Hoping this helps someone who is going thru rehab and wondering what to expect.
My final rehab payment was 8-13, and Experian updated my credit today, 8-29.
Below is a timeline of what happened in between:
- 8-13-2020 Final rehab payment made to collection agency via debit card over phone
- 8-14-2020 Payment appeared on myeddebt.ed.gov
- 8-24-2020 Myeddebt.ed.gov shows that rehab is complete, and my new loan servicer is Great Lakes.
- 8-25-2020 Studentaid.gov
- Shows new loan servicer on all 5 loans will be Great Lakes, all still show in default status
- 8-25-2020 Great Lakes - Created login
- Missing loan - Only 4 loans showing. Missing one for $986.
- Repayment Status incorrect - Loans SHOULD reflect 0% interest and forbearance status with next payment due in 2021. INSTEAD, all loans are listed in standard repayment status with interest accruing & next payment due 9/1/2020.
- 8-26-2020 GreatLakes
- Repayment status corrected - loans now show in forbearance with no interest or payment due until 2021.
- 5th loan now showing; however same issue as day before. Showing in standard repayment with interest.
- 8-27-2020 GreatLakes
- All 5 loans show in forbearance.
- Great Lakes balance now matches studentaid.gov YAY! All systems seem to be in sync, except for studentaid.gov still showing 5 loans in default message on their site.
- I contacted studentaid in chat and they told me they show 2 loans in default (but their site has 5?). They directed me to a website telling me I need to consolidate my loans before the default status would be removed. (FALSE - Nowhere in the rehab agreement does it mention I must take action to consolidate my loans in order to remove default… so I know that’s not true. I almost think I should report this suggestion for giving false advice/info.They REFUSED to give me contact information to escalate so I kept a screenshot.)
- I contacted studentaid in chat and they told me they show 2 loans in default (but their site has 5?). They directed me to a website telling me I need to consolidate my loans before the default status would be removed. (FALSE - Nowhere in the rehab agreement does it mention I must take action to consolidate my loans in order to remove default… so I know that’s not true. I almost think I should report this suggestion for giving false advice/info.They REFUSED to give me contact information to escalate so I kept a screenshot.)
- 8-29-2020 Experian credit report updated
- All 5 accounts listed as “Department of Education” have been removed from my credit, meaning they no longer show up under the closed accounts section and are no longing reporting as derogatory accounts.
- 1 account listed as “Dept of ED/Nelnet” remains in closed accounts for a loan taken in 2011 for $2,250. It was last reported to Experian in Sept 2016 with status listed as transferred/closed & last payment 180 days past due. May try sending goodwill as this loan is one of the 5 above that was rehabilitated.
- Experian; + 34 FICO points; +54 Vantage points
- Transunion & Equifax have not yet updated my credit report
- Curious what will happen once Great Lakes reports to credit agencies. I've read mixed outcomes, score can (a) go up showing positive trade lines and increasing AAoA (b) go up based off credit mix (c) go down because of utilization being high (my balances are 60-102% of original disbursement.). I have a thin credit file, 1 car and 1 credit card under 2 years, so any change affects my score pretty drastically.
I will wait a few more weeks to see if (1) the default status gets removed from the studentaid.gov site and (2) Nelnet derogatory accounts is removed, knowing they are not obligated to. If no change, I may see if there is anything further I can do. We are first time homebuyers, building a new home, so we are micromanaging our credit like a MF & watching our FICO2 very closely. Move in scheduled for 02/2021.
This student loan rehab has been MESSY from the get-go! There are so many hands in the pot and they're always pushing blame. I can't tell you how many times I was given conflicting information regarding how many payments i had left from the same agency just different rep, or payments being applied wrong or statuses not getting updated. Document everything. Document each rehab payment and # of payments remaining to complete rehab (trust me, this is a big one), confirm it's posting to each loan, get your current balance broken down by interest, principal and fees. Get the agents name, phone # and date/time you called. I’m on about 20 pages now.
