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Inside a mom's legal battle to turn her $55,000 student-loan balance to $0
Ashley Carlson was sued by her private student-loan lender SoFi. Now, she's fighting for her balance to be discharged. Hannah Latham, Alyssa Powell/BI By Ayelet Sheffey You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. 2026-05-14T10:00:02.466Z After Ashley Carlson puts her two kids to bed, she stays up until 2 a.m. most nights drafting court filings — work she never imagined doing before SoFi sued her to collect $55,000 in defaulted student debt.For the last two years, she's represented herself in a court battle with the private student-loan lender.Best-case scenario: Carlson gets her case dismissed, and her loans are discharged. In the worst case, she'll owe her defaulted balance plus hundreds of dollars in legal fees, with the risk of wage garnishment and a hit to her credit score if she doesn't pay up.Carlson is pinning her legal hopes on an email she received in February 2024, congratulating her for paying off her balance. She believed that SoFi was granting her the payment relief she'd been requesting, when in fact, her loan balance had been transferred elsewhere. That miscommunication changed the course of her next two years."I wouldn't have had to go through this if, at one point, I received an email saying, 'Hey, your loan's been taken over by X company,'" Carlson said, adding that if she knew she was at risk of a lawsuit, she would've made at least a partial payment. SoFi said the congratulations email was a mistake, and that it sent Carlson subsequent emails about her payments, which Carlson said she didn't receive. Ashley Carlson uses AI to help prepare her legal filings in a lawsuit her private student-loan lender filed against her. Hannah Latham for BI Carlson's experience offers a window into what can happen when private student-loan borrowers fall behind, and their debt changes hands. Interviews with borrowers, attorneys, and industry representatives, along with a review of court filings and consumer complaints, show how confusing notices, unclear communications, and shifting loan management can leave borrowers exposed to lawsuits, fees, and damaged credit.Representing herself against SoFi, Carlson feels a responsibility to keep fighting. The emotional and financial toll of the litigation, though, is weighing her down. "I'm exhausted. I'm drained. I'm burned out on so many levels," Carlson said. "But what else am I going to do?" 'I'm ready to fight every day'Carlson works full-time at...
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When 'no one is minding the store' for student-loan borrowers
A construction manager in Massachusetts thought her $55,000 student-loan debt was forgiven — until she was sued. A Michigan nurse wanted to make payments on her balance of more than $50,000, but ...
Her $55K loan showed $0 — then a suit - MoneyWise
Imagine taking out $55,000 in student loans, only to wake up one morning showing a $0 balance. While any graduate would be over the moon being free from student loans, that's not what happened next. As reported by Business Insider, Ashley Carlson took out $55,000 in student loans to pay for her construction management degree. (1) When business at her architecture firm slowed in 2023, she ...
