Section 2720.70  Reimbursement Procedures

a)         The lender or holder shall request reimbursement from ISAC within 60 days from the date the lender or holder receives a completed request for loan cancellation or discharge due to death, total and permanent disability, attendance at a school that closes, false certification by a school of a borrower's eligibility for a loan, unpaid refunds, areas of national need, civil legal assistance attorneys, or teacher loan forgiveness, in accordance with federal regulations and the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.  (See, e.g., 34 CFR 682.216, 682.402 and 682.409.)

b)         Requests for default reimbursement must be submitted to ISAC within the time frames specified in, and the lender or holder shall be reimbursed in accordance with, federal regulations and the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.  In the case of a default on a Federal PLUS Loan, the borrower, co-maker and endorser must meet the default criteria contained in federal regulations.

c)         The lender or holder must request ISAC reimbursement for a bankruptcy claim in accordance with federal regulations and the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. (See, e.g., 34 CFR 682.402(f).)  The request for reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days after the lender's or holder's receipt of notice that collection on the debt is stayed, or 15 days upon notice of an adversary proceeding for undue hardship.  A copy of the restraining order and the appropriate papers must be included.  In the case of a bankruptcy involving a Federal PLUS Loan, the borrower, co-maker and endorser must meet the bankruptcy criteria contained in federal regulations.

d)         Prior to reimbursement, the lender or holder must certify compliance with federal due diligence requirements and subsection (h).

e)         Prior to reimbursement, the lender or holder must have remitted the federal default fee established by Section 2720.80.

f)         The lender or holder shall forward to ISAC any payments made by or on behalf of the borrower after default reimbursement and shall advise ISAC of any subsequent information received concerning the borrower.  Prior to reimbursement, all original notes or true and exact copies of original notes must be properly endorsed and submitted to ISAC.  If the notes have been lost or erroneously stamped "Paid in Full", the lender or holder shall execute a Hold Harmless Agreement with ISAC.

g)         No fee or charge to the borrower, other than the maximum interest rate prescribed by ED and the collection charges outlined in federal regulations (see 34 CFR 682.202(e) and (f)), including the federal default fee, and the federal loan origination fee, shall be contracted for or received by the lender.

h)         The lender or holder shall make a proper collection effort in accordance with acceptable practices of prudent lending institutions including, but not limited to, the collection activities required by federal regulations.  (See, e.g., 34 CFR 682.402, 682.411 and 682.412.)

i)          ISAC shall collect the outstanding amount on the reimbursed guaranteed loan.  If the borrower refuses to retire the debt, ISAC shall follow the requirements of federal regulations, including, but not limited to, offsets of federal income tax refunds and other payments made by the federal government to the borrower. (See 34 CFR 682.410(b)(6).)

j)          Should a borrower refuse to retire the debt, ISAC shall direct the State Comptroller to offset any payment from the State Treasurer to the borrower. The funds offset shall be remitted to ISAC and credited against the debt.

1)         All offsets shall be processed in accordance with 74 Ill. Adm. Code 285.

2)         ISAC shall not direct an offset if the borrower has maintained a satisfactory repayment record.  (See 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.40(a)(1).)

3)         ISAC shall notify the Office of the Comptroller that a borrower is eligible to be offset.  ISAC may provide additional notice of subsequent offsets for the same debt.  The Comptroller shall notify the borrower that the Comptroller is required to hold all eligible payments until the loan is paid in full.  Should the borrower dispute the debt, a protest must be filed with the Office of the Comptroller within 30 days after and including the date of the notice. If the requested relief is granted, the funds offset shall be returned to the borrower.

4)         Funds eligible to be offset include, but are not limited to, State income tax refunds and the wages of State employees.

k)         ISAC shall provide a borrower with an opportunity for an administrative review of the legal enforceability or past-due status of the loan obligation after it pays a default claim but before it reports the default to each national consumer reporting agency or assesses collection costs against the borrower, in accordance with federal regulations (34 CFR 682.410(b)(5)(ii)(C)).

l)          ISAC may garnish the disposable pay of a borrower if the individual is not currently making required payments, in accordance with Section 488A of the Higher Education Act, as amended.

m)        ISAC requires the lender or holder to submit a request for an increase in claim payment within 90 days after receiving the claim payment. ISAC will provide the lender or holder with a determination on the increase in claim payment within 90 days after receiving the request and supporting documentation.

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 13374, effective July 1, 2014)