Bill owed to a college...

[Shellie]

Ok I started College spring 2002.  Son got sick so I couldn't continue.  I only went maybe a week.  I still owe them $1187.  They sent it to collections years ago apparently.  I have never gotten letters about it and don't recall ever seeing it on my credit reports.  The lady said that it hadn't been sent to the IRS yet to come out of my tax returns. The lady at the college really didn't have any info.  I am afraid to poke the bear.  I would like to go back to college at some point.  Any advice?

 When I told the lady that I'd never heard from a collection agency she said that they don't contact people they expect them to know they owe and to pay the bill on their own.  She said she didn't know when it had been sent to collections but said it was a long time ago. 

[martinsoka17]

Is this loan a Perkins loan from your school?

[Shellie]

I don't know that it is even a loan.  I just owe them.

[martinsoka17]

You should contact the school to see what type of loan it is. If it is a form of federally backed loan (such as a Perkins loan), it unfortunately will not disappear. If it is a private loan, you can check to see what the SOL is in your state. Since this goes back to 2002, and I'm assuming that's when they gave you the loan, you may be past any SOL in your state.

[Shellie]

She mentioned that it had not been sent in to be taken out of my tax returns yet.  SHe acted like she didn't have any info and that I would have to call the CA.  I can't have this get reported now.  It would kill my scores and I don't have the $1200 to pay if I call.

[martinsoka17]

Did she give you the CA's contact information? I know you don't want it to report, but ignoring it will unfortunately not make it go away. Calling the CA and talking to them is a good first step; you can either neogtiate to have the loan rehabbed (if that option is available, it depends on the type of loan), or set up a payment plan. The unfortunate thing about the payment plan is they may or may not start reporting. But they will eventually. It's better to be proactive about it. If you don't have the $1200 to pay in full, but you don't want it to report, see if the CA will do a PFD, or pay and not report in your case, and if they will, you might consider taking out some form of small personal loan? I had a collection that was not reporting on my CR, and I called them and set up a payment plan and they never reported it to the CRA. 

[Shellie]

Can they report on a 12 year old debt?

[martinsoka17]

If it's a federal loan, yes. Federally backed loans never go away. They fall off, but they come back. Mine fell off five years before they were supposed to, and came back again. I've seen people post how theirs fell off for six months, nine months, a year, and then they come back. You can't dispurse federal student loans even through BK. They're around until you either become disabled, work in a non-profit for 10 years, or you die. And even then, they may go after your next of kin (cough cough Sallie Mae).

However: if you dig around the Student Loans board long enough, you'll see people who had student loans fall off their credit report, rehab, and have a postive TL back-dated to the original dispursment date. Because the negative stuff had fallen off, all that was showing was the postive TL. So sometimes what seems to be the worst derog can turn into your best asset. 

[Shellie]

I don't remeber getting a loan.  I called again and they said its just for tuition and fees that it isn't a loan.  The don't show me having a loan.

[martinsoka17]

That's good then. I would look up the SOL in your state.