Blue Line Aviation Loan Double Dipping and Harassing Past Students
Posted by pilotchris777@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 27 comments
So I've come into a situation that I'm going to air here and see what people think. I (regrettably) attended Blue Line Aviation some bit ago and have been in a billing dispute with them for ages. They were not able to maintain their end of the training agreement (no instructors available, no DPE's available, no aircraft available, etc) and my zero to hero training fell into the crapper pretty fast and I found myself way behind simply because I spent weeks (not joking) waiting to be able to progress. Regardless, I left the program and had to return home to earn money and they of course refused to refund anything to me. So, this is where things get interesting.
I stopped paying my flight school loan to push for a settlement which was going to be finalized but then the loaning institution suddenly just sold the loan to another creditor and I went years hearing nothing. On my credit report the loan is listed as "Paid as Agreed" and my emails ceased to be responded to so I just left it at that. A couple weeks ago, I received a notification via certified mail that I'm being sued for the full loan amount, plus about $50,000 in unpaid interest. The court notice also lists the names of about 25 other people who are being sued (individually) and the name of the officer testifying to the legitimacy of the lawsuit is none other than the owner of Blue Line Aviation himself - Charles Ray Walters III (Trey Walters for those who know him). The suing creditor is a company known as Aviation Finance Group. I start to do my due diligence and find that Aviation Finance Group is owned by Trey Walters.
So stop me if I'm off base here but it's looking to me like Blue Line Aviation was paid in full for students flight training by their creditor (as well as others) and then Trey Walters, owner of Aviation Finance Group went and bought unpaid or disputed flight school debts and is now suing those people to essentially increase their profits. I'm not sure as to the legality of this and I know that North Carolina (where the suit is filed) has a three year statute of limitations which I am far past so I'm hoping to get this dismissed (as least for my name) due to this and a number of other errors in the suit. It seems to me this suit was simply filed as a cash grab against former students and is meant to scare people into just paying or never even responding to the suit resulting in a default judgement against them.
My question here to you all is simple - what say you? Is this legal and if so, moral? Thanks.
Phocio@reddit
Sue them for breach of contract.
canuck791@reddit
Delete this and call a lawyer my guy.
Why tf is everyone's first move to go to reddit and post identifying information about a legal matter?
senorpoop@reddit
The guy who owns Blue Line once launched into a personal tirade against me on Facebook. He doesn't know me and has never met me.
My crime? I told someone to search for Blue Line on this subreddit before they decided to go there lol.
Physical-Program-509@reddit
Sound like half the users of this sub anytime anyone tells them something inconvenient or not grossly optimistic
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Yeah he has quite a temper and a well earned reputation for it. Just googling his name unearths quite a lot of unsavory information about him
Mean-Oil-4602@reddit
Make contact with the 25 other defendants. Reach an agreement with those of them who agree, to collectively hire a competent law firm. There are lending statutes and various other state laws that you have zero understanding of that might be a defense that gets you out of this cheaply. You’re not going to reddit your way out of this. Hire. A. Lawyer.
ManifestDestinysChld@reddit
Are you actually being sued, or have you just received a threat to be sued? Because fishing for settlements with tough-sounding letters that masquerade as legal documents is a well-known thing.
Have you been served with a lawsuit? Whatever you received by certified mail, what precisely does it say? Does it spell out which statutes or laws you are accused of violating? If so, have you looked them up?
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Yes it's an actual legal notifications from the superior court of wake county North Carolina. Not a summons yet but a notification of suit filed. I've engaged a lawyer to deal with it.
lostesquire@reddit
Hire a lawyer. Simple as that. Sounds like you’ve been served so deadlines to respond are running. No one on Reddit can help you. Lawsuits are not something you should try to handle yourself.
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Thanks, I have engaged an attorney already. I posted here mostly for public awareness and to gauge sentiment.
kingsnake317@reddit
Been in management for a flight school for a while.
My guess is that you got a pilot training loan from FMS Banks, serviced by Zuntafi? If so, that provider had a requirement that the flight school purchase any defaulted loans. Likely your loan was sold to Blue Line Aviation after you defaulted, then turned over to a sister company Aviation Finance Group. They are now trying to collect on your original loan, including all principal, interest, and penalties.
