Debt Reduction Info Please

I have a couple of questions regarding the newly ammended Debt Reduction in Repayment.  I hope someone can help me....

1) If I attended school on two separate occasions and they consolidated my loans, does this wipe out the previous months I had used up for IR?  I have only used 6 months since the last time I attended school, but had used many months in between the first and second.  When I called Scotia to see, they said they only have record of me using the 6 months after the last time I attended school.  Does this mean I will not meet the criteria for exhausting my 30 months of IR?

2)  Does anyone know where I can find a Debt Reduction Income Table?  If I no longer qualify for IR does that automatically mean I won't qualify for Debt Reduction?

My Ontario loan is in collections and I am robbing Peter to pay Paul to keep my Canada loan up to date (and live).  Do I just give up or is there some sort of hope?

Thanks!

Danny, you are mistaken. There is a debt reduction formula. I deal with RBC Atlantic Student loan Centre and I was able to get it over the phone. It's lower than 15%. It's closer to 10% (for a family of 4 like me) of your gross. If you call they can at least tell you if you qualify although they can't say for how much. They are also back dating all applications to when the changes came in May. At least that's what they told me.

You're doing what you can do, 1step.

I am filled with admiration for those who can persevere as you are. Things will get better one day.

All the best!

i am in ontario and have been told there is no debt reduction for my ontario loans, it only applies to your CSL.  when i called the phone number on my "your application for debt reduction has been DENIED" letter, the guy on the phone told me that anyone making in excess of 15K would not qualify for debt reducition, regardless of family size. ahole.   he told me that they could not do anything for me i would have to try and negotiate something with my bank (and they have no intention of negotiating anything with me since when my loan goes into default they get paid in full by the government

the debt reduction criteria is ludicrious because the ONLY criteria they have is based on your total gross income (you AND your spouse).  they DO NOT consider expenses whatsoever - my husband has a mortgage, vehicle payment, personal loan, not to mention insurance, hydro, phone, etc.  whatever is left goes to food and there is never money left over at the end of the month.  I am the one who owes on MY student loans (which i incurred way beore we met, married and reproduced) and yet the bank feels that since my loan payments are less than 15% of HIS gross i dont qualify for debt reduction, despite the fact that the loans are MY responsibility and i have zero income.  they WILL consider any 'hardship' expenses to reduce your income ie paying for a funeral or any medical bills or a new roof, that sort of thing.  funny but their idea of hardship is a bit different from reality.  THEY CONTINUE to IGNORE the BASIC COST OF LIVING EXPENSES.  hey, i have mould in my bathroom that i cant get rid of without removing the floor and the subfloor and replacing the whole mess but that does not meet their criteria.  i currently have no water because my water pump needs to be replaced to the tune of almost five hunderd bucks - again, an expense that they will not consider. 

makes a ton of sense to me

after years of playing phone tag with the bank, having them constantly lose my forms and duck my phonecalls - I GIVE UP.  i will gladly wait another week or two to be in default and they can sick a CA on me and after a few weeks of listening to my nineteen month old daughter scream into the phone i am sure they will stop calling .  that or i will let my son play his lion king music into the phone every time the CA calls - drives me nuts.  i could always get their number and call and harrass them every few hours - have you given up yet ?  i still have no income, you know.  how many other peoples lives are you planning on ruining today ?  you realize that the bank has already been paid by the government and that since you are too incompetent to get a real job the feds legislated collection agencies into existence, right ?  i'll be more than happy to point out all the rules they are breaking and be as big a pain in the ass as i can.

