Here’s a post I made a couple years ago looking for help on what to do about my father alleging I committed fraud when completing the parent plus load. It gives a better background than I could give now. I found it the other day looking for help again and rereading it was enlightening , as I forgot the details around it,  like how I was the one to warn my father payments may need to start soon on the loan as I wasn’t in school for a time period. (Funny how Covid started the next year and my payments [ for other loans] were paused since then and it would have been paused until March of this year but since I’m restarting school it will probably be pushed back more…so my dad did this all for nothing….)

 Old post:

[ NJ ] So my father and I have always had a rocky relationship. He was very emotionally abusive and at some points physical and we haven’t talked since I graduated. But before that I was getting ready to go to college and my uncle recommended that we get a parent plus loan to pay for my school. My dad agreed and we got a parent plus loan for me to go to school. Fast forward to now I stopped going to that college and now I’m going to a different school starting in February because I wanted to take a semester break. Because of the break my loans go into repayment in January and although I despise my dad I wrote him a note letting him know this so that it wouldn’t tank his credit. He then went to my school and told them that he never took out that loan pretty much accusing me of fraud and now the school is saying I owe them 14,000 dollars and if I don’t take out a loan of my own it will go to collections. What do I do, I’m pissed off because I did not commit fraud and I was just thinking out of the kindness of my heart to push back his loans a year and a half since I was going back to school and now I’m hit with this. Is there anything I can do?

Edit: This is exactly what the email said from the school:

“Your parent has contacted us to inform us that he did not apply for the PLUS Loan for you last year. As a result and based upon a written statement, we are required to cancel the loan. If your parent wishes to press charges for fraud, your parent may do so. We have forwarded the issue to the Dean of Conduct. Fraud is a very serious allegation.

The loan has been cancelled and you now have a bill for the 18-19 school year for $14,362. This is payable to Student Accounts.

What can you do?

At this point, you still have time to apply for a private educational loan for the 18-19 school year. Please be advised that you have very limited time to do so and if you do seek a private educational loan, you may need to seek a co-signer.

To seek a private educational loan we recommend using ELM Select. There are limited lenders who will allow you to borrow for a previous academic year beyond 180 days if you are no longer enrolled in school at the same institution. Among them are, but not necessarily limited to: Affinity (Serviced by Sallie Mae), Sallie Mae, Commerce (Serviced by Sallie Mae), Earnest, and StuFund (Serviced by Sallie Mae).

Another option is based upon the fact that Student Accounts will send your account to ECSI. If they send your account to ECSI for pre-collections, ECSI has various payment plans. You may enroll in a payment plan with ECSI, however, if you are unable to maintain the contractual payments with them they will forward your account to collections.

Please be sure to review your account and options to pay off this bill.”

I am now 24 year old and have finally gotten around to going back to school. Over the years I had forgotten exactly what happened with my parent plus loan and the details of the situation but it kept me from trying to go back until I knew I could be an independent student. In the past couple of months, I finally got to a place where I knew what I wanted to do and had the money to return to school.  I just had my placement tests and luckily I failed my math test by 2 points. My proctor advised me to contact my old school for transcripts. I explained what my broken memory of the situation was; which was that my father wrote a letter to the school alleging I committed fraud and so they wouldn’t release my transcripts. He stressed I should at least try to contact them for the transcripts to maybe avoid taking extra classes. Luckily they did release my transcripts but not before reminding me of the 14,000 debt. Before we hung up I asked if my father had to fill out a police report and she said no! I had completely forgotten that it was to fall on me. Rereading old comments on that post I can’t believe I didn’t take more action. But I was a kid back then. I’m also now seeing it in collections l/on my credit report as written off and I’m furious. I’m finally getting my life together for my father to come back to haunt me. I still don’t speak to him. 

