cypherreddit

Federally secured loans (assuming US) can be changed to an income based repayment plan, the only downside is it extends the repayment cap to 25 years, the upside is that you will be able to afford payments (hint, some of my payments were $0)

Never deal with collectors over the phone. Tell them if they think you owe them money, to send you a demand letter. Only give them your mailing address and emphasize you are not going to conduct business over the telephone nor can/will you confirm that the debt is valid over the phone and that they are indeed the rightful holder of that debt.

When/if they send you a demand letter, reply with a creditor disclosure request letter/form. Its basically a bunch of questions that would be used to verify that debt is legitimate and they are the rightful holders.

This is important, even if you know you owe someone money, often times debts are sold and occasionally two different companies try to collect on the same debt. Recovering your money from the wrong collector to pay the right one will be a feat.

My credit card automagically gives me 25k in collision coverage for rentals. People really need to look into their benefits.

For example I also get $500 coverage for 90 days of theft and damage replacement on items, 1 year added to extended warranties, 90 days of sale price protection, 90 days for item returns, $500 of delayed (not even lost) baggage replacement, etc

oh sorry, I thoughtlessly assumed you were 'murican. Since you were able to contact an ombudsman, you probably aren't. In that case you have probably better resources available than we do. I would still refuse to conduct business over the phone unless you initiate it (in any situation, scammers everywhere) and look to the ombudsman again in the future

If I were to take a grocer potato, cut it up, throw it in a large bucket of potting soil and eat the new growth, would I be a moron? I live in a near-tropical environment. If not a moron, are there any complementary plants that can be planted with it?