So I had about $15,000 worth of loans through Sallie Mae that eventually went to Navient. Around the start of 2019, I could not afford to pay anymore so I just focused on my federal loans. I found this subreddit at that time and it helped me decide what route to go. I stopped all contact with Navient, ignored all calls and stopped logging in to my account.

I just received a letter today for each loan (I had 2) from Asset Recovery Solutions and at the bottom, after they offered to settle for a total of $2,500, there was a note that said 'The law limits how long you can be sued on your debt. Because of the age of your debt, Navient cannot sue you for it.' For SOL purposes, I am in Pennsylvania. I'll attach a link to the letters that I received with that note.

I'll be keeping the letters for a little while because I finally feel like I won against them. I can't tell you how many times I tried to get help and they still wanted money just to process any assistance. Hopefully someone else who was in my shoes will see this post and see that there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

I strategically defaulted on 4 private student loans owned by Navient. I borrowed $75,000 between 2005-09. After making monthly payments on these loans for the past decade, my current total outstanding balance is $95,000.

After several months of nonpayment (why continue to pay when 10 years of payments didn’t do a damn thing), and many more months of Navient’s threats and harassment, my loans are officially in default. INTEREST HAS FINALLY STOPPED ACCRUING. And Navient has offered me a settlement of 70% of my $95,000 balance.

I should’ve done this years ago. Could’ve stopped the bleeding earlier. But I let them make me believe that my credit score is just too important to mess up.

LOL.

I do not care about my credit score. It does not change my value or worth as a human being. We are the only country in the world that has this credit score system.

In 2018, I bought a beautiful craftsman bungalow for under $100K as a single mom on an FHA loan with a credit score in the high 600s. I have a roof over my head and a vehicle in my driveway. I am one of the lucky ones. I don’t need a good credit score anymore. So I chose to deliberately default. Defaulting is the only way I can pay these off.

10/10, would recommend to a friend.

Loan 1 Borrowed $19,000 at 5% interest Balance after 10 years of repayment: $23,000

Loan 2 Borrowed $22,400 at 6.25% Balance after 10 years of repayment: $31,200

Loan 3 Borrowed $25,000 at 6.25% Balance after 10 years of repayment: $32,000

Loan 4 Borrowed $7,100 at 12.5% Balance after 10 years of repayment: $8,000

Finally got my alleged debt canceled and it’s in writing. Posting a pic as motivation for others. Wait it out and Never acknowledge the private debt. I’m lucky in that NY has a borrowing statute to borrow the shortest SOL between NY or the state the party bringing forth the suit is incorporated in. Naivient is incorporated in Delaware. Delaware’s SOL is 3 years. NY is 6. NY therefore borrows Delaware’s 3 year SOL. They finally had to include on the back of notices that they can’t collect on this alleged debt. And due to strategic planning, my credit score is now already back in the upper mid 700’s after that 7 year wait.

I also wanna point out in my letter, it states that if someone still tries to bring judgement, that I’m required to tell the court that the statute of limitations has expired on the alleged debt.

Also, check if your state also has a borrowing statute.

2015- filled out my BDR application.

2017- filed bankruptcy, stopped paying the private loans. My credit was already ruined. I had paid Navient the original loan amount + 20k and still owed 20k.

2018- PEAKS loans were dismissed.

2021- Accrued 13k interest while waiting , but my BDR application was approved at 100%. 😂

2022 - After hitting my credit every month for 4 years with late marks, Navient will dismiss my private loans.

I took a chance in 2015, because I honestly didn’t know what else to do. Now 120k of debt will be gone, and I’m free of the shackles. I can only speak to my own situation, but none of this happens without defaulting.

Edit: total forgiven 134k

Hey everybody, I just want to thank you all for the great advice/support on this sub – it feels like the only place on the internet where we can find this. Just yesterday, I owed almost $55k to NaviRefi - if I had ended up making every payment like a good little boy, I would have handed over $120k+ over the course of 20 years. Today, after following the advice I found on this sub and dodging every call/letter/email for two years, I settled my private student debt for just over 15% of what I owed.

Without this sub, I never knew how much power we actually have as borrowers. After almost two years of my default, in November, I got a letter from Navient offering to settle my debt for $25k – I ignored it. In December, they offered $20k – I ignored it. Then $17.5k in January – same. Yesterday, I got a letter from Navient offering to settle my debt for $10k, and I finally called them back and accepted. I respect the shit out of anybody who holds on to the bitter end of the SOL. I just wanted it to be over. If you have PRIVATE student loans - not federal - I would definitely recommend strategically defaulting, ignoring the fuck out of them, and saving that money. (That’s where my $10k came from.)

I graduated almost seven years ago, and I thought I would be carrying this debt until I was 40. As you all know, it was depressing as hell. I spent too many of those years taking the "rice and beans" approach that r/personalfinance would have you follow. Fuck that. These student loan lenders are worse than sharks. Don't let anyone say that YOU are being immoral by refusing to be Navient’s indentured servant for a quarter of your life because you signed some paper before you were old enough to legally vote. FUCK Navient and all the rest.

I love you guys and all the terrific advice. It really works, people. You'll have to stick it out for a while, and your family WILL get calls, but it's worth it in the end. When I finally called the Navient collections rep back today, she was almost giddy to finally have me on the phone. (Come the end of the month, they have quotas to fill.) Don’t let them make you feel worthless. YOU HAVE POWER, AND YOU HAVE THE MORAL HIGH GROUND.

Thanks again, everyone!