Experience being sued by Zwicker and Associates for Discover Student Loan.

Posted by thkate2@reddit | studentloandefaulters | View on Reddit | 3 comments

I thought I’d create a post to inform people of what I am currently going through, and also appreciative of any advice if you’ve been through a similar situation. I will continue to update you all as time goes on.

I am being sued by Discover for my private student loans. They are using Zwicker and Associates as their law firm.

I was just served with court papers last week, and just retained a lawyer. I am looking at my options and I’m going to outline them below. I live in Ohio for reference.

Challenge the validity of the loan. The student loan papers they included in the suit are questionable. The loan started with Citi and was sold to discover. In the bill of sale, my account number is not decipherable. Although, My lawyer says that Ohio courts (and particularly the county Im in) don’t care about validating debt and will likely grant discover the full balance due just to get it off their desk. Ugh.
Request Private Arbitration to kick this out of court and put the ball back in the attorneys court. It’s a large balance, so I believe they would pursue me that way as well.
Settle. I don’t have a lump sum, and I do not have a way to get one. I would have to make monthly payments, that I likely could not afford.

Bankruptcy is not an option as my dad is also on the lawsuit as a co-signer.

I own a home, and so does my father, so they could easily put liens on our homes. Otherwise we don’t have much they could pursue.

Also important to note, I have combed through all court records in my county with Discover. They always win. Like, always. Please help me feel empowered!

Are there any other options that I should bring to my lawyers attention? Thanks in advance to any of you that have any feedback.

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Piper508@reddit

How did this end up, did you settle with Zwicker? I just found myself on the same boat.

THROWRA_goodtoknow76@reddit

I’m on this boat today. Got the letter from my local sheriff’s department that I’m being sued by Zwicker. What did you do?

bluepaperghost@reddit

Foremost, ask your attorney for viable options.

It‘s also possible to have your attorney settle directly with Zwicker, which would put you on a “stipulation of settlement,” i.e., a payment plan. Otherwise, the typical process is that Zwicker will ask the court for a default, get permission from the courts to freeze your bank account, and garnish any funds held within to satisfy the judgment. This process sucks because your bank—at their own discretion—will often freeze double the amount of the judgment. It’s a long and incompetent process.

And your attorney is correct about changing names on property. To summarize it, the court would likely see this for what it is—hiding assets in anticipation of litigation and reverse it.