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Interesting - thanks for the info
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
Trey is a conman. And you're a sucker. There's no shortage of suckers out there.
Important_Repeat_806@reddit
Thos is true, I always find it shocking but I guess I’m probably a sucker.
nascent_aviator@reddit
They sound like pieces of shit. Though stiffing your creditor over it is pretty much going after the wrong person.
Be glad. And be very, very careful about your communications with them. It's possible to toll the statute of limitations, and you need to make sure you avoid doing that. No partial payments, no acknowledgement you owe the debt.
You might want to consult an attorney. Fortunately suing over time-barred debt is illegal so you might be able to get your legal fees paid for.
taint_tattoo@reddit
Blue could also violate the FDCPA - a federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.) that prohibits third-party debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect debts.
dopexile@reddit
He isn't buying debt; he probably just runs both companies. One entity is a lender loaning money to the flight school.
The clock starts 3 years from your last payment date, but if you signed a contract, it could be much longer.
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Good info thanks. I do know that he does not own the original flight school lender.
dopexile@reddit
I don't think it matters who owns the debt... there isn't any way to weasle out of it in that regard. The best thing you can do is request that they "validate the debt", provide proof that they are the legitimate owner of it. That prevents anyone from just coming along and trying to collect a debt they aren't a legitimate party to.
General-File-5174@reddit
I would consult r/legaladvice for this
pilotchris777@reddit (OP)
Yeah I cross posted this to that section as well - thanks.
ApoTHICCary@reddit
I’d take it to a lawyer. There’s some serious amount being thrown around and sketchy situations that it would be best to pay a lawyer to look into it to see what options are available.
x4457@reddit
Yeah, we all know that Blue Line sucks. They're in the same category as ATP.
None of this is surprising.
Flimsy-Ad-858@reddit
I would hold ATP in far higher regard than Blue Line. When ATP takes your money at least it has a veil of a huge faceless mega corporation over the top. When Blueline does it it's just Trey openly being an ass.
Flimsy-Ad-858@reddit
Trey Walters be a normal human being challenge
Important_Repeat_806@reddit
Yup sounds like Trey.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
So I've come into a situation that I'm going to air here and see what people think. I (regrettably) attended Blue Line Aviation some bit ago and have been in a billing dispute with them for ages. They were not able to maintain their end of the training agreement (no instructors available, no DPE's available, no aircraft available, etc) and my zero to hero training fell into the crapper pretty fast and I found myself way behind simply because I spent weeks (not joking) waiting to be able to progress. Regardless, I left the program and had to return home to earn money and they of course refused to refund anything to me. So, this is where things get interesting.
I stopped paying my flight school loan to push for a settlement which was going to be finalized but then the loaning institution suddenly just sold the loan to another creditor and I went years hearing nothing. On my credit report the loan is listed as "Paid as Agreed" and my emails ceased to be responded to so I just left it at that. A couple weeks ago, I received a notification via certified mail that I'm being sued for the full loan amount, plus about $50,000 in unpaid interest. The court notice also lists the names of about 25 other people who are being sued (individually) and the name of the officer testifying to the legitimacy of the lawsuit is none other than the owner of Blue Line Aviation himself - Charles Ray Walters III (Trey Walters for those who know him). The suing creditor is a company known as Aviation Finance Group. I start to do my due diligence and find that Aviation Finance Group is owned by Trey Walters.
So stop me if I'm off base here but it's looking to me like Blue Line Aviation was paid in full for students flight training by their creditor (as well as others) and then Trey Walters, owner of Aviation Finance Group went and bought unpaid or disputed flight school debts and is now suing those people to essentially increase their profits. I'm not sure as to the legality of this and I know that North Carolina (where the suit is filed) has a three year statute of limitations which I am far past so I'm hoping to get this dismissed (as least for my name) due to this and a number of other errors in the suit. It seems to me this suit was simply filed as a cash grab against former students and is meant to scare people into just paying or never even responding to the suit resulting in a default judgement against them.
My question here to you all is simple - what say you? Is this legal and if so, moral? Thanks.
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