“Why should I worry about the National Collegiate Student Loan Trust lawsuit against me?”


“What is a National Collegiate Student Loan Trust lawsuit?”

"Why should I worry about the National Collegiate Student Loan Trust lawsuit against me?"This is where National Collegiate Student Loan Trust (NCSLT) has sued you to collect on a private student loan.

It may be that you are the only borrower on the student loan or it may be that you cosigned for your child or your grandchild.

Typically these cases are brought by the law firm of Nathan & Nathan, a well-known collection law firm in Birmingham Alabama.

We also see suits on behalf of National Collegiate Trust brought by Scott & Associates.

This is a lawfirm out of Texas that has an office in Montgomery, Alabama.

While sometimes the amount sued for is only several thousands of dollars, normally these lawsuits are for $20,000-$50,000.  Or more.

And you may be sued in multiple cases at one time. It is quite common for our clients to have three or four lawsuits filed on the same day by NCSLT, totaling a $100,000.00 or more.

“So Who is NCSLT?”

NCSLT, National Collegiate Student Loan Trust, is not a company that you ever would have done business with. It is not a company that you borrow money from.

Instead it is a trust, or a legal entity, that claims to now own the student loan that it says you have defaulted on.

“I heard if I don’t answer the lawsuit, I can have a default judgment entered against me.  Is this true?”

Yes.

You normally will be sued in Circuit Court.  That means you have 30 days to respond from when you are served.

If you don’t answer the lawsuit, then NCSLT will ask for and receive a default judgment against you.

“So how bad is a default judgment against me?”

A default judgment is very bad. It is a real judgment.

For some reason there are those on the Internet who will say that a default judgment is not anything to be concerned about because nothing can be done with it.

This is false.

If you have a default judgment against you, it will appear on your credit report as a judgment.

Your wages can be garnished at a rate of 25% per pay period.

Your bank accounts can be completely drained through a bank garnishment.

In short, a judgment can make your life miserable and set off a chain reaction of causing you to default on all your other debts, including your mortgage payments and your car payments.

There is a myth that you can only be garnished on your “leftover” money at the end of the month.

Nope — you are garnished first, and then you have to live on what is “left over” which can be very difficult.

So the moral of the story is to not allow a judgment to be entered against you.

“I only co-signed — isn’t my son or daughter the only one at risk in this lawsuit?”

This is a common question we get.

And I certainly understand why this question gets asked.

You did a good deed by cosigning on the loan with your son or your daughter but they are the ones that actually went to school.

They are the ones that actually received the money. Now they are working but they did not pay their student loan.

It seems unfair that NCSLT would come after you, especially when you may be nearing retirement age or have already retired.

We also have the children say to us, “Well it’s unfair for my parents to be sued and I don’t see why they were sued by this company.”

The reason is that if you cosign on this loan, you are fully responsible for it.

Regardless of whether your son or daughter is also responsible.

You are completely responsible for this.

Normally NCSLT will come after you because you have a greater net worth and perhaps more financial responsibility than your child who hasn’t paid on his or her student loan.

In short, National Collegiate Student Loan Trust (NCSLT) is going to go after everybody that it can, and certainly everybody that has the ability to pay or has assets that can be sold to pay this loan.

“OK, I see the danger.  What can I do about this lawsuit?”

The most important thing for you to do is to respond to the lawsuit.

Do not ignore the lawsuit.

Instead, file an answer or some other type of response within the time limits.

Normally these cases are brought in Circuit Court.

You have 30 days from the date that you were served to file an answer or otherwise respond.

If you will do this, then you avoid the greatest danger that this lawsuit poses to you.

The vast majority of people never file a response and never challenge NCSLT on whether it is truly the right company to be suing you.

There are many defenses to this lawsuit that you have which may be successful.

But you will never have an opportunity to argue those defenses if you fail to respond.

So file your answer or other response within 30 days.

You can do this on your own or you can hire a lawyer.

Whatever you do, make sure your answer or response gets filed within 30 days.

