Have you recently checked your credit report only to find an unfamiliar company reporting negative information? Does this information claim that you are in default on a loan for tens of thousands of dollars?
Have you been delinquent on your student loans and received written correspondence indicating that you are in danger of further legal ramifications if you fail to rectify the situation?
Are you receiving phone calls from unknown numbers, wondering why you are receiving these phone numbers?
If you answered yes to any of these situations, you could be in default on your student loan debt and the collection agency such as Coast Professional Inc is trying to contact you. This guide is going to tell you who they are, how to deal with them, and how to stop them from calling.
If you are unsure how to proceed after reading this guide, you can contact our office to speak with a professional debt specialist that can help you with your situation.
Why Is Coast Professional Inc On My Credit Report?
The reason that you may see Coast Professional Inc appearing on your credit report is that you defaulted on a student loan. When you default on a student loan, the Department of Education contracts with private collection agencies to collect the debt. The collection agency will continue reporting negative information to all three credit bureaus until your student loans are back in good standing.
What Does Coast Professional Inc Do?
Coast Professional Inc is a debt collection agency that specializes in educational receivables recovery. They are contracted by the Department of Education to collect on defaulted student loan debt.
Who Are They? How Do I Contact Them?
They are a debt collection agency founded in 1976, headquartered in Geneseo, NY. According to their website, their mission is to, “Help consumers address their obligations while enhancing their future financial opportunities.”
Their contact information is:
Their office hours are Mon. – Thurs. 8 am to 9 pm EST, Fridays 8 am to 4:30 pm EST
Coast Professional Inc
4273 Volunteer Road
Geneseo, NY 14454
Toll-Free: 800-231-0225
Direct Line:318-807-4500
Fax: 318-807-6398
Website: http://www.coastprofessional.com/
Department of Education Division:
PO Box 2899
West Monroe, LA 71294
Toll-Free: 800-964-0881
Fax: 318-807-5001
Why Is Coast Professional Inc Calling Me?
If you defaulted on your student loan debt, the Department of Education sent your loan to this collection agency to recover the debt. Coast Professional is contacting you to resolve and recover this defaulted student loan debt.
How Do I Deal With Them? How Do I Stop The Calls?
There are many ways that you can deal with them and get them to stop calling you. You can exercise your rights under the FDCPA, which includes requesting the validity of the debt or submitting a request in writing informing them to refrain from corresponding with you.
The other option that you have for eliminating the phone calls is to get your loans out of default.
Can Coast Professional Inc Garnish My Wages?
When your loans are sent to Coast Professionals because you defaulted on your payments, they can garnish your wages. The Department of Education can issue garnishments on federal student loans without suing you first.
How Can I Stop A Wage Garnishment?
The best way to stop a wage garnishment is to communicate with your loan service provider either before you miss a payment or the second you miss a payment.
If your loan servicer is aware of your financial hardship before your loan is placed in default status, you have more options available to you such as:
Forbearance
This postpones your payments for at least 12 months. You have to reapply after 12 months, however, you can do this over the phone with your loan service provider. Your student loans will continue to accrue interest when it is in forbearance.
Deferment
Another option that you have to postpone your student loan payments, is by deferring them. Some deferments can last 3 years, and others are tied in with how long you qualify based on your qualifying event. Your subsidized loans will not accrue interest while you are in deferment.
Qualifying events that make you eligible for this option include the following:
- Enrolled in school at least half-time
- Unemployment
- Receiving state or federal assistance such as SNAP or TANF
- In treatment for cancer
- Active duty military or Peace Corps
- Your monthly income is below 150%of your state’s poverty guidelines
Income-driven Repayment plan
These are payment plans set by your income, and in some cases could be as low as 0$ per month. With these payment plans, you could qualify for loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of repayment.
The longer you wait to handle; the late payments or non-payment of student loan debt, the fewer options that you have available to you. If your loans are set to a collection agency and you are considered to be in default, you are no longer eligible for deferment, forbearance, or Income-driven repayment plans.
What Happens If You Wait Too Long?
If your loan becomes delinquent over 270 days, you are considered to be in default of your student loans and your loan service provider sends your loan to the collection unit of the Department of Education, known as the Default Resolution Group/Debt Management & Collections System. At this point, DRG/DMCS will keep your loans or send it to a private collection agency. The collection agency will contact you to notify you of your options before a garnishment starts.
This notice provides you with a 30-day window to get your loans out of default before your wages are garnished. The first option that you will be offered is a voluntary repayment agreement. The other options that you have available at this point are payment in full, negotiate a settlement, consolidation, or loan rehabilitation.
Here these options are further explained:
Payment in full
If you are in the financial position to pay your loans in full, this is an option to stop the garnishment.
Negotiate settlement
If you are unable to pay the full balance, you can attempt to negotiate settlement of the debt. The only time this option is available to you is if your loans are in default. Typically with this option, the Department of Education will not settle for less than 85% of your student loan debt. You can attempt to negotiate with Coast Professional Inc for a non-standard settlement, which can be for 18-40% of your student loan debt. Keep in mind with this option you need to have the payment made within 30 to 90 days.
Consolidation
If your garnishment is not active, you have the option of consolidating your loans under a new Direct Consolidation Loan. If Coast Professional has sent the garnishment to your employer but your wages aren’t being garnished, you could be considered under an active wage garnishment. If you are under an active wage garnishment, then you need to have the garnishment lifted or judgment vacated before you can consolidate your loans.
Loan rehabilitation
Loan rehabilitation is a popular choice for getting out of a wage garnishment or default. This option requires you to make 9 consecutive on-time monthly payments within 10 months. After making your 5th payment, the garnishment stops. However, you still need to make your remaining 4 payments to avoid further repercussions. Loan rehabilitation is only available once on these defaulted loans. Therefore, if you default on these loans a second time, you will need to consider other routes to take to get out of default.
You need to carefully weigh each option before deciding on the route that you will take to get your loans out of default and stop the wage garnishment. If you need help deciding which option is the best for you, contact our office and speak with an expert financial advisor to help you make the best decision.
Can I Sue Coast Professional Inc?
If you feel that your rights under the FDCPA have been violated, then you can file a complaint with the FTC, and you have the right to sue them. This agency has been known to mislead consumers and use abusive and threatening collection practices when attempting to collect debts. If you feel that they are harassing you, misleading you, or attempting to collect debts that you don’t owe, you have rights under the FDCPA, and you can pursue legal action.
Reviews, Complaints, Lawsuits
In 2015, this agency was one of 5 agencies that were fired by the Department of Education for violating consumer rights and providing misleading and deceptive information to collect on student loan debts. However, in 2016 Coast Professional, was among 2 agencies that were rehired, because they addressed the issues that they were fired for.
According to the BBB, they have been accredited with the BBB since 2018, and they have had a total of 119 complaints filed in the last 3 years. Of these complaints, 52 were closed in the last 12 months.
That have had complaints and lawsuits out of the United States District Court
The Central District Of California Eastern Division in 2018, for failing to explain what other interest is being collected, and for threatening to contact someone or share information regarding a debt improperly.
Conclusion
When it comes to managing your student loan debt, you should understand your rights that collection agencies often violate because they are contracted by the Department of Education. Some of these agencies feel that the FDCPA does not apply to them for this reason. But they are wrong.
If you need help handling Coast Professional, give us a call and speak with one of our expert loan financial advisors to guide you in the best way to handle them.
