National Collegiate Private student loans are one of the most common types of collection matters and lawsuits that we see against consumers when it comes to private student loan matters. These loans usually begin their lifespan with different lending institutions than National Collegiate and only land with National Collegiate once a default occurs. The easiest way to explain NCSLT is that they act as an insurance company for the institution that the loan was defaulted against. So if Chase lends to a consumer and then the loan is defaulted on, NCSLT pays Chase for the loss and assumes the creditor role. National Collegiate commonly refers these loans to a various array of collection agencies. Once collection fails NCSLT sends the matter into litigation. NCSLT lawsuits are common and consistent when it comes to the collection of this sort of debt. Rubin & Rothman and Forster & Garbus are two of the more common debt collection law firms that sue on behalf of the National Collegiate.
NCSLT is often willing to negotiate settlements in pre-litigation as well as litigation. Pre-litigation can be a good time to negotiate because there is no complicated litigation to be concerned with for the average consumer. At this point, it is simply about establishing an offer, whether in a lump sum or over interest-free payments, and including financial and or medical hardship when making that offer. NCSLT probably prefers pre-litigation settlements as it saves them time and money since they do not have to pay to litigate and they don’t have to worry about the risk of not being able to collect even if a judgment is obtained in litigation. We have commonly been able to achieve settlements with NCSLT for 50%-80% off of the balance both in pre-litigation and litigation matters. It is also important to note that National Collegiate Student Loan Trust has given interest-free payment plans of up to 10 years to repay the settled amount although a lump sum or hybrid approach, lump sum, and payment plan offer will usually produce a lower overall settlement balance.