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re: Trying to resolve Student Loans that are in default...
Posted on 2/18/16 at 10:44 am to ThatsAFactJack
Posted on 2/18/16 at 10:44 am to ThatsAFactJack
My first thought also. Why worry about his bills and credit hit? Help the wife and kids financially if you want and just help him get sober.
This post was edited on 2/18/16 at 12:08 pm
1
Posted on 2/18/16 at 11:07 am to ThatsAFactJack
quote:
The best course of action is not to worry about his bills.
I would agree. Why are you worried about his credit score? Negative history takes 7 years to remove usually and it's going to take years to improve this enough to get a loan. MUCH more important for him to worry about staying sober, holding down a job, etc. It would only become an emergency if the student loan creditor filed a garnishment action vs his wages (if he had a job at that time).
Helping with him staying sober (medical/rehab), keeping a job, and having a place to live should be where you help. The last thing you want to do is get on the hook with his creditors and then have him relapse and not have a job anyway.
When/if it's time to help with student loans, the answer is to call the creditor (the ORIGINAL CREDITOR, NOT the debt collector). I would only call with him (but he should be able to do this ON HIS OWN). I would NOT call from your home phone or cell phone or give your name as the debt collector or creditor may get your info and start calling you and your family over and over to force YOU to pay. I would only call from his phone and give his info. They will tell you about a payment plan to get out of default.
Beware that paying debt collectors does not always result in the payments being reported on a credit report. Very often debtors will pay debt collectors and get NO credit for their payments. For this reason, try to pay the original creditor only and deal with them only if you can. Also beware of how the address is listed on bills they send. Find the address of the original creditor on the credit report and send payments there.
However, his debts and credit are things HE should be managing, not you. You can help him get to a point where he can get started however
ETA in a worst case scenario where multiple student loan creditors are suing/garnishing a debtor's wages, you can file Ch. 13 bankruptcy to stop all the lawsuits/garnishments and come up with a court approved payment plan for all debts. You can almost never get the debt discharged however, and he would have to have a job to afford the payment plan, which can take 3-5 years. I would not do this unless there were lawsuits/garnishments already filed.
This post was edited on 2/18/16 at 5:42 pm
Posted on 2/18/16 at 1:16 pm to hbuc88
quote:
My first thought also. Why worry about his bills and credit hit? Help the wife and kids financially if you want and just help him get sober.
+1. He's a heroin addict, quit worrying about his credit score. Debt is not the issue here, addiction is.
Posted on 2/18/16 at 4:47 pm to hungryone
Thank you everyone for your concerns on how we plan to handle helping him. For the record, there are a number of us who are pitching in and we all agree that we want to get him going in the right direction so that he can take over when the time is right. This is just one thing we are looking into, wse haven't decided exactly what we are going to do yet but we are trying to get all of our ducks in a row so we can make the best possible path for him.
Also, he's been turned down by several possible rentals because of his credit. When your score is this shitty, just changing the status of your biggest hits will help pretty quickly from what I understand.
Also, he's been turned down by several possible rentals because of his credit. When your score is this shitty, just changing the status of your biggest hits will help pretty quickly from what I understand.
Posted on 2/18/16 at 5:25 pm to Canard Noir
quote:
turned down by several possible rentals because of his credit
You could also do a suretyship/co-signer for the lease agreement, if you can't get his credit score up in time for an apartment. Downside is you will be on the hook for the rent if he relapses (but that may be better than you getting yourself on the hook for his student loan debt!).
You can also just find a landlord that will rent to tenants with bad credit (should be no shortage of those in the Houston area). It really does seem like you are putting the cart before the horse with this.
The answer on how to end the default on the student loans is to call the student loan creditor, but they are probably going to say that you have to fork over payments every month. It may be easier to just get him an apartment, and let him handle his own debt later.
This post was edited on 2/18/16 at 5:37 pm
Posted on 2/18/16 at 5:49 pm to WiscyTiger
I probably should have just left the story out of this because it really is as simple as hoping someone could shed some light on what we should expect with this process. Getting into how best to help an addict was never the intention because there could be an entire board for that discussion.
I bought a burner cell phone today and I'm going to start calling on his behalf tomorrow. If anyone has any input on the topic at hand, please do comment. Otherwise, I will report back on how this turned out.
If I come off as a little short, I am sorry. This is not how I expected to be spending my free time and money this year and it has my wife a complete wreck.
I bought a burner cell phone today and I'm going to start calling on his behalf tomorrow. If anyone has any input on the topic at hand, please do comment. Otherwise, I will report back on how this turned out.