“What are my options with my National Collegiate Student Loan Trust case?”

You basically have five options.

First, you can look into the option of bankruptcy.

[Note:  I find this to be an option that is hardly ever effective but I’ll list it here as you may want to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer about this].

It is very difficult, and rare, to be able to discharge a student loan debt.

Typically you have to be disabled and have a severe financial hardship in order to qualify.

If you don’t have this situation, then you can look at a chapter 13 bankruptcy which is sometimes known as “debtor’s court.”  You’ll still be paying the loan but you do so through the bankruptcy court.  I don’t see much advantage in this.  And you have to go through a life changing event of filing bankruptcy.

Second, you can fight the NCSLT lawsuit on your own.

To be blunt, this will be very hard for you to do as you normally will be sued in Circuit Court.

The defenses that you need to raise, including sophisticated evidentiary arguments, will be difficult to raise on your own in Circuit Court.

However, sometimes this is the only option you have and it is something that you can do, especially if you’re willing to put in a significant amount of time.

Third, you can settle the National Collegiate Student Loan Trust lawsuit on your own, without a lawyer.

You will either need to come up with a lump sum of money or make payment arrangements with Nathan & Nathan in order to settle the lawsuit.  If you do payment arrangements, they will want a consent judgment.

That gets back into the problems of having a judgment on your credit report, etc.

Fourth, you can hire a lawyer to fight the lawsuit.

The lawyer will file an answer for you, serve discovery on NCSLT, and challenge this company’s ability to sue you.

The objective with this is to defeat this lawsuit so that you do not owe any money to this company.

You may owe the  student loan to some company.

However, this NCSLT is a company that you have never heard of or done any business with so it has to prove that it owns this debt in order to have the right to sue you.

Finally, you can hire a lawyer to help you settle the lawsuit.

Your lawyer can help you to understand what is the lump sum amount that you need to pay or the lawyer can help you to get a reasonable and affordable monthly payment plan.

Most clients who hire my law firm, for example, want us to fight the lawsuit and negotiate a favorable settlement.

These two go hand in hand.

The more that we’re willing to fight the lawsuit, the more willing companies are to make a reasonable settlement.

Of course every case is different and unique but in general we find that this is the best approach.

“How much is this going to cost me to hire a lawyer?”

Rarely do we ever do work on an hourly basis but if we do it is at least $400 an hour.

Most clients, however, prefer to hire us for a fixed amount every month as this is more affordable.

Or, they hire us for a “fixed price” where they know exactly what the amount of our fee will be.

We realize that legal fees are important to you and so feel free to get in touch with us and let’s discuss it.

There are few people who truly want to hire us that are not able to afford to hire us.

If you prefer a cheaper lawyer, we can also help point you to some lawyers who charge less than we do.

“I want more information.  What do I do next?”

Give us a call at 205-879-2447 or fill out our contact form.

Let us know you were sued by National Collegiate Student Loan Trust and when you were served.  

Please also include the county where you were served and the case number.

That way we can look up your case and be prepared when we speak with you.

We look forward to helping you.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

John Watts


40 Comments

  1. Laura says:

    My husband was sued by NCSLT as a co-signer to his daughter’s student loan she had with Chase bank. We fought this because we had no idea who NCSLT was. There was a student loan owed to Chase but had no idea where it went from there. They could not produce the documents to show they were rightfully entitled to this Chase Bank debt; they could not show ownership or the chain of custody/title even after the court gave them 60 days to do so (small claims). The judge ruled verdict in favor of my husband and step-daughter. Now, does NCSLT and/or American Education Services have the right to report on credit report after this has been found that the debt is not owed?

    • John Watts says:

      Laura,

      Congratulations on your husband winning his case — that’s great!!

      The company that sued you cannot credit report on the debt it lost in court on so let me ask you WHO is reporting on your husband’s credit reports? (www.AnnualCreditReport.com).

      If it is NCSLT, then that is wrong and we can help you with this.

