And Just in Case That Wasn't Enough...

I probably should have posted this before my last post but yesterday I woke up and went to check my bank balance. It was -$84. Now I knew what payments should be coming out of my account and even if they had all been withdrawn that still would have left me about $30 for groceries. So I check the account history and realize that my student loan payment has been withdrawn. Now I applied for interest relief in January so I was under the assumption that I still had another 2 months before it would end... and then thought that I could apply one last time. So then I was scrambling to find the paperwork and discovered that no it really did end at the end of April.

First I had to scramble to try and get that covered. I knew I had a payment that should be coming out of my account today and did not want to bounce that. Would have cost me $50 in NSF fees for a $23 payment. Called the bank to see if they could do anything since I knew with a little creative financing that I could cover it by tonight but no... if I didn't have the money in the account that day then it would not go through. Fortunately dad was able to help me out and get that covered (Thanks Dad!!!!) Of course as you know from my last post that sigh of relief was pretty short lived.

But there are some pretty important implications from this. First it means that I am now $400 behind in payments since I had already taken off the automatic payments from the National Student Loans Centre after they practically bankrupted me when I should've been on interest relief a few years ago. The second important implication is that it means that my interest relief period is now done... no more.... Not sure how they expect to get blood from a stone since I just got laid off and can't even afford my bills as it is. And lastly, since I am now behind on a payment I can't even apply for any assistance, such as debt reduction. So I am pretty much screwed. Maybe I should change my number before the creditors start calling.

Needless to say it's been a pretty bad week on the financial front. I was going to say maybe I will get lucky and win the lottery but first I would have to play. So I guess that's not happening. I must say that I hate this recession. :(

If I was a Politician...

There is an upcoming election in Ontario. I feel pretty apathetic towards it... much like I do every other election. My apathy isn't because I don't care who is in power it's because time and time again the things that matter to me aren't on their agenda. So I feel like I am just lost in the sea of nothingness and in the end it doesn't matter who is in power because the changes I want to see aren't going to happen no matter who wins. So what do I want?

I'll start with the one that will be on the agenda.... Improved health care. I would like to see less of a wait time at the hospital. I would also like more doctors available in private practice. As a side note I would also like to see some sort of drug plan for low-income families that has a lower deductible then the Trillium Drug Plan. Health care should be affordable by all.

Dental coverage should be affordable. It is well known that dental problems will lead to other health issues in time. There are no options available to you if your employer does not pay for dental coverage (or if you're on welfare). If it was more affordable then some of those health issues could be avoided. I know, I know.... social assistance programs and health care are already in trouble.

Create more jobs in the Ministry of Labour investigating claims. Currently it takes 6-8 months for them to even begin an investigation because of a backlog in claims. This only benefits the employer and allows them to continue violating the Employment Standards Act in the meantime. In the 6-8 months said employee may choose to seek employment elsewhere or may just give up on the claim. In cases of dismissal it is even more time sensitive. Plus in 6-8 months details may be lost, memories have faded. It can even mean reliving a painful experience. So.... hire more people and reduce that backlog.

Failing that change the law to allow you to drop your complaint beyond the two week mark and file a lawsuit. In a perfect world the 2 week time period is used to allow you to try and work things out with the employer and decide whether or not to pursue the claim. After the two weeks they begin the investigation. So it makes sense that once they have assigned someone to the case that you not be able to just drop the case in favour of legal action. But when new evidence emerges and they are backlogged in some cases it would make sense to be able to drop the complaint and file suit. This would potentially reduce at least some of the pressure from the Ministry of Labour.

Where do I even begin with student loans? Basically I think that they should adopt the 8 points from the Coalition for Student Loan Fairness. When I was in school it was more like a fairy tale. You think you're going to get this nice job when you're done so you don't think about all the debt load you are accumulating. The reality isn't quite so pretty. For one I think that the interest rate should be reduced. Assuming that I don't end up renegotiating my loan I will end up paying about $15,000 in interest over the course of my loan. Secondly, there should be more opportunities for debt reduction programs and interest relief based on hardships. They admitted to me that they do not take cost of living into account when determining whether or not you qualify for interest relief. In the last 3 years the allowable income for interest relief has also not increased to reflect inflation. If a mistake is made it is the borrower that pays, and pays heavily. I have been practically forced into bankruptcy and had my credit rating destroyed because of an error on their part. Thirdly, consolidate all the loans. Right now I have 4 different loans to keep track of and make payments on. Lastly, disability should not be limited to those which occur in the first 6 months and should not take numerous appeals. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. A disability at any point should be counted.

