collection agency doesn't want me to rehab

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response. I did do the nine consecutive months of payments and the payments stopped being withdrawn after that completed. I do believe Perkins loans are only serviced by either the school that distributes them, or one particular servicer if the school doesn't want to do that (and I went to a smaller school so I'm not surprised they chose the servicer rather than doing it themselves).  I'd like to find out who is reporting the lates on the loan repayment, because everywhere I look says it's the school (and before the default it also was listed as the school even though the servicer was administering it on behalf of the school; to try to get deferment or forbearance on this loan was a convoluted process involving directly contacting the school with a particular form, as I recall, which is part of why it never got done).  I'd also like to know why it was never reopened on my credit report; they both show as closed but are reporting as lates, which doesn't make any sense to me. 

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of paperwork, nothing saying I completed rehabilitation or anything, just bank statements for most of the 9 months of payments and an email statement from the collection agency about each month's withdrawal from my account.  It's also frustrating that the school never called or contacted me about it since my phone number hasn't changed since freshman year and they still manage to send me homecoming announcements lol.  I have a notebook somewhere where I'd detailed times I called, messages left, who I spoke to (if I could get their name) and so on, which I kept note of in case I need it.  Maybe the ombudsman could at least get ahold of whoever has the loan and make them reach out to me?  I definitely don't want to waste time on this because if it goes into default again, that stays on my record.  What a nightmare, and over a loan I could have had completely forgiven if I'd known sooner to be able to apply for it.  So frustrating!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the explanation about how the school is involved. I think they are still either leaving out some information or deferring you to the school rather than talk with you directly. Can the school conform that this is the correct collection agency? Is their name somewhere on the NSLDS website.
The book of the names, times, etc. is helpful. It may or may not help with the Ombudsman. Keep in mind, they're sort of policing themselves so they might help you or they might not. It's worth a shot. You really should get copies of the documents though. The sooner, the better, in case they get rid of your account. Given what they've done so far, I would definitely submit all requests in writing (fax or mail).
I would also call the Department of Education. Since your loan isn't with a servicer and the CA referred you back to the school, they are likely to talk with you. They should be able to tell you step-by-step to to talk to at this point and exactly the steps your loan will go through now that you've finished making the 9 payments. I also know that while your loan is in transition, you are often required to make payments of some sort. A second default is not inevitable, you just need to find out how to keep paying on your loans (if needed) while they are in limbo. Dept of Education or the school should be able to tell you this. If you are able to visit the school in person, this might also be a good idea. Don't forget to update your address on the government student loan websites as well as your email; they don't usually call.
Once your loans are where they are supposed to be, then I would deal with the credit reports. A few months of payments and they should have settled so you'll know what needs fixing. If you get the paperwork above, you can also include it in a related dispute.
I completely understand about them not telling you about the loan forgiveness. You are amongst many on that (including myself). There government has acknowledged the error but still refrains from holding institutions and servicers responsible. At least you know now and you can work towards it. If you need any more information, feel free to ask. Hopefully someone with experience with Perkins Loans in default & rehabbing them can help you better.
Good luck

[Anonymous]

So I heard back from someone at the school and after some back and forth, I was told the school does not deal directly with the loan in any way.  The person even apologized that I have been getting the run around on this issue and contacted their representative with the loan servicer that services these loans.

Someone from the loan servicer reached out to me and says the loan is still showing with the collection agency and that I should reach out to them and speak to a supervisor to find out where my loan is.

I am so annoyed right now.  If no one has the loan, that means I don't have to pay it back, right? ./sarcasm

[calyx]

I am so sorry you're getting the run around, but I'm glad you're so proactive on fixing it.   
How frustrating - but good luck!

[Anonymous]

So basically the collection agency is lying to you.
Calling and talking to a supervisor is a good idea but in my experience that level of dishonesty tends to exist in the whole organization.
They also tend to be much more reluctant to put anything they say in writing. Hence my advice to fax or mail them. You can break up the requests. If you don't have their fax number you might be able to get it from their website or a simple call. (I was supposed to fax something to my rep, what was the number again?).
If they had finished with your loan, a typical loan it would be in the process of being picked up by a new servicer. That the school says it's with the CA means you might want to double-check the timeline they are expecting this to be completed.
My biggest concern for you right now is the lack of paperwork. My understanding is you really have nothing saying you were rehabbing. These payments could potentially just be seen as voluntary payments, like to keep you from being garnished. Worst case scenario, they've done what benefits them most financially. Your paperwork becomes your proof. I was only successful in my CFPB complaint because I hounded them until they gave me any paperwork that I was missing.
Don't forget to find out from someone (DofE imo, because at least they will tell you the truth) when your next payment needs to be made. It's my understanding there may be a payment due while it's being picked up by a servicer if it takes a while.
Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Well, there's been a new development. I didn't do anything last week due to the holiday, figuring folks would be on vacation and such. This morning, I checked my email and found a notice from Credit Karma that new remarks had been added to my credit report; turns out this "closed" school account is now reported as 180 days late, which is the point at which it went into default before.  Then I checked my voicemail (my phone does not notify me when I have voicemails. It's very annoying).  I had two messages from the company that deals with Perkins loans (you know, the one that told me a couple of weeks ago that it was still showing as placed with the collection agency?), saying that if I want to pay my loan off then I need to call to make payment arrangements...