      If it is AES, then we need to see if they are doing so on behalf of AES (normally they are) because if NCSLT lost its case, then normally AES can’t report.

      Give my office a call at 205-879-2447 and we’ll be glad to help you look into this as it sounds like you need to do a proper dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to either get your husband’s credit report fixed or to sue if these guys won’t fix it.

      We have been doing these types of cases for many years and will be glad to help you write the correct kind of letter (we don’t recommend online disputes — only old fashioned certified mail disputes).

      Call us at 205-879-2447 and let the receptionist know you have a false credit reporting issue.

      Thanks

      John Watts
      205-879-2447

    • National Cons Scammers Liars and Tricksters says:

      That’s good for you! Unfortunately, I was tricked into a default judgment situation by a lawyer obviously working for these people who told me to simply do nothing to make it easy for them to get a default judgment. They knew their case would’ve been dismissed otherwise. Bummer. I was all ready to go to court and everything to fight this. Congratulations on not letting yourself get ripped off by these scammers anyway.

      Apparently all you have to do to make money around here is file a lot of false claims against people with the court, hope that they don’t respond and then ask for a default judgment, the court won’t verify the legitimacy of the claim and then they’ll have to pay you! Wow! Look at that. Just figured out how I’m going to pay this. Holy loophole. It’s a mafia dream come true!

      • John Watts says:

        Sorry you had a bad experience with a lawyer and that these guys got a default judgment against you.

        Some courts are very strict even in a default judgment setting where they require the plaintiff — the one who sued — to prove their case. Often, unfortunately, this doesn’t happen. The default judgment is an “automatic” entry of whatever damages the plaintiff sued for.

        Thank for your warning — hopefully all will take it to heart!

        John Watts

  2. Scott says:

    I recently found out that I am having my wages garnished via NCSLT. Unfortunately I found this out when I received a letter from my current employer since NCSLT was sending everything to an old address. I have been battling trying to fix my credit and pay off any and all debt. Now, the NCSLT is not on my credit report, however there are old AES loans (late, though $0 balance) on there. I wrote AES asking for a goodwill removal of the old negative items. The letter they replied with is showing all my old debt as “claim paid” one of which includes the NCSLT loan. My question is, am I officially off the hook from this old loan and can I now write NCSLT and demand they stop garnishment?

    • John Watts says:

      Scott,

      If you are being garnished by NCSLT then you have been sued. The only way to be garnished is to be sued unless it is a federal student loan then you can be garnished by an administrative (non court) process.

      And when I say “sued” I mean sued and you lost — there is a judgment against you.

      So that is the first critical step is to figure out about this judgment — is it proper? Were you served with the lawsuit?

      If you were not served then the law in Alabama (I assume you live here — I don’t know about other states) is that without being served, the judgment can be attacked.

      Do you have a case number?

      If you want, call 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn. Tell her you left a comment on our website and wanted to see if she can pull up the lawsuit/judgment against you.

      The letter from AES is not going help set aside the judgment — depending on exactly what it says it might help if you can overturn the judgment. It probably, however, is simply saying the loan was charged off and possibly that some insurance paid for it. I would need to look at the letter.

      Let us know if we can help you.

      John Watts
      205-879-2447

  3. Mike WIlson says:

    Hello, 2-7-2015

    I noticed that I was sued almost 10 months ago and it says that I was
    not served by NCSLT. I see a motion to continue was processed.
    (They have 4 cases against me all on the same day but all unserved in Texas) I found out by mail of consumer mail by credit lawyers saying I might have been sued at a old address.

    Can they order a default judgement on me and garnish my wages or must they serve me first?

    Will they try to serve me later or just open another case and try again.
    Trying to know what will happen next…

    Thanks
    Mike

    • John Watts says:

      Mike,

      It sounds like you live in Texas where I don’t practice so I don’t know the rules. I would get with a Texas lawyer but I suspect that you have to be served first in order for a judgment to happen.