And now I have said my peace. with the exception of health care none of these will likely be seen in anyone's campaign. I lied... Apparently the NDP wants to implement a dental care program for those in need. The NDP are also planning to freeze tuition. Now the Liberals are increasing the funding available for student aid. That is somewhat alarming since more aid typically means more owed down the road. Now they did say that they were increasing grants and loan forgiveness... I heard that too.... and I didn't necessarily see it. They are also working at reducing wait times for certain procedures and have brought in family health teams. I still have no idea what a family health team means or does.... and I just read over the official government information. I am not sure what differences there are in plans for health care between Liberals and Conservatives other then that the latter also wants to introduce electronic records so that data can be shared more easily. Sounds good until the computer crashes. Any ways... a lot of the platforms just sound like the same old rhetoric. The parties point to the flaws from the other guys to make themselves look better and focus on the BIG issues in the media... like health care. There is no Band-Aid solution that is going to make that situation magically get better. It's not Lucky Charms here. But there are a lot of other issues that are just ignored, like the plight of former students. All I can think of now is "Magically Delicious"

Student Loan: Finally Some Good News

Bank error in your favour... collect $200. Oh wait this isn't Monopoly. So I got a call from my caseworker about my student loan. I really do need to call him back. Looks like the bank did make a mistake and miscalculated how many months of interest relief I had really used. Those must have been good drugs to lose 6 months. So my interest relief has been approved. The appeal only took 3 months this time instead of 5. That means that I will not have to make any payments until August. It also means that I should be able to get back the money I paid to the bank. That means $657 coming back to me.... money I can definitely use right about now although it will take 3 weeks. And that's not all. The negative scores that were put on my credit report due to non-payment are all being removed. FINALLY!!! And in July if I am still not making enough money to pay my loan I can look at applying for extended interest relief and then I would have up to 24 months where I do not have to make payments and the government pays for the interest. Hopefully I can actually find a job where I can make the payments since I really want to get it paid off... but at least now I don't have to worry about it for a few months. YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe the Student Loan Center Should Just Hire Me

After talking to the case worker about my student loan I am beginning to think they should just hire me. Now the first comment to be made is that I now have my own case worker in Ottawa. He is looking into the appeal that I made and even made reference to the letter I wrote to the minister of Human Resources and Social Development. Apparently it got notice. He believes the Royal Bank made a mistake and has short changed me for the 5 months of interest relief. But was not sure that there was much he could do. His advice was to reapply for interest relief since I am not unemployed. I had already done that. At most I would have to either pay for February or pay the capitalized interest. I may be able to qualify for extended interest relief which extends it for up to 24 months or until you have been out of school for 5 years, whichever comes first. He is still looking into it and will get back to me next week. So maybe, just maybe, there will be some good news on the horizon. Might even get some of that money back from the bank.

Why Do I Know More Then the People Dealing with My Student Loan

I finally got around to calling the National Student Loan Centre. I really didn't want to default on my student loan and they were calling me on a daily basis. The advice I was given was to give up on the appeal and start over. I was told that my loan payments would still be in arrears and I might have to pay the interest... or at most one month's payment. But then would qualify for interest relief and could breathe easy for 5 months... at which point I will have used up all 30 months of interest relief. I don't even want to think about that though.

At one point I mentioned the loan with the Royal Bank. His response was that I should contact them to see what they can do for me... Is there anyone that works there that really knows how this works? I can't apply for interest relief through the Royal Bank because the government stepped in and determined that it would all be handled by the National Student Loans Center. Unfortunately they don't seem to know this. This has been my ongoing fight for the last year. They seem to forget that loans that were negotiated before 2000 are added to the loans with the National Student Loans Center and the two combined are used to determine the maximum allowable income. How difficult is this concept? I am also concerned that I will be approved for interest relief and it won't end up applying to the Royal Bank loan. My question is... why didn't they consolidate the loans so that I only owed one source and it was easier to work with? I guess that would be too easy now wouldn't it?

