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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frostbyte View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote frostbyte Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Interest letters.
    Posted: 08/March/2005 at 9:33am
Student loan was in collections, last two years I tried to get interest letters from the bank for payments made.  2 years ago worked fine after persistent calls, last year they told me I payed no interest, even though collection agency told me how much of my payment went to interest with each payment.  Soon afterwards (maybe to shut me up from asking more questions?) they took my loan out of collections and now I make payments to the bank.

Again though it seems I'm going to have to work to get my interest letters. 

Is there something funny going on or what?

Also, since I've been making payments directly to the bank, they've raised the monthly payment 22% without explanation.  When I called about it, they said they'd send something in the mail (and that I must have lost my previous explanation letter) but still haven't seen anything.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/March/2005 at 5:47pm

 

 This is all too common.

 Collectors hate to be grilled by people to send documents. It takes time out of their day of colelcting money. Spending time locating or preparing these pieces of information costs them money in commission. In many cases, they just tell you whatever they can to get of of the phone with you as quickly as possible. This is evident from what you have described.

 If you want to get your information quickly, write to me privately and I will issue you a document that you can fax to the agency and your lender so that your request and instruction is adhered to. This will save you from having to stew on it. Or, I can go get it for you rather quickly if need be.

 

John LeBlanc
The Canadian Financial Wellness Group
 
Tel: (902) 464-8727
 

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote frostbyte Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10/March/2005 at 3:07am
Well, oddly enough, the collections agency that I was dealing with at that time was perfectly willing to read off specific payment details for the entire year, which was rather time consuming.  The bank itself is where the problem was/is.  The first year they told me account being paid off in collections don't qualify (which is wrong, I had lengthy discussions between Revenue Canada, and the bank.) and the next year they just said 0 interest was paid.

As I said, since then the bank has removed my account from collections and has me making regular payments on my student loan again.  Not exactly sure what prompted them to make that decision without me even suggesting it.

My head is still spinning over last years mess with one source telling me specific dollar and cent amounts about interest paid and principal paid, and the other saying absolutely NO interest was paid on the account.  I've never managed to get any kind of answer out of them regarding the disparity.  (Except of course them yanking the account from collections.)

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Devon
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote OntarioPeasant Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16/March/2005 at 5:58am

I'm 40 years old and still paying off my student loan debt sentence from three years of community college. Graduated from computer engineering technology in 1997, and I'm poorer than my father was who grew up in the depression era and only achieved grade nine education. The old bugger fought German paratroopers at Ortona, Italy, and he'd roll over in his grave if he knew how poor I am now. Four years of dot com income and paying student loan debt in Ottawa then was laid off. I work at a call centre now as a help desk technician and earning eleven bucks an hour. I can barely keep a roof over my head and car's falling apart. I'm late for work sometimes when the car stalls. Oh Canada ?.

Scotia bank turned me down for a car loan as did CIBC over four years ago.

Do yourselves a favour, kids. If your parent can't afford to send you to university or college, then don't borrow the money because there's a good chance you'll be paying it off at the price of having a family or a decent life. Living wage jobs just aren't there in relation to how much the leg breakers will be after you to repay. You're looking at indentured servitude for a loan that will take you years and years to pay off. Don't screw yourselves. Canada is not a social democracy, and high finance for cars and everything else will be the price you pay for being poor in this frozen Puerto Rico of the North as our natural resources are carted off to the States at a frenzied pace.

13 Euro-nations have no university tuition fees
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leafs Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18/April/2005 at 10:10pm

lol, sounds exactly like the predicament I got myself in.  Graduated from IT technology school and landed a job 3 months before graduation in the IT field.  40k job.  After 2 years on the job, spent 10k to take mom back to home country for first time in 22 years.  Came back from vacation to found my whole IT department had been chopped a month before.  Received severance package and the whole deal and ever since been doing small computer projects and factory work.

Man, if I had known the aggravation of student loans, I would have paid it off instead of going on vacation. To make matters worst, my parents were making low income being refugees with no education so I qualified for the maximum student loan.  Man, my parents are better off than me ...

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pixxa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/May/2005 at 5:09am
Quick question.. I've been paying "interest only" on my loans with Scotia for 1 1/2 years now, but they won't issue the statement I need in order to claim this on my Income Tax. They tell me that the payments are applied to the principle and not the interest!

