US Education Department

The endless delay in rehabilitating defaulted student loans is needlessly harming students. This is an extreme misuse of management and it is an insult to all that are repaying loans faithfully each month. My defaulted loans should have been rehabilitated in Sept. 2011 because I have made (to date) 15 on-time consecutive payments. However, the department sent out letters in September stating that the scheduled date of completion was supposed to be October 2011 but was pushed back to the end of November 2011. Currently it is January and there is no estimated time frame for completion at this time. No one has any answers and the US Dept. of Education has even stopped releasing updates and press releases on its delay of "upgrading their system." For the second year in a row my tax refund is needlessly being garnished due to their incompetence and delays.

My life is literally being upturned because the US Department of Education is unable to complete their system upgrade transition that they have taken months and months to complete. Until they fix their system and remove people out of default status, I am continuously and needlessly being punished. At the very least, notices should be sent out to the thousands of students who are continually being left in the dark without answers as to why this is taking so long. Are we anticipating 5 years, 6 more months--what? This suspicious delay and lack of communication needs to be investigated on behalf of countless students remaining in default status despite their commendable repayment efforts. Students, including myself, have every right to know why this transition is taking so long, and should be given some sort of time frame for completion.

I do not speak alone on this issue. It is an extreme disappointment that an institution as large as the US Dept. of Education is unable to effectively complete a project that is continuously hurting those repaying faithfully. I have needlessly had my tax refund garnished from me the past two years and it will be so again due to the USDOE delays. My credit report is badly damaged due to the USDOE's inability to remove me from default status. Because of this I have been unable to secure an auto loan to have a car to get to work/school.

My student loan went into default last December and I started the rehab plan where I was to make nine consecutive payments. My last payment was suppose to be in August 2011. In September, I received a call from the company who is handling my loan and they told me that the USDOE was updating their computers and were not able to update my payments so I had to continue to make my payments. I let the rep know several times I am a single parent and cannot afford to make extra payments. The rep told me if I didn't make the payments, there was a chance that my loan wouldn't come out of default and the problem DOE was having should be resolved by end of October.

I then later received letters in October and November stating I still had to continue to make the payments even though I completed the rehab plan. When I called the company, they informed me that DOE hasn't resolved problem and I still had to continue to make my payments and if problem is not resolved by the time I file my tax return, DOE will take that for the second year in a row.

I called the DOE and spoke to someone and he told me that the problem was resolved and he would send me a letter in the mail. The company that is handling my loan says this is untrue and I got incorrect info. The next day, I called DOE back and was also told got incorrect info and they didn't know when the problem will be resolved. I can't afford to have my tax refund taken again this year and I am on a very, very fixed income. What are my rights? Who can help me?

I went into default without even really knowing it, call it foolish on my part, I know. I moved a few times and did not leave a forwarding address, so all communications could not reach me. I found out because my taxes were offset and they took $5,000.00 in January of 2011. I immediately enrolled into a rehab program with Allied Interstate and began making the agreed upon payments. I paid for nine consecutive months, and was promised repeatedly that after the 9th payment, I was in the clear and would not lose my taxes again the following year. As a single mother on a very fixed income, this has been a heavy struggle, and of course, it continues. I had been assured that October would see the end of this, and yet, they took a payment in November, and now December. No one will give me any real answers, and AI never even answers/returns my calls. This was a written contract, isn't there some recourse? What are my rights?

A few of my student loans went into default status, and in March, I started a loan rehabilitation in order to avoid wage garnishment from a collection agency who works as a hit man for the department of education. I'm expecting to have the fees removed, and my loans transferred back to the DOE. I have completed 11 payments now, and the program was supposed to be completed after the 9th. The collection agency, and the DOE phone line itself, says that the DOE are not accepting rehabilitation transfers at this time, and have not accepted any since August.

Apparently this is supposed to happen sometime next year, but who knows. The DOE is telling people to keep making payments to these shady and abusive 3rd party collection agencies, or they may nullify their rehab program and have to start over. Basically, the DOE is allowing these collection agencies to make a fortune while refusing to take our loans out of default. I have heard that some people have completed 14 payments and are still in default. This is ridiculous. It is total extortion, all because the DOE doesn't have their ** together and its financially convenient for them to farm out loan collections.

I entered the rehabilitation program on a defaulted school loan in Dec. 2010. My ninth payment was completed in August 2011. I was told because DOE was updating their system I would have to continue making my payments or my loan would not be rehabilitated. They have been updating the system since July 2011, and here we are five months later and it is still not complete?

My agreement was nine payments out of 10 months and I would be able to get the same benefits as before I went into default. But if I do not keep my payments up while they are updating, I have to start the rehabilitation process over. Totally unfair that I have to follow their rules but they don't have to follow with their agreement. I have contacted the Mo. Attorney General in hopes to get some help with this, because the DOE Ombudsman has been a joke to deal with considering they are affiliated with the DOE.

I went in to default on my student loan. I thought I was paying it back but it was a different student loan that were not together but my own fault. I did the rehabilitation program and said after 9 months would be bought back by department of education and offset removed. Today is my 11 month of payments and they told me that it might be December but doubt it. It probably be next year. That is unfair to the ones paying there payments. Cannot keep paying $100 a month when I go back to school .

I had an agreement with the US Department of Education to make nine consecutive payments to get my school loan out of default. September 2011 should have been my last payment as it was my ninth payment to allow me to come out of being defaulted. A relative, who is now unemployed, was helping me make those payments. I cannot afford to make a thousand-dollar per month payment on my single income. I have also enrolled back in school and have received financial aid this semester. The USDE has informed me that they will not be able to keep the agreement stated above. They keep reporting from one month to the next that they cannot post payments due to a conversion to a new computer system.

