My consolidated student loan was put automatically into deferment by my servicer Great Lakes. I'm not an expert on this but here are the data points I can recall:
-On April 12th I randomly checked my account (the oldest account on my report that I opened in December of 2014). I was checking the Great Lakes Website. It said my payment was late and I was horrified because it's been humming along on autopay for 5 1/2 years without problem and I had enough in my payment account to make about 20 payments. I check all my revolving accounts several times a week but this one was safe not to check all the time (I had decided). My payments have always been on the 1st.
-I called Great Lakes and was told not to worry about it -everyone was going to be automatically be deferred and I would not get a late.
-I paid the current amount due plus a dollar more that day even though they said I didn't have to. I asked if I could cancel the deferment and they said yes but not for a week or so because of the current activity they had created on the account. They said either way no lates, no interest and no bad reporting.
-I debated what to do and decided to just make an extra payment about 2 weeks later. My account on their website at that point said up to date but also said "forbearance". I didn't like that at all. I decided to examine all credit reports.
-Credit reports said on time but comment of "deferred" on all reports. I didn't see any FICO or Vantage score change but still asked them to please officially put me back into active repayment because I was worried about AA from my credit card issuers based on proprietary algorithms. That was last Friday 5/15/20. They said they would change my account and update it over the weekend. They incidentally said that everybody's accounts would be fixed to remove the deffered comment and be reported by June 1. They said it would be reported correctly backdated to April.
-I checked my accounts daily on various sites over the following days and nothing changed.
-Tuesday I updated my daily Experian FICO score and the account was reported as closed with a $38K balance. It was still reporting as on time but it was otherwise looking truly closed with my open account number decreased, my closed account number increased and my AAoA "accurately" reflecting my new credit report.
-I called them and complained and they said everything would be fixed by the end of May reporting. I told them I was afraid unjustified AA on my credit cards because of the loss of my oldest account. The CSR offered to get her supervisor for me. The supervisor said my account was reported last Friday correctly (open, on time and in repayment) "To Equifax, Experian, Innovis and that other one I can't remember the name of right now".
-Today 5/21 all my reports look as they should. NOT! You know Equifax is still wrong of course. I've never checked Innovis and don't think I really want too. -Transunion (that elusive 4th bureau) and Experian are correct so I think it's at least being reported correctly now.
-Equifax is correct in as much as it's listed as in repayment and current. It still has the comment "deferral" but asking them to fix it could only make it worse.
-I read somewhere this has only happened with Great Lakes.
Hope this data was helpful.
