Bring Back Private Student Loan Consumer Protections

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This petition is to get back standard consumer protection - including bankruptcy to Private Student Loans.

Private Students Loans are not federally insured and therefore should be treated like any other private debt (Credit Cards, Mortgage, Car Loans etc...)


FACTS:

Bankruptcy protection was removed from Private Student Loans in 2005 after intense Lobbying by Student Loan giants. Congress amended Title 11 of the Federal Financial Insolvency Codes which took this protection away. Student Lending Giants claimed that adding private student loans to this would help them offer lower interest rates and more favorable terms to student borrowers who did not qualify for federally insured loans. This has in fact had the opposite effect and instead is used as a huge money making tool for student lenders.

The Department of Education can tack on collection fees of 25\%, and collection commissions of 28\% onto the principle plus any penalties and interest you already owe.

The Department of Education can garnish your wages, tax returns and future social security earnings.

There is no statue of limitations on Private Student loans (or any student loan for that matter) yet there is for every other type of consumer debt.

The Department of Education can take up to 15\% of any federal benefit you are entitled to.

The Department of Education can sue you for the loan balance and place liens on your property.


Now that there is a 700 Billion buyout of our financial system in the United States you can be absolutely certain that Student Lenders will be holding their hand out for help - help which they do not offer to students. People who have not kept up mortgage, car, and credit card payments are given the possibility to start over and Students deserve that right as well.

If you aren't sure about this I urge you to research this issue yourself before you sign.

88 Signatures

  • Jennifer Lemar
  • Taylor Hieb
  • Rebecca Klein
  • David Gresham
    • Comments
    • I am overburdened by my loans and have no hope of ever repaying them
  • Quiana Clark-Roland
  • Jack L. Burtch IV
    • Comments
    • Soon to be $80,000 in debt after graduating.
  • Sandra Ashley
    • Comments
    • I think it is extremely unfair that one can discharge $60,000.00 or more in credit card debt, but cannot even have a burdensome student loan of the same amount even negotiated in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Why the debt discrimination? Many students are hurting as much or more than homeowners. Yet the government cares more about them it seems than anyone else struggling with debt they can't afford.
  • Jesse McConnell
  • Peter Beattie
    • Comments
    • This is a must for saving the economy.
  • Kristen S
    • Comments
    • В
  • Jennifer Peterman
    • Comments
    • The private loan industry has scammed too many unsuspecting students. These loans should be considered just as they are - personal loans and not to be classified right along with your federal loans. When are the consumers going to get a bailout? Why do we keep bailing out these companies like Sallie Mae who completely take advantage of students.
  • Shannon McGinley
  • Miranda Clephane
    • Comments
    • help us please!
  • angie burnette
  • Erica Essary
  • Elizabeth
    • Comments
    • It's unfair that I have to pay 130k on a 17k loan. I have to live w/ roomates and live on a protein powder diet to pay these private students loans. What is sad is that I have to live this way until the age of 53. I wanted an education to reach the american dream but signed my life to poverty instead.
  • Barbara Donovan
  • James Berkheimer
    • Comments
    • The Lenders abused the system just like they did the housing market.
  • Amanda Wood Lake
  • james turley
  • Christopher Szentmiklosy
  • Dwan West
    • Comments
    • Please bring back the Student Loans to every website,
  • Ellen McLean
  • Serena
    • Comments
    • Student Loans are crap
  • Yvonne Christopher
  • Barry
  • Shawn Withers
    • Comments
    • debt is debt... private student loans are no different than any other debt. if they can't be paid, they can't be paid.
  • Jennifer Miller Siegel
    • Comments
    • I feel during this time when the gov't is so generously giving bail outs to so many major corporations on Wall St. as well as car companies and various banks two times over I would like to go one step further and start a petition of my own for the legal right for people to go bankrupt on student loans offered by the gov't as well. Thank you, Jennifer Miller Siegel
  • Alexis Hasan
    • Comments
    • There are some who have to choose between food, medicine and student loan payments
  • Muneerah Crawford
    • Comments
    • Citibank Student Loan and Edfund the guarantee agency comitted fraud against me, this has nothing to do with being unable to pay back this debt
  • Linda Ewell
    • Comments
    • Collection agencies are demanding ridiculous amounts and refusing to take reasonable payments. My husband was unemployed in 2008 and got behind in student loan payments. The Accounts Receivable Management company demanded a settlement amount of $4,500 on the spot. Mr. Joseph Cooper would not accept our payment arrangement to divide this $4,500 into smaller payments. He was nasty and hateful. You suffer enough losing jobs in the Michigan economy and the student loan collectors do not cut you any slack, even when you attempt to pay the loan back.
  • Sarah Troup
  • abner valez
    • Comments
    • private student loans should be treated as a consumer loan
  • Mary Oliver
  • Urania Hunter
    • Comments
    • These student loans are killing me.
  • Tiffany C
    • Comments
    • Student lenders have too much power and consumers have no rights! This is unfair to millions of Americans
  • Charles Carson Grandmaison
    • Comments
    • This should never have happened in 2005, but did because of the rampant lethargy in this United States of America.
  • Shawn laudicina
    • Comments
    • We need this times have changed so should the laws.
  • Kristin Richmon
    • Comments
    • I just read a comment someone made on a website stating that if you get your self into 150K of credit card debt there's help but you go to school to try to better yourself, are poorly informed about the student loans you taking out and then when you can't pay there's no help for you. It's really sad.
  • Amy Jordan
  • Shantel R.
    • Comments
    • When I was young, naive, and vulnerable I was taken advantage of by Sallie Mae and other student loan lenders. They would approve me with no cosigner for large sums of money and promise me that I would have the ability to consolidate these loans into one low monthly payment at graduation. Well unfortunately this has not been the scenario. Now, I am stuck with an unmanageable amount of debt without the option of consolidating. All of these programs have been axed by the student loan lenders and I'm not sure why. At this point the compounded interest on these "subprime" student loans had doubled my loan balance. I feel like there is no way out of this mess and I don't want them to take my life away from me after I worked so hard to make it better by obtaining a college education.
  • Narada Willkie
  • Paula Serpa
    • Comments
    • you may wnat to ammend this petition to consider a stadardized repayment program such as the one tat has recently been passed for federal loans
  • Jess Glick
  • Steve Gossman
  • deonta worthams
  • sherry worthams
    • Comments
    • i owe 28,000 and after10\%interest it is 69,000 school did not help me find a job i was tricked and stuck $400 for the next 14 years i feel my school computer training.com is in bed with the loan company
  • alicia
  • Michael Arnold