So there is some good news in there... but also some news that is a little more unsettling. I really don't have the energy to keep fighting them. It seems to take up so much time and energy each time they make a mistake. But hopefully I will at least get the 5 months with no payments. That would at least make my life a little easier at the moment. Then I could breathe a sigh of relief.

No News Isn't Good News

Still no word yet on my appeal for interest relief. They did call me today but I didn't answer the phone. I figure I'll give them a call on Monday. I was planning on it any ways. I just don't understand how it can be this much of an issue on an ongoing basis. I also don't understand how an appeal can take so long. They made a mistake and now I am paying for it. I'm just not sure what I am going to do if they tell me I need to bring it up to date. I am unemployed so I definitely don't have $1200 to bring it up to date. I'm struggling enough as it is. *Sigh* Why can't it be easy?

Student Loan Nightmare

Why does interest relief have to be such a nightmare? You call and they "pre-qualify" you for interest relief. I gave them the same information that I filled out on the forms. They approved it then but when I apply I get denied because I make too much money. I know how much money I am allowed to make and was below that amount. When I called I wasn't allowed to discuss it with them and was told I had to appeal the decision. The last time I appealed it took five months and I didn't get the $1200 back. But I appealed the decision and over a month later have not heard anything.

Here's the problem... My loan is now behind. I was hoping they would be able to rectify the situation quickly but I guess that was asking for a bit much. So they are now destroying my credit rating. I just got a notice today that I owe them $1200 and am 3 months behind. Now in January I was on interest relief. Since the payments come out at the end of the month I should only be 2 months behind. Even being 2 months behind stresses me out.

Obviously since I am unemployed I can't afford to bring it up to date. Once again I am caught in a catch-22 situation. Right now I would qualify for interest relief but I would need to bring the loan up to date. If it goes to collections then I really won't qualify for interest relief. It's extremely frustrating because I know I should qualify for interest relief. So I am being penalized for their mistakes.

Why does it have to be such a nightmare to get the interest relief? I go through the same fight every single time I apply. And when I first apply it takes a month for them to make a decision. Last time it only took a week (maybe two) before the denial was reversed because when I called in they contacted the appeals department on my behalf. Too bad the interest relief only went through for a month since, for some reason, the bank is ahead of the national student loan center and I had used up my interest relief there. I was told the next time I applied I would be on extended interest relief with the bank. So I reapplied with basically the exact same information as was approved the month before and was denied again. This time it has been over a month and still no word at all, just 2 notices that I am behind. We're now halfway through the third month that I should be on interest relief so at this rate by the time they have it sorted out the interest relief will have run out and I'll be back to fighting them all over again.

I have no idea what to do at this point... I can't afford to pay it, and even if I could would not get the money back. I just want it resolved. Is that really so much to ask? Anyone got any recommendations?

Almost Ready to Throw in the Towel

The way this week is going I am almost ready to throw in the towel. I get home tonight and was going to have a hot shower... There was a sign up downstairs saying that the water was going to be turned off tomorrow morning (much like it was this morning) but they didn't say anything about tonight. I had no hot water at all. So much for that thought.

I've been struggling a lot this week with my blood sugar. I think because I had a few days there where I wasn't keeping anything down it's throwing everything out of whack. Plus my current stress level. I'm not eating enough and am running low on energy so I don't want to eat. I think I need a vacation... or at least some down time.... I just don't see it happening.

I came home to a letter from the National Student Loan Center saying that I was behind in my payments, which is true. Courtesy of the fight I have going with them over interest relief I am behind on my payments. But according to them I am 2 payments behind and it should only be one. In January I was on interest relief and that leaves February. March's payment is actually due at the end of the month. So they are compounding the stress I was already feeling. And I know if I pay them I'll never get the money back.

