As she scanned the letter's black type, Alexis Patterson felt herself go numb."The U.S. Department of Treasury ... applied all or part of your payment to delinquent debt that you owe," it read.
Patterson is now scrambling to get her refund back, but she's finding the process close to impossible. She owes around $80,000 in student loans. The Education Department is required to let borrowers know in advance that their tax refund will be taken but many people never see that letter for one reason or another.The Education Department did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Last year, the National Consumer Law Center published a report, titled"Voices of Despair," which chronicled how poor people's lives can be thrown into chaos when their tax credits are seized. She reached out to Stanley Tate, a student loan lawyer, for help. Tate explained that she was unlikely to get the government to return her refund, since she was not at risk of foreclosure or eviction.
The problem is that someone gave 100s thousands in loans without going into any detail on how the students are going to pay back. Sounds like a familiar problem? Colleges which took the money should also be held accountable.
HOW DARE YOU NOT GIVE ME BACK THE MONEY I PAID YOU AND ALSO OWE YOU!!! Lol 😂
Let me guess her degree isn't in accounting?
So she ran up $80k in student debt. Did she even graduate? Then had a kid and defaulted on her loans. Sounds like shitty life choices 101. Can’t say I feel sorry for her.
Tell me 'bout it, trying to start up a family as a working guy in NYC, and Godamn' Marshall tampering with my returns, paid back a thousand times over
They took the loans.....period!
Of course she 1. Lives in Portland 2. Is homeless in Portland 3. Is a “writer/performer”...maybe don’t live in one of the most expensive cities in America with a fake career
Homeless but can afford to color my hair.
maybe she got the loan and never intended to pay it back .
I didnt owe nearly as much as her and they sure did take my taxes and garnish my wages. It was a huge struggle as a young person trying to get on their feet. If she gets hers back i better get mine back lol.
do folks even try to pay them back anymore ?
How many payments did she miss for them to garnish her tax check? Why should lack of personal responsibility be rewarded?
it doesn't matter all debt is made up in fractional reserve banking. So she need not pay. that $80,000 was created with a keystroke...
how the fuck do you have 80,000 in student loans? What was the major? Engineering?
Good luck with that.
Same thing happened to me. It’s called personal responsibility. Own it.
Student loans only count when you get one not when you have to pay it back ?
Good luck with pobox pop3 office sum other chronicle delusional tooling utilized ONLY .gov officials expertisematter unions MENatWORK
If she's in default then that's the consequence. She shouldn't have ran up 80K in debt.
If you make under a set income limit and your assets are valued at under a set limit, garnishments of any kind should be prohibited.
That's why it is a good idea to not let Uncle Sam unnecessarily take so much extra in the 1st place.
So is this article to make fun of people that don't understand a loan? Only reason I can see this being an article. Hopefully she doesn't turn around and sue for being a bully. Ha ha
Pay your loan. Simple.
Good luck with that... I haven't gotten a tax refund for over 10 years... they really don't give a fuck
The government does not know she’s homeless and she signed on the dotted line saying she would pay it back.
Loans must be repaid....simple concept.
She owes the money so why the squabble
The debt bubble is bursting.
Did she owe the money?
The government should take a certain percentage from wages or the employee should be able to manually adjust her withholding so she doesn’t have to get a refund. Sad story
It’s called a loan, because you have to pay it back. Doesn’t matter what life choices you make after being granted the money. You still have to pay it back. Duh.
They took mine, too. There isn’t any getting it back.
The fact she has $80,000 in student loans is her fault, not the fault of anyone else or the federal government.
So we can: 1) Berate the taxpayer for giving the government an interest-free loan in the first place. 2) Feel sorry for someone being a deadbeat and failing to pay their loan back. 3) Allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy like any other debt.
Cramer gets a cramp and he says he tore a hamstring he would not be walking if so or at least have crutches or help to get around he lies who would listen or trust what he has to say
I block all assholes who haven't any compassion for others. I don't care about your politics I care about people. The government should never be allowed to take the money. The interest rate is bad. They need to fix this for those who do not have a ton of money.
hah good luck with that one
You have to get this guy Cramer off the air he is the stupidest whatever you want to call him that has ever took to the airwaves how he got hired by CNBC is crazy
HAHAHA! Yeah, right. They took my refund for 3 years for student loans and I was a single mom. They don't care. She'll never get it back.
um...whats the problem?....the govt has a right to recover its money and you have a contractual obligation to pay it back!...why is this even a story
You do realise that a TAX REFUND is actually YOUR money! Don't rely on it to PAY the BILLS! DUH!
Please fix your poor audio feed.
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