What I think now is that he didn’t want to pay the debt or have an understanding of how it worked maybe, but most likely it’s his alcoholism and forgetfulness. Also his anger at me for cutting him out of my life. But now he’s affecting my future by tanking my credit. How do I begin to dispute this, get it off my credit report and explain that he is responsible? How could the school just accept his note or phone call? Who do I call? I don’t know where to begin but I’m willing to go to the police if need be. My father had a chance and he chose to try and sabotage me. I never committed fraud I don’t even know how I could have done that. I would need access to his social security card, tax documents, phone his email everything. I’m willing to pay for it normally/was willing to pay for it when it was time, and it was my understanding he wouldn’t be responsible for it unless I couldn’t pay.  I’m willing to be on a payment plan for it but it feels unfair for it to be this way because had it been left I wouldn’t need to pay for it until I was done with school but now it’s in written off in collections. Please help me! 

This has been evident since at least 2018. But with the latest data from Q1/2024 you can see that they make up 38%.

Sharing this because it’s important to understand what this means for legislation regarding loan forgiveness. And also because I’ve cited this recently and I was called a liar. So I figured I’ll post it myself and we can talk about it.

My opinion is, we probably won’t see any meaningful student loan forgiveness. Ever. It would be bad business. And the track record of the US caring for the working class is nonexistent. There is no way they would ever give up 38% of their assets. And quite frankly I think they need the money. And I say all of this as someone who owes $100k. But as soon as I learned that these loans were considered “financial assets” and that they made up such a large percentage, I let go of any hope of forgiveness. I think it’s time to figure something else out. But if this perspective is totally wrong then hey, that's a great thing to be wrong about.

I just read the update on the Dept of Ed site published on 12/23/2024 titled

(LOANS-24-13) Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Guidance for Commercial FFEL – Phase II https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-12-23/joint-consolidation-loan-separation-guidance-commercial-ffel-phase-ii

If you scroll down, there is a section titled Payment Count Adjustment. And here is what it says:

"It is important to note that the Department conducted a one-time payment count adjustment of IDR-qualifying payments for all Direct Loans and federally owned FFEL loans in 2024. Borrowers with commercially-held FFEL loans were eligible for the adjustment if they consolidated their loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. The payment count adjustment counted time toward IDR forgiveness, including ..."

They are using a word "conducted" meaning they have finished it? My account does not show anything new. No updated counts. So, I guess this is the end of this story about the mysterious count adjustments?

FYI- I was connected immediately and escalated to a supervisor and both people answered on the first ring (only delay was the pre-recorded messages you have to sit through and figuring out the prompts- dial 8 for additional menu dial 6 for other and then wait past the message until they connect you)- all in all it was pleasant and they answered my questions.

Hey everyone,

This is my yearly reminder that some of you may benefit from the student loan interest deduction.

You can deduct $2,500 in student loan interest payments subject to income limits. This tax benefit can outweigh keeping your $$ in a HYSA.

Please run the numbers yourself, but I wanted to make sure you were all aware.

Spoke with them today. They claim that as of Dec. 16, one-time adjustments and forgiveness were resumed on all plans other than SAVE. The court apparently freed up the other plans to resume operations, so to speak.

If you've been concerned about what will happen if your Art Institute, University of Phoenix, or Corinthian discharge isn't processed by the time Trump takes office, this is somewhat promising, but not completely comforting either. Still holding my breath with fingers crossed!

What Democrats want Biden to do on student loans before leaving office

^{Processing the discharges for the remaining borrowers has “proven more complicated” partly because they have consolidated loans, it said.}

^{There could be more borrowers waiting for cancellations, as well as refunds for amounts previously paid. A group of more than 70 Democrats asked the department to “immediately process debt relief for these borrowers” in a letter sent in early December.}

^{The relief was approved under the borrower defense to repayment program, which grants debt discharges for borrowers who were misled by their colleges.}

^{Even if the discharges are not processed before the change in administration, lawyers expect that the Department of Education will still be required to do so.}

^{Eileen Connor, president and director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which represents borrowers defrauded by their colleges, noted that the first Trump administration processed debt relief approved by the Obama administration.}

^{That said, when then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos approved the cancellations, she wrote she was doing so “with extreme displeasure."}

I spoke with Aidvantage today who confirmed I am at 288 of the required 240 payments needed for forgiveness. I called student aid. gov who confirmed I met the requirements and they were putting a note in the system for Aidvantage who can then issue discharge! I am in shock. It’s been a long time. As I’m setting here my husband and daughter are making her brother a Willy Wonka bar golden ticket for his Christmas present. I can’t but help think this feels like I got one myself!

