An Atlanta woman says that she is currently homeless after her bank snatched her U.S. government-issued student loan check, claiming it was fraudulent.
The woman is now in debt because the over $5,000 that she planned to pay bills with has been frozen, and the bank is refusing to give her back the money until an investigation is completed.
According to Lois White, she used her mobile device to deposit a $5,298 check from the U.S. government for student loan relief into her Chase bank account. The check also included a portion from the treasurer for overpayments that she made.
She had hoped to use the money to pay off some bills, but the financial institution thought the deposit was fake and put not only a fraud hold on the check but also on her bank account. She was unable to spend or withdraw any of her money.
“I feel like a criminal, like I’ve done something wrong,” White said to WSB-TV.
But she didn’t. It was an actual check from the government, but an issue came up that set off alarms for the bank.
“Apparently, they couldn’t verify this check was real,” she explained, after paying off her federal student loan for the last two decades.
Recently, she said she qualified for the nation’s one-time loan forgiveness program.
“Congratulations — your student loan has been forgiven,” read the letter that White and more than 800,000 other Americans received in the mail. “They sent me a letter in the mail saying that my loan was forgiven. Thank you, God.”
White sought written confirmation and the loan servicer’s copy of the deposited check.
“I went to the branch. I gave them this letter. I gave them this check, gave them my ID, my birth certificate, social security card,” White said.
Still, despite providing these, Chase refused to unfreeze her account or release the funds.
Chase released a statement about White’s account, saying they are currently investigating the veracity of her claim.
“We are working with our customer and the United States Treasury to verify any funds she is due,” a representative from the bank said in a statement to WSB.
White says her life is a shell of what it once was.
“I’m devastated,” she admitted because this is the first time that she has not been able to pay her bills on time, which resulted in her losing her home.
“I’m, like, couch surfing now,” White said.
President Joe Biden, despite facing GOP opposition, persists in prioritizing student loan debt cancellation.
Following the Supreme Court’s June rejection of his initial plan to forgive up to $20,000 for nearly 40 million federal student loan borrowers, Biden proposed a committee involving stakeholders from higher education, loan servicers, and borrowers.
Utilizing negotiated rulemaking, or neg reg, the committee aimed to develop a new forgiveness plan. The final phase discussion of the new proposal started on Monday, Dec. 11, and continued to Tuesday, Dec. 12.
The committee members have already expressed dissatisfaction with the latest forgiveness proposal from the Education Department. They believe it is not strong enough.
“Something about this negotiation process has taken a turn,” Jalil Bishop, a negotiator representing borrowers, said to USA Today.
“Has this committee, and the work that they’ve done, and the discussions we’ve had, had any meaning at all?” said Sherrie Gammage, who represents graduates of four-year programs.
The challenge for this committee is that they are tasked with reaching a unanimous agreement on forgiveness ideas that will guide the department in crafting a public-reactive plan.
They all just have to agree.
White’s check is not a part of the president’s loan forgiveness agenda. She paid too much money into the existing system, and the powers that be gave her surplus back. Now, she is waiting for Chase to do the right thing.
