This website is a testimony to the problems Canadian Student Loan borrowers experienced from approximately 1996 to 2008 and until their loans were paid off.

The privatization of the Student Loans system by the Chretien and Martin Liberal governments broke the system and defaulted thousands of borrowers who were trying to pay their loans. There were even stories of suicide due to the harassment of borrowers.

Read the report that I prepared back in 2007 here. Canada Student Loans-The Need for Change Fortunately the new Conservative government at the time revamped the program and fixed the system for new borrowers, but borrowers under the previous program were left with ruined credit and continued harassment from debt collectors.

I call on the Canadian Government to apologize to the borrowers affected by this fiasco and make amends.

Unfortunately the Liberal government is again clobbering the Education system with their upcoming changes to International Student Visas. Yes, there's a problem, but instead of a well thought out plan, they have pulled the emergency brake on the train causing a derailment. This has introduced unprecedented instability for both private and public education institutions who serve both international and local students.

Universities can't plan. I've heard of courses being cut because the government has no process in place for universities to send the newly required acceptance letters to the government.

This means that students who have been accepted can not attend courses that start in the summer 2024 semester. With cut sections, current Canadian students will have trouble getting courses, and may have to switch to part-time which changes their enrollment status and might trigger repayment of their loans or ineligibility for funding. I've seen this before. It wreaks havoc on the student loan borrowers.

Again, the Liberal government has messed up the education environment. Will the new system needed in a rush for the acceptance letters be the new Arrivecan scandal?

I call on the government to implement a slower phased in approach and delay the requirement of the acceptance letters until a process is in place to submit these letters.


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    Posted: 22/January/2012 at 5:00pm

I have received several phone calls and a letter from NCO Financial Services demanding payment for a student loan forgiveness overpayment.  Not exactly a grant overpayment but this is the closest forum topic I could find in relation to my problem.  I seriously doubt I owe this money and am not at all sure how it was assessed that I was over-forgiven.  My problem is almost all of my original loan documentation going back as far as 1993 was destroyed in a basement apartment flood while at school.  I have no records of how much I was entiltled to negotiate nor any records showing how much money in loans I did receive.  The bank said doing a search could take a great deal of time and they would charge $20 per hour to do the search.  I feel like I'm at the mercy of the collection agency because I have no information of my own to compare with their figures.  Is there any way of getting copies of the original loan documents from my years in school so I can figure out if there has been an error made.  As far as I remember I always negotiated my loans to my full entitlement and I spent 5 years at school on loans the whole time.  I'm sure I was entitled to whatever loan forgiveness I was granted and they have made some kind of error.  The truly infuriating part of this is that this is not money I was given, it's money that I assume was paid to my financial institution with which I negotiated my OSAP/Canada Student Loan.  Now they want me to pay it back, why not get the bank to pay it back and put the balance back onto my outstanding loan, that is if I even owe it at all!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote redtoys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31/July/2010 at 3:09pm
hi just got to this site. i have an grant over award payment as they said i did not pass/finish my course. i have been working off & on since then and also been on wsbc part of that time. does anyone know how best for me to proceed? i really do not have the money to pay this back as i have 0 left after paying normal living expenses. they have been taking my income tax & gst when i file taxes. i asked for interest relief but was told i had to pay 6000.00 before they could do that, if i had that kind of money i would have paid it already.
thanks for any help.Cry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote y8sc63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/May/2009 at 3:31am
Sorry to be the bringer of bad new.

There is no longer a statute of limitations on Crown Debt that is collecting for student loans, welfare overpayments etc.

http://www.hooeyremus.com/Guide_(Limitations).htmOuch
Catherine
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Why is the system so awful?
A year after I had transfered schools I was informed that my transfer never went thru and I would have to pay back the grant I had received to the amount of $4,730. I had completed the program at the new school and had been told by the office manager at the new school that the forms were all in order. I had a baby a month after I left the school so I wasn't able to pay at the time, being a broke, single mom.
Now it's been 4 years, I finally got a good job and was getting on my feet when I suffered some medical problems and was unable to work.
Ironically it took the govt about 3 months before I got any EI, then I was told I could only get 3 months worth anyways.
(By the way I apologize for the long rant)
So, when I found that I was finally getting some proper money in my tax refund I was overjoyed, finally, I could pay the lawyer I had hired to get custody of my son when his dead beat dad had tried to take him away to ruin my life.
(This sounds unbelievable? It's my life of hell)
But, no, the govt has taken all the money and still wants another 2 grand out of me, seriously, they are sucking blood from a stone.
I cry alot because now the lawyer intrest is going to take away anything else I might get.
I am supported by family, but they don't have the money to pay my debts for me.
I will go to John LeBlanc, but if anyone has anything they can tell me, or even a success story in a situation such as this I would love to hear it.
Thanks
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The goverment did take the supposed overpayment off my income tax return, so I guess this is over and done with. You can't fight a giant like the Ontario goverment and they just pass legislation to get around things anyhow.
 
