Question:
Please help! I need some legal advice regarding my rights and responsibility in stopping collection action on my default student loan. I have tried in good faith, over the last 3 weeks,to resolve this problem amicably with my guarantor: to continue my repayment plan, and offered have my payment automatically deducted monthly from my checking account. However, they have refused to take it back from the collection agency, and the collection agency is demanding 30% down of my balance or garnishment of my wages.

I am not trying to run away from paying my student loan. I am trying to get back on my feet, make reasonable and affordable payment to my student loan, get out default, and get on with my life as a law-bidding citizen. But right now, I feel like a hopeless and helpless "sitting duck," with no legal rights and protections. Please help! What can I do now? Do I have to send to the collection agency the W-2, paystub,etc? Should I continue to send my monthly payment to the guarantor? (The loan is still with the guarantor.) What legal rights and protections do I have?

Answer:
This is why collection agencies are under heavy regulation. No one can garnish your wages unless and until they get a court judgment against you. To get a judgment, they have to file a case in court and serve the papers on you and give you 30 days to reply. In my opinion, you should send the amount of payment each month that you can afford and you should ignore the collection agency and stop talking to them. No one, not even the most silver-tongued lawyer like myself, can out-talk a collection agency. You should have tried 'in good faith' over two years ago Really?