Like everyone else here on this website, I too have a hugeeeeee student loan that is ruining my life!!!!!  As it stands right now i am frusterated, annoyed and stressed out! All i can think about is this stupid loan that is affecting every aspect of my life.

I have been on IR for the past 2yrs since i finished school. Now i hear there is a thing called loan forgiveness.   When i call regarding my loan and ask about loan forgiveness i am  told there is no such thing , despite articles i have read on the interent and in the toronto star. I have been told that i no longer qualify for IR due to the fact i am now working  a sh*tty 8.50/hr job in a field i never even went to school for. My total income for a month is roughly 1000. From that i have rent, food, car insurance, gas, phone, and if im lucky i have enough to buy a 5 cent gumball. Basically i cant imagine how im going to pay an additional 200/month (basic payments) on top of that.

I need some info on this so called loan forgiveness or debt reduction. Anything .... like how to get the application, how to qualify, where to call etc. They are wanting payments made the end of NOV/04 which only a week away before my loan will go into default. So anyone out there there has the "inside scoop" or can help, i would LOVE to hear from you.
Thanks so much. This website has made me feel alot better knowing that im not the only one out here in this situation.

~JULIE

julie, what province are you in ?  each province has different programs for debt reduction.

if you are only making a grand a month you should definately qualify for IR.  dont' know why they are telling you otherwise.

check http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studentservices/student/finish/debt_red/fed_debt.htm - www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studentservices/student/finish/debt_red/f ed_debt.htm for info on bc AND canada student loan forgiveness programs.  also check the OSAP website at http://osap.gov.on.ca/eng/not_secure/repay.htm - http://osap.gov.on.ca/eng/not_secure/repay.htm for info if you are in ontario for debt reduction.  OSAP also has a table for gross income levels for debr reduction showing what they think youshould be able to pay back depending what you make. 

http://osap/gov.on.ca/eng/PDF/0405?Gross%20Income%20Table.pdf - http://osap/gov.on.ca/eng/PDF/0405?Gross%20Income%20Table.pd f

if you need more info post your questions and someone will try and help you out.

good luck 

Update:

Well, i contacted student loans again today. This time i was told that i do still qualify for IR. I was told that i have currently used up 24 months worth of IR. I am curious to know how many more months of IR i can claim before i can apply for debt reduction?? They told me i can take another 6 months and that's it.  Is this correct?? 

Im thinking ahead to the future and how i should play my cards right now so i dont' screw myself up for DR down the road. Basically i need some advice on if i should be making small payments while on IR or should i be making absolutely NO payments. Whats in my best interest to ensure that i will qualify down the road for IR?

Any info would definately help me out. Oh yeah....i live in Ontario.

thanks.

little,

For Ontario, interest relief is available for 30 months, then you apply to have extended interest relief which is available for another 24 months.  Therefore, 54 months of interest relief is available in total. 

Extended interest relief is the same as interest relief.  The form is the same and the information is the same. 

Yes, you have to exhaust 30 months of interest relief available in order to apply for debt reduction.  Another part of the program is you have to be out of school for at least 5 years before you can apply for debt reduction in repayment. 

Regarding payments while on interest relief.  I was once told by a CSR when I was pre-screened for an interest relief application to not make any payments while on interest relief.  If I do make payments while on interest relief I would be disqualified.  I don't know if this is true since only once was I told this through all the times I've applied.  The CSR said to save the money I have and make payments when I'm off interest relief.

Mine is with CIBC National Student Centre so when I was pre-screened for interest relief they automatically suspend my payments. 

Best thing is to keep in touch with the institution holding your loans and know what the procedures are. 

celyn

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me out. I'm not overly familiar with the procedures on interest releif since the people who work for student loans tend me give me the run around. You guys have helped me out alot. This site is sooooooo informative I will definately be back to post other questions i may have in the future.