All I can say is that I have been an honest citizen paying taxes for the past 20 years since I graduated. I did appreciate the help I got with the grant, but now that they decided to grab it back some 20+ years later, my view on honesty with respect to the provincial government will change somewhat.
 
Welcome underground economy! Any time I purchase a used car or trailer privately, I will NOT report the true amount of the sale. Any time I need work or items for my house that are subject to PST, I will NOT put it on the books just to avoid paying PST. There are lots of little ways to avoid paying tax if you have the resolve. This is something I would not do before. It won't take long to recoup this money one way or another. Point in case - just saved $21.44 in PST today by paying cash! When the debt owed by the gov't to me is paid back (get the irony), I'll reconsider my ethics then.
 
So my message to all you other folks - when they finally take your grant back from 20+ years ago for some b.s. reason they can't support, there are options to get it back!
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I'm a current student, and I've been contacted about OSAP overpayment from my first year.  I can't afford what they're asking for, but my family can't afford to fight it either, as we need OSAP for my final academic year.  My mother went down to the bank to make the payment, where she was told that she can't.

Can anyone please explain to me how I'm actually supposed to make these payments?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hami Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20/March/2008 at 9:31am
Supposed "grant overpayment" from 1991
Well after being contacted originally in May 2004 by a collection agency and harrased on and off since, I found out today my income tax return was transferred to be applied to the debt!
  I'm planning on "Objecting to the Assessment" but I don't know what good it will do, they have my money now.  It also suggests I call the OSAP representative if I have any questions, which is the collection agency phone number.
 I'm going to contact my MP as well, don't know if he can do anything to help me.  I have a lawyer cousin that I spoke to briefly about this a while ago & he asked me to give him all the details but I never got around to it.  I had become used to the once & awhile phone calls from the collection agency, figured they would give up sooner or later.  It floors me that they can take my income tax refund without ever giving me my day in court, well I guess I will be forced to take them to court now.
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I received a noticed first back in May 2004 of a grant overpayment of around $1200. I did ask for some documentation and received copies of letters that were sent in 1989 and in 2000. My parents moved in 1988, so these were never received. Funny how the collection agent in 2004 was able to find me without any problem.

The documentation showed the calculation of how they derived the overpayment. Apparently the parental income was higher in '86 than that reported on the '87/88 application. In 2004 I was unable to confirm my parents income back in '86, but lets just assume their calculation was correct.
 
[For the past 4 years I've pretty much ignored the collection agents. I felt morally justified in doing so. I recall just scraping by, not always having food or rent while completing the clinical phase of my training as a nurse. I was working as a student nurse in a hospital for the 10 month period that I received the grant for. Student nurses are not paid, either by the the hospital or the by the province. To add insult to injury, I had to pay tuition for this clinical phase, had to purchase my own uniforms and other items. Needless to say I really needed the grant money in '87/88 as my parents were just managing to pay bills themselves.]
 
I've received a couple of letters from the Canada Revenue Agency. This years anticipated income tax return of around $1300 will likely be taken to pay back the alleged overpayment. There is not much I think can be done to stop it, so...
 
Questions:
 
Would I be better off paying the collection agent prior to having the goverment take it? I am concerned about this "garnishment" showing up on a credit report at some point.
 
Were Ontario Study Grants considered income when they were given out, and/or would this have effected any amounts reported on a T2200 slip back in 87/88 - the year I was slaving away in the hospital. If so, is there any income tax deduction possible from repaying the grant overpayment.
 
Any information would be appreciated.
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Hi Johnny, Can you tell me, if they take a tax return after a debt is barred, is the receipt of that amount towards the barred debt considered an admittance of debt so that the debt is then re-initiated? I believe my debt to be stats barred since it has been over six years since I was discharged from a bankruptsy, which would have been the last amount of money they received as they (student loans) were included in the 'paying out' by my trustees, even though my student loan was only 7 years old at that time. I'm in B.C. Thanks for the clarification.


Originally posted by Johnny Johnny wrote:



Now, as for income tax seizures, the ammendment to the federal act (Bill C-28) stipulates that income tax rebates can still be taken and applied to a barred debt. This is outlined in section 16.1- item 2.

 Johnny

 

 

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I have to file my income tax return, wait till I get notified that my tax refund has been used to pay off my debt, then contact them to have the forgiveness forms mailed to me , so it ends up taking a good 3 months before I even see my refund, WHY, can I not just automaticaly apply at the beginning of each year and not have to wait.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22/February/2007 at 5:47pm
THis is how they operate. THey only remove the liens temporarily. Also, they would rather you not approach them to remove it and this is part of how they discourage you from doing so.

Johnny
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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That's what I do but why do I have to do so every year at income tax time?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22/February/2007 at 11:06am
If you are diusabled and unable to work, apply for forgiveness. Demonstrate your disabality.

