This is kind of a long story, but I will make it as short as possible. Like many, I've faced quite the financial crisis. My ex husband was paying on my student loans for me and of course, I wasn't keeping track of payments made because he was emailing confirmation codes to me for months and I actually trusted him. This was all part of a legal agreement when we divorced. I haven't had any contact with him in a few months but the confirmation codes kept coming. Yesterday, I received a call from a company by the name of Educational Credit Management Corporation who said my student loans are in collections. They claim the last payment was received in September of last year. I should have known better than to trust my ex husband to continue paying on these loans, however, he had done it for over a year and knowing that it was court ordered, I just knew he would most likely continue to pay them. I'm really not in a position to catch the defaulted amount up at this time and my income has just recently been cut over 50% due to job loss. I have never dealt with this collections company before. I know these loans have to be paid back and I've already spoken with the lawyer that handled our divorce who says we can go in front of the judge because my ex is technically "in contempt" of court for not following through with a court ordered agreement. The downside to that is it could be months before we could even get a court date. I'm kind of at a loss and in a pretty bad financial bind. It really has me worried. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me?
Contact the student loan provider and ask for a forberance, explain your situation, this should delay the need to pay for a few months, until you get a new job or get your ex-husband to pay the bills.
Defaulting on student loans is like defaulting on any other type of loan. Derogatory entries will be placed on your credit report for some time. This will make it difficult or impossible to get new loans. Since employers these days also check credit reports, it will be more difficult to get a job. After some time of not paying the loans, the lender will file a suit against you in state court to garnish your wages. The lenders will then get money out of your paycheck before you even see it; the amount that is taken out depends on state law.since you are fallen a danger ,i think you describe your problem with them and they can give you a solution for that problem.
You definitely need to contact your loan provider. Ask to communicate with them directly than the collection agency they might have hired. It's always best to go directly to them as sometimes collection agencies don't work closely enough with the company to know what the company can or can't allow depending on the situation. Your lawyer's advice is sound and communicating with the loan provider as soon as possible can help you hammer out an agreement and give you a peace of mind. Don't be scared...be proactive.
