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FreedomFighter
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Topic: getting sued by Attorney General Posted: 28/April/2011 at 3:19pm |
Just got served by the Sherrif's office... being sued by the Attorney General of Canada, oh joy!!! I am recently getting caught up on my taxes (there will be well over $4K going towards my $10K outstanding loan) - anyone gone through this? Any suggestions or easiest way to get it over with? I'm not trying to get out of paying, just want the most painless way of going about it and I don't want to pay lawyers thousands either.
In the gigantic package, there is a form that gives me the options and one is to accept the debt and make payment arrangements - thinking of going with this and hoping I can make some payment arrangements for the remaining total after my taxes are filed. Argh!!! What a freakin' nightmare.
Should have never gone to University...
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 05/May/2011 at 6:01pm |
Wow, not much happening on this board... but if anyone out there is interested I have recently found out a ton of information, talked to lawyers and have an idea of how to move ahead. This one loan, like most of us, is only a small part of a larger student loan which is now broken up into at least 4 different places for me. It's completely unmanageable and it's ridiculous that we're being put in this position!!!
A big FYI to those struggling and feeling overwhelmed - YOU ARE NOT POWERLESS!!!!! There are a lot of options out there, regardless of what the collection agencies are telling you and no matter what stage your loans are at.
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fifteen year hell
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Joined: 13/June/2011
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Posted: 13/June/2011 at 10:10am |
I would certainly like to hear what you learned. With the stress that this debt caused me and their inflexibility for payments, I had a heart attack out of the mess at the age of 38.
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morena53
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Posted: 14/June/2011 at 2:35am |
I just got sued too.. what options do we have now? I'm thinking of hiring a lawyer?
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SolveStudentDebt
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Joined: 05/November/2003
Location: Canada
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Posted: 14/June/2011 at 4:40am |
More - you don't need to hire a lawyer if you don't want to. THat would be costly. If you want this solved at a low cost I will help you. The government of Canada is on the hunt for money and they only way to do that effectively is to do what they are sdoing to you. You will read in other posts I have put up that that government is suing borrowers more frequently now. They are hungry, and CRA is a for-profit Crown corporation. They care about money - not truth.
I can mediate this to a solution for you. I specialize in this as well.
Johnny
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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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lola36
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Joined: 21/July/2011
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Posted: 21/July/2011 at 7:40am |
The problem is the government wants there money and will do anything to get it. They can put you in jail for not paying a deliquent debt. Then once your time is served they will still make you pay the restitution on the debt owed. I would take this matter very seriously. If your family can help pay a portion it will go in your favour in court. If I were you I would try to negotiate a settlement with the Attorney General's office. If you can't afford a lawyer they always have someone on duty counsel in the courthouse. They may be able to represent you and your case. You may also qualify for legal aid. Once a debt has gone into the Attorney's General office you need to get legal representation right away.
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 22/July/2011 at 3:16am |
They cannot put you in jail for not paying a student loan. Negotiating a settlement (reduction of the debt) with the AG's office would be a futile effort. The crown does not "just" settle. You have to give them a reason to, and even then it is extremely difficult. Legal aid does not handle these types of cases either.
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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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Jona
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Posted: 04/August/2011 at 4:23pm |
I certainly sympathize with your situation! My health has been permanently damaged from the stress. I would also like to know what the previous person found out as well.
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calgary
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Posted: 03/October/2011 at 3:13pm |
Hi Freedom Fighter - I am in the same situation and feel like I have no options.
It sounds like you found some solutions and I would appreciate any suggestions you could offer. I'm not really finding many answers on here & I don't know where else to look. I feel sick about this & would sincerely be so thankful for any tips you could offer. If you'd like, I can also give you my email ..
Thank you!!!!!
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 03/October/2011 at 3:53pm |
You call up CRA Legal Services or Justice Canada Collections & Litigation Services and ask them to accept your payment arrangements. They may ask you to fill out and return a signed financial declaration to determine what you shoudl pay based ont heir standards. Be honest with them and they will help you if you really can't pay what the requirements are. If you lie to them and they catch you then they will call you out and do things you won't want them to do.
If you want to kniow what your payment requirements will be, please desc ribe what your yearly income is, and what the amount is that you areing sued for, the province and city you reside in, marital status, and number of dependants. I will tell you. If you are experienceing hardship, describe it for me and I will make an assessment for you and tell you how to approach it.
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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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chipsotoole
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Joined: 01/December/2011
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Posted: 07/December/2011 at 1:44am |
You can be put in JAIL for not paying a debt? What century are you writing from and how did you get internet service there? Don't just write whatever is on your mind, make sure it has some truth to it - or are you a collector trying to put the scare on people here?
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administrator
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Posted: 07/December/2011 at 5:20am |
Re-read the forum. It says you CAN NOT be put in jail.
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Administrator Mark OMeara Author of Let Go and Heal: Recovery from Emotional Pain https://LaughSingWrite.com - http://bit.ly/heal2024
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lola36
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Posted: 07/December/2011 at 7:46am |
My first response was to the question being asked. If a creditor takes you to court in regards to your outstanding debt and they make a judgement against you in a legal sense. You will need a lawyer to represent you in court if you are being sued by the Attorney General. If you made the agreement and failed to make the payments they then could send you to jail for contempt in court. That is what I should have stated on the first response. Creditors by law can take legal action if you have an outstanding debt on a loan. That is why I suggest you make an arrangement to pay back the student debts if you owe on them and contact a lawyer for your legal rights in this matter. I am not a collector or creditor but have had dealings in this type of situation and suggest you take action now. If you can only afford a couple hundred a month then make arrangements to pay it back. They will take your income tax, garnishee your wages and everything. This will affect your life more than you know. This isn't something to scare youbut it has happened to several people. If you make a deal with a collection agency for pennies on the dollar of the student loan you will save yourself a lot of hassles in the future. In court if you can prove you cannot afford the debt due to harsh circumstances that can also go in your favour depending on the judge. I can't say because I have never had that problem. I have always made my deals directly with the collection agency or the government institute to avoid problems like this. If you borrow money from someone the right thing to do is to pay them back.
