PIONEER CREDIT RECOVERY, INC. - Sallie Mae Original Debt amount from Sallie Mae 34k+ tha Pcr says I owe 43K +? Looks like a RAT sounds like a RAT must be a Ripoff!!! Perry , New York

The agreement you signed  most likely states that SLM can add 1/3 the total amount as default amount for collection.

First of all, the person claiming that this is legal must be a collector, or just a plain idiot!

Now, NEVER speak to ANY debt collector on the phone!! ALWAYS DEMAND EVERYTHING BE IN WRITING!! A paper trail is absolutely essential when you end up in court.

You have the LEGAL RIGHT to dispute any collection attempt, and/or any garnishment.

They CANNOT legally get a garnishment order without first suing you and winning. Were you ever sued on this? If not, that is your defense to the garnishment order. They are a 3rd party collector, regardless of who they are collecting for.

If indeed Sally Mae "sold" the loan, you are only dealing with a junk debt buyer who paid about 2 cents on the dollar for your old debt!

NEVER SIGN AWAY YOUR RIGHTS!!

You need to get an attorney TODAY!!!

GET AN ATTORNEY ASAP!!!!!

 

There DOES NOT need to be a court order and judgment to garnish wages for a Student Loan.  This sounds like they did what is known as an "Administrative Wage Garnishment".  This is where they basically are allowed to Garnish first, ask questions later.  But you need to be in default status for them to do this, and by them transfering the loan to a Collection Agency it seems as if this may be the case.

http://ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/awg.html

Now, there is supposed to still be notifications and you should be able to get a hearing to stop the garnishment.  The good news for you in this case is that you appear to be in Chicago, and that is one of 3 cities that they do the hearings in.  However, you may be required to come up with a repayment plan in order to do this.

As for the amount of the debt.  There is no mention of time, if this has been several years it is quite possible with interest and late fees that it increased by about 9,000.  If you are saying that the debt was sold to them and right away it went up 9,000 then there might be some problems that you need to look at.  This is also where you need to seriously consider getting a lawyer.  

Student Loans are not something that you are allowed to get out of easily.  They are one of the very few things that are not dischargeable in a Bankruptcy.  They are also one of about 5 items that can cause a garnishment, even in a state that does not allow garnishment in other cases(such as credit card debt).

Robert,

First of all, the OP only said "Sally Mae" which does NOT automatically mean a school loan. There are Sally Mae backed mortgages as well.

Second, Pioneer conveniently bypassed the legal notification process, and the debtor's right to dispute.

Third, they can ONLY take 15% of DISPOSABLE income. This is the rule that is the most important. Most people who cannot pay their bills have NO "disposable" income.

Furthermore, the debtor does NOT have to deal with a bottomfeeder. The debtor can deal directly with the dept of ED. And, the debtor CAN file bankruptcy too!

Oh yeah...what is with the $50 "rehabilitation fee"? I didn't see that anywhere in the law. That looks like a bottomfeeder trying to scrape up some extra cash.

The debtor needs to deal with the Dept of Ed directly, dispute the amount of the garnishment, and then file for hardship. Cut the bottomfeeder out of the loop.

 

Your loan hasnt been with pioneer since it defaulted, sallie mae cycles your loan between different collection agencies. interest accrues on a daily basis while your loan is in default and pcr has no control over that, they also have no control over the 21.5% collection cost that is added after the account is in default for 60days. They ask you for the $50 payment for rehabilitation to get you into that program, the dates are very specific because they're taking your loan out of default after 9-12 months depending on the new lender and they're going to be stopping your garnishment. they have specific dates because theyre trying to show the new lender that you are making consecutive monthly payments at the same time each month. to rebuild your payment history, the reason they want those papers signed and sent back right away is because you can go through the whole payment process, and make all of your 9-12 payments but if that paperwork isnt back into the office then your loan wont be pulled out of default. pcr cannot take any additional money out of your account that you have not agreed to, the rehabilition program is a federally backed program, theres rules both you and pcr have to follow. if you want proof or loan infomation ask for the initial demand letter, or go to loanpaymentsolutions.org .. you will have to make a username and password and there you should find all records of your loans. sallie mae doesnt sell the loans to the agencies, they simply place accounts in the collection agencies offices and put them in charge of all collections on those accounts.

The whole student loan industry needs to be held accountable.  They have been giving students a good screwing (legally) for years.  Yes they can garnish wages without suing.  Yes they can take government benefits such as Social Security, Disability, Tax refunds, etc.  They can yank professional licenses too if they say you have defaulted on a student loan.  There is no statute of limitations on their actions and they can legally hound you forever. 

Any other entity could never get away with these tactics as they are against the law.  But, we are talking about the Dept. of Education.  As part of the federal govt, they can basically do what they want.  Sue them? Not much of a chance there as current law is on their side.  Try to get the law changed?  Good luck.  These disgusting pieces of filth make far too much money scamming people and collecting all of their "fees" for this and that to ever change.  It would take some draconian law changes against the entire industry to effect any positive consumer-oriented relief.  I just don't see that ever happening. 

No, the best way is to make yourself judgement proof.  That means that theoretically you own nothing but enjoy the use of everything.  Your home, cars, bank accounts, anything of any value, must be owned by corporations you set up or put into someone else's name.  Eventually they will leave you alone when they figure out you have nothing worth taking. 

Trying to reason with Ed, or Sallie Mae is a waste of time.  Trust me on that one. 

For More info on how to become invisible to those looking to collect judgements on you, please see
J. J. Luna  "How to Become Invisible"  or see his website.  www.canaryislandspress.com.

I'm not quite sure that Sallie Mae "sold" the loan to Pioneer Credit Recovery as PCR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sallie Mae. In essence, SLM still has the loan, only PCR is their collection arm.