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A class action lawsuit has been filed by former students of now bankrupt ITT Education Services, alleging that its partner Vervent Inc. is a sham student loan program that is still collecting money from students.
Vervent’s ITT student loans program, called PEAKS, was allegedly perpetrated by the defendant and Deutsche Bank.
According to the ITT student loans class action, the purpose of the program was to generate cash for the school and to show that ITT had a non-federal independent source of tuition revenue – part of federal requirements for financial aid.
The plaintiffs maintain that the loans were made to borrowers who had little to no repayment ability and that the terms of the loans were unconscionable and abusive.
The interest rate on the student loans went as high as 17.5 percent, accruing daily, and the students had to pay an undisclosed 10 percent origination fee, the plaintiffs allege.
The ITT student loans class action lawsuit says that ITT was responsible for creating more than $7 billion in student debt loans with more than 80 percent of the debt having been defaulted. ITT students allegedly earn the same or less than high school graduates with no college education and cannot sustain the debt.
One plaintiff, Jody Aliff, says that he was a student of ITT at the San Dimas and Orange Country campuses of ITT during 2008 through 2013. He allegedly obtained an associates degree from ITT and then a bachelor’s degree in information systems and cybersecurity.
Aliff claims that he incurred roughly $120,000 in student loan debt while attending ITT, which includes around $13,000 in PEAKS loans. He says that he currently works as a computer repairman for a bank in Los Angeles, a job that does not require a bachelor’s degree.
In 2010, when funding from other private loans ran out, Aliff obtained ITT student loans from the PEAKS program, the Vervent class action lawsuit states.
Aliff was allegedly informed that he couldn’t continue his second year courses unless he obtained a PEAKS loan, which he did. In addition, according to Aliff, he was told that he could not graduate with his associate’s degree unless he obtained another loan from PEAKS, which he did as well.
The plaintiff claims that his PEAKS loans were for approximately $5,000 and $8,000, totaling $13,000. Aliff says he started paying off his PEAKS loans through payments to First Associates Loan Servicing, the loans servicing company for ITT student loans. He ceased making payments in April 2015 due to financial problems, according to the Vervent class action lawsuit.
After he was unable to pay for the loans, he allegedly started receiving calls from First Associates regarding payments on his PEAKS loan. Aliff told the servicing company that he could not afford to pay the loans.
At one point, Aliff reportedly obtained a one year deferment on the loans hoping that his income would increase and he would be able to make payments in the future. However, after the deferment, he could still not pay for the loans.
Beginning in 2018, Aliff states that he started receiving further calls from Activate Financial, a collection agency for the PEAKS ITT student loans and, to this day, he still receives calls from Activate concerning the debt.
Aliff says he received notices from Activate Financial that they were willing to accept a lower payment for his two loans, but only if payments were made within 30 days and if they were in lump sums.
These notices reportedly did not inform him that the statute of limitations had passed and that Activate Financial could not collect the loans via legal proceedings.
“At no time did Activate Financial inform Mr. Aliff that the statute of limitations had run on his PEAKS loans or that Activate Financial could not bring legal action seeking payment of the loans,” the Vervent class action lawsuit maintains.
The common issues of facts in this class action lawsuit include: 1) whether PEAKS was a real student loan program or a sham which did not have any underwriting, and was just a way for ITT to defraud students, its investors, and the Department of Education; 2) whether the defendants misrepresented the legal name of PEAKS loan obligation; and 3) the extent to which PEAKS loan obligations were subject to expired statutes of limitations.
Prospective Class Members include: “all individuals who (i) attended any ITT campus, and (ii) have a balance owed on a PEAKS loan, or (iii) made any payment on a PEAKS loan within the applicable statutes of limitations and until notice is provided to the class.”
Did you go to school at ITT and obtain ITT student loans to pay for your education? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Timothy G. Blood, Leslie E. Hurst, and Aleksandr J. Yarmolinets of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP, Irv Ackelsberg and John J. Grogan of Langer Grogan & Diver PC and Paul Arons of the Law Office of Paul Arons.