      At least in Alabama you have to be:

      1. First served
      2. Then lose — judgment for NCSLT
      3. Finally NCSLT can get a garnishment order.

      So if you have not been served I would be surprised if NCSLT could get a garnishment against you.

      Most important thing is to get with a Texas consumer protection lawyer to find out your options.

      Best wishes and thanks for the comment!

      John Watts

  4. Rena says:

    I was recently sued by them and I had consumer rights firm working on this. However, they recently settled and is going to get judgment on me. The monthly amount they is asking for is ridiculous. Is there anything I can do or any assistance I can get. Please help if you can….

    Thanks,

    Rena

    • John Watts says:

      Rena,

      Good you had a consumer lawfirm to help you. If the amount of settlement in any case for any person (plaintiff or defendant) is not reasonable, then the case normally does not settle.

      My suggestion is talk to the lawfirm and let them know the amount is too high and see if that can be reduced. If not, then perhaps settlement is not the best option but instead you should fight the case.

      If NCSLT is demanding a judgment against you — a pretty common request if you don’t have a lawyer — and you don’t want one, then you may want to not settle.

      Get with your lawyer ASAP so you can get a good plan together that works for you.

      One thing I normally do is figure out what would a garnishment amount be (if my client lost the case and was garnished) and then make sure the settlement amount is below the garnishment amount. If we are doing monthly payments usually not a reason to have that amount be more than the garnishment amount — here in Alabama that amount is basically 25% of take home pay.

      Hope this helps and make sure you communicate with your lawyer….

      John Watts
      205-879-2447

  5. Anna says:

    Hello, I was a consigner for three loans, but the borrower passed away 4 months ago. Since then I’ve been working with AES on my options for those loans. Two of them (chase and Bank of America) had a clause in the promissory note which would clear the debt once I provided a death certificate. The NCT loan however, does not have such a clause. I did send two payments in but now due to financial reasons I’m unable to keep sending them payments. I’ve called AES and informed and even requested a forebearance but they did not approve it. The loan is still in the borrower’s name and they have now sent a collections letter from Performant Recovery Inc. (I’ve called to speak to the collector but no answer or call back as of yet). I do not want to get sued by them but I’m not sure what else I can do as AES states that there is no settlement amount. Does it have to get all the way to court for there to be one? The loan is a little over $1500, so it’s not that much but I do not have the additional income to pay them. I’ve been in contact with AES every month since his passing to keep them up to speed with the situation but I know they don’t care and the folks I speak to are just there to collect.

    Thank you in advance.

  6. Debbie says:

    I received a “Order regarding alternate service” from NCSL. What does this mean?

    • John Watts says:

      Debbie,

      Usually this means that the original way you were going to be served did not work so NCSLT is trying to serve you a different way and the court has issued an order on it. If you live in AL feel free to shoot that to us and we’ll take a look at it for you.

      Normally it will say how you are going to be served — maybe by a “private” process server, maybe by certified mail, etc.

      My suggestion (others may disagree but . . . . ) is to not wait to be served but to be pro-active in finding out about this lawsuit, who is suing for how much, which loans, etc. and then be pro-active about handling the case. Whether that is fighting it or settling it.

      If we can help you in Alabama, give us a call at 205-879-2447 and ask for Carolyn.

      Thanks and let us know what this “order” turns out to be….

