Coast Professional Sues Dept of Education for Yanking Contract

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY – Coast Professional Inc., a Louisiana-based loan collection agency with an office in Geneseo, is taking the U.S. Department of Education to court in Washington, D.C. for terminating their standing contract, which they have enjoyed since 2009.

According to CEO of Coast Professional Brian Davis, the Department of Education has not presented any specific reasons for terminating the contract, a move which the recently prosperous Coast says forced them to make drastic cutbacks and lay off more than 172 employees at their Geneseo office.

“We look forward to a full, fair and open adjudication of our complaint, something we expect from an Administration committed to transparency,” said Davis. “We believe this because Coast Professional is dedicated to helping persons in default on their student loans rehabilitate their loans through repayment and return money to the American taxpayer. In performing this valuable service, Coast has been a top performing Private Collection Agency receiving the highest scores and has at all times complied with applicable law and regulation, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. As evidence of our good work, we have never had any violations – major or minor – that would help us understand this latest action.”

Coast spokesperson William Pierce with APCO Worldwide, an international communications consultancy, the Department of Education has made some general allegations but not laid out any specific problems with Coast.

“Coast was following the operations manual they were given and trained on,” said Pierce. “For the last 21 periods they have been constantly audited.”

Davis added that Coast has been especially prudent helping students rehabilitate their loans.

“Specifically in helping students rehabilitate their loans, Coast has followed the Education operations manual regarding offers to remove the delinquency of repayment from credit reports and the waiving of collection fees,” added Davis. “Both which are specifically allowed by the Department of Education.”

Coast Professionals and the Department of Education will be in court in D.C. on April 8 to address the lawsuit.

PHOTO CAPTION: (Photo/Conrad Baker)