What is the quickest and most effective way of stopping NCO from garnishing for Student Loans I didnt even know that I had until about 20 minutes ago? They told me NOT to contact the Department of Education, but I don't trust NCO. They'd sell their own grandmother up the river for a nickel.
What is the quickest and most effective way of stopping NCO from garnishing for Student Loans I didnt even know that I had until about 20 minutes ago? They told me NOT to contact the Department of Education, but I don't trust NCO. They'd sell their own grandmother up the river for a nickel.

How did you not know that you had student loans? Call the Dept of Ed see if you they still own the account. If not there are a few options. But you might want to work out a payment arrangement with NCO.
Luckily, student loans are the exception to the "government" OC exception "A student loan, because the consumer is purchasing "services" (education) for personal use."

Go to the DoE's web site; and get the address and phone number for the Ombudsmen's office.
How did you not know that you had student loans? Call the Dept of Ed see if you they still own the account. If not there are a few options. But you might want to work out a payment arrangement with NCO.

This is because rather coincidentally I am in the process of applying for Graduate School and I just received a PIN number from the www.nslds.ed.gov and found the outstanding loans there. Amazing that this coincided with a call from NCO (whom I consider swarthy and very dubious in their dirty practices to undermine debtors and debt collection). I don't want to deal with them if I do not have too.
Okay,

Here is the deal thus far.

I found the website of the Ombudsman. http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/index.html

Instructions directed me to find the name of the Loan Servicer. I found that the Loan Servicer is "Debt Collection Service" by calling the number on NSLDS.ED.GOV because my detailed list of loans on the web site did not say exactly who the servicer is. Luckily with my pin number I got the information from their voice activated service which told me it is "DCS". Not sure if this is an "NCO" agency name. My next step is to contact them and I was provided a number for them at 1-800-621-3115

This completely sucks when you're up against the wall as you end up constantly doubting yourself that you are doing the right thing...and you fear you are just mucking it up and digging a bigger hole.

There is something about a hearing being required before this action. But as we all know, these agencies operate above and between the law and rules. However, from what i am reading they are not allowed to garnish more than 15% if it comes to that. I presume that is from my "net" and the garnishment.

Am I correct in if I establish the rehabilitation right away, this will all go away and go back to "normal" in 12 months and then I can have the pleasure of borrowing even more monies for Graduate School? What a vicious Merry-Go-Round!
NCO will not sue you for defaulted student loans because DOE will not let them do that. DOE does not allow 3rd party debt collectors to file suit on student loans. They don't even come under FDCPA when collecting student loans but DOE makes them follow FDCPA anyway.

When Congress authorized IRS to hire private debt collectors they were not going to be allowed to file lawsuits or make any decisions about the IRS delinquency. All they were to be allowed to do was to harass delinquent taxpayers to death and scare them into paying but they would have had to follow FDCPA under IRS too.

So if you demand validation, they will send your demand letter to DOE who will send you the verification directly instead of sending it to the 3rd party debt collector and they take that debt collector out of the loop. NCO will no longer have the account to collect. They will wait a few months for you to decide to pay up and then turn it over to another debt collector and you can go through the same process over and over and over again. DOE pays the debt collector off and hires another one but of course that increases the amount you owe every time they do that.

So what you need to do is demand validation, sit back and wait for DOE to verify and then you can either contact the DOE Rehab program and make arrangements to get the account current or you can simply wait for the next collection agency to start bothering again and go through the same process all over again for ever and ever.

If DOE don't sue you! They might and they might not but one thing you can count on is that if they do sue you they will win no matter what. If they sue you there isn't any way you can hope to be successful in court.

So you can play the validation game over and over again and might never have to pay them or you can play the validation game and then make arrangements through the DOE Rehab program and after a year of good timely payments the account will be reinstated to good standing and they will take it off your credit reports.
Further research (and i am posting this for both affirmation and for future victims like me whom NCO tries their swarthy intimidation techniques to) indicates that if I call the US Department of Education at 1-800-621-3115 per http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/rehabilitation.html I can make arrangments to place my loans into Rehabilitation.

The reason (based on other research here on Creditnet) that the nice lady from NCO told me "NOT" to call the US Dept. of Education is that I will be Bypassing NCO and they will not get a dime of the fees or commission from this debt. Bastards!

I will call tomorrow and then update this post on what the outcome is.
C1; read the FTC Commentary on the FDCPA...