      John Watts

  7. Becky says:

    I started getting letters from a collection agency from National Collegiate Trust, not even knowing who they were or why they were trying to collect on my private loans. I’d had a scam agency do this years ago DCS or something I believe. So I started calling this collection agency, Rodenburg law firm in North Dakota. I called weekly and left messages to be called back, for over a month. Finally I got ahold of the “account manager” I believe is her title. She was also who I left the very first message with. I spoke with her about my wages, I was working at a local non profit making $9.00 an hour. She was rude and stated they wouldn’t accept less than 650 a month in payments. I was barely making more than that monthly. She told me to call back when I found a better job. I was looking for a second job at the time, not a better one, I truly loved my job. I called her back a few weeks later because I had set an appointment with a local bankruptcy lawyer and wanted a detailed printout of my accounts with them On November 13th. She said she would send them out that day. I never received them. I continued to call, bankruptcy wasn’t a good option for me, and let the same person know as soon as I was able I would set up a payment plan. Three civil judgements were filed and I literally had no money to spare at the end of the month. I got my food and toiletries from the homeless shelter I work at, which is ok for staff to do luckily. That’s how poor I am. All she would ever say is they would be proceeding with collections. That’s it. Today I got a letter that they would be seizing my wages. I just started working a decent paying, for montana, job 2 weeks ago. I had planned to call them Monday morning to agree to a payment plan even though they’ve never produced proof they have the right to collect on the loans. I’m now scared out of my mind that they will be garnishing my first decent paycheck this coming week which truly means a roof over my head or not in a very critical way. I am sick to my stomach over this.

    • John Watts says:

      Becky,

      It sounds like they have judgments against you which does allow them to garnish your wages in Alabama.

      But you can always request an exemption of certain wages or assets — it may be that what you make is low enough to qualify. I think it is definitely worth a shot. I don’t know which county you are in but normally the counties will have the form for you to fill out to claim an exemption. A lot of confusion in this area of the law as some changes were made but bottom line is I would try to get some help from the court.

      Sorry you are dealing with this — huge problem in our country with these private student loan companies who claim to own the debts suing us.

      Hopefully you can get some help from the court.

      John Watts

  8. Gerard says:

    Mr. Watts,
    I found the video post informative and educational. Though I am not located in your state I am presently dealing with the same NCSLT situation with a reply needed to the court. My question is: when you do receive a request for an answer with various counts, what is the best way and format to submit a reply? Is there a sample reply for viewing? I do not intend on representing myself but want to submit the answer myself. Thanks,

    • John Watts says:

      Gerard,

      Glad you found it helpful.

      Unfortunately I don’t know the answer to your question as every state is different.

      Couple of suggestions/thoughts for you:

      1. See if your court has a “form” answer — sometimes they will and you fill out a preprinted form (pdf etc).

      2. If you are not going to represent yourself (I think that’s smart when dealing with NCSLT) then you should meet with a lawyer sooner than later. Sometimes if you leave something out of your answer you may not be able to put it in later. So meet with a consumer protection lawyer in your state and even if you need to hire them later, they may can give you some guidance on what to put in your answer now.

      Hope that helps and sorry I couldn’t help you more — have a great eve and thanks again for watching the video and your kind comment.

      John Watts

  9. Ashley says:

    John-

    I am being sued by NCLT and my original lender was JP Morgan Chase Bank. How can I prove that they were not the original lender and how would I know if they have ownership or COC of my private loans? Any help would be appreciated-Also I can not find a local lawyer that can help me with this issue. Everyone just refers to bankruptcy and I don’t want to go that route. Thank you!

    • John Watts says:

      Ashley,

      I understand the frustration you are experiencing. Bankruptcy doesn’t solve the problem but can sometimes help you get a structured payment plan.

      But as far as fighting and finding out the information you mentioned, that really has to be done in the litigation. Sometimes it is like you walk down a long dark hallway. You can’t see very far. There may be a door with a nice bonus or a nasty surprise but you have to walk to get to that door.

      I know that’s not very satisfying but that’s the reality.

      Unless you have, for example, a statute of limitations defense that you may be able to know that right now.

      We have fought these guys in court and won so it can be done. Not easy but doable.

      Here’s kind of the gist…. If you borrowed the money from Chase and Chase is NOT suing you, but NCLT is suing you, then NCLT has to prove (in my opinion) that it owns the debt.

      OK, how can it do that?

      Well, it needs to trace the title from Chase to NCLT. It won’t go directly — there will be a number of “middle men”. Maybe Marblehead or other companies. It needs to show — to prove — it went from Chase to middle man to middle man to NCLT.

      Can it do that? Its possible. I have not been impressed with NCLT or NCSLT’s proof but I don’t know what state you are in or the rules of your state, etc.

