but in the banking world i guess you can afford a maid to clean it for you.

i wonder if paying my plumber 2500 bucks because some drunk did the plumbing 50 years ago and there were NO vents for gases in the bathroom would constitute one of those special circumstances on debt reduction - wait, i cant reapply because im in default.  screwed again !!  and i still dont have a working bathtub !!  my rant for the day...

The Biggest Lie of All that banks perpetuate: That they are a benevolent institution there to improve society.

Their entire reason for being: To make a profit. Period.

But to answer your question momof2, you would need a 3,000 sq ft house from Scotiabank because you would go mad in a smaller abode that was entirely decorated in that loud, obnoxious fire-engine red colour...

(tee hee hee)

Poly (former CIBC employee, 1981 to 1992, btw)

Maybe someone can jam a bank advert?

I like Dazed and Confused proposal.

Remember the old This Hour Has 22 minutes mock ad for the Bank of Montreal from 1997? They tried to evoke Bob Dylan through the music for Times They are A-changin' and the video for Subterranean Homesick Blues to imply they were a "cool" and "hip" bank that was there for the people, man...

22 Minutes mock ad was one of their best moments...Rick Mercer for prime minister!!

 Ha ha ha ... That was a hilarious episode.

 Paul,

 To answer your questions ...

 1) It depends. That is just it. If they feel that you will not be able to repay your student loans in the future, then the liklihood of a discharge would be in your favor. There are other factors that they take into consideration such as: 1) the reason for you filing bankruptcy, 2) your level of education to determine your level of employability, 3) your past work history and income level, 4) your family situation, if applicable ... plus so many others.

 At the end of the day, they will hold you to the debt if they feel that you can (or should) repay.

 2) Yes, you can try to makea deal w2ith the collection agency regarding a settlement. The amount accepted depends on the type of client, the account's age, and the balance. Usually, agencies will accept settlemments of 80-85% on bank risk loans that are over $5000.00, and 65-75% on these accounts that are less than $5000.00. The CSLP doesn't compromise easily at all so try not to waste your time in this field. The Provincial Guaranteed loans usually settle for 90% (Ie OSAP, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec). Other provinces do not compromise at all, such as Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan.

 Remember, the collector will accept whatever they feel will give them the most return.

 Johnny