@stilllearning89 wrote:I defaulted on my school-held Federal Perkins loan for the first time in over 10 years and I contacted the school in October 2023 to find out how to get out of default; however, they advised me to contact the collection agency. I received my first letter from the collection agency (law firm) in December 2023 and gave them a call today to ask about rehabilitation. The rep advised that rehabilitation is not available; however, I have the option to consolidate the loan by going to www.studentaid.gov.
Is it possible for a collection agency to not offer rehabilitation? I was under the impression that collection agencies offer both rehabilitation and consolidation.
Also, in October 2023 my default date was listed as 9/15/23. It is now listed as 10/15/23. Should I be concerned about this?
I am unemployed but I would like to get this resolved in an effort to return to school and fix my credit as best I can. I was also unemployed prior to defaulting and forgot to apply for another deferment after the in-school deferment expired. Please share any advice that you may have.
The collection agency isn't in the business to rehabilitate your loans, they just want your money. They were correct, in that you'll need to go to the student loan official government website. You need to look for a program called "fresh start". There are several threads here about other members who have rehabbed their student loans to current, and for their lates to be deleted. It does take some time.
(This is not loan consolidation, rather bringing your old loans up to date and current, without any latest showing.)