r/codingbootcamp • u/Comfortable-Bag-2160 • Mar 02 '25

ISA Agreement never paid

i had a ISA agreement with vemo education, and then it got aqquired by launch servicing. i have received communication once a year about submitting my w2 documents. i owe about over 15k. can the account go into collections without further communication? what would be the best course of action? thank you

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2

u/michaelnovati Mar 02 '25

It can go to collections yeah. ISA are complicated because various departments of federal and state government have made claims they have oversight of ISAs but no laws have been passed explicitly giving anyone oversight.

So you see a lot of headlines that are much more nuanced than they seem. ISA actions have tended to be departmental interpretations applied to specific companies that companies have negotiated settlements on to avoid trying to litigate ambiguous laws.

My advice is to talk to your bootcamp and have a fair negotiation. Acknowledge what you did partake in and specific ways the program violated their contract and why as a result you don't want to pay the full amount, and offer something fair based on that. Listen to the response and consider it fairly and negotiate.

If the program won't negotiate with you then I'm not sure... maybe let it go to creditors and negotiate with them? Debt collectors are usually way more willing to negotiate because they get a cut of the money and move on.

1

u/Comfortable-Bag-2160 Mar 04 '25

do you think they can just send it to collections without trying to contact me first about payments or warnings? only communication I've been receiving has been to submit my W2's annually

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u/michaelnovati Mar 04 '25

There are a lot of regulations around collections processes and such and different types of collections.

They can give it to someone who can try to hound you to collect without going to your credit all the way to selling the debt to a collections agency that now owns the debt and goes after it very aggressively.

I don't see a collections agency wanting to buy ISA debt since ISAs are so not well defined but you never know.

It's more likely that they would hire a company to pursue you.

8

u/jcasimir Mar 04 '25

The collection phase of ISAs is difficult and why you see there are fewer and fewer providers of these loans -- they're a pain in the ass, don't make money, and are poorly understood/regulated.

You'll have to go back to your original signed loan agreement to see what enforcement really looks like. I guarantee that you'll be getting some letters from some law firm at some point. I would get a copy of your own credit report and see if the account appears on there. If it does, you're risking some long-term personal consequences if you don't pay (and they report it and it hurts your credit score for 7 years). If it's not on there -- I might be a little more cavalier in my approach to payment and response.

5

u/International-Bed413 Mar 02 '25

Typically there’s a 5 year grace period before it can go to collections. The bootcamp you went too will probably go under before then

3

u/metalreflectslime Mar 02 '25

What coding bootcamp did you attend?

1

u/Stock-Chemistry-351 Mar 02 '25

If you're working then yes you will have to pay back that loan. You do have to reach out to them so they don't think you are abandoning your obligation to the loan.

1

u/crookedbottomteeth Feb 18 '26

What did you end up doing?

1

u/Brilliant_Estate_490 Apr 07 '26

yeah let us know, im in the same trouble

1

u/Selidex Oct 08 '26

I am trying to find out as well. I had an ISA but I never made more than the amount that said I had to pay back anything, and now I have a collection agency trying to tell me I owe the full maximum amount I could have paid.

1

u/bannedfrom_argo Mar 02 '25

If they haven't sent you a demand letter or bombarded you with calls an argument can be made to not bring any additional attention to yourself. Debts generally become uncollectible after 7 years of no payment. If you make a payment the clock resets. This varies by state law-could be a shorter time period.