When will student loans be collected after discharge?

[wnguyen]

I used to have monthly student loans payments taken out of my checking account on the first of every month. They stopped doing that 2 months ago when I filed bk. I wonder when will the student loans start being collected again after discharge. Any idea / experience?

[HHM]

You will need to contact the servicer after you receive your discharge and re-establish the payment program. It will not likely happen automatically.

[wnguyen]

Thanks HHM. If I don't or slow in contact them, will they sue me?

[backtoschool]

Thanks HHM. If I don't or slow in contact them, will they sue me?

Instead of getting a new collection on your record post bk by not contacting them, you can request deferment or forbearance to postpone payments for a bit while you get back on your feet. Since you are still legally responsible for the student loan debt, they can sue you or do any collection activity that is allowed, but they probably won't do that right away.

[freedomnow7]

Yes, I agree. Since you are officially bankrupt, why not give everything a fresh new start. Call them instead of them calling you and let them know your situation. If it is a government loan, they will be more than happy to work with you. But, I would keep the ball in your court by calling them first. There also may be a plan to repay based on your income so that you pay more as your income rises. So, call them and see what your options are...you may be very pleasantly surprised. I'm actually trying to figure out what to do with one of mine, now.

I had my head in the sand for the longest time, hoping my creditors wouldn't find me. But when you initiate the transaction, it may go a bit smoother and give you peace of mind. Besides, you shouldn't have to live in fear of one of your creditors suing you.

[wnguyen]

Thanks guys. Tomorrow would be my good start I don't want any more collections. Those b4 are enough.

[wonderingrov]

My discharge occured on 10/6/2010 - Citibank actually gave me another month when I called them about the discharge. My first due date is in early October - I actually just hit the button to submit that first payment today.

[Amy26]

Do you have any student loans with Sallie Mae? If you do... be ready for them to take forever! After I was discharged I tried to start getting my student loans back into the swing of things and Sallie Mae was a huge hassle for me. Everytime I called they said they were in bankruptcy status and will let me know when they come out. Nothing I could provide them or tell them would convince them that I was out of bankruptcy. After about a month, they said that they saw my discharge but the loans were still being processed or something. It took them about 3 months before they got their acts together. My biggest complaint was that they took away my online access so I couldn't even see my loans. I also had to set up all automatic payments and such all over again.

So, while you do need to be proactive... be ready that you might not take care of everything in one phone call. It might take a bit. Specially if you have loans with multiple lenders.

[wnguyen]

wonderingrov, I just went online and submitted my first payment on the first day of Dec. Hopefully they'll leave me alone then.

Amy, fortunately I didn't have any student loans with Sallie Mae (lucky enough they declined my application last year ). I got mine consolidated with Nelnet.

[wnguyen]

I got paperwork from Nelnet today saying that my forbearance period is supposed to be up on Nov 1, 2010. Wonder why they called that forbearance. I didn't ask for that. Is there a mix up here or they're just playing it nice, instead of mentioning bk?

[wonderingrov]

I got paperwork from Nelnet today saying that my forbearance period is supposed to be up on Nov 1, 2010. Wonder why they called that forbearance. I didn't ask for that. Is there a mix up here or they're just playing it nice, instead of mentioning bk?

The letter I got from Citibank after my discharge contained similar language. Effectively what they did with mine was put my loan into administrative forbearance while the bankruptcy was taking place to comply with the automatic stay, then took it out of forbearance once they received the discharge papers. That was their process for dealing with the automatic stay - one of the ladies I spoke with said they do that in case there is an AP initiated by the debtor during bankruptcy.

[wnguyen]

I see. So they're not playing nice then. It's their administrative procedure. Now I have to pay interests (now capped on to the principle) during those "forbearance" months.

[wonderingrov]

Yes - I had records of my account balances at the time of filing. Once I gained my online access back, my balance had increased by around $300 due to the interest during that time period. Funny thing is - my monthly minimum due went down by $12. I'm thinking they are trying to figure out a way they can collect more interest.

[wnguyen]

Me too. Oddly enough, my monthly due was also $6 less than it used to be even though the principle is more.

[jjaris1982]

Hi! According to what I have read, YES! student loans be collected again after discharged.