If I come off as a little short, I am sorry. This is not how I expected to be spending my free time and money this year and it has my wife a complete wreck.
Posted on 2/18/16 at 6:00 pm to ThatsAFactJack
quote:
Personally been thru this situation with a loved one that had addiction problems.
The best course of action is not to worry about his bills. If you want to help financially, help support his wife and kids or help with the cost of rehab if he is willing to go.
You could spend thousands getting his bills current and he relapse (highly likely) and then the bills will all be in default again.
A person has to accept their addiction and be willing to pull themselves out of the hole.
All you can do is love that person and help his wife and kids.
I've been through it with a friend, and this is the best advice. I respect your desire to help him, but until he's willing to help himself you're wasting your time. And I know that's a hard thing to accept and act on. Familial love is a bond that's hard to break. It was hard for me and it was just a friend so I can only imagine the struggle for blood.
But to answer the original question, you'll need to catch him when he's sober and have him call up the collection agency and ask for the rehabilitation program. No idea how easy it is to set up, and they won't talk to anyone but the account holder to set it up. But be prepared for him to blow his top at you for digging into his business, unless you did it with his blessing. Addicts are a tough thing to deal with.
Best of luck to you, him, and his family.
Posted on 2/18/16 at 6:05 pm to WiscyTiger
quote:
the answer is to call the creditor (the ORIGINAL CREDITOR, NOT the debt collector)
I do believe the collection agency for Dept of Education loans is an arm of the Dept of Education. While they probably are shady in that they operate like most collection agencies, I would feel comfortable working with them. I know the Dept of Education doesn't sell their loans to collection agencies because they have a lot more leverage to collect than most creditors.
All that to say the original creditor, if it's the Dept of Education, will probably just refer you to their in house collections department.
Posted on 2/18/16 at 6:14 pm to Canard Noir
quote:
I bought a burner cell phone today and I'm going to start calling on his behalf tomorrow
One thing to add (other than calling the original creditor and not the debt collector) is that you will need to do this with him or with his permission. They will want his SSN or personal info. over the phone and will ask you who is calling. If he's with you, that should be no problem. If not, they may ask for a signed power of attorney before they will talk to you (I would call with him and say that you're him with his SSN, if he approves).
I would beware of giving my own info. out, as the debt collector may start calling you and your family next. I would also beware of doing anything that would put myself or my family on the hook for his debts. Best to make any payments for a payment plan for his student loans out of his bank account with his info, and NOT yours. If he doesn't have an account, set one up and use it and don't use yours. Pull his credit report if you haven't already and find the original creditor's info.
I know you don't want to hear this, but Spleen is probably right. You do have to try to help in this situation however. My advice would be to protect yourself and your family from getting obligated to pay his debts as much as you can. The exception may be if you have to co-sign for a lease to get him a (decent) place to live. I am assuming a year lease will be much less than his student loan debts. Good luck.
quote:
if it's the Dept of Education, will probably just refer you to their in house collections department.
ETA: That's fine, if he calls the original creditor and they can verify this. I'm not sure OP said if these were federal or private loans and who the creditor or debt collector is he's dealing with. If he pays a debt collector for a private student loan debt and they don't report it, OP could get totally hosed. I'm not sure private student loans charge-off and sell debts like credit card companies do, but it's better to make sure before you pay anybody.
This post was edited on 2/18/16 at 6:19 pm
Posted on 2/18/16 at 6:39 pm to WiscyTiger
quote:
One thing to add (other than calling the original creditor and not the debt collector) is that you will need to do this with him or with his permission. They will want his SSN or personal info. over the phone and will ask you who is calling. If he's with you, that should be no problem. If not, they may ask for a signed power of attorney before they will talk to you (I would call with him and say that you're him with his SSN, if he approves).
I thought that since I was running his credit report that it was assumed I had every bit of information from him that I would need to do this. Part of the terms of our involvement was complete disclosure and trust that we would do the best thing for him. We absolutely will not get in a position that we are on the hook for his debts but we will pay his monthly debts until he can take it on his own.
For the record, he is 100 days clean and must piss randomly in front of me or his dad whenever we feel like asking. Miraculously, he has not lost his job because he was largely self employed but he has a ways to go to get many of his former customers' back. I really don't think he is a lost cause and for the sake of his children, I hope he can eventually be a part of their lives in the future.