I know it was my fault to begin with, to let my school loans get defaulted due to my own personal problems. But I feel it unfair and unethical for the USDE to not make an exception for those of us that have made our payments as agreed. I need to put my loans back into deferment while I am in school and I am told that, "No matter what you say, you must make your payments until we get the new system up and running." This a slap in the face to all Americans that put faith in the government to keep its word. Not to forget the collection agency, Pioneer credit who has lied to me in order to get my payments early by saying that if I get them in early, I would be guaranteed to come out of default! I have children and am a single mother trying to provide and excel.

I applied for a student loan consolidation through Direct Loans, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The loan summary sheet shows that my interest rate will now change to 6%. This increased the total interest I would be paying on my loans. Prior to consolidation, I had six loans; one loan at 4.75%, two loans at 5.8%, and three at 6.3%. As there is no benefit to me to move forward with this consolidation, I contacted them on Monday, August 8, 2011.

The date on the letter I received was July 27, 2011. However, the postmark date was August 1, 2011, which is six days after the date of the letter. The letter states: "We will consolidate your loan in 10 days. If we do not hear from you within 10 days of the date of this letter, we will assume the information given is correct and will proceed with the consolidation." Yes, I was so outraged that I left my job, went home and dug through the trash until I found the envelope.

I did not receive the letter until I returned home from work on Friday, August 5. On Monday, August 8, 2011, I called to let them know I did not want to move forward with the consolidation. Direct Loans informed me that they consolidated my loan on the 5th, which is nine days, not 10, after the date on the letter. I was not given a chance to accept or deny.

The representative I spoke with told me that she would file the reversal on August 8, 2011. I called to confirm if it was entered on August 9 and it was never filed.

The representative I spoke with on August 9, 2011 filed for a reversal. A representative from the Borrowers Action Team at Direct Loans left me a voice message on Thursday, August 11, 2011, and informed me that they were contacting CitiBank, my previous lender, for a reversal on that day. Therefore, they did not file a letter for reversal through CitiBank until August 11, 2011. I was informed on Friday, August 12, 2011, through a voice message that CitiBank denied the reversal request.

This implies that any lender can put any date on a letter, for example, from 2010 and not postmark it until today, and they can assume that a prospective borrower agrees to it?

US Department of Education and/or ACS has falsely reported a 60-day late on my credit report. This is adversely affecting my credit score and I am unable to purchase a home right now because of it. We have been working diligently for a long time to pay our bills on time and now this is here and they will not remove it.

Basically, they told me it wasn't their problem. I was in school for the Spring 2011 semester, registered at Fresno City College. I have a letter stating that I would automatically receive an in-school deferment on my student loans and would not have to pay them while I was in school. I finished my class in May 2011. The disputed 60-day late is for February 2011.

When I called customer service to notify them of the mistake and have them correct it, they told me they would check into it and get back to me. They never did. Approximately two weeks later, I called again and they said that they sent the enrollment verification to Reedley College by mistake and so they never received notification from the school that I was enrolled. Obviously, because I was enrolled in Fresno City, not Reedley. Although they are all part of State Center Community College District, they are different schools. And since they did their part in mailing out the verification, even though it was the wrong school, it was not their problem that I had this late payment on my credit report. In fact, I have two from the same company for two different loans. The other student loan I have through a different company does not show late because they did their job correctly.

This needs to be rectified immediately. As I said, we are trying to qualify for a mortgage and having such a recent derogatory on my credit report is not allowing us to do so. It is not that difficult for this company to call all three credit bureaus to get this removed.

In December 2010, I began the loan application process with the Dept. of Education in order to move my consolidated student loans from Sallie Mae to DOED Direct Loan program. Soon after doing the initial steps of the application, I requested in writing that the application be canceled. I was informed in writing that the application was indeed canceled.

One month later, I received notification that my loan at Sallie Mae was paid off by the DOED and they are now in possession of my loan. I immediately contact them with this mistake and was informed that they would be completing a "Borrow Action Team" form and a "representative will be in touch with you personally". It has been one week since this last communication so I contact them again and was thanked for my patience and told someone familiar with my case would be in touch with me. DOED has taken my loan without my permission and not communicated with me about how they will rectify this situation. However, they are expecting me to begin repayment on 3/14/11. Despite I never have gone through the phases of deciding which loan repayment plan, etc, since I never got to that phase of the application prior to withdrawing it. I am furious that they fraudulently took my loan and are not working with me on correcting this problem.

I am writing you as a last resort for help. I have been paying a student loan that should have been paid off according to the paperwork in 2000. I have wrote, sent information showing that this student loan was paid off to the education dept. and to bill collectors. The IRS, in 2005, sent a payment of $5000 to me that was retrieved from my student loan. I was not aware of where these funds came from until the letters started coming showing I owed thousands of dollars on this loan again.

The IRS will not give me the reason or anything to give to the Dept. of Education showing why they retrieved the payment. US. Department of Education has advised me that unless the IRS rectifies what they did, they are charging me over $9000. They have ignored dispute letters that I have mailed and appeal letters have not been honored.

My original loan, I signed for in 1992 should have only been $3500. I have not received any paper work to file on my taxes, to show all of this additional money that they have taken from me throughout the years and I cannot get the assistance of an attorney. I am a hardworking mother, trying to raise my children under my income alone and I cannot continue to do that with the collection company taking substantial amounts from my checks continuously. Please, can you help me? I know my problems may not be as great as some that you have to deal with but I really need some help.

I attended Commonwealth College at 300 Boush St, in Norfolk, