Re: Re: Student Loan Rehab To the best of my recollection, I tried to contact the Ombudsman, but I wasn't able to get through or they wanted you to leave a message.. It was over a year ago so I am foggy. I had been mailing my payments to this collection agency and after they informed me that my payments weren't enough, they went even further and said that unless I agreed to have them automatically withdrawn from my checking account, they would no longer be able to work with me and my account would stay in default. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and he was probably the rudest person I have ever spoken with. If I can find my old records, I will post the name of the company. It was pretty bad considering I had a newborn baby and I was really struggling to make those payments every month and on time. The only satisfaction I ever got out of it was cursing at that supervisor (he deserved it). My loans are out of default now, but they still are reported on my CR as paid collections. Better than default, I suppose
Careful. The way the rehab program is supposed to work is that a series of 12 on time monthly payments is supposed to clear all negatives off your credit report related to the defaulted loans. However, actually making this happen is a whole different game. You definitely do not want this to show up on your credit report as a "paid collection." This will hurt you and it does not conform to the idea behind the rehab program. Also, did you mention the Collection agent wanted you to include a non-defaulted loan into the consolidation loan? Watch out! They will most likely try to nick you for a collection fee on the non-defaulted student loan as well as the defaulted one. You should pay 18.5 percent on the total amount of debt consolidated (interest and principal). The 18.5 percent will be rolled into the loan. Also, get a letter stating the loans are paid in full including principal, interest, and FEES.
It was over a year ago when I was trying to get out of default, and my loans were consolidated into a new loan. Student loans are hell if you ever go into default, and I am just glad that it is over. My goal now is to just get them paid off. I had such a bad experience with them, that I would be scared to try and dispute anything with them. I will probably let that sleeping dog lie and work on the rest of my credit report.