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 06/March/2012 at 6:35pm |
Hey everyone - sorry I didn't come back and update, I HATE when people do that!!! :)
I talked to a couple of lawyers and they were super helpful
in that they really set my mind at ease. The first thing the one lawyer
said (as I was freaking out on the phone), was calm down! He said
'people get served papers and panic, don't panic...'
He suggested I take all of the information about all my student loans
and go to court with this. He said the judge will want to make payments
reasonable for me and the fact that the loans are ALLLL over the place
and I'm not able to control them or pay EVERYONE back, will factor in on
the case. I emphasized that I DO want to pay them back, I would love to end this nightmare that CIBC started for me in 1999!!!! He was all for me going to court about this.
I then met with the rep for the Attorney General and a moderator/judge or whoever he was at the law courts. The Feds actually set out a suprisingly low minimal payment, much less than the minimum payment stated in my monthly statements. So when I realized I could pay it, I figured that I'd get the feds paid off first, then worry about the rest later. I was paying a couple of collection agencies, and upon getting the lawyers advice, I ceased all payments and told them I wanted a complete financial history breakdown and when I got that, I would arrange payments. I've yet to receive anything. oh, I still get the nasty phone calls, but I'm also recording them(everyone should do this!!!) and they don't intimidate me in the least. I know they have very little power and they can drag my ass to court for all I care. In fact I will not pay them anything until they do take me to court. I will have countless records of their harassing phone calls at work and at home, recordings of their numerous threats and verbal abuse, etc. I'd LOVE to play those in court!!!!
Oh and I asked the lawyer I talked to right then if i could hire him, he was so awesome. He just laughed and said "you can't afford me!"
So - my advice - don't panic! Do your research, talk to people, connect with them and share your stories! I even browsed CanLii for weeks looking at old student loan cases and that was helpful.
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 06/March/2012 at 6:38pm |
morena53 wrote:
I just got sued too.. what options do we have now? I'm thinking of hiring a lawyer? |
If you can afford it, GO FOR IT!!! I almost did the same and would do it in the future in a heartbeat if I had to. The peace of mind you get turning it over to a professional is worth it!
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 06/March/2012 at 6:46pm |
calgary wrote:
Hi Freedom Fighter - I am in the same situation and feel like I have no options.
It sounds like you found some solutions and I would appreciate any suggestions you could offer. I'm not really finding many answers on here & I don't know where else to look. I feel sick about this & would sincerely be so thankful for any tips you could offer. If you'd like, I can also give you my email ..
Thank you!!!!! |
I hear you, there are many others like us out there stressed out and feeling like there are no options. My financial situation is so screwed up right now, I have no hope of straightening it out anytime soon. I've really just learned to live with the crap credit rating I have and adapt. It sucks, but I'm also in a way better mental state since I got sued!! Hope that gives some of you hope!! :) For now, I'm not going to let those f*cking student loans define me. I feel ok about it because I'm paying off what I can. And if some asswipe from ARC wants to make my life hell or ruin my day with verbal abuse, well, they can try. But it isn't going to work. 13yrs of abuse from them has certainly given me thick skin!! If you want to share more of your situation with me, feel free. Or any questions... let me know.
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 06/March/2012 at 6:49pm |
Johnny wrote:
You call up CRA Legal Services or Justice Canada Collections & Litigation Services and ask them to accept your payment arrangements. They may ask you to fill out and return a signed financial declaration to determine what you shoudl pay based ont heir standards. Be honest with them and they will help you if you really can't pay what the requirements are. If you lie to them and they catch you then they will call you out and do things you won't want them to do.
If you want to kniow what your payment requirements will be, please desc ribe what your yearly income is, and what the amount is that you areing sued for, the province and city you reside in, marital status, and number of dependants. I will tell you. If you are experienceing hardship, describe it for me and I will make an assessment for you and tell you how to approach it. |
CRA didn't ask anything about my finances or filling out financial forms. I just had a straight across "this is the minimum payment we want" and that was it. No financial discussions before or after.
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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 06/March/2012 at 6:55pm |
Hell yeah, you can pass it around to anyone it might help!!!
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SolveStudentDebt
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Posted: 07/March/2012 at 2:58am |
Hey Freedom - That's awesome.
The reason no financial or payroll informnation was required is because you agreed to their minimum payment requirements. As long as borrowers agree to ther terms then they do not require any further paperwork and accept the arrangement. However, other cases are bnot as cut and dry as yours unfortunately.
The way CRA Legal services determines minimum payment is all bqased on the size of your debt. They require student loans to be paid out within 5-7 years in some cases. In cases whereas loans are quite large they agree to longer-term amortizations of up to 10 years.
Going to court is a good experience for some poeple. For others though it is not. Each case is different. I would guess you owed less than $12,000.00 and the set a repayment term of 5-6 years.
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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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FreedomFighter
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Posted: 10/March/2012 at 4:02pm |
Nope, I owe more than that. And they had a "minimum payment" but I was able to negotiate it lower during the meeting. They still did not ask for any financial info.
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