Posted on 2/19/16 at 6:57 am to Canard Noir
Good luck. Not sure about the loans in default, but trying to take care of a drug addict is near impossible. Put down a good chunk of change to send them to a nice rehab? He'll check himself out when he gets a bad craving, you'll lose your money, he'll get his drugs, he'll beg you for a second chance at rehab, and you'll start the whole thing over again
Posted on 2/20/16 at 3:57 am to Canard Noir
You probably already know this, but if he gets his loans out of default and IF they are federal loans and not private, he can consolidate them and apply for an income based repayment plan (thank God for Obama lol).
Federal Loan Consolidation
OP just said he's 100 days sober and taking piss tests
ETA: OP come back afterwards and post how it works out baw
Federal Loan Consolidation
quote:
send them to a nice rehab?
OP just said he's 100 days sober and taking piss tests
ETA: OP come back afterwards and post how it works out baw
This post was edited on 2/20/16 at 4:02 am
Posted on 2/21/16 at 6:14 pm to hungryone
If he is a lost soul that does not appear to be able to come out of addiction, get him declared permanently disabled. The gov will track him for three years after that.
Not to be too morbid, but should he screw up and overdose to the point of fatality, the loan is forgiven upon death. You just have to fill out the form and send a legit copy of the death certificate.
Not to be too morbid, but should he screw up and overdose to the point of fatality, the loan is forgiven upon death. You just have to fill out the form and send a legit copy of the death certificate.
Posted on 4/14/16 at 10:32 pm to Canard Noir
For anyone who is interested how this turned out... so far...
The addict's mother who was a huge part of the problem, got on board and accepted his student loans' to get him out of default. As such, I'm not sure how she was able to do that but I think she negotiated through Navient, who took over for Sallie Mae.
So far, my exposure has been his living in my house in Metairie for the last 3 months at a fraction(probably 1/2) of the rent anyone would normally ask. We're getting to a point where we're going to start the discussion of long term plans. His wife and kids will never live under his roof again as far as I can tell but he may have quit before he's completely unable to be a part of their lives'.
The addict's mother who was a huge part of the problem, got on board and accepted his student loans' to get him out of default. As such, I'm not sure how she was able to do that but I think she negotiated through Navient, who took over for Sallie Mae.
So far, my exposure has been his living in my house in Metairie for the last 3 months at a fraction(probably 1/2) of the rent anyone would normally ask. We're getting to a point where we're going to start the discussion of long term plans. His wife and kids will never live under his roof again as far as I can tell but he may have quit before he's completely unable to be a part of their lives'.
Posted on 4/14/16 at 11:28 pm to Canard Noir
quote:
Canard Noir
No judgement here. Watched a best friend since the age of 5 disappear while in plain sight from life due to it. Mesmerizing to think a guy I talked to every day multiple times a day at times just...vanished. While he's still here.
Difficult to say the least.
But paying for a pair of socks, or a cheeseburger, or even paying for parking is the worst thing-THE WORST THING-you can do.
The quicker you eliminate any and all support for this person's behavior, the quicker they will recover. If you enable BEFORE he's ready to detox and rehab, you're enabling and will destroy your sanity, your liquid assets you're asking about, and ultimately, you are helping to hurt the person you're helping.
Walk away from them. Cut them off and walk away. Until they are ready for rehab. Period. Make sure EVERYONE in your family is on the same page.
Otherwise you are just delaying any hope of recovery.
Seriously. Cut him off. Now.
This post was edited on 4/14/16 at 11:30 pm
Posted on 4/14/16 at 11:55 pm to Canard Noir
Is he still clean?
Posted on 4/15/16 at 12:10 am to lynxcat
As far as I can tell, yes... My home he's renting is nearby some family members that would acknowledge any perceived issues. FWIW, all seems to be as good as can be considering my distance from the situation. I live in Houston and he's living in my NOLA home so I recognize I'm not 100% on top of it.
Until tomorrow, good night...
Until tomorrow, good night...
Posted on 4/15/16 at 4:46 pm to lynxcat
Even more interesting to me is that it looks like his mother is going to take him to Canada to undergo Ibogaine treatment because she is worried about him staying on and weaning off Suboxone.
For anyone interested in learning about Ibogaine, google it. It apparently has a very good success rate for multiple addictions but it's illegal here. I guess it's illegal because drug companies aren't interested in a single dose fix and it's an hallucinogen so the government, in it's infinite wisdom while in the middle of an epidemic, would have trouble approving such a thing. If this does actually happen, I'll report back the results...
For anyone interested in learning about Ibogaine, google it. It apparently has a very good success rate for multiple addictions but it's illegal here. I guess it's illegal because drug companies aren't interested in a single dose fix and it's an hallucinogen so the government, in it's infinite wisdom while in the middle of an epidemic, would have trouble approving such a thing. If this does actually happen, I'll report back the results...
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