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arkovich_law-narrowWe believe we’ve found a good software solution to upgrade our document collection for bankruptcy.  We are now taking steps to purchase and incorporate this into our system.  Our hope is that it will reduce the time our clients spend obtaining and uploading or sending documents to us, pre-populate the client questionnaire, eliminate the time it takes to convert data to PDF, quickly cure blurry photos or expired IDs and help to organize data and get it where it needs to be.

Not only will this hopefully save our clients’ time, but it should save our firm a great deal of time as well, in areas such as following up on data, transcribing data from place to place, and allowing us to spend more time doing what we do best:  finding solutions to our clients’ debt.

Our team hasn’t changed much over the years — which has been a boon for clients — to always deal with the same person.  Employee turnover is practically non-existent at our firm.  Software tools have changed a lot, and cutting edge stuff really helps keep our costs low and service high.

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Christie_1We are hearing numerous reports of  surprise billing by student loan servicers especially now that SAVE is no longer an option.  Or the checking account is being hit with a standard repayment amount rather than an IBR payment based upon someone’s income.  If f you have permitted auto billing in the past, you may be surprised by a charge out of the blue for an unexpected amount.

A tip to help avoid this situation is to set up a separate checking account to obtain the .25% auto pay deduction.  This will avoid a surprise payment and a cascade of NSF fees that could result.

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Christie_1Folks are reporting that they are being asked to make a large student loan payment – but they in in a long queue waiting for their Income Driven Plan (IDR) application to be processed.   This is happening because if a payment isn’t being made, the loan defaults to the Standard payment plan (which is usually very high).

You need to request administrative forbearance while the IDR application is pending.  It’s supposed to happen automatically, but often doesn’t.  Don’t wait until your credit score is hit to do this please!

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Christie_1So 7.7 million borrowers are in a SAVE forbearance.  That means no payment, no interest since the courts applied the SAVE injunction last July (2024).

Lots of questions about what borrowers should do now.  We just did an interview with ABC Action News this a.m. that will run tonight.  Here’s the link to that story.

If you can’t afford to make any payment now, then stay on the SAVE forbearance as long as you can.  Servicers are beginning to shift people off SAVE forbearance but it may be another month or two before they can get to you.  It’s incredibly unlikely that someone can just stay on a SAVE forbearance long term.  SAVE has ended.  No doubt about that.

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arkovich_law-narrowIf you are encountering collections calls or even a collection lawsuit, sometimes taking the offense is the better route.  For instance, we are seeing usury violations where the rate of interest being charged on its face is 90% APR.  The lawsuit may be filed by a smaller player who you’ve never heard of, who we call debt buyers.

In Florida, the maximum simple interest rate is 18% per year for loans less than $500k, for loans larger than that, the maximum is 25%.  Violations can be severe, and can include all interest voided, and the lender can even face criminal charges.  This may be an important negotiating point, and something that you should carefully raise to avoid making an inadvertent extortion violation yourself.

You may see an interest rate way higher than 18% for credit cards and payday lenders.  Why is that?  Well, they have unique rules is one answer.  Rates can fluctuate based upon default rates, the company’s operating expenses, credit score and card type.  They also can choose to follow another state’s laws which may allow for higher rates.

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arkovich_law-narrowBuy now, pay later options are on the rise.  The most popular players in this space – Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, and Zip – are everywhere. They’re not just options. They’re default features, embedded into the checkout flow of almost every major retailer.  Even Door Dash now has options which allow you to pay for your burrito later.

Most offer 0% interest and when used responsibly, they can help as a cash flow tool to carry someone until their next paycheck for instance.

It’s easy access, no real credit checks, frictionless credit with a few mouse clicks or phone taps.

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Christie_1Those with federal student loans have had a five year reprieve for collections on federal student debt.  We are seeing more delinquencies as people do not not realize they were due to make a payment and for those borrowers who cannot afford to make a payment now.

There may be relief (talk to us about your specific circumstances) but settlement is likely not an option for most.  The Department of Education has very strict limits on settlement of federal student loans:

  1. 100% of current principal and interest (better credit reporting)
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Christie_1The IDR payment tracker was removed from many if not all borrower’s studentaid.gov sites today.

You can still find your payment count however.  Write your servicer directly for it or use this direct  link after you’ve logged onto StudentAid.gov:  https://studentaid.gov/app/api/nslds/payment-counter/summary​.

This link shows in a computer code format called JSON which you can’t read.  But if you copy it into an AI tool such as ChatGPT, Claude or any of the others, it can be translated into regular English.

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We are hearing from multiple sources that federal student loan borrowers IDR progress will be removed from the government site next week.  It’s imperative that you screenshot your IDR progress in case you need it down the road.  This is on studentaid.gov and looks like this:

student-aid-IDR-count

Go ahead and view your IDR progress and screenshot every screen with info.  Don’t wait – do it now please!

Screenshot Your IDR Progress Today

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Christie_1We’re hearing a lot of people are finding out their student loans are delinquent – another today that received a 90 day late and had no idea they were out of deferment.

The dings to your credit are not small — we had a client recently who had four student loan accounts (not unusual at all) and the hit to his credit was 200 points.

You can imagine what a 200 point hit will do especially when it’s unexpected!

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