I had posted previously regarding a call I received from a CA different from the one I had been dealing with when I successfully appealed my wage garnishment. Yesterday I received a call from this CA again, while I was home with a horrible stomach virus.

The lady was actually very nice to deal with, said my debt had been received in their office recently, and the agency 'was willing' to accept my payments of $200/month. She told me after 9 months the loan would come out of default and my payments could be lowered, all of which was fine. She then went on to say "What we do is take your payments out of your checking account every month....."

I stopped her at that point and told her that I do not allow ANYONE to take a payment from my checking account because of what happened in the past. I would be happy to make sure my payments were mailed on time each month to be received by the due date and would even send them with Delivery Confirmation so that they had a tracking number to verify payment.

She said "Oh, I'm sorry - we just *don't* take payments by mail. It HAS to be from a checking account, credit card, or Western Union." I find this ridiculous, since my fiance is dealing with the same company, and is mailing his payments in each month to the Greenville, TX address. I told her I would think about this, and perhaps would set up a second checking account at a different bank just for those payments. I just don't understand why they 'can't' take mail-in payments.

This morning, per my conversation with her, she just faxed me an agreement to sign and return. Should I do this? It lists 4 loan IDs, says that by signing it, I am cofirming my acceptance into the loan rehab program. It also says the following:

1) I must make my payments within 20 days of the monthly due dates - so if my payment date is the 15th of each month, that payment must be receive 20 days beforehand, or no later than 20 days after?

2) I understand that the amount of my payments is lower than the amount of the payments that I will be required to make over the remaining term of my rehabbed loans, since the balance will be over $7500 at the time of rehab. I will need to request to consolidate my loans immediately after rehab to take advantage of repayment amortization terms. I applied for consolidation one time and was told I couldn't, since I had already consolidated my loans - is there some way I can verify this?

3) Any interest that I owe at the time my loan is sold will be capitalized by the lender. That is, the lender will add any unpaid interest to the principal I owe on the loan, and this will become the new principal amount of the loan. Interest will then accrue on the new, higher principal. That just does not sound right to me - how can interest be added to a loan and then be considered the principal??

Am I safe in signing this agreement? Can I tell this CA that I prefer to mail in my payments, and just send them to the Greenville, TX address?

Thanks for your help.
Dawn

Yes, when I signed my promissory notes I was VERY naive and ignorant of money matters. My parents did me a great disservice by not doing better in teaching me how to be financially savvy, and I have been very proactive in not making the same mistake with my son. When I opened my first checking account in preparation to leave for college, the teller at the bank had to show me how to write a check. I had no idea! It took me a good many years to become the assertive person that I am today - before, if someone 'in authority', such as a CA, told me they couldn't do anything for me, I just accepted that answer and gave up.

I understand the reason behind the preference for CA's to take their payments via automatic withdrawal. However, when I first began to pay off my student loan in 1997, I gave my banking info to a CA who then immediately proceeded to wipe out my entire account. In the process of straightening out my account, I was told by the manager of my bank that ANY time you give someone access to your account, they have FULL access to it. You can't say "Oh, you have access to $200 of my money each month." MOST companies are ethical and won't stoop to taking more than they are authorized by the customer to take, but I have been lied to by the DOE and its agents for almost 20 years now and just don't trust what I'm told.

I accept my responsibility for this debt and the fact that I have not paid it off. I want to do so now, but I can't afford to have my whole paycheck disappear, only to be told "Sorry, we don't refund the money we take - but look at it this way, at least you've paid $900 on your account. No, that doesn't mean you've made 6 months of payments and aren't due again until July - you've paid $750 more than your $150 monthly amount and your next payment is due next month."

Well your bank manager was DEAD wrong. All debits MUST be authorized. They cannot wipe out your account or even take a penny legally unless authorized.

Naive or not, right above your signature in plain english all SL prom notes it states "This is a promissory note. I will not sign this note UNLESS I have read and understand the terms of this note." This is just plain common sense. e

I agree with you, and in no way am I trying to get out of paying this debt. I am not saying I should be excused from this debt because I didn't understand what I was signing. I knew that I was 'borrowing' this money to get a college education and it would have to be repaid. And I repaid it for about a year after leaving school, until I married an abusive jerk who wouldn't let me work outside the home. That's why I was happy, when I had left him and was later remarried and working for USPS, that I was going to be able to start paying this debt down.

As far as the issue with the bank, I promise you that this did happen. I filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office in the state where they were located (it was South Dakota or Kansas - I can't remember which) and I got a letter back telling me I was out of luck, since I authorized them to have access to my account. When I filled out my bank paperwork, I clearly put "NO MORE THAN $150 EACH MONTH", but they took my entire paycheck, which was around $900 back then. Would you have given anyone from the DOE your bank account info after that?

If they won't accept mail-in payments, then, like I said, I will set up a seperate account at a different bank from which they can withdraw the money. I just wanted to make sure this place was on the level. I am sure that most DOE CAs are, but I've just had the misfortune of dealing with the bad apples in the bunch!

Thank you so much for your help and advice - I really do appreciate it.

"Legally" does not mean "has no ability to". After getting burned, the OP's fear is understandable. Does the bank ever see the original auto-draft agreement you sign with a creditor?

I may be wrong but I don't think banks are checking auto-draft amounts to ensure they comply with written agreements.