Next to family the big thing right now is work. I am the most frustrated I have been in a long time... probably since my LOA. It seems like nothing I do is good enough. Overworked and underpaid... and definitely not given enough appreciation. I come in day in and day out and for what? We won't meet our mandate this month... it won't even be close. So we'll be hearing about that at the end of the month. We never really hear about it when we meet the mandate but will be asked to explain it this time around. The first two years I was there I was a golden child. Then I dropped out of school to work here full time and it went downhill from there. I moved to a team where the manager had the tendency to keep an eye on you... and a close eye at that. My mistake was commenting that he was out to get me. That got me in the bad books of the current head of Operations and it has been a rough road ever since. He held me back for performance coach. I'm nothing if not persistent though. I refused to quit... and applied again. When I did get the position they thought Chris and I would blend well... in spite of the fact our personalities are complete opposites. Obviously that went well... so well I got sent on an LOA. But I still came back. I'm like the dog that you just kick and they keep coming back for more. I will not quit. I got told when I came back it was like a new beginning... which was complete bullshit. Everything that happened before the LOA still counts against me, even though the doctor they sent me to said I was suffering from clinical depression. So much for the new beginning. I was held back from applying for anything... or correction I could apply but it wouldn't go anywhere. Then I said something stupid without thinking... and it was taken the wrong way and back on disciplinary action. Another 6 months before I can apply for anything. And even those postings that don't involve disciplinary action I can't apply for. I got to find that out today. The 8 week leadership course won't be happening... Christie is not putting my name forward. That was tough. It seems like no matter what I do I am being held back. Maybe it is fate but it seems like I have to fight for everything there... and I feel like I won't make it past this point. I feel like I've been black listed and have a very difficult road ahead of me if I continue to fight.

But I am an idealist. I still believe in the company and I keep thinking that it will get better... and if I just stick it out then I will eventually get to where I want to be. Or maybe I am just a glutton for punishment. I'm like most people though... You don't want to look elsewhere when you have steady income and I do make more then at other call centers in the area. Not to mention the fact that if I was job hunting I would want to get the hell out of Peterborough. I hate it here.... And for now am frustrated enough to cry.

“An optimist is a person who sees only the lights in the picture, whereas a pessimist sees only the shadows. An idealist, however, is one who sees the light and the shadows but, in addition, sees something else; the possibility of changing the picture, of making the lights prevail over the shadows.” —Felix Adler

F'ing Student Loans

So I finally call the National Student Loans Center to see what they wanted. Surprise, surprise... I was denied my request for interest relief because they seem to think I make too much money. When I ask how much I am allowed to make I was told $2201 a month. I know from their income charts that I am allowed to make $2378. This tells me that once again they are not taking into account my Royal Bank loan. Then they told me I had to appeal it... They gave me no other options and refused to even look into it for me. So it looks like I will be calling them back tomorrow. As if that wasn't bad enough the rep then asked me if I was going to bring my loan up to date by making the payment. They won't give me the money back if I do... And it's like a kick in the teeth when I know I make less then the maximum allowable to qualify for interest relief. Hell I even sent in the paper work for the Royal Bank loan in the hopes I wouldn't have to go through this again. Not to mention all the time and energy I have to spend getting them to correct their own mistakes. This is a never ending war.... Granted I only have 5 months left of interest relief but still. I would like to get the most out of it... especially if I ever want to try and qualify for debt reduction. Aaaagghhhh!!! Make it stop.

Student Loan Drama

I had to reapply for interest relief and somehow they take forever to make a decision. So next week I'll have to call the bank and get them to hold off on my payment in the meantime. Plus I am still waiting for the money from the Royal Bank but that will likely be another week or two. I do have a glimmer of hope though. I got the cheque in the mail from the National Student Loan Center. Now all I have to do is get to the bank to deposit it. Easier said then done though. Just like I have to figure out how I am going to get to the grocery store... We're in the middle of a cold streak and I can't handle being outside for more then 5 minutes. But any ways.... I have money again so that's a good thing :o)

Aaagggghhhhhh

Can you tell it's been a great morning? I wake up to the superintendent banging on the door. I figure it has something to do with the letter accusing them of extortion and don't answer. 5 minutes later I hear keys in the lock and am wondering what's going on. He lets himself into the apartment and then when he realizes I am home tells me he has the wrong apartment. Since he said he was looking for bugs... what would've happened had I not been home?

