DEFENDING AGAINST A SOFI STUDENT LOAN LAWSUIT

SOFI is one of the new private student loan lenders that originally began as a company that refinanced federal and private student loans for “highly qualified” students. Now they have turned into a rather large lender and refinancer of private student loans. We have seen that SOFI is very aggressive in the collection enforcement of their loans as they quickly send defaulted loans into collection, sue consumers frequently and pursue aggressive judgment enforcement tactics such as bank levies, liens on property and wage garnishment. They are often more difficult to come to a resolution with prior to litigation than other large student loan lenders like Navient and National Collegiate Trust.

SOFI is pursuing litigation against consumers very frequently now which means that consumers must understand how to protect themselves against this new creditor. SOFI has to meet the same legal burden when they sue consumers as does any other private student loan lender. The most important defense consumers have is that of Standing. When SOFI sues consumers on loans that they have refinanced, they are the equivalent of a private student loan debt-buyer like Jefferson Capital Systems. In other words, they must prove that they are the rightful owner of the debt. They must show the assignment of the debt from the original creditor to them, they must provide a bill of sale, and they must have a qualified witness that can attest to the sale and purchase of this debt to them along with other documents that they must provide. It is imperative to assert this defense among others in an answer to a lawsuit received from SOFI. This will immediately protect consumers against a default judgment and provide the necessary leverage to either attempt to have the case dismissed or negotiate a reduced settlement amount.