How do I go about getting into a rehab program for my student loans?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I am looking for some advice as how to go about rehabbing my student loans. I have two loans, one from Sallie Mae and the other from Direct Loans. Two years ago I lost my job and have not been paying them, I know they have both defaulted. I know I should have communicated with the lenders at the time, but the fact of the matter is I didn't and I am now in a bad situation. I am finally in a place where I can start paying them and would like to get them resolved. I obviously can not pay them off in full and would like to try to rehab them in order to help my credit. I have been reading many of the other threads, but I'm not sure where to start. I know that the loans have gone to collections. Do I call the original lender (Sallie Mae and Direct Loans) or do I call the company that currently has them in collections in order to rehab. Any advice on getting this process rolling would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[mschang]

i called the CA when i started to fix my credit. they were actually the ones who told me about the rehabilitation program -- i didn't know about it before then

[Anonymous]

When I started rehabbing my Direct Loans, I did it through the collection agency. I don't have any through SM, so I can't say about them....

Good for you, getting this handled. It's very worth it in the end.

[pennccrn]

I don't know if this is an option, but I would try to see if you can repay through your original lenders.  It's most likely not possibe, but in my experience its better to go through the original lender than the CA.  They can give you better repayment terms.  Just my $.02, curious what the rest of the community thinks about this.  

[apandabear]

Start by calling SM and Direct Loans. 

If they have been sold, or have been taken over by the guarantor, they won't speak to you or talk about repayment. Ask for the phone number for your guarantor.

Call the guarantor. Either they can help you, or they still might refer you to a collection agency.

I had loans with SM. When I was ready to start repayment, SM wouldn't talk to me. They referred me to USA Funds. USA Funds would not talk to me. They referred me to a collection agency, Allied Interstate. I'm in month 7 of rehab with absolutely no issues.

Best of luck!