Sorry, I dropped the ball on this. If you already got a FHA loan then I highly doubt it's what the collection agency says it is. The only thing I can think of is maybe they were transferring it to a different servicer? Which doesn't make sense because it would still be in the database. I'm at a loss.
The NSLDS should also list what collection agency it's with. Sometimes it's behind but you can contact the agency listed and sometimes they can tell you who it's with.
Perkins loans are a bit different it turns out.
"Consequences of Defaulting on Perkins Loans
The consequences of defaulting on a Perkins Loan are similar to the consequences of defaulting on other federal education loans, but there are two key differences:
The collection charges on Perkins Loans are higher, in part because loan balances tend to be lower. Collection costs on a first collection attempt may be up to 30 percent of the amount applied to principal, interest and late charges (i.e., up to about 23% of the total payment). Collection costs on a second collection attempt may be up to 40 percent of the amount applied to principal, interest and late charges (i.e., up to about 28.5% of the total payment). Collection costs resulting from litigation may be up to 40 percent of the amount applied to principal, interest and late charges, plus court costs.
There is no statutory authority for garnishing the borrower’s wages administratively. Instead, the federal government may garnish the borrower’s wages after suing the borrower and getting a court judgment against the borrower."
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.edvisors.com/college-loans/terms/default-federal/%3fgoogle=ampIf they already collected on some of your loans they already had one judgement. Could it be possible they divided them up when they went to court? Could there possibly be try different judgements? Excellent advice from Superawesomewow on how to find this information.
Another possibility is that you just owe the school fees or a private loan. The NSLDS results will at least reveal if it's a federal loan.