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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Forum LockedProblem with Alberta Student Loans/Crown Collect

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hearse83 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 25/September/2017 at 7:27am
Unfortunately I was ignorant about what happens to a student loan when you don't pay it and it went to collections.

I had lost my job when the company I worked for folded, and unfortunately I wasn't able to make payments on all my bills. My Alberta Student Loan was my cheapest bill, so it was the one that got put to the back of the pile. After two months they sent it to metropolitan credit adjusters for the full amount of $4000. 

After they contacted me, they indicated that I could apply for something like 'financial hardship' - as clearly I wasn't able to pay an entire $4000 at once. So I did, and they bounced it back to the government. Now here's where things get REALLY messed up.

I called metropolitan to ask what my next step was. They said, call crown debt collections, because once it goes back to them, they have nothing to do with it. I called crown debt collectors and they say nothing has been decided yet, and it will take 6-8 weeks to make a decision and send it to me by mail. That was at the end of June. Apparently in July they sent me a letter but I didn't receive it. At the end of August, after waiting 6-8 weeks and not seeing anything, I called them. They told me I could only make payments by cheque, and I could only mail them. So I did. Then a week later metropolitan credit adjusters calls me and says the loan is in collections again due to non payment! 

I called crown debt collection back and they told me, "well we sent you the letter you for sure must have received it, and if you sent us the cheques we will for sure get them." They gave me two days for the cheques to arrive in the mail. I was furious, because the onus on whether my loan was in financial distress status or collections was based on something that was out of my hands. SO I EXPRESS POST NEW CHEQUES TO THEM WITH TRACKING - Success, I see the cheques were delivered to them in the time frame they were asking.

Oh, but what happened after that? Metro calls me and said there's nothing they can do, the crown decided they were putting my loan into collections and because I didn't call them to follow up, it's my fault. Even though I have tracking that said they were delivered. Now they want me to pay $170 a month on it, and I just can't afford it, or go to a high risk lender, which seems crazy.

What are my options here? I complied with them every step of the way, both metropolitan and crown collections. They were the ones that dropped the ball but they refuse to admit it.
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hearse83 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hearse83 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25/September/2017 at 8:29am
I also would like to add that metro keeps telling me 'the government guideline is $170' when they are telling me how much I have to pay. I told them straight up, I'd pay them $83/mo as that's all I can afford. I have no idea what they're talking about in terms of the 'government guideline'
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SolveStudentDebt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25/September/2017 at 12:44pm
This is how the system works unfortunately. There is no one to really govern them. They make the rules and call the shots. If all you can pay is what you claim then they have to accept it really. It would be a careless waste of Alberta taxpayer money if they do anything funky. 

What was this application for financial hardship that they spoke of? was it to have the loan set aside due to hardship with extenuating circumstances? 
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 hearse83 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26/September/2017 at 4:22am
I have been working, but my wife is on mat leave, and my income is low at the moment. They said that there is an interest free option called 'financial hardship' where it doesn't go to the collection agency. The problem is after my application was sent, they didn't follow up with me. Then they bounced it back to collections. I even phoned them on occasion to find out what was going on, and their response was to 'keep watching the mail.'

Something even more funky happened today. First thing in the morning I received a call from the Crown saying that they received the cheques via expresspost and that they were going to honor them. But I had to argue with the woman I was dealing with to get this out of her. She admonished me for talking to Metro, and telling them my story. 

"We monitor all communication with Metro!"
"Yeah so..."
"You told them I only gave you two days, that is not true"
"Yes, that's exactly what you told me."

Sounds like the collector for the Crown got her hand slapped over the terms she gave me by whomever monitors the conversations between the customer and metro. I had to stop her right in the middle of her sentence to ask her what the purpose of the call was. 

I absolutely cannot believe how these agencies act. If I behaved the same way in my business I'm sure I'd be fired outright with cause. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Royal-NCO Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28/September/2017 at 3:53am
It's game playing, pure and simple.  This is one of the main reasons why people run from their student loan debt.  You deal with this hassle long enough, and you finally reach the point where you say:  "Oh, to hell with this crap!"  Any other company/individual would be fired and not paid for this nonsense, so why should we pay?  Because, they're protected by the Canadian government who can destroy our lives.

Good luck, I hope Johnny can help you through this.
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