To piggieback on Sabii's post - I have a consolidated loan. I am super unhappy to have a consolidated loan, but it was required due to a second default (I had rehabbed previously).
Waiting for the (multiple) negative defaults to fall off is really annoying, and I would have given anything to be able to rehab to get those lines back. If, for some reason, you fall behind again after rehab, you would also have the consolidation to fall back upon, too. It's a terrible reason to not-consolidate (the benefits of rehab alone make it worth not consolidating), but there it is.
Personally, I wouldn't be as uncomfortable giving my information to the collection agency. The collectors for student loans aren't as numerous as those for credit/other bills, and honestly, I've found my student loan collection agencies to be the best I've worked with (relatively speaking), but keep detailed notes of your dealings with them, so if there is a problem with them, you have facts to back up your claims (you dealt with "Steve on Friday 7/12 at 1:43pm").
Happy practitioner of AZE7or8or9or10 | Team Finances > FICO
