Student's loan disagreement
Julie, whose last name is withheld on request, disagrees with the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) on several issues related to a loan she received from the education-financing body for two years of study dating back to 1996.
While Sunday Business has not been privy to the loan documents or Julie's payment receipts, her story and the response of the SLB are being relayed for general information.
Unappeased by the bureau's response, the SLB client said she would be consulting a lawyer for advice on the matter.
Here is Julie's story as told by her to Sunday Business.
"The
"I made arrangements with the bank and paid $7,000 monthly, with a few lapses here or there, until the account was transferred back to the SLB, which now does its own collection.
"I had been off the island for a few years and all that time I had a reliable third party make payments on my behalf.
"When the SLB notified me that I still owed $120,000, I vigorously tried to liquidate it. I knew there was a small balance owing, but I was low on funds.
Sunday Business sought a response from the SLB. The entity's manager of loan servicing, Cheryl Surjue, provided the following information.
"For the academic years 1996 and 1997, Julie was
"The account entered repayment January 1, 2000, with a loan tenure of 84 months. The account was transferred from the bank to the SLB in 2001 with a balance of $109,121.93 and payments totalling $43,956.55 as follows:
$1,161.34 x 5 = $5,806.70 and $7,629.97 x 5 = $38,149.85.
"We made contact with Julie between the period July 2003 to October 2006 regarding the outstanding balance on the account, consistently reminding her
"During this period, payments totalling $69,000 were
"Julie
"The proposal was accepted, however, she reneged on the arrangement and the payments made were insufficient to close. Thirty-seven
Balance at maturity 31/12/2006
"The statement Julie
Sunday Business asked a third party - David Miller, executive director of the Fair Trading Commission, whose job includes assessing complaints about the trading practices of companies - to assess the information.
"It is important that the debtor provide documentation to prove that the payments were made," said Miller.
"This issue, if it cannot be resolved between the parties, would best be pursued in the courts.
Sunday Business communicated the SLB reply to Julie, who is contending that the statements sent to her by the SLB in May and September 2009 had a lower balance than suggested by the bureau.
She said another statement received later added more than $70,000 to the $20,000 she believed to be the loan balance.
Julie has indicated that she will be seeking the advice of a lawyer on the matter.