i guess i should be nice when the CA calls - not their fault, they just do what they are told.  i guess they are sheep - too bad i like the taste of lamb

i am tired of the system screwing us over and leaving us for dead.  my new mission is to systematically destroy BNS , the CA they sick on me, and the government that legislated me and countless others into this hellish existence.  i am going to do everything i can to shed light on the plight of those crippled by student debt.  the internet and my computer are my weapons and i know how to use them.  i just found myself a job ( too bad it doenst pay anything)

i know what you're thinking.  no one pissed in my cornflakes and i didnt wake up on the wrong side of the bed - i dont eat breakfast and i cant sleep lately.  im just fed up with a system that destroys lives because of what it says on a piece of paper.  the injustice and betrayal by our government and the thought of raising my kids under this same short sighted and totally irresponsible government scares the crap out of me.  what a legacy to leave behind for my kids and my grandkids.this is where my husband pipes up - stand back, she's gonna blow, duck and cover people.  hell hath no fury like a woman possessed.

sorry, i tend to get carried away.  sad thing is most of you know how i feel and will sympathize with my rantings.  (java, did i go too far ??  i must admit to being on a caffeine rush right now)

1step, good luck getting your answers adn keep after the bank to get you the info you need.  dont wait for snail mail, insist they fax you the info if you have access to a fax machine.  keep us poosted if you are one of the few, the proud to be granted a debt reduction.  somone out the has to qualify for it - i hope its someone who can appreciate it.

Hunter, try to borrow elsewhere to pay the debt. Then if you do have to go bankrupt after it defaults, it'll be covered as a consumer debt not excepted by the special student loan status.

Check into the details first and make sure that you don't get nailed for fraudulent bankruptcy, but if it's your intent to pay the debt and you simply can't because of the balance and the interest...well that's what bankruptcy is for.

Just a thought.

Java Man, there is no chance of my getting credit, anywhere, ever, but for others thats a plan that could be the path to success ! The stupid RB has lost my forms so many times that my rating is destroyed despite the fact that it is and has been my only unpaid debt ever!My husband could probably borrow some to pay off a small portion of the debt but then I don't think we can shoulder any more monthly payments than we already have and there is no way we can have him claiming bankrupcy on a consumer credit debt, than the whole family is w/o ability to obtain credit and its not something he would go for Something to think on anyway....


Momof2 Thats my first concern too and I was/still am convinced I will get him the hell out of dodge if it comes to any point where creditors start bothering him. There is such a feeling of enormous guilt, like my god have I screwed my hubby/my children/our family too? Its so easy to wallow in guilt/stress/anger somedays its just too much. I have been researching this issue for almost a year and whats interesting to me is I have learned the most about SL debt on this forum. No one seems to know anything about it, not lawyers, or trustee's, and most certainly not anyone who works for any type of sl lender. It "almost" seems like a conspiracy to keep all of us isolated. One thing that does suck is that in SK they keep bad debt on your cr for 14 years..legislation was just put forth to change it to 7 but that means I could be screwed until I am 52 years old! I am not bondable, cannot get a job with government agency, cannot go back to school or I reset the clock.... what am I going to do!!!!Anyway thats the least of my worries    

Hubby and I were not married until after I finished school but he stresses too as he has paid back all of his sl's and worked hard to get where he is! When I started school I was a single mom of 1 and was convinced an MA in psych was my path to greatness. No one told me how hard it would be to get a placement in a graduate program SK(where I had to stay if wanted to be with my daughter!), or that I could not get much than a 10$ an hour job with a BA, I figured that out about 3/4 of the way through the program and by then it was too late!

Feeling alone, helpless, is the worst sensation and despite the fact I would not wish this on anyone its comforting to know others are in a similar situation. I really think if my hubby were making enough to pay he would, but raising a family of 3 on 60 000 a year is tight and there is no money there to pay back my debt we can barely cover 1 car and the house(and of course the kids education fund which for obvious reasons is of primo importance over here ! In addition to which what really burns my ass is that the whole point of becoming educated was to be gainfully employed yet the system has warped my credit rating, made it virtually impossible to get into a graduate program(unless I go back for my education degree as well), and there are NO jobs out there for a BA graduate that pay enough to afford the almost 1000 dollar in daycare costs I would have for the 3 kids!!! GRRRRRRRR

Lets keep each other updated, if you need a shoulder to cry on feel free to e-mail me anytime.

Laura