So that was the first 15 minutes of my morning. I decided to check my bank balance. That might have been a mistake. When I called the National Student Loans Center last week the first thing I said was to remove automatic withdrawal so that this payment was not taken out. After all they don't give you your money back under any circumstance. Guess what? They took the payment any ways. I really don't have $300 to give to them and there is a possibility that my rent cheque will bounce now. More importantly, no matter what happens with my interest relief application I won't get that money back. It's like depositing that money into a black hole, never to be seen again. This is ridiculous. Now I have to call them again before I go to work and ask about that... and about my interest relief application. How can they screw things up this much? I think a monkey would do a better job then half of these people. Just give them a banana and they're happy.

UPDATE: The moron I spoke with last week (the one I was arguing with about whether or not my student loan with the Royal Bank counted) only turned off the automatic withdrawal on one loan payment and not both. But the guy I was speaking is processing a refund for the payment. Too bad that means I have no money for the next 3 weeks. *Sigh*

As for the interest relief they gave it to me for January but not beyond that. Apparently I have used all 30 months with the bank (or will after January) so I have to apply for extended interest relief in order to not make payments. I don't understand how the bank can be 6 months ahead of the National Student Loan Center. So that means more paper work and more hassles to get it approved. Once again, a one month reprieve and then the battle begins all over again.

Student Loan Payments

Still no word yet on my interest relief status. I should be hearing back tomorrow hopefully. If not then I will be calling in. I had to put a stop payment on my student loan with the bank. Wound up costing me $20 to stop the payment. Even then they weren't 100% sure they would be able to stop the payment but said they should be able to. I also took the automatic withdrawal off my loan with the National Student Loan Center so hopefully they don't take the money out. But can't anything go smoothly? Please tell me it gets resolved soon and doesn't cost as much as the last time around.

Speaking of finances this week is not going so good. I went to the dentist last week and they submitted the claim to the insurance company. Ordinarily I get the money the next day. But still nothing... and I was relying on that money to pay rent from. Now I am not even sure if I am going to be getting that money at all. The dentist will be taking the money out on Friday when we get paid. But if I don't get the money at all I'm really going to be screwed. I don't really have $300 for my nightguard at the moment. again with the can't anything go smoothly thought.

Pure Frustration

The hits just keep on coming.... I get home from work today and not only is it really cold in the apartment... but there is a letter from the National Student Loan Center. At first I thought I was finally getting the notice that my application for interest relief had been approved. That would've been too easy. Nope... once again it had been denied. And once again they seemed to think I made too much money to qualify for interest relief. Immediate stress response and frustration. And then I called the student loan center. First they told me I was under the allowable amount. So I argued with them about that. I know what my loan payments are and therefore what I am allowed to make. Then they came up with a new excuse. They said that my Royal Bank student loan didn't count. Since when? It has always counted as part of the student loan. They tried to tell me it was only a provincial loan and should not count. They told me that other people had made a mistake. I'm not about to let them bully me. So I dug up the paperwork which clearly said that it was a Canada Student Loan and not just Ontario. Then... I went to the canlearn web site which clearly said to call the National Student Loan Center about it.... So after a half hour they were escalating it back to the Interest Relief department and I would have an answer in about 3 business days. Extremely frustrating... Since I don't have an answer. And now I need to call the bank and have them postpone the payment. But I'm not about to get optimistic since the last time it was a dragged out fight the last time around and lasted for months. Hopefully this time it's a little smoother. Time will tell. But right now I am just so frustrated.... I could cry.

"Keep a Stiff Upper Lip"

I was talking to my mom today. Figured I should update her with the latest news on my student loan today. What stuck with me was when she said to "keep a stiff upper lip" about the whole situation. This attitude is reminiscient of the attitudes I was tught when growing up. And you know what? I am frustrated right now. I have a low income job, I'm broke, and they still seem to think I can afford to give them 25% of my income. I have been fighting this since May. I can't afford to pay my bills. I think I have a right to feel something about that. I'm not a robot. I have a right to be upset. I think I have a right to cry if I need to. It sucks and I will freely admit that I have shed a few tears over the whole thing. I don't feel bad about that. You can only take so much after all.

