Transworld Systems Student Loan Collection Class Action Settlement

A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging Transworld Systems Inc., Weltman Weingerb & Reis, Blitt and Gaines, NCO Financial Systems n/k/a EGS Financial Care Inc. and various National Collegiate Student Loan Trust (NCSLT) entities violated state and federal laws when collecting student loan accounts.

“Transworld and its predecessor NCO regularly engaged in and expressly or tacitly authorized deceptive and unfair conduct in connection with the collection of debts,” the Transworld class action lawsuit alleged.

If you have an account in default with a NCSLT entity, you may be entitled to benefits from the student loan collection class action settlement.

For class action settlement purposes, the NCSLT entities include the following trusts:

• National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust-I
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2003-1
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2004-1
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2004-2
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2005-1
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2005-2
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2005-3
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-1
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-2
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-3
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-4
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-1
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-2
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-3
• National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-4

Plaintiff Sharon Eul says she cosigned a private student loan with JPMorgan Chase Bank NA in 2007 for the benefit of a student who worked in her office. The contract was assigned to National Collegiate Funding LLC, which allegedly assigned the contract to National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2007-1.

According to the student loan collection class action lawsuit, the student defaulted on his student loan debt without Eul’s knowledge. Blitt and Gaines reportedly filed a collection lawsuit against Eul and the student who defaulted on the debt.

“Illinois law prohibits treating a delinquent debt as the debt of a cosigner unless prior written notice and a demand to pay is given to the cosigner,” Eul claimed in the Transworld class action lawsuit. She claims the defendants failed to provide the notice required by Illinois law.

The Transworld class action lawsuit asserted violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, and the Illinois Collection Agency Act.

The defendants deny any liability but agreed to settle the student loan collection class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.

The Transworld class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Jan. 10, 2018.

Approximately 8,854 Class Members may qualify for benefits from the Transworld student loan class action settlement.

Class Members who would like to opt out of or object to the Transworld settlement must do so no later than April 2, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Transworld settlement include anyone who currently has an Illinois address and, according to the defendants’ records, who owe on a defaulted NCSLT loan and where the date of delinquency or last payment was made less than 10 years prior to the date the settlement was reached.

Potential Award

Varies.

Under the terms of the proposed student loan class action settlement, Transworld will request that the credit reporting bureaus delete the entry of Transworld for each Class Member. Transworld will also make a reasonable effort to ensure that requests are made to any other servicer of the defaulted loans owed to NCSLT that the credit report entries by them are deleted.

Additionally, the maximum rate that will be applied to Class Members’ NCSLT loans will not exceed the lesser of the contracted loan rate or nine percent per annum.

Starting Jan. 10, 2018, no interest charges will be assessed on a Class Member’s loan for:

• 48 months if the date of default or your last payment was more than five years but less than 10 years from Jan. 10, 2018;
• 24 months if the date of default or your last payment was less than five years from Jan. 10, 2018.

Class Members also have the option to enroll in the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) for additional benefits.

Proof of Purchase

N/A. Class Members who would like to participate in HELP must provide the 8-digitUnique ID that was provided in the mailed or emailed Notice.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO ENROLL IN HELP »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

N/A. Class Members do not need to take any action to receive benefits from the student loan class action settlement, unless they want to participate in HELP. The deadline to enroll in HELP is April 2, 2018.

Case Name

Sharon Eul, et al. v. Transworld Systems Inc., et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-7755, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Final Hearing

4/25/2018

Settlement Website

www.EulSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Dahl Administration

Class Counsel

Daniel A. Edelman
Cathleen M. Combs
James O. Latturner
Emiliya G. Farbstein
EDELMAN COMBS LATTURNER & GOODWIN LLC
Phone: (312) 917-4504
Fax: (312) 419-0379

Defense Counsel

James K. Schultz
Daniel W. Pisani
Morgan I. Marcus
David Israel
Brian Shartle
SESSIONS FISHMAN NATHAN & ISRAEL LLC

David M. Schultz
Todd P. Stelter
Jason L. Santos
HINSHAW & CULBERTSON LLP