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Justice@studentloanjustice.org
Texas
The following are testimonials submitted to this site. To tell your story, please go here. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ David
I
don't
have
all
the
facts
and
figures
about
my
situation
but
here's
a
synopsis.
I
graduated from
chiropractic
school
(1989)
and defaulted
on
my
federal
student
loans
(for
the
same
reasons
that
others
have
had
to
default)
that
totaled
approximately
$40,000
(in
1989)
and
now
total $320,000
(based
on
a
collection
agency's
claim
in
2005).
I
can't
renew
my
license
to
make
a
living (much
less
make payments (they
wanted
$800
per
month in
1996) on
the loans)
and
have
experienced
feelings
of
hopelessness,
despair,
no
self-esteem,
depression,
suicide,
etc.,
etc.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ George To
make
my
story
short
I'll
try
to
be
brief. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kathryn I
can
only
tell
you
part
of
my
story,
because
my
loans
have
been
passed
around
so
much
that
I
have
no
idea
how
my
interest
accrued
or
what
the
costs
are.
Due
to
a
failed
business
and
serious
clinical
depression,
I
had
to
declare
bankruptcy
in
2002.
I
defaulted
on
my
student
loans,
and
now,
after
a
couple
of
years
of
repaying,
I
am
"rehabilitated".
The
lapse
in
paying
back
these
loans
was
no
more
than
a
year.
My
Sallie
Mae
bill
went
from
42,000
to
58,000.
I
just
rehabilitated
another
loan
(by
the
way,
these
loans
should
be
rehabilitated
with
12
straight
payments,
but
somehow,
they
"forget"
to
send
them
off
to
another
purchaser).
Following
the
purchase
of
this
loan
by
a
bank,
I
received
a
"paid
in
full"
note.
The
current
amount
I
owe
on
this
note
is
more
than
$10,000(remember
I
have
been
repaying
for
about
2
years
now).
The
amount
of
my
original
promissory
note?
Less
than
$4100.
WOW,
huh? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rick Well
like
everyone
else
here
I'm
stuck
paying
huge
payments
with
high
interest
all
because
of
a
dishonest
salesman.
I
am
47
years
old
and
decided
that
I
needed
some
computer
certifications
for
my
job.
A
fast
talking
salesman
sold
me
on
a
school
that
does
nothing
to
help
you
get
certifications
but
offers
Sallie
Mae
financing.
He
said
you'll
never
pay
over
6%
interest
and
payments
are
only
$20.
Well
shortly
after
signing
the
documents
I
had
severe
heart
problems
and
ended
up
having
open
heart
surgery.
Unfortunately
I
never
went
for
any
of
the
certifications
because
of
my
health.
The
school
wouldn't
refund
my
money
and
about
that
time
Sallie
Mae
kicked
in
with
$89
payments.
Of
course
calling
them
was
useless
I've
gotten
better
answers
from
a
brick
wall.
Then
at
the
first
of
this
year
interest
was
going
up...I
got
on
their
website
to
lock
my
rate
in,
well
the
website
didn't
work.
So
I
called
and
waited
on
the
phone
until
I
get
the
usual
incompetent
customer
service
rep
on
the
phone
who
assured
me
that
I
had
been
locked
in...well
I
hadn't.
Now
my
payments
are
over
$100
a
month
and
the
original
$3500
I
borrowed
is
now
over
$8000.
At
this
rate
I'll
never
pay
it
off,
I'd
been
better
off
to
borrow
money
from
a
loan
shark.
At
least
if
I
didn't
pay
a
loan
shark
he'd
put
a
bullet
in
my
head
and
put
me
out
of
my
misery.
Now
I've
found
this
site
and
realize
I'm
not
the
only
one
getting
screwed
by
these
guys.
It's
a
sad,
sad
world. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kathryn I
was
an
elementary
school
teacher
when
I
decided
to
go
to
law
school.
I
had
gone
through
college
on
a
full
scholarship
--
not
to
the
college
of
my
choice,
but
I
didn't
want
to
incur
debt,
so
I
accepted.
With
my
background
and
drive,
I
wasn't
concerned
about
taking
out
loans.My
motivation
stemmed
from
the
reality
that
I
was
a
single
mom
trying
to
make
things
better
for
my
daughter
and
me. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ R.T. I've
been
fighting
"alleged"
defaulted
student
loans
for
years.
I've
had
an
attorney
on
retainer
and
even
flew
down
to
Atlanta,
GA
in
person
to
try
and
settle
the
matter
with
the
Dept.
of
Education
(DOE)
and
their
Ombudsman.
I
have
very
detailed
records,
for
example,
cancelled
checks
proving
payments
were
made.
The
DOE
and
their
hired-gun
collection
agencies
have
never
been
able
to
provide
any
substantive
back-up
documentation
to
support
their
allegations,
they
have
ignored
my
documents
and
their
records
never
tie
from
one
document
to
another.
Meanwhile,
the
DOE
continues
to
steam
roll
along
confiscating
my
tax
returns
to
the
point
where
I
will
have
actually
overpaid
for
the
loans.
The
only
way
I
see
to
stop
the
DOE's
ignorance
is
to
sue
them
in
Federal
court,
which
will
likely
carry
hefty
legal
fees.
While
I
realize
there
are
many
defaulted
student
loans,
there
are
also
a
great
number
of
loans
that
are
not
defaulted
but
for
the
DOE's
screwed-up
records
management,
or
lack
thereof.
Perhaps
a
civil
suit
is
another
measure.
In
any
case,
something
needs
to
happen
in
order
to
send
a
wake-up
call
to
the
DOE. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Witheld Returning to school to complete a BA and MA in my forties seemed a good idea at the time. In hindsight, I was wrong. What was originally a 52K debt at graduation has escalated to 68K. Yes, I made payments; however, over the past four years there have been times of illness requiring the loan to be put into forbearance. Now, at age |