Need help from the members and Johnny...
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Topic: Need help from the members and Johnny...
Posted By: Garwulf
Subject: Need help from the members and Johnny...
Date Posted: 08/August/2013 at 3:58am
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Hello all, Here's one I'll bet people haven't heard (or at least is a variation that people haven't heard). My story is basically this - back in 1995-1999 I attended university, and for three of those years (1995-1998) I took out a student loan with the RBC. Both portions of that loan were paid off by mid-2000. I returned to school for a second BA in 2004-2006, during which time I took out another loan. During this time, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, which flared in 2006 and drove me into bankruptcy in July 2006, before any consolidation agreement could be signed. I fought my way out of bankruptcy around 2010 or so, and during negotiations with my lawyer (I had returned for an MA, and we were trying to sort out whether a new grace and interest-free period had begun), the loan was tossed into collections. Tossed very BADLY into collections. On the Federal side, the wrong principle amount was sent into collections, so there's a $500+ discrepancy causing the entire interest calculation to be wrong. The provincial side, however, is what matters here - they threw the wrong loan into collections. Instead of throwing the 2004-2006 loan into collections, they sent the 1995-1998 loan. To cut a long story short, in 2012 Canada Revenue took around $500 out of my tax refund towards it. I first attempted to recover the money through a demand, and when that failed, I filed suit in small claims court. After the suit was filed, they took around another $500 (which has been added to the suit). So, yes - I am suing THEM. I am asking the judge for punitive damages, in the hopes of creating a deterrent and causing a ripple effect that will finally put the checks and balances into this system that it sorely needs. But, while I can prove that the wrong loan is being used by the Ontario government, as well as that the 1995-1998 loan is paid in full (thank you, RBC), and I can demonstrate that CRA is liable, in order to get the punitive damages, I need to be able to prove pattern of behaviour. Basically, I need to be able to prove that my case was not an isolated incident, and that this sort of thing happens often enough that a deterrent is necessary. So, I need affidavits. The settlement conference is Tuesday (hopefully they will settle and a deterrent will be established then without a trial, but you never know). If it fails, then this goes to trial, and forum posts will not be sufficient evidence to prove pattern of behaviour. So, if you have had a case where money was put towards a student loan that shouldn't have been, or a student loan was placed into collections that shouldn't have been, or the amount was increased (not by a collection agency) that shouldn't have been, please get in contact with me. And, Johnny, I've left a message for you on this, but if you could provide something stating your observations (without breaking client-lawyer confidentiality), such as how many cases you have seen, how many cases of this nature you get per year, etc. Best regards to all, Robert Marks |
Replies:
Posted By: SolveStudentDebt
Date Posted: 11/August/2013 at 3:13pm
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All I can tell you is that the system is severely broken and I have thousands of case incidents over the years that illustrate that. You are one of very many. Anyone who has been wrongfully defaulted suffers financially and you can read about a lot of those cases on this site, most certainly. Historically the default rate was abnormally high. Today the default rate is still high. Wrongful default is a common complaint and so is that of the system being broken. Well, it is broken for students and the system and it's private parts make a lot of money. ------------- Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting. http://www.solvestudentdebt.com" rel="nofollow - solvestudentdebt.com |
Posted By: Garwulf
Date Posted: 21/August/2013 at 9:24am
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Hi all! Sorry for the delay on an update - the settlement conference was immediately followed by a couple of very busy days, as well as a not small case of exhaustion (apparently, trying to do your first court appearance on two hours of sleep is a bit exhausting...). But, here's how things currently stand (or at least what I am allowed to tell everybody). The CRA did not settle during the conference. I still need affidavits, as there is a high likelihood that this will go to trial (there may, however, be another settlement conference first - I cannot say anything more than that). So, if you have had an experience similar to mine with the CRA, the student loan system, or the Ontario ministries (this is newly relevant), I need to know about it so that I can prove a pattern of behaviour. So, please get in touch with me - my email address is rmarks at istar dot ca (gotta watch out for the spam bots - that's my professional email addy). Best regards to all, Robert Marks PS: The reason I can't say more is that anything that occurred in the settlement conference is evidence, and it cannot be allowed to colour anything that appears in an affidavit later on. |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 21/August/2013 at 10:23am
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Have you purchase the book Debt Sentence? that might help document that the system is clearly broken... http://www.amazon.com/DEBT-SENTENCE-Canadas-Student-Failing/dp/1621417794/" rel="nofollow - http://www.amazon.com/DEBT-SENTENCE-Canadas-Student-Failing/dp/1621417794/ Also, you might read through The Need For Change http://www.canadastudentdebt.ca/Canada_Student_Loans_The_Need_For_Change_Nov_1_2007.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.canadastudentdebt.ca/Canada_Student_Loans_The_Need_For_Change_Nov_1_2007.pdf Another resource is (a summary of the link above) http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/november-2007-graduates-crushed-student-debt-loads" rel="nofollow - http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/november-2007-graduates-crushed-student-debt-loads ------------- Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024 |
Posted By: Garwulf
Date Posted: 22/August/2013 at 3:31am
Thank you for the link, Mark - the report should help (the book, I'm afraid, not so much - I need material that can be handed to the court and defence in a filing, and a book would be too long). I'm sending you a PM about it shortly, by the way. And for everybody else, I still need affidavits - so please, do contact me. Best regards to all, Robert Marks |
administrator wrote:Posted By: Garwulf
Date Posted: 22/August/2013 at 4:04am
Right...I don't seem to be able to send a private message on here... Mark, could you please contact me by email? My email address is rmarks at istar dot ca. Best regards, Robert Marks |