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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momk View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote momk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: marketplace
    Posted: 08/February/2005 at 5:42am
Hi sent a e-mail to marketplace suggesting they do a story on the ins and outs of the student loans program. Heard back from them right away and they wanted to know just what was wrong with the program so I sent them to this site so they could read what people are going through and just how they are treated by the collection "people"[and I use that term loosely.I thought that it would be better to have more than one story they will be able to see that the problem does not just lye with in one person. So if anyone else wish to send in a suggestion please do so at  Marketplace@cbc.ca So guys write in and tell them your story, the more voices to be heard the better of we all will be. 
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polyhymnia61 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08/February/2005 at 9:54pm

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

Shall I RESUBMIT my freaking emails from three years ago??????????

As well as their responses????????????

These losers must be ex-CIBC employees, I swear to god...

Good luck, but don't be surprised when they lose interest again...and again...and again...

Poly

Home is where you are allowed to prosper.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote momk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 1:58am
if we get mad enough someone is bound to listen.I had a problem with social services not  supplying me with a new bed after a year of fighting for it and going over thier heads I had a call yesterday saying that I am finally going to get that bed. So you can beat the government but you have to get made and don't give up. Send all your e-mails again and again and after awhile it will sink into thier pretty little heads that there is a problem. with the system.Together we CAN make a differance.hang in there it is going to turn for the better.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote momof2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 3:24am

i resubmitted my original email and added two of the lettes i had mailed out.

again, im not going to hold my breath...

professionals built the titanic but amateurs built the ark...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Blue. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 4:27am

I've sent my form email to three different email addresses in the past week, including Marketplace. No response as yet. But if enough people make noise...

You know what I'd like to see? A whole year of high school seniors who refuse to attend university. Watch the tuition drop then. Watch the gov't scramble to revamp the assistance programs to make them more attractive...And then watch the rest of us sit back and say, "I told you so...."

What you are obsessing about is a debt. It's a loan. It's business. It's money. It contains no moral baggage. You are a decent, kind, loving and moral human being.
--Islander
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 6:08am

Well, according to the Globe today, over half of teens are not attending post-secondary education, even though 70% of new jobs require a degree.

I smell a crisis...

(peee-yewwww...)

Poly

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MegaPo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 8:28pm
Ug.  Brace yourself folks...  A long message to follow.

I spotted the message from Nicole Brewster (assoc. producer, Marketplace) on the front page of this site.  I wrote a response, trying to keep it short and focused.  Well... It's focused! 

I outlined one problem related to student loans and credit reporting systems.  Close the end of the message, my letter takes an odd turn...  You'll see!

Before you read my post, read her message carefully:

> I am researching a story on credit ratings. We
> are looking for young Canadians who may have
> been declined for a loan and can't figure out why.
> .... I hope to find some likely candidates
> that would be interested in sharing their stories
> with us for our story on Credit Ratings and how
> to ensure that it is accurate.

I hope not to offend the Marketplace producers -- I think I'm polite enough to get around that.  I just really want to make the point that there is an important (and interesting!) story in our discussions.

Enjoy!

--Sean (a.k.a. MegaPo, who is not updating his avatar/icon!!)

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 8:38pm

Go, go MegaPo!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to your message...and glad you're still lurking!

Poly

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MegaPo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 8:38pm
Ms. Brewster:

In your message on CanadaStudentDebt.ca, you mentioned your "story on Credit Ratings and how to ensure that it is accurate."  When it comes to credit reports, accuracy is in the eye of the beholder.

I am one of many ex-students who has been denied credit, loans, and even apartments because of a heavily derogatory credit rating.  Anyone at a credit bureau will tell you that these reports serve an important function:  the negative entries are punishment for those people who "skip out" on repayment of student loans.  However, I have repaid my student loans, and I never missed a payment.

I have had extensive contact with two of the three credit reporting agencies in Canada.  I have drawn this issue to their attention and asked them to correct the entries.  After 5 years of this process, the information has not changed.