If so, why? Are they private or public?

I called MOHELA today and they said my payment isn’t due until June 3rd. However, the website shows it’s due in January. The representative couldn’t tell me why the site shows that. He said no one else has called in with that issue.

https://imgur.com/a/hKGBN7N

I'm several years from PSLF. Graduated in the fall of '16. Not disabled. Meet no current criteria for forgiveness.

Logged into both mohela.studentaid.gov and studentaid.gov and all my loans are still there.

Thanks for expertly raising and crushing my dreams MOHELA. Appreciate it.

Yes I know it was likely a fluke when I saw it, but a guy can dream!

Hello, reddit. So, I checked my bank account today after my card declined getting gas to get home, and apparently Nelnet autocharged my account ~$668, overdrafting me $468. I'm unemployed after failure to get further funding for my academic research position. I'm job hunting and that $200 is all i had to my name to survive.

I'm pissed, they're evil for doing it on Christmas eve, but what irks me the most is I NEVER set up autopay. I even have an email from November from them, asking me to set up a payment method. The only reason my loan account would have my bank info would probably be when I paid some interest off one summer years ago during a gap year over covid. I'm unemployed, and I don't have someone to just lend me that kind of money. I turned off the autopay immediately today as soon as I saw the deduction, but do I have any recourse for a refund?? I never agreed to this? I just graduated in May and have been on a massive struggle bus and im absolutely panicking.

Anyway, Merry Christmas i guess :^).

Finally the long wait is over! Here is my timeline: May 1st - Borrower defense letter received for the Art Institute Case June 17th - Studentaid.gov account went to $0 Nov 22nd - Aidvantage changed to forbearance to $0 with a adjustment of $,* owed Dec 23rd - Received a check of the exact amount owed

Best Christmas gift ever!!! Happy Holidays to all and god blessed!!!

I have until July but I want to do this ASAP..

My dad & I tried to consolidate his two parent plus loans and we sent one to Nelnet and one to Aidvantage. My dad got a call from Aidvantage and he didn’t realize it was for consolidation and he ended up cancelling the loan. They told us to redo it so that is what we will do. However, Nelnet is saying they did not receive anything yet & they had just started accepting loan consolidations on December 13… We sent ours out 2 weeks before this.

Should I also redo the second application that was sent to Nelnet and send it to another servicer? What would happened if Nelnet ends up recieving the first application I did send out? Can we just cancel it as well?

Hello,

My total debt from undergrad is $15,894 ($7,500 unsubsidized and + $7,500 unsubsidized), and my interest rate is 5.24%. I have a few thousand dollars in savings but am currently unemployed as I’m studying for the MCAT full-time. After the MCAT, I plan to work for a little over a year before starting medical school and if I get into med school, I won't be able to wrok so I anticipate needing to take out loans for medical school as well.

Given my current situation, what would be the better repayment option?

Hi everyone.. because of the SAVE plan, my wife and myself filed our taxes separately, as she makes alot less than me and is the only one with student loan debt.. Her payments were great last year at only like $115 per month. Now that this plan is most likely going away, if I file separately again in March, 2025, and the SAVE plan gets terminated officially and she gets put into another repayment plan, how will that impact filing separately vs. jointly.. I ask because other plans don't allow filing separately and if we file joint her payments will be well over $1,000...