This doesn't make sense to me for the obvious above and every other loan I have, student or otherwise, payments are applied to the interest and then the principle.

Am I, once again, being scammed by Scotia?

Thanks for your input!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kwelmm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/May/2005 at 5:20am

Pixxa,

Something is not right here...!!!!

Did Scotia agree to "interest only" payments??  If so, try to get that in writing from them.  If they refuse...ask to speak to someone with more authority...don't settle for the average joe who answers the phones....they don't know the ins and outs usually!!!

You are correct about $$ being applied to interest first then principal.  Ask them....if your payments are being applied to principal only....then is it the case that you are not paying any interest???????   I would doubt very much that this is the case!!

Maybe buy something to record the conversation before you call them!!!  Then you will have some evidence if they refuse to put anything in writing if you decide to file a complaint.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pixxa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/May/2005 at 6:17am
Thanks for your post kwelmm..

I have a letter from them dated January 19, 2004 which clearly states that they're providing me with a 6 month "interest only" payment option and that once the 6 months was up I had to resume regular payments. As I said, they continued to bill me for just the interest and I haven't brought this to their attention because I can't even afford just the interest. I'm going further into credit card debt to meet monthly needs.

In the past Scotia's told me that the payments I made are applied to the principle and therefore exempt from Income Tax claim. I was audited by Revenue Canada when I went ahead and tried to claim it anyway and ended up with another debt to the goverment. I haven't seen my tax refunds in years since it all goes to HRDC.

So, to make a long story short, I'm afraid to call Scotia for the papers (if I am in fact am entitled to this tax write off) because that may draw their attention to the fact I'm still paying interest only and there's no way for me to make full payments yet. I suppose I could wait and apply the interst paid in 2004 in a future year?

I'm so uneducated when it comes to these kinds of things and when I try to comprehend all the beaurocratic BS that's involved with the SL system, my eyes glaze over and brain turns to mush.

Pixxa
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kwelmm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21/May/2005 at 12:05pm

Pixxa,

I feel the same way.....you are not alone!!!  I can understand why you do not want to draw attention to the matter.  My tax return is also going to the HRSDC.

I'm not really sure what else to tell you...I wish I had better advice for you.....  :(

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nago Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24/May/2005 at 3:23pm
your right about getting things in writing

i was told to pay 335 prov and 415 fed interest only just to apply for dr

I phoned a week later to get all of this in writing

Two days later i got letter from collections

So i phoned them and they said bank made an error

So again i said send me a letter to say they made an error

My letters didnt arrive so i phoned em last friday

And blamo my prov is in default and 3 weeks later they are deciding if they will accept my interest payments

So i told em to send me the 335 bucks i borrowed back

Its tues today, i got calls from prov ---they sent my app for dr back for the 4 time--saying i cant apply till my stuff is up to date--so i told em i payed on may 2, 2005. Now this lady wants me to go to the bank and show my may 2 receipt

fed came back to so i got to reapply for the 5 time



Is that incompetence ?

how bout lending me 125 bucks so i can hire john leblanc ?


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sassycat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26/May/2005 at 2:52pm
WEll another year has come and gone with no income tax receipts. Johnny if you are reading this can you please give me some insight. Are they required to provide income tax receipts? I have been paying through NCO for the last 4 years with no end in sight yet. And in those 4 years I have not received a income tax receipt. Please some shed some light on this for me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26/May/2005 at 3:48pm

 

 If your debt is Federal or Provincial guaranteed then you are due a tax receipt, indeed. If the debt is bank risk, then you are out of luck.

 For HRDC, call 888-819-2516 and request a statement and tax receipt from them IF it is CSL. For provincial loans, contact you provincial govenrment and speak to the provincial student loan administration.

 Johnny

 www.cfwgroup.ca

 www.cfwgroup.ca/forum

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pixxa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09/June/2005 at 6:53am

Thanks Johnny

The Federal is the banks risk portion only. However, the Provincial loan is still both, which would mean I am entitled to claim at least some of the interest payments. And the letter they sent clearly states that I'm making interest only payments.

Rather than rocking the boat while I'm currently unemployed, I think I'll wait to claim in another tax year. I believe it's 3 years before losing the option to claim the tax writeoff.

In the meantime, I will contact HRDC, Revenue Canada and Provincial government for more info, although, they all try to direct calls to other agencies when they hear the words "student loan" in my experience.

Pixx

Somtimes I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe. anonymous
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