I repaid my loans a few months ago, well ahead of the student loan repayment schedule.  Regardless, it will now be a 6-year wait until the derogatory entries expire.  I expect to be denied credit, loans, and an apartment until after I am 40 years old.

Is that reasonable for an educated professional who hasn't missed a loan payment or a credit card payment for 17 years?

How can the credit bureaus justify these entries?  Simple:  the credit report is "accurate," because the entries reflect the information provided by the bank.  The credit reporting agencies claim no responsibility for the factual content of the entries in any report.

I have appealed this matter through every step of the complaint process at CIBC.  It has been a shockingly frustrating and aggravating experience.  Believe me, Ms. Brewster, it has been much worse that you might think.  You would need to review the experiences of many students who have been through this complaint process to gain insight into the exceptional treatment of customers with student loan concerns.

As you know, student loans are guaranteed by governments, so when a bank reports a default, a government pays a large portion of the debt immediately.  The CIBC has claimed defaults--and collected lump sums from federal and provincial governments--even while the students were in school full-time.  In some cases, the student had not filed a required form; for others, the forms were filed but lost or applied to the wrong records.

The bank made no effort to contact these students (with obvious conflicting information in their loan records) in the many months while the loans switched to interest-bearing status, to repayment status, and to default.  For student loans, there is minimal "default prevention" at CIBC.  The prospect of a lump sum payment on the government-guaranteed loan is quite appealing.

In each case, when the error was brought to the attention of CIBC administrators, the blame has been placed on the student.  It never matters if the student was still in school, if the forms had been filed or lost, or even if the missing forms turned out to be misapplied through employee error.  The CIBC does not return confiscated loan funds to the students who needed the money, interest is never refunded, and credit bureau reports are not revised.

The bank employees, oddly enough, have told ex-students to contact the credit report agencies to ask *them* to change the information!

I do thank you very much for taking the time to read my comments on this issue.


If I may be candid with you, Ms. Brewster, I would like to share my concern about your description of your February 27 story.  You wrote that you are looking for "young Canadians who may have been declined for a loan and can't figure out why."  I suspect--hopefully incorrectly--that your story-plan contains only three nuggets:

  (1) "Some credit reports have errors."
  (2) "YOURS might contain an error, and you wouldn't even know it!"
  (3) "Advice:  Obtain a (free) copy of your report before applying for credit."

Frankly, I bet most viewers of Marketplace already know these things--certainly more than the number of viewers with mysterious errors in their reports.  The advice to obtain your credit report is a lot like advice to eat more fruits and vegetables:  Yes, a good idea, but not news.

I hope that I am underestimating you and the other producers.  A sincere and balanced investigation into student debt will reveal many fascinating and shocking issues.  Many of these stories would be riveting and informative for your viewers.

If I have underestimated the Marketplace production team and you are investigating the meat of the issue, then I apologize.

Again, thank you for your thoughtful attention,

--Sean XXXXXXX
#XX, XXXX XXXXX Street         <xxxx.xxxx@hotmail.com>
xxx, XX                             (xxx) xxx-xxxx
X0X 0X0          & nbsp;         (Kind ly keep my contact info private)

------------
The opinions expressed in this message are my own.  You may share them--I hope you do!  Just don't assume that they represent the opinions of others:  not my employer, not the website operators...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whereto? Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 8:44pm
Long time no post.


Nice letter
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/February/2005 at 8:44pm

Beauty. Don't think you were impolite at all, Sean.

Problem is, from what I can tell, is that they go through researchers at Marketplace like I go through socks. They are probably fresh journalism or TV production grads, and our stories are too unwieldly for a quick 15-minute segment with catchy soundbites.

That being said, I think I should look up my old emails to Marketplace and submit them with a wee message to back you up...

Poly

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/February/2005 at 2:55am
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 polyhymnia61 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/February/2005 at 4:49am

ARrrrrrrrrrggg...I can't find those emails. Probably in the box of files I left back in Canada...

Sure I posted them on this forum waaaaaaay back when...I should do a search...

Poly

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