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

I am really wondering what interest relief really means... I mean the last time I checked it was a time when you did not need to make payments and the government paid your interest. At least that was how it worked in the past. And whenever there had been a delay the Royal Bank was always good about refunding the money to me. Not so with the Student Loan Center. I got another voicemail stating that they were not going to be refunding any money after all since I hadn't paid for June the money had gone towards that. It's all BS. I made the payment for June after my application for interest relief was denied.

Let's recap the payments I have made for the record. To the Royal Bank I have made 4 payments of $219. 3 of those should be refunded to me as I have since been approved for interest relief during that time period. The 4th was the payment for June when I did not qualify. Simple enough.

The National Student Loan Center was really slow with the decision on interest relief and as a result I was 2 months behind by the time I even found out that I had been denied. August's payment of $290 was automatically taken out. Then I went and paid June's payment. Then they said that they had put the money towards June and July since I was behind. Then my application for interest relief got screwed up again but since it was being processed I was told that the money would not be taken out. They lied. The money was taken out October 31. So for the 3 payments that I did make I paid $916. Now there is no way that this went towards my June payment... at least not all of it. Their creative math and not having the correct loan payment amount is not my problem. But still... that is 3 months worth of payments and for 2 of those months they have told me that I was in interest relief for. So why am I not getting it back? It's a lost cause to even try to fight for it... but still. I just get the run around.

Looks like a priority is to remove the automatic withdrawal from that account. At least then they can't steal my money. I'm thinking the government has their own creative scheme going on. Back the borrower into a corner that they absolutely cannot get out of. They can't file for bankruptcy so you basically own them. And then change the loan payment amount on them so they end up paying more... even if they did not agree to it. There is certainly nothing fair about the system.

I'll be the first to say that right now I really do feel at a loss... I feel like my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do. I have tried everything I possiby can and gotten nowhere. When you work full time it's very tough... Tough to think that the government can actually do this to you... take 25% of your income and leave you basically nothing to live on. I just got a call today from my phone company threatening to cut off my phone if I don't pay the bill this week... And then there is the rent that is overdue. They can put up a notice of termination at any point and threaten me with eviciton. What am I supposed to do? In spite of working full time I can't even make ends meet any more... and while I should be getting the money back from the Royal Bank considering everything that has happened I'm not sure I should be holding my breath on that one.

I think the light at the end of the tunnel has finally been extinguished. Ever since this nightmre began I've been telling myself that I can't take much more of this... The stress... the anxiety... not being able to even catch up on bills... yet I keep going. I think I am finally at that breaking point. Really they have now taken everything from me... I've lost count of how many bills have been at least a month behind. There have been times when I couldn't buy groceries. and then the ultimate was when they told me they weren't taking the payment and then bounced my rent cheque. And to be told that even though I am on interest relief I am not getting back the $600, that is like a slap in the face. What good is interest relief then? You can only take so much of this. And I am finally at the breaking point.

Just When You Thought it was Safe to go Back in the Water

It really isn't Jaws and I'm not actually being attacked by sharks.... I did however think that things might finally be going my way. Then I woke up this morning and it all went to hell again. I knew as soon as I woke up that I should just go back to bed. I walked to work and now I'm paying for it. I was in a lot of pain. But I still hauled myself out of bed to go to work. I decided to check my bank balance before heading out. I was a little surprised to find out that my loan payment had been taken out... and once again for a completely different amount then I ever authorzied... Remember what I said before about increasing my loan payments but not changing the payment length? That was what they took out... And then they argue with me about how by making payment I agree to the loan payment amount. I never made a payment... they took a payment. Trust me I would not have been making a loan payment at the moment. I never authorized it. In fact I was under the impression that it would not be taken out. And now... because of that loan payment I just bounced my rent cheque. That was returned as an NSF cheque which will cost me $25. Plus I lose out on the discounted rent for paying it on time. There goes anohter $25. Them taking out the payment will cost me an additional $50... $50 I really don't have. Plus now my rent is going to be 2 weeks late and there may be additional repercussions for that. It's like this bottomless pit... They just keep taking more and more money. Right now there doesn't seem to be a way out.

