Refund Owed
Dear American Student Assistance:
I’m not sure if you can help, but I’m hoping that you can at least point me in the right direction. My husband and I are currently repaying a student loan that he took out in 1990/91. This loan was for a drafting course at a local institute for approximately $5,000.
After attending the first class, he realized that it was not a course that he was interested in since it was some sort of self-taught class without an instructor. Therefore, he dropped out of the class. This loan, as with any other, is given in disbursements and he only signed over $1,200 to this institution.
Bottom line is that we are still repaying this loan, and the total amount owed is still $4,800. I just think that it is outrageous that we still owe the money. After speaking with the lender several times, only to get the runaround, they claim that the loan did not originate with them, and I can’t seem to find what institution was first responsible for the loan. Any insight that you can provide regarding this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Danielle
Dear Danielle:
The work you’ve done so far is commendable! First of all, don’t worry right now about the original bank—as they most likely won’t be able to assist at this point. But there is good news.
There’s a relatively new form of relief for people in your husband’s situation called an unpaid refund discharge. If it can be proved that your husband did not attend after a certain point and the school should have returned some funds, that amount will be retroactively written-off of the loan.
Give the lender a call and ask that an unpaid refund discharge application to be sent to you. Once it’s received, have your husband fill it out with his dates of attendance and any other information they request, and send it back to the lender as soon as you can. The lender will review the application, and if it’s complete they will forward it to another agency for final review.
Due to the time that has passed since your husband attended school, this process could take anywhere from 1 month to as many as 4 months.
Regards,
Your Rights and Responsibilities
When you sign a Master Promissory Note, you sign a contract -- one that states you will repay your student loans. Understand your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower.
