Complaint Review: Pioneer Credit Recovery

First: It is not illegal for debt collectors to search for your work number and contact you at work. In fact, it is their job to find you wherever they can. If you are not allowed to receive telephone calls at work, however, and make this known to the collection agency that has contacted you, they are no longer allowed to contact you there. The law that requires this is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Note that this act does not apply to first-party collectors (a company collecting on debt that they own). Pioneer is a third-party collector, so the act DOES apply to them.

The government still can, and will, contact your employer directly to secure a federal wage garnishment. This is the right of the United States government when you fall into default, and they may legally take 15% of your disposable income. This is an unpleasant situation, but one that can be avoided by simply not going into default.

Second: Third-party disclosure laws require that any correspondence be sent in unmarked envelopes that do not bear any company name or logos. This is for your own privacy, to prevent anyone else from seeing your mail and learning of your debt. It would be illegal for Pioneer to provide any way for you to distinguish their letters from junk mail.

Third: Pioneer does indeed represent the federal government. They, and many other collection agencies, are contracted by the government to collect on defaulted student loans.

Fourth: I'm not sure about the certified mail thing. It makes sense that they would not send a different, more expensive type of mail at your request unless you were willing to pay for it, but I don't understand exactly what it was you wanted them to send to you either.

Fifth: It doesn't matter when you graduated. There is no statute of limitations on student loans. It's possible that the loan had been to several collection agencies before Pioneer, and they were simply the first to successfully contact you. From what I've seen on the Internet, they seem to be the top-ranked agency on the DoE contract for several years running, so this is not implausible.

Sixth: Unfortunately, your salary is irrelevant. When you took out the loan, you signed a promissory note which stated that if you should ever fall into default then the full balance would be due immediately. You mentioned that Pioneer and the government had offered you a program. This was a courtesy, and not something that they were required to do at all. They could have simply garnished your wages outright. Your forbearance through Direct Loans was available when you were not in default. Again, you lose the right to a forbearance when your loan defaults. If you can manage somehow to get out of default then you will again be eligible for a forbearance, but not until then.

We can split hairs all day long, but here are the facts.

1. These are still THIRD PARTY DEBT COLLECTORS we are talking about so the FDCPA still applies even though they are allegedly collecting on a federal school loan.

Right to dispute entire debt or amount still applies.
Right to demand debt validation still applies.
Right to demand cease communication still applies.

2. Once the dispute and validation processes are complete, and the "debt" is validated, then, and only then is there no statute of limitations as it is then verified to be a federal debt.

If it is never verified/validated as a federal debt / ie: school loan, the state SOL applies to this third part debt collection effort.

The legal burden of proof is on the third party debt collector.

3. School loan garnishments are limited to 15% of your gross income by federal law, but they often follow the state law on garnishment if you dispute it.

For example, the maximum garnishment in Florida is 25% of your EXPENDABLE income. This is often LESS than the 15% of GROSS INCOME.

4. The above mentioned debt collector broke several state and federal laws regarding debt collection practices, and impersonating an officer of the court.

There are many legal loopholes to any given situation. You should consult an attorney for legal advice.

It's totally legal for PCR to call you at work. The only time they can't per FDCPA is when you write to them telling them not to contact you there, or if your boss tells them they can't call.
The Department of Education has every right in the world to seize your TAXES and garnish your WAGES. They can only garnish up to 15%. Your loans are federally backed, therefore the government can take whatever money they are legally allowed to. I have seen loans collected on that were 10 years old. They're still owed. If you borrow money and don't pay it, it's considered STEALING.
Watch out: the dept of ed can put leins on your house, bank accounts, cars... any assets you own.
My advice: pay it && shut up

It's totally legal for PCR to call you at work. The only time they can't per FDCPA is when you write to them telling them not to contact you there, or if your boss tells them they can't call.
The Department of Education has every right in the world to seize your TAXES and garnish your WAGES. They can only garnish up to 15%. Your loans are federally backed, therefore the government can take whatever money they are legally allowed to. I have seen loans collected on that were 10 years old. They're still owed. If you borrow money and don't pay it, it's considered STEALING.
Watch out: the dept of ed can put leins on your house, bank accounts, cars... any assets you own.
My advice: pay it && shut up