      What state are you in? It may be I know someone in your state that could help you.

      Best wishes!

      John Watts

  10. Ann says:

    John, I found your video to be incredibly informative. I survived the whole hour and twelve minutes! 🙂 Thank you for that. I do have a question. I took out 5 private loans from 2006-2008. My grandfather co-signed for me. Unfortunately, I had a child while in college and had to quit in order to work full time. All of these loans defaulted. My grandfather lives in Illinois and was sued for one of them. I responded with an answer and NCT “willfully dropped” the case. He was later sued again by them requesting more for what I believe is a different loan than the original one. He will appear in court with this in April in Illinois. I have a few questions. They have not sued me, threatened me, or sent me any papers in the mail. They have strictly gone after him. My heart breaks for that because he was only helping me. He does have a consumer lawyer but one that I don’t believe is very educated or experienced in NCT lawsuits. I’ve offered to try and make a settlement on my own with NCT to take the burden off of my grandfather but I’m not sure if that is the right thing to do at this point. What would you advise I should do in this situation? I feel like I am watching from a distance helpless when these are originally my debts. Thank you so much for your response!

    • John Watts says:

      Ann,

      That’s 1:12 you’ll never get back. 😉

      Seriously, I hate this situation for you and your grandfather. Its one thing if NCT really owns the debts and can sue. But another if they don’t and this is just a shakedown lawsuit of your grandfather.

      It may be that they have waited too long to sue you and that’s why they are suing your grandfather — maybe longer statute of limitations in Illinois.

      Or there may be no explanation — I’ve seen them do really odd things.

      As far as whether you should pay any money, I would strongly recommend that you not do anything without talking to your grandfather’s lawyer in ILL as a payment from you could unintentionally hurt his case.

      Probably not but I would coordinate through the lawyer in ILL.

      Hope this helps some….

      I’m guessing you live in Alabama? If you do get any hint of a lawsuit here, let me know and I’ll be glad to help you go over your options.

      Thanks for your comment and making it all the way through the video!

      Have a good weekend!

      John Watts

  11. Ollie says:

    Hi John, I live in Boston, Massachusetts & am experiencing difficulty in finding an attorney to represent me in a NCT lawsuit. I’ve been researching attorneys like crazy. Do you have any suggestions?

    • John Watts says:

      Ollie,

      I’m sorry I don’t know of anyone specific. You can try consumer advocates [dot] org to sometimes find attorneys. I’ll send you some links to your email for some folks that might can help.

      Best wishes!!

      John Watts

  12. Jeanette says:

    Hi John-
    My loan co-signer was just served NCT papers, and upon looking at the court docket number online, I noticed they tried to serve me papers at the same address (I haven’t lived there in over 10 years). Can they go after him alone without serving me if we are both named on the lawsuit? I’m guessing they would have to try and locate me to serve me before they can proceed, correct? Just by seeing they don’t even have my current address, to me, that seems like a red flag that they likely don’t have the proper paperwork to even back this up…what do you think about that?

    My other question here is, if we can get this dismissed (hopefully) because they can’t prove ownership-what happens to the loan? AES is reporting it on my credit report (original lender was Chase). Can I get AES to change the way it is reported? Can someone else try to come after me later for it (if they buy the debt from NCT?). Wondering IF they can prove it, if I can settle for a very low amount and ask for a “pay and delete” to clear up my credit report. I’ve been working hard to clean up my credit for the last year, and I don’t want this one thing ruining things. Thanks! -Jeanette

    • John Watts says:

      Jeanette,

      I can answer this based on how things typically work in Alabama — if you are in a different state, the rules/experiences are likely much different.

      NCT or NCSLT can go after one co-signer and not sue the other. Or if both are sued, NCT can decide to only pursue one. Normally, if both of you are sued, they will try and get both of you sued.

      That is a bit unusual they haven’t served you but it doesn’t mean they can’t prove their case. A lot depends on how your particular judge views the proof requirements.