ETA:
8-30-2020 Studentaid.gov no longer dislays the default flag on the portal!
@Anonymous wrote:Hoping this helps someone who is going thru rehab and wondering what to expect.
My final rehab payment was 8-13, and Experian updated my credit today, 8-29.
Below is a timeline of what happened in between:
- 8-13-2020 Final rehab payment made to collection agency via debit card over phone
- 8-14-2020 Payment appeared on myeddebt.ed.gov
- 8-24-2020 Myeddebt.ed.gov shows that rehab is complete, and my new loan servicer is Great Lakes.
- 8-25-2020 Studentaid.gov
- Shows new loan servicer on all 5 loans will be Great Lakes, all still show in default status
- 8-25-2020 Great Lakes - Created login
- Missing loan - Only 4 loans showing. Missing one for $986.
- Repayment Status incorrect - Loans SHOULD reflect 0% interest and forbearance status with next payment due in 2021. INSTEAD, all loans are listed in standard repayment status with interest accruing & next payment due 9/1/2020.
- 8-26-2020 GreatLakes
- Repayment status corrected - loans now show in forbearance with no interest or payment due until 2021.
- 5th loan now showing; however same issue as day before. Showing in standard repayment with interest.
- 8-27-2020 GreatLakes
- All 5 loans show in forbearance.
- Great Lakes balance now matches studentaid.gov YAY! All systems seem to be in sync, except for studentaid.gov still showing 5 loans in default message on their site.
- I contacted studentaid in chat and they told me they show 2 loans in default (but their site has 5?). They directed me to a website telling me I need to consolidate my loans before the default status would be removed. (FALSE - Nowhere in the rehab agreement does it mention I must take action to consolidate my loans in order to remove default… so I know that’s not true. I almost think I should report this suggestion for giving false advice/info.They REFUSED to give me contact information to escalate so I kept a screenshot.)
- 8-29-2020 Experian credit report updated
- All 5 accounts listed as “Department of Education” have been removed from my credit, meaning they no longer show up under the closed accounts section and are no longing reporting as derogatory accounts.
- 1 account listed as “Dept of ED/Nelnet” remains in closed accounts for a loan taken in 2011 for $2,250. It was last reported to Experian in Sept 2016 with status listed as transferred/closed & last payment 180 days past due. May try sending goodwill as this loan is one of the 5 above that was rehabilitated.
- Experian; + 34 FICO points; +54 Vantage points
- Transunion & Equifax have not yet updated my credit report
- Curious what will happen once Great Lakes reports to credit agencies. I've read mixed outcomes, score can (a) go up showing positive trade lines and increasing AAoA (b) go up based off credit mix (c) go down because of utilization being high (my balances are 60-102% of original disbursement.). I have a thin credit file, 1 car and 1 credit card under 2 years, so any change affects my score pretty drastically.
I will wait a few more weeks to see if (1) the default status gets removed from the studentaid.gov site and (2) Nelnet derogatory accounts is removed, knowing they are not obligated to. If no change, I may see if there is anything further I can do. We are first time homebuyers, building a new home, so we are micromanaging our credit like a MF & watching our FICO2 very closely. Move in scheduled for 02/2021.
This student loan rehab has been MESSY from the get-go! There are so many hands in the pot and they're always pushing blame. I can't tell you how many times I was given conflicting information regarding how many payments i had left from the same agency just different rep, or payments being applied wrong or statuses not getting updated. Document everything. Document each rehab payment and # of payments remaining to complete rehab (trust me, this is a big one), confirm it's posting to each loan, get your current balance broken down by interest, principal and fees. Get the agents name, phone # and date/time you called. I’m on about 20 pages now.
Thank you for the breakdown and I am sure it eill help many people that are rehabbing their SLs (myself included!).
Congrats on finishing your rehab!
Thank you. It's been a long time coming. I was garnished for over a year and the monthly payments were brutual. I was paying $1200 for a $23,000 balance from a $13,000 loan. Ridiculous! Best wishes as you go thru rehab. Keep your records, friend 