So basically, they lost my loan for a year. Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot.

When I log into my account with them, it shows it's been placed with a different collection agency.  I am so incredibly frustrated right now.  I emailed the woman who'd emailed me asking what happened here, and will be calling in a bit when they hopefully are open.  But seriously?  Way to drop the ball.  Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Log in to the NSLDS. It should definitely show if the loan is with s servicer or a collection agency. Sometimes it can be a little behind, but that's what I was saying about checking there to make sure that you have the correct collection agency or servicer.

Again, you still have no proof, as far as I can tell, that you've completed the rehab. Bank statements mean very little. If you've been placed with a servicer and they acknowledge your rehabbed, you also need to start paying. I would actually start setting up payments now with the servicer anyway. It will be easier to argue the payments weren't going where they were supposed to than you didn't know you weren't supposed to make payments. Lates are hard to remove.
I know this is frustrating and sounds like a lot of these places dropped the ball. That's what they do, though. In my experience they are all highly mismanaged and (intentionally?) fail borrowers. The only thing that saves me and my account at times is that I have the paperwork. And many times you will have to pry it from their grip because they will play dumb, or say they're sending it and nothing happens.
Calling is good. You night get to speak to someone who can explain what's happening to you. I would spend a good amount of time in between phone calls getting together letters requesting paperwork and fax or mail it to them. Don't stop until you have everything you need because from the sounds of it you night have to end up filing a complaint later to get your account and/ or your credit report fixed and you'll need it. They're very unlikely to do anything based on your word alone.
Good luck.

[calyx]

Definitely check the NSLDS and keep on it!

As for CreditKarma - don't stress it too much.  My (defaulted/closed) student loans switch between Paid in Full/Collection/150d late all the time (several times a month), and it doesn't affect my FICO scores or reporting from the CRAs.  I'm not sure what CK's CMS software is doing, but don't trust it.   

Along with Sabii's recommendation about getting and keeping every bit of paperwork you can, I recommend you start keeping centralized notes.   I have a financial journal and every time I talk to anyone, I take the date, time, name of the person and company and I jot notes as we talk or work through something.  Even though I can't necessarily *prove* something, I can refer back and give them data, which has helped ("well, on August 6th, when I talked to Lori, she said...."  or "I sent paperwork X on this date through Y").    I'm not sure if they're taking my word for it, or if they're more careful with someone who can bring up details like that, but it's been helpful with different issues (not just student loans).

And I don't know how helpful it would be for you, but I also scan and keep all of my paperwork on the cloud (google drive, dropbox, etc) so when I am talking with someone I can sit on a computer and either fire off copies in emails or just refer to past correspondance.

[Anonymous]

I agree. Detailed notes are a must. The servicers have a detailed log of all communications (which you can also request a copy of). So when you say you talked with so-and-so on a certain date about a certain topic, they can see it. They know you're not messing around, too. They tend to give me less incorrect information knowing I'm going to be keeping track of what they said. I would assume that the CA is similar.

[Anonymous]

It's been a little bit, I do apologize for the lack of updates. I never received an email response from the supervisor who'd emailed me then called to have me set up a payment plan (surprise, surprise). I called the day of my last post and spoke with a very nice rep who read through the notes on my account and could find no evidence of what happened and why my loan was MIA for so long. She called it "disturbing." We set up a payment plan; the first payment for the next day and the rest to come out on the first of each month (both that first payment and the Aug. 1st payment came out without a hitch and show in my account with them as having been made, with another payment scheduled for Sept. 1st). She told me I should receive mail confirming that the rehab was completed and monthly statements or something to that effect. 

Well, remember how my account with them showed online that it was placed with a second collection agency?  CA#2 started sending me letters.  I've misplaced the first one that said I had 30 days to dispute the debt (like a dum-dum) and then they sent me a bill for the full amount plus collection fees, and then the other day I got a letter from someone there saying there had been "multiple attempts" to contact me with no response and that they were writing regarding my defaulted student loan.  Ugggggghhhhh.  I've emailed again the original lady from the student loan administrating company and will call again but...what the heck?  The first letter that CA#2 sent to me was dated almost a week after that first payment came out so I guess it took that long to get the ball rolling from them?  I don't even know what to do.  Do I dispute the debt with CA#2 since I have made payment arrangements and made payments on it to the student loan company?  Credit Karma claims the account has been closed and updated to being placed with collections but I know it may or may not be super accurate.