      If you have the lawsuit dismissed with PREJUDICE or if you win your case (at least this happens with us) — AES or whoever is credit reporting will delete the reporting. I think they do this as they know we always check the credit reports and either sue or dispute and then sue (depends on a lot of factors which way we go).

      If you win the case, then NCT can’t sale the debt. Or if they do, there will be major consequences for it — I haven’t seen them do that. They do a lot of dumb things but never that crazy…. 😉

      You asked if they can prove it can you pay a low amount — typically not. If they can prove it, they can get a judgment and garnish everyone 25%, the judgment makes interest, and it is very hard to get rid of in bankruptcy.

      Here’s the best advice I can give you and it shouldn’t cost you any money — if you are in Alabama call us (205-879-2447) or if you are somewhere else, get with a consumer protection lawyer in your state. Find out your options — how strong the case appears — what are the rules for how long NCT gets to serve you, etc.

      Once you know the “lay of the land” then you can make a good decision on what to do next.

      Best wishes!!

      John Watts

  13. Christina says:

    Know of any attorneys in New Orleans?

    • John Watts says:

      Christina,

      I don’t know anyone specifically who defends NCSLT lawsuits. My suggestion is to find a consumer protection lawyer in New Orleans — even if they haven’t done a NCSLT case, if they are familiar with debt collection lawsuits in general, they should be able to help even with a student loan case. Now it is certainly best to have someone who has handled these specific student loan cases before successfully, but sometimes that is not possible. Sorry I can’t help you more….. Best wishes! John Watts

  14. Antoine Mills says:

    Hi there, I’m in GA and recently started having my wages garnished by National Collegiate Trust. I can’t really make ends meet now with the garnishment and was wondering if there are any options at all once the garnishment begins?

    Thank you.

    • John Watts says:

      Antoine,

      Thank you for your comment. Sorry to hear this is happening.

      Basically these are your options (at least if in Alabama — I suspect the same in GA):

      1. Do a lump sum settlement
      2. Work out smaller payment plan than garnishment
      3. File bankruptcy — unlikely can discharge the debt but might can do a chapter 13 to lower the payments
      4. Attack the judgment if you weren’t properly served
      5. You may be able to claim an “exemption” or something similar based on the amount of your income — this can stop or delay or reduce the garnishment if successful.

      I know none of those options are great but once National Collegiate has a judgment against us, our decision is to choose the best of some unpleasant options.

      Thanks again for your comment — hope the above info helps. Get with a lawyer in GA to see what other options you might have but hopefully this gives you a starting point for your research.

      Thanks….

      John Watts

  15. DAWNA SHORE says:

    Interesting suggestions . I learned a lot from the info . Does anyone know where my business could possibly get access to a fillable BoFA Hardship Letter form to fill out ?

    • John Watts says:

      Dawna,

      Are you asking for one concerning a student loan or a mortgage?

      I would first start with the Bank of America website or call customer service.

      If you are in litigation (a lawsuit) then they may not talk to you. You would have to go through your lawyer or the lawyer representing Bank of America.

      Hope that helps!

      John Watts

  16. […] can watch (or read) a detailed discussion of student loan lawsuits — specifically involving Nation….  This video/article discusses options and mistakes people make as well as commonly asked […]

  17. Ray says:

    Student loan company sued me. It had been some time from hearing from them. I ignored all letters till they showed up on my door step , loan was in default. Was sued, served paper work and everything.
    Attorney simply asked for a copy of the loan documents. They didnt have them. So 88k in student loan debt was gone. No documents, no loan.. Use a debt attorney and have them ask for your entire loan packet. If you are in court and they have no loan docs.. Start smiling, you have won and owe nothing to them!!!!

    • John Watts says:

      Ray,

      I’m glad you were successful. At least in Alabama, they normally have the full loan documents. We can still beat them but unfortunately here it is more complicated than just asking for the documents.

      But definitely a good start and again I’m glad you won your case — if they won’t prove their case, they deserve to lose!