I quoted the inclusion of student loans into the definition of a debt... The student is purchasing a service for their own private use; which makes it a debt, subject to the FDCPA.
So if you demand validation, they will send your demand letter to DOE who will send you the verification directly instead of sending it to the 3rd party debt collector and they take that debt collector out of the loop. NCO will no longer have the account to collect. They will wait a few months for you to decide to pay up and then turn it over to another debt collector and you can go through the same process over and over and over again. DOE pays the debt collector off and hires another one but of course that increases the amount you owe every time they do that.

So what you need to do is demand validation, sit back and wait for DOE to verify and then you can either contact the DOE Rehab program and make arrangements to get the account current or you can simply wait for the next collection agency to start bothering again and go through the same process all over again for ever and ever.





Okay then, this is exactly what I will do, I will place a call to my "good friend" at NCO and demand Validation first, then I will contact DOE and begin the process of DOE.

Brilliant!! Thank you so much for your support and help!

I, like the thousands of others out there am trying to pay my debt, acknowledging and NOT avoiding them. However, I didn't have this happen because I am a Bad Person, or because I criminally decided to duck repaying for my education. I've already paid 50% of my Education debt mistakenly thinking it was paid off 100% due to misinformation. These loans are nearly 20 years old and just slipped between the cracks. A lot can happen to cause this, and that is life. I will not be punished unfairly, harrassed or intimidated for being human.

Again, thanks!
Okay then, this is exactly what I will do, I will place a call to my "good friend" at NCO and demand Validation first, then I will contact DOE and begin the process of DOE. Again, thanks!

NO! NO! NO! Don't call your "good friend" at NCO! Big mistake!

Send your demand for validation by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Never call the debt collector except under the most unusual circumstances.
Not even that eh? They have gotten to me then as I am just about shaking and hoping mad that they might try to Garnish. The question then is, does NCO have the capability of Garnishment or is that only with the DOE?

I will send out the registered letter today (after getting their mail address).
Brian:

The phone is their weapon, they'll use everything you say, and things that they just make up along the way against you.

When you put it into writing, YOU have proof of what was said, exactly...

This is another reason that it is inconvenient for you to get CALLS from them, because if it's not in writing, it didn't happen.
Brian:

NCO wants you to shake in your boots, so much that your wallet falls out of your hip pocket.

This is their common tactic.

Unless you receive a letter from the DOE, or from NCO which specifically says that garnishment is happening, don't worry about it (I know, easier said then done).

BTW: When you contact the ombudsmen, make sure that you specifically mention that NCO claimed that garnishment was going to happen, immediately (that is the impression that you received).
Brian:

NCO wants you to shake in your boots, so much that your wallet falls out of your hip pocket.

.


Well now, guess what? She messed with the wrong person today! God help her if she dares call my place of employment again! The reception desk and office manager has been given implicit instructions to advise her that she will be contacted by my attorney and if she wants to know who that is then she will know soon enough. Trust me she will have a registered letter on her desk explaining how its gonna be. I'm not putting up with this crap! I have enough in my life to worry about then some trailer trash hussie with an 8th grade education trying to be all big and powerful on the phone.

Of course, she'll never see the letter as I'm certain she's just a little CSR pion with my "file" on her computer screen that will be transferred to the next NCO employee trying to dig into the lint of my wallet pocket.
Well now, guess what? She messed with the wrong person today! God help her if she dares call my place of employment again! The reception desk and office manager has been given implicit instructions to advise her that she will be contacted by my attorney and if she wants to know who that is then she will know soon enough. Trust me she will have a registered letter on her desk explaining how its gonna be. I'm not putting up with this crap!


That's the wrong approach too. God isn't going to help either of you in this kind of situation. Of course, you already knew that!. What you need to do is send a limited cease & desist which specifically states that they must cease & desist from any contact you at your place of employment. In the same letter you should also state that they may contact you by U.S. Mail only at your residence.

Send it Certified Mail Return Receipt requested.

You can file suit against them in the event they ignore that letter but in reality , your employer is actually the injured party and not you unless you can show how you were damaged. Your employer is damaged because the collector ties up his telephone which he has for the sole purpose of taking care of business, he has to pay someone to answer the phone and he has to pay to get you to the phone and answer it if that happens. You aren't damaged unless you are called on the carpet or fired or fellow employees make comments about your being in debt. Employers aren't likely to sue debt collectors for calling employees. They might terminate an employee for it however even if they have to dig up some other excuse to make the firing look good. Some states allow termination for any reason or no reason at all while others insist on termination for just cause only and specify the allowable just causes.