As soon as COVID-19 began to take over the news headlines in early 2020, the US government put measures into place to help many federal borrowers through the CARES Act. And while borrowers paying on loans owned by the government were given an extensive respite, private student loan borrowers were left to hope for the best. Some private student loan servicers have been willing to offer deferments for a month or longer, along with other programs; however, many of these options are not advertised, and are impossible to take advantage of unless you ask.
Currently, over 45 million borrowers owe a cumulative total of over $1.64 trillion, and before the coronavirus became a threat, the student loan crisis was already a huge concern. Finger pointing over the culprit of the crisis has been a popular past-time. Experts and analysts have blamed universities for rising tuition costs—with learning institutions citing growing administrative expenses as the cause. For-profit schools have been blamed for an ongoing list of complaints—from overzealous marketing campaigns that just don’t pan out for students in long run, to overall fraud.
Lack of counseling is a major problem too as so many students enter colleges, universities, and graduate schools, and barely have any experience living on their own, much less balancing a household budget that could soon potentially include a massive monthly payment to a private student loan servicer. A competitive job market could make it very difficult for new graduates to get jobs, leading student loans to become a cumbersome burden. These problems were exacerbated as soon as COVID-19 became a problem, with tens of millions of US citizens losing their jobs.
If you are worried about defaulting on your private student loan, speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible about your options. The worst thing you can do is sit back and let it ride—be assured that the student loan servicer will not do so. And the same goes for other lawsuits, if you are being sued by a credit card company or any other type of financial entity.
Get legal advice as soon as possible so that you can make a plan—and avoid worse repercussions like a default judgment. Good for ten years if one is granted against you, and another ten if the plaintiff asks for an extension, that default judgment can lead to wage garnishments (up to 25 percent of your disposable income), levying of bank accounts, and seizure of property.
Have you experienced problems with your loan service provider or student loan program, or are you in danger of defaulting on your student loan? Speak with an attorney from Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC as soon as possible to examine your options. Our attorneys have decades of experience in serving clients as they navigate through challenging financial situations, to include student loan issues, bankruptcy, and other debt management processes. We are here to help! Click here to schedule a free 30-minute consultation, call us at (844) 431-3851, or email us at info@debtorprotectors.com.