      John Watts

  18. Nancy Fiedler says:

    Basically same story here with one caveat, I nor my cosigner have been sued yet by NCSLT (defaulted on loan in 2015 and have tried setting up payment arrangements with 3 separate collection companies since then). I live in South Dakota and my cosigner lives in Montana. I tried to contact a bankruptcy/debt relief lawyer here in South Dakota and was told that he could not assist me (as of this morning). At this point I am just hoping to mediate with NCSLT before they sue. Is this something a lawyer would do, or do I have to wait until me or my cosigner are sued for the loan? The last time I talked to a collector was about 3 weeks ago and they wanted me to pay a settlement of $12K, and refused to accept any payment arrangements. They have sent me a copy of the origional loan document 1-page) with mine and my cosigners signatures from 2004. What do you recommend I do from here, as i am trying to avoid a lawsuit?

    • John Watts says:

      Nancy,

      You’ll need a consumer protection lawyer in your state as I don’t know the rules there. I would focus in on what does NCSLT have to prove to show it owns the debt AND what is the statute of limitation in your state — this is the time limit for NCSLT to sue. Your cosigner would need to know the same thing in their state.

      Sometimes it is easier and sometimes harder to get settled once a collection lawyer has it — very state dependent and dependent on which collector we are dealing with.

      I wish I could help you more but since I’m not licensed there I recommend getting with a lawyer in your state (and one where your cosigner lives also).

      I wish you the best and thanks for reaching out to us.

      John Watts

  19. Ella says:

    Hello,

    I have been sick for close to 10 uears and defaulted on a loan with AES and now have their collection company trying to get me to do a consolidation loan through the goverment. Heres the thing, there is no documentation of any loans in the FSA.gov site nor the National Loan site, when I called the gov number they have no record of me. My credit report only shows Navient reporting the loan in 2005 and nothing else. Should I hire an atty considering I am in IL and our State Atty filed a lawsuit against Navient? I want to understand how an $1100 dollar loan grew to $64,000.
    THANK YOU for all of your helpful replies.

    • John Watts says:

      Ella,

      I would definitely get an attorney in IL. I don’t understand how an $1100 loan grows into $64,000. If this is a federal loan, it should be visible on the Dept of Education site.

      You could ask the collection agency why the loan does not show up anywhere in the government databases (websites, when you call, etc).

      Best bet is to talk with a lawyer in your state who does this type of work to find out your options and the best strategy for you.

      You know about Navient and its “issues/troubles” and the same is true of National Collegiate Student Loan Trust.

      So you are wise to be concerned and skeptical about this — I would be also!

      Best wishes!!!

      John Watts

  20. Mary says:

    Hello,
    I have been receiving calls several times a day from National Enterprise System calling on behalf of National Collegiate Trust stating I am now in default with my private student loans and I owe 71,000 because I am now in default all these funds are due because of my failure to pay. I originally took out the loans with JP Morgan Chase back in 2005. My monthly payment was 766.00 a month. I have applied for several income based income to be denied because it’s a private student loan and it is not income based. I have always mailed money to American Education Services although some months it was not the 766.00 a month. I live in Louisiana and contacted an attorney about filing bankruptcy, but learned that this would not help me. I have tried to get a loan to get these loans under control, but To no avail. I contacted National Enterprise System to see if I could send in a monthly payment of 450.00 a month something I can afford and have been told no this is not an option I would have to pay 3,000.00 to get caught and to resume payment of 5e 766.00 a month. What can I do since bankruptcy is not an option and I don’t have 70,000 to pay. I feel like I’m stuck in a rock and hard place because.

    • John Watts says:

      Mary,

      I’m sorry you are in this situation. I wish I could help you but I can’t since you are not in Alabama.

      Talk to a consumer protection lawyer in Louisiana to find out if you can be sued there — and if you are sued, what are your chances of success.

      Then see if you should take any action now or wait.

      So much depends on your own individual state as well as your unique facts.

      Best wishes

      John Watts

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