It's totally legal for PCR to call you at work. The only time they can't per FDCPA is when you write to them telling them not to contact you there, or if your boss tells them they can't call.
The Department of Education has every right in the world to seize your TAXES and garnish your WAGES. They can only garnish up to 15%. Your loans are federally backed, therefore the government can take whatever money they are legally allowed to. I have seen loans collected on that were 10 years old. They're still owed. If you borrow money and don't pay it, it's considered STEALING.
Watch out: the dept of ed can put leins on your house, bank accounts, cars... any assets you own.
My advice: pay it && shut up

It's totally legal for PCR to call you at work. The only time they can't per FDCPA is when you write to them telling them not to contact you there, or if your boss tells them they can't call.
The Department of Education has every right in the world to seize your TAXES and garnish your WAGES. They can only garnish up to 15%. Your loans are federally backed, therefore the government can take whatever money they are legally allowed to. I have seen loans collected on that were 10 years old. They're still owed. If you borrow money and don't pay it, it's considered STEALING.
Watch out: the dept of ed can put leins on your house, bank accounts, cars... any assets you own.
My advice: pay it && shut up

In your complaint you mentioned this:

"I proceeded to contact Direct Loans they advised me that I have two consolidated loans with them as of 1998 when the loans were consolidated A loan was discharge from Lynn University which I register to attend but later withdrawn from school before class started, the school still send my loan information after my withdrawn and collected from the DEpt of Edu, since I have the withdrawn slip the loan was discharged."

I think you need to contact Lynn University and advise them that you will be holding them legally responsable. Or, did you spend the cash????

Just a thought!

-Robert

PCR tries to scare people into paying or voluntarily having their wages garinished...Send them a registered letter telling them to stop calling you if they do so and do NOT respond to any of their requests for information. They, as are all collection agencies, liars and thieves.

See here: Fact Sheet #30: The Federal Wage Garnishment Law.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs30.pdf

See also: http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/collections/collection-options-outside-of-court/admin-wage-garnishments/

I hope this helps.

You may claim to know the law, but I bet the only "law" you know is "PCR's Law". Of course PCR law is likely different than consumer law. I have serious doubts that you can garnish someone's wages without winning a judgement against that person in a court of law. Oh, by the way Mr. Collector, learn how to spell. Your responses look as if they were written by a 2nd grader.

1st I have been doing this job for 14 years I thing I know the law(s).

2nd There is NO staute of limitations on student loans.

3rd. She can send a cease and desist letter but is isnt that avoiding the issue and not taking resposiblity for her debt.

4th. We don't sue, we dont go to court. Dept of Ed sends what is call an administrative wage notice to the employer and they are instrusted to garnish 15 perc out of the employess check.

5th AWG is not illegal. It happens all the time.

People can complain all they want, but take the right road and start getting your credit straightend out. Don't let it to that far.

"T",

Your whole assumption that "she still needs to find a way to pay" is the problem here.

It appears that the debt is past SOL for collection, and even if it isn't she doesn't make enough money to leave anything for garnishment if you could even get one!

And, you have violated federal law by threatening wage siezure/garnishment. This is illegal as part of any colection attempt as per the FDCPA.

Beth:

Go to FTC.gov and file separate complaints on each violation of your rights. Read and print out the FDCPA. It is fairly short and easy to print.

Go to BudHibbs.com to learn how to deal with collectors and to read other complaints on these fools.

DO NOT speak to them on the phone. Send all communications by certified mail, return reciept requested. Put the certified # on the letter itself and keep a copy for your records.

Notify them in writing to cease communication and also that contact at work is unacceptable.

Make them sue you and get a judgement. It is very unlikely they could. But even if they do, according to you there is nothing to get.

1st, when you contact the us dept of ed, it is only a customer service dept, not ed, they are the middle man between pioneer and ed.

2nd, how did they find your poe?? It is their job to find things, they go off credit reports collect infor from your references you listed on the prom notes. It is called skiptracing and part of the job.

3rd, by law pcr cant put on the return envelope pioneer credit reovery. that will let everybody know that you owe a credit recovey(collection agency) and they also have laws they have to follow.

4th Payment in full is due, read the defualt section in your prom note, when in defualt the loan is called due bu dept of ed.

5th If your loan in still with pcr call and set up arrangements if you havent done so, the longer u wait the more money it will be in the end with fees and intrest charged by dept of ed.