The Department of Education is currently trying to collect on a loan from 1989. I am challenging the loan based on unpaid refund from my school. The loan in question covers a time period when I had withdrawn from school (in the allowed time to do so). By law, my school was to return the loan money to the lender. In fact, they sent me a letter saying my financial aid was being cancelled. Now 19 years later, this loan is coming back to haunt me. The DOE very quickly denied my application for an unpaid refund saying I attended over 60% of the loan period, which would keep me from getting a refund. I only attended the semester for 20 days, well below the time limit. So, I have now kicked it up to the student loan ombudsman to investigate. Meanwhile, their contracted collection agency is still trying to make me pay up. Has anyone had any experience with this? How hard can the collection agency push while this is under investigation?
Send them a debt validation letter, and let them entertain themselves chasing paper. But, just because they don't respond, don't quit pursuing this to finality. If you haven't already figured it out, student loans never die.
I think that they should have just as much fun as I am having trying to track down 19 year old paperwork. It's ridiculous to have to defend against collection on a 19 year old debt, but I'll play along. Thanks, jlynn.
Oh, another question: I've read up on debt validation on this board. Anything special about dealing with a student loan, though? Years ago my husband tried to get his student loan debt validated, and they sent a copy of a promissory note and some printout from a computer showing what the CA had in their system. It was hardly the information he needed to truly know what had been happening with his loan.