Johnny
Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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I have a grant overpayment from 88-89, last year they took my income tax and my GST, I got it back because I am unable to work, but I had to make arrangements to pay them $10 per month until it is paid off. I owed $1660.00Cry Now every year I have to reapply for a grant foregivess. They know I will never be able to go back to work and yet I have to fight with themevery single year until this "grant overpayment" is paid off.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/April/2006 at 9:02am

Hi Zeus,

Government sectors are known to say, "um, we are nto sure - but the acts reads.. blah blah". It is all int he interpretation as you can see.

I have spoken to many lawyers who know the statutes upside down and inside out - and they all say the same thing. The government will not divulge to a student loan borrower that their debt is statute barred. They are trying to collect it and not educate people how to excericse their rights to information and benefit with respect to any limitaiton issues. There is a lawyer here with me right now as I type this message and a head is nodding.  When you ask the MTCU about limitation issues, they are going to twell you there are none. However, the ammendment came into force in 2002.

If they say that the ammendment applies to ALL loans past, present, and future, thewn that also means that OSAP or grant overpayments that have been barred BEFORE the coming into force of this ammendment would have miraculously survived.

Zeus, call me if you want and I will help you make sense out of all this. If you are in Ontario, there are lawyers we can set you up with.

Johnny

www.cfwgroup.ca

 

 

Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Zeus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11/April/2006 at 4:45am
Originally posted by Johnny Johnny wrote:

I am not a lawyer. We have many of them as needed, however.

All you need is someone who knows the lending and other related systems from inside out - and their books from cover to cover. Unfortunately, lawyers are not experts in the field of effectively taming and solving student debt problems. Part of The CFW Group is built for this purpose.

The literature that you send has to be written a specific way, and issued to the appropriate sectors. The CFW Group has these tools that are needed to get the job done. However, they are not free.

Sorry for the delay in this repsonse. I do not spend as much time here on this site. If you need more personalized assistance, by all means, visit us at www.cfwgroup.ca - or www.cfwgroup.ca/forum.

Johnny

 


Can you recommend a specific package or should we just submit an info message and wait for a response?

An update:  my friend is currently speaking with the Ontario office of the Ombudsman to have them intervene.  They are repeating what the Ministry of TCU in that there is no limitation period on student grants.

We've given them the info on the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, and the Limitations Act R.S.O of 1990, all of which state a six year limitation period on loans, and in the case of the latter, all debt based on lending.

The Ministry of TCU has conceded it is crown bound by the Limitations Act of 2002, but not any previous limitation period.

The Ombudsman agrees the the Transition section of the Limitations Act of 2002 refers to former limitation period, but doesn't think the info we've given them applies.  They just said today that OSAP is provincial and the Acts (CSL and CSFA) are federal.  The rep has given the info to their lawyer, but said it doesn't look good.

I'm really not comfortable with this route since they don't seem to know what they're doing.  They couldn't get copies of the Acts which are freely available on the internet.

We'd really like to go the CFWgroup route, Johnny, if we could.  I'll try posting an inquiry message on that site.

Thanks,
Zeus


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/March/2006 at 4:06pm

I think you would be best served by contacting a chartered accountant in your province.

Unless, of course, there are any chartered accountants here...

Johnny

 

Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jbleafan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/March/2006 at 6:30am

Hi all,

I'm glad to see this post is still going.  My wife was pressured and harrassed by collection agents for a few mths before agreeing to pay off $410.00.  We kept defying them until they threatened her credit rating.  BTW, she's been out of school for approx 14yrs!! 

We recieved an official receipt for this amount from the Ontario Shared Services Bureau for income tax purposes.  I prepare my own tax returns using Taxwiz.  Does any know where I can enter this amount on the tax return...trying to re-coup our loss!

Still waiting for a response...Thanks for your help!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19/March/2006 at 4:46pm

I am not a lawyer. We have many of them as needed, however.

All you need is someone who knows the lending and other related systems from inside out - and their books from cover to cover. Unfortunately, lawyers are not experts in the field of effectively taming and solving student debt problems. Part of The CFW Group is built for this purpose.

The literature that you send has to be written a specific way, and issued to the appropriate sectors. The CFW Group has these tools that are needed to get the job done. However, they are not free.

Sorry for the delay in this repsonse. I do not spend as much time here on this site. If you need more personalized assistance, by all means, visit us at www.cfwgroup.ca - or www.cfwgroup.ca/forum.

Johnny

 

 

Solve Student Debt specializes in solutions for students and graduates in student loan default, and those at risk of defaulting.

solvestudentdebt.com
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Zeus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/March/2006 at 8:11am
Johnny,

So, if a letter was sent to the Ministry detailing the limitation issue, can they continue to ignore it?  Or do they have to stop their claim?
What about the tax off-set issue?  Since the Act provides that no action can commence with respect to the claim, does mentioning this in a letter force them to stop trying to take income tax refunds?

Would they pay more attention if such a letter came from a lawyer such as yourself instead of directly?

Thanks for the quick response!
Zeus

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