Citibank wants a high payment on student loan

[nomoneyhoney]

My husband owes $55k in federal and $18k in private loan thru Citibank.
Due to our BK, Citibank contacted us to let us know that the student loan is in default.
My husband graduated four months ago and has two months left of grace period for federal student loans. We're in the process of consolidating his loans to achieve a lower monthly payment so we can afford to pay Citibank.
Anyway, Citibank told my husband that they want him to make $500 monthly payment.
It's a bit high for a $18k student loan and too much for us to be able to afford. They want him to pay off the loan within 3 years.
My husband told Citibank that we have to pay the federal loans as well and we won't have enough income left to support our family if we have to make a $500 monthly payment to them. What's the worse they can do?
Citibank also said that since the loans are in default status due to BK, my husband doesn't qualify for 6 months grace period after graduating.
They want their monthly payment asap. =(

Thank you in advance for your advice/suggestion.

[KeithDoxen]

The worst they can do is sue you and get a judgment against you, at which point Citibank will be able to collect what you owe them in accordance with the laws of your state, which appears to be California, based on the information that you provided.

There is a lot of misinformation out there, as people tend to conflate federal and private student loans, which are two different things and governed by different sets of rules. Let me dispel some of the misinformation out of hand. 1) Because this is a private student loan, the creditor WILL need to sue and get a judgment. No administrative garnishments will apply. 2) The collection actions post-judgment will be governed by your state's laws, not by federal law. That means that the 15 percent garnishment for federal student loans will not apply. Instead, if they garnish your wages, the garnishment will be determined by California law and that's only after judgment is rendered against you.

If they get a judgment they can also collect what you owe them via non-exempt property under the laws of your state. The lowest hanging fruit will be for them to go after your bank account, which they can and will do with a judgment.

Your best bet is to convince them that you're broke. All your assets were taken in the bankruptcy, your income is so low that they're only going to get pennies by garnishing you anyway, etc. Play hardball with them and eventually they may accept a lower monthly payment. Or they might sue you. Or they might just keep calling you and demanding that you pay them in full without actually suing you or doing anything about it. It's a crapshoot at this point. A lot of private student loans seem to sit in limbo for years and years before anyone gets around to suing. I recommend playing it by ear. Until you actually receive a summons, no one is being sued, so don't let them scare you just by throwing out scary words about lawsuits.