The Consumerist has a story about a guy that was going through Chapter 13 bankruptcy that was continuing to receive calls from Sallie Mae about his student loan payments even though evidently when you begin filing for bankruptcy, creditors aren’t allowed to contact you.
“Jeff” wrote:
I have recently gone through Chapter 13 bankruptcy and had an experience that might enlighten others. After the filing, during the mandatory stay period, Sallie Mae continued to contact me about my student loan payment. I documented each call — time, number of origin, and person I talked to if I could get the information. I mentioned this to my bankruptcy attorney, who made effort to stop the calls. He finally filed an order that stopped the calls. He then asked me if I wanted to file a suit against Sallie Mae. I assented.
He filed suit for $14,000 – a grand per call. Within DAYS, the Sallie Mae attorney offered a $4,000 settlement. I had my money in hand several weeks after that. The whole process took about a month.
I don’t know if my case was unique, or if Sallie Mae illegally harasses everyone who files Chapter 13. Just wanted to let you know.
It’s worth pointing out that unlike most debt obligations, bankruptcy protection does not protect you from repaying a student loan. If that was not the case, I imagine every student upon graduating college would run to the nearest mall lawyer and seek bankruptcy protection.
No matter what the bankruptcy judge ordered concerning Jeff’s debts, he was going to pay every penny back to Sallie Mae. That being the case, why wasn’t Jeff paying Sallie Mae? You’d think that since he wasn’t paying any of his other debt obligations, the debts that could be restructured with bankruptcy protection, he should at least have the money to pay his student loans.
Jeff just rubs me the wrong way. I don’t know what caused him to seek bankruptcy protection, but it seems kind of scummy to make a profit for being a deadbeat. So someone from Sallie Mae called him about his student loan obligation. Big deal.
Lee B.
/ December 27, 2009His lawyer “asked” if he wanted to file suit against Sallie Mae. Yeah, I bet.
lawyers… pffft.
Rick
/ December 27, 2009@Lee B.: People like to hate lawyers up until the moment they are in desperate need of having their rights vigorously defended.
Lee B.
/ December 27, 2009I know- and we are friends with several good lawyers. It’s the bad lawyers that I’m pffffting. And they know who they are.
Rick
/ December 27, 2009@Lee B.: Yeah, but sometimes you need a bad lawyer. :)