Thanks again ;)

I am from Manitoba, went to University there, and am currently living and working in southern Ontario.  I have repeatedly tried desperately to find alternatives to the $700 a month I am expected to pay on my student loans.  I have been told several times that Manitoba has no debt relief program, and I don't currently qualify for IR.  I am a single parent with one child, and have been repeatedly harrassed by collection agencies in the past, even when my IR was approved for a time.  (evidently they are reluctant to call back loans that have gone to collection agencies even when the IR is approved SIX MONTHS after it's applied for .....).

Anyway, my student loans are with Royal Bank (and some with the feds), as the rules changed midway through my education.

The really ironic thing here is that I went back to school as a mature student believing that it would mean a better life for my son and I.  Wow, was I ever WRONG!!!  While I do appreciate my degrees, and they do mean I can apply for jobs I couldn't apply for before, I feel it was a tremendous MISTAKE to put myself and my son in this financial position.

I simply can't pay $700 per month (and that's after having the payments drawn over 15 years).  It's getting to the point where working is pointless, and I might as well be on social assistance as then I would at least qualify for IR.  I am only three years out of school, so bankruptcy is a LONG way off.

Does anyone know anything about a debt relief program for Manitoba?  I just keep running into brick walls.

thanks for any help anybody can suggest ....

wantout...check

http://www.gov.mb.ca/educate/sfa/pages/repaying_en.html - www.gov.mb.ca/educate/sfa/pages/repaying_en.html

unfortuantely it sounds like the govt has put the boots to you if you are no longer a manitoba resident.  johnny, can you offer any insight to this ??

Want Out...I have no answers...Just want you to know that you are not alone...SO many of us are single moms who went back to school for the exact same reason as you. With the same freaking results...

But you know what? You STILL did the right thing. And your kids will respect you and education (if not the system) because what you learned is still more important than what you owe...if not to an employer, then to yourself as a person.

It will get better...we can help...just hang in there, k?

Poly

Thanks Momof2, I've checked that page before.  (sorry it took so long to reply!  I'm all over these forums, and forget where I've posted .... )  Evidently the rules apply to student loans in the province in which they were taken out --- in other words, I'm no longer a resident of Manitoba, but because I was when I took out the student loans then the rules (& lack of alternatives) in Manitoba apply to my loans.

Thanks also for the sympathy, polyhymnia ..... I've found I feel SO much better about my situation now that I know other people have had these experiences as well ....

Yeah, you probably have to be the proactive one...I'd advice you to call for the forms (make sure you get the name of the person you talk to), then follow-up with a letter sent registered mail.

Just cover your butt, no matter what. And make sure they have everything they need well before three months after the consolidation date...send that to them registered mail too.

Anyone have anything to add?

Good luck...

Poly

send for your forms in advance most definately - it can take up to three weeks for them to reach your mailbox.  when you get them, make blank copies for the next IR period incase the forms get lost etc and make a copy for your records once you fill it all out.  they also suggest when you file that it will take them up to four weeks to receive and process your IR application.  in my case, i would call five weeks before my IR period ended, they would mail the forms etc and they were usually still a few days late on the receiving end.  but the bank always backdated the app so i was usually ok.

wouldnt it be so much easier to apply for IR etc online ?  think of the money the banks would save.  oh yeah and something that always burned me was i was told i couldn't fax my app back to them.  it would have knocked 2 weeks off the wait time, i would have had confirmation of receipt and instantly been able to speak with the girl i was dealing with if htere had been a problem or if i had forgotten something.  my rant for the day, mostly because as i am appealing my DRR being declined the nice lady at CSLP told me to go ahead and fax her the stack of paperwork once i had everything together, just call her first so she can go babysit the fax machine.  after being told by someone else that i couldnt appeal the decision at all, it has taken me months to get to this point. 

Fuchsia-that's great...anything to not have to deal with the CAs.  You got it!! 

Good luck with RMT--anyway you could virtually send that effect to us all .

I'm glad things are going to work out for you .

Oh how I wish that was an option for me.. to have a wealthy relative who could help out..sigh.

You're very lucky. My relatives told me to write to my MP and good luck.

Sorry, just wanted to whine for a moment.