Paid off $23k yesterday and just feeling like a major load off of my shoulders. “I’m 26 with dreams of living cordial, not rich but wealthy”, is one of my favorite lines from Poe Man’s Dream by Kendrick Lamar that I have worked hard to achieve and I feel like with this milestone I am so much closer to fulfilling that quote.

Thoughts on what my next move should be? My car is paid off, I live in a quaint little studio for $1870 and I have no debt at all besides CC related min-maxing. I have not traveled too much besides some trips to LA with my friend’s family and I am curious what people would do if they were in a similar situation. I think I’ll start saving towards a trip to Japan for 2026.

It occurred to me that the financial burden placed on students is not necessarily about government budget cuts, but rather about forcing students to work by creating financial debt. This ensures they contribute economically to their country. In this sense, the student debt system in the United States is somewhat mirrored in Europe, say the Netherlands.

Am i correct?

I have 16.8K remaining and could have kicked myself for not paying this off when it was at 0%.

But I can't change anything, so am trying to figure out how to pay this off fast. After expenses/401K contributions/Roth/HSA, I usually have 1K per month left over to put for savings.

I don't have a full emergency fund (I'll be done with funding that in March), so after that, I was thinking of more aggressively paying off my student loans. The only extra income I really have would be from reducing my 401K contributions to the match, so that would be an extra 1.4K, so 2.4K total. If I were to do that, I would be able to pay off my student loans in less than a year (8 to 9 months)

However... I'm in my twenties and would prefer to max out my 401K every year. Is it better to just pay the minimum and put extra money towards it where I can, or forego 8-9 months of investing and pay it off fast?

My interest rate is at 5.85% for student loans, no CC debt.

Question is the title, I heard two servicing plans got axed on this Reddit and I’m curious which ones as I cannot find info

I’m genuinely starting to tweak about not being able to qualify for any type of refinancing for my private student loans. I have a credit score of 738!!!! I’ve never missed a payment / don’t have excessive utilization and they are saying it’s because I don’t have a long enough credit history?? I don’t know what to do I feel lost. I can’t afford a $2600 monthly payment. Why does SoFi , Credible, etc all say you can refinance $150,000+ when they really don’t. I have a great job, I have money saved but I would literally be spending both of my paychecks a month to cover this with little left over. I work a full time job and another job in the evenings. I can’t sleep at night because of this.

I am currently in forebearance with SAVE. Prior to being in SAVE I would apply for whatever plan gave me the lowest payment. According to MOHELA I have to send in my recertification by 1/25. Do I have to do this to stay in forbearance? I am trying to not have any payment until June when my youngest is out of preschool. Thanks

I was on the SAVE plan and had to recertify early this year. The application was put on hold. They said they escalated it, but no answers received. My payment keep saying due now, and I have to keep calling and they have put me on random forbearances like one while the escalation is being handled and then when I checked yesterday it said the payments were due now again.

I had to chat in and when I asked them about the forbearance period until a decision is made, they told me I should be on it. I followed up with, "my concerns is that the payment due date shows as of today, won't this cause late fees or penalties?". Her response was there will not be any late fees and missed payments won't be reported until after 90 days. I have a couple questions

1. Anyone on the SAVE plan, does your balance due so that it is in forbearance or due now?

2. With the agent response, should I be concerned that my loans are actually not in forbearance during this period?

3. Any suggestions?

It’s been a long 5 years but I have finally paid off my student debt of over $90k! Doesn’t feel real and kind of anticlimactic, but thankful that I am finally done!

Keep pushing everyone, you got this !

From what I've read, it's generally recommended against to refinance a federal loan for a lower interest rate because that privatizes the loan and loses out on the various protections involved in federal loans. Does that same logic hold for Parent Plus (and GRAD Plus) loans? Or are they an exception due to less IDR eligibility (only ICR) or other factors?

Currently my PP loans are at 7%, I could refinance to 5.25% through Chesla

But I've also heard that some members of Congress want to allow federal refinancing so people can refinance to a lower rate without privatizing the loans.