At a Loss

Today was a moment of clarity.... amidst the insanity. I got off work and my ride had bailed on me. I could've got another ride home had it not been for the chiropractor appointment. So then I had to walk to the chiropractors. And when I got there I couldn't afford to pay the bill. I'm behind again... 3 bills already behind, to the tune of about $150. But what Charlene said was to keep fighting and not give up. I thought about that all the way home. I couldn't even afford the $1.75 to catch the bus and go home. With the cold my fibromyalgia was flaring up. The last thing I wanted to do was walk home. How do you fight when there is nothing left? I've got nothing left to give... I have been fighting this since May and am down to my last out. If this appeal is denied then I am out of options. By that point I'll be 3 months behind and I will have defaulted on the loan. At that point I expect my student loan will also go to collections. There is no fight left. I've fought the good fight... I've tried every channel I know to get something done and still come up short. I'm just at a loss. What am I supposed to do?

False Hope

I got a letter in the mail today about my student loan. Since I did not sign the revision of terms (And how many times have I said that now?) they are reassessing my application for interest relief from July. No apology or anything useful... just a statement that they are reassessing it. And if it is not approved then I will still have an outstanding payment. But now I am back to limbo as well. I have decided I would rather have no hope at all then false hope. Don't get my hopes up just to destroy them. That letter just added to my frustration over the whole thing. I had given up on getting that approved and was trying to reapply. Now it seems like everything is on hold. And the more I fight it the more I end up behind. It's a lose/lose situation. I can't posily win. Don't give me hope... just give me an answer.

Ways to Avoid Paying a Student Loan

Since my student loan has become a real nightmare I am now having dreams of ways to avoid making payments on my student loan. If I went on another LOA at work my income would automatically fally below what I am allowed to work. Of course I wouldn't be able to pay bills either. So I guess that one is out. I could move out of the country. It would only cost me about $50 (and 6 months) to get the right of abode to live and work in Britain. That one is starting to sound more and more appealing. If I was in prison I wouldn't have to worry about the accomodations or paying off my student loan. In fact I could work on another degree for free. I can't include bankrupcy on that list. They changed the law so that student loans were exempt. In 2014 I can apply for bankrupcy and then it will take the student loan with it. Sadly, the best advice I had was to go back to school. Now for people with a loan with their bank supposedly if you take just one course then you qualify for interest relief. However, I looked into it and with the student loan center you have to be a full time student. I really don't want to add to my debt load. Besides they actually make it so you can't be a professional student. They even have a limit as to how long you can be on interest relief while in school. After 340 weeks you are SOL. At that point you have to start paying it back... even if you are still in school. From what I could figure that's about 6.5 years. I guess you're screwed if you are doing your PhD. So I guess I am going to have to keep dreaming up ways to avoid it... or hey maybe they'll just approve the interest relief and then I'll have a little breathing room... well for a couple of months any ways.

Getting the Government Involved

A friend of mine told me not that long ago that if I contacted the MP in Peterborough I would get the interest relief approved on the grounds that I am in a low income job. Initially I was holding off since I thought my application for interest relief would be approved before the payment was taken out by the Royal Bank. And then I would just be getting someone else involved needlessly. But as soon as that payment was taken out I started work on a letter to the MP. In it I discussed the fact 10% of people that graduated the same year I did have already defaulted on their loans, broke down where my pay cheque goes, and included copies of the letter that said "rent payments, cable TV, and credit cards" can not be used to appeal the decision. Now the last two I understand... but obviously they are not taking the cost of living into consideration. Maybe it's just me but they should not be allowed to bankrupt you or cause you to be homeless so they can get their money. I want to be able to pay off my loan... I just can't. I didn't stop at the MP though. I also made a copy for the MPP, the minister of education, and the premier. I don't expect Dalton McGuinty to do anything for me... In fact I have my doubts that he will even see it. But at least I am being proactive and exploring every possible avenue to achieve some sort of resolution.