The ITT Student Loans Class Action Lawsuit is Jody Aliff, et al. v. Vervent Inc., et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-00697, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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50 thoughts onITT Student Loans Were ‘Abusive,’ Lawsuit Claims
I attended ITT and have Peaks and Federal Loans. I owe over $40,000 and these loans are killing my credit, I will never be able to own anything. I was not able to find any employment for the so call fake degree from ITT.
I Graduated in 2010. I still owe money to Peaks please contact me
Can you send me information on this? Graduated in 2015. Thank you
I have 35,000 worth of debt from peake paying 500/month for 15 yrs. need help
I also went to ITT in Miami, FL and owe a tremendous amount of money. My DTI is so high bc of these loans that I will never be able to qualify for a home! Not to mention the BS degree I received isn’t worth anything.
Please contact me
Went there for 2 years
Still in debt with peaks
I attended ITT tech in Nashville. I ended up with over $92,000 in student loans. THey had promised that the loans would be reasonable, with job placement help and that I would be able to get a job straight out of ITT with a degree in software programming. The only people who received placement help were those that the instructors wanted to help. I was not one of these. I found out later that all the credits that I had received from ITT were not transferable to any other school. I finally got my Associates degree but have been unable to find a job where I can use it. My student loans are in default because I have no way to repay them.. They told me that I would have approximately $28,000 in student loans when I finished.
The school lured us in by having it located on the campus of St. Louis U. Close to everything. I worked in the STL so it was very convenient. When we got to class, after months of courting, we were told that a New Campus was built (not completed) and that would be our location. It was 45 minutes (on a major traffic route at rush hour) away. I was told that (after the move) there would be some leeway for people in the communication field for being a bit late. I was working for the local cable company at the time. I was late almost every day. They did have a bus available for the students that started he first class in the new location but, as a cable guy, I couldn’t just leave a customer incomplete. With that, I never got any real benefit from the class I got steered to. I was already doing a large percentage of what they were teaching. I had to leave the school due to the birth of my son.
After leaving, I would get calls from companies claiming to to try and take my check. I gave in a few times but the totals never went down. They just kept going up and up. Every few months/years a new company would step up and contact me. i would say, how do I know you not one of those fraudulent company’s again and they would stop calling but the load balance just kept going up.
What is being done about this? I keep hearing mixed story’s. Are they forgiving these loans? Are the still going through?
Ever since going to ITT-Tech I have and receiving no real education I have been suffering through the repayment of Peaks and federal loans. Peaks has not been helpful and everyone you talk to at peaks is rude and can be really rotten to talk to. I feel so anxious every-time I need to talk to them. This has been a stressful ordeal.
ITT received upwards of $17,000+ from me, PLUS, they stole almost half of my 2018 tax return last year trying to say I somehow still owed them money which put me in default status with the Dept of Education. Pretty sure that, too, is illegal.
They have stolen over 75% of my Pell Grant lifetime eligibility along with all the money I should have received from the Pell Grant. Never once did I receive one dime of any of that money ever.
I have A LOT to say about ITT and the hardship they have put on me, my life and my children lives. Because of ITT Tech, I have not been able to further my education and grossly misled me about their program. I HAVE MANY MANY DOCUMENTS AND PAPERWORK THAT PROVE EVERY SINGLE THING I HAVE TO SAY AND ACCUSE THEM OF.
They have stolen many many hours of precious time that I cannot get back…none of us can.
I have so much to say about this I dont even know where to begin. There is not enough space in this box to detail everything.
I very very much would like to be contacted by the attorneys involved and working on this case. I look forward to speaking with you & am counting the minutes until I may have that opportunity. I have original documents you will want to see. ***PLEASE GET IN CONTACT WITH ME!!***
I also owe money to this school. How is this problem being resolved?