Student Loans and Statutes of Limitations

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

In case you were wondering if those pesky student loans you took out to pay for that useless liberal arts degree that qualifies you for little more than Party Irritant (?Hey, you know what?s fascinating about the Peloponnesian War insomuch as this cheese dip is concerned??) or gameshow contestant had something like a statute of limitations on the payback? You?d better take ?no? for the block.

Of course, it?s a little more complicated than that. As a piece running on AssociatedContent.com points out, the statute of limitations connected with student loans was never meant to mean that the loans themselves would eventually be forgotten and cancelled after a certain period of time. Instead, it only referred to the collection methods and measures the lender or collection agency could take ? such as suing, enforcing a judgment, garnishing federal or state income tax refunds, or even wages.

As 20 USC 1091a(a)(1) states: “It is the purpose of this subsection to ensure that obligations to repay loans and grant overpayments are enforced without regard to any Federal or State statutory, regulatory, or administrative limitation on the period within which debts may be enforced.”

Which means, unfortunately, that you?ll have to get rid of those loans the old fashioned way: going on Jeopardy! and praying that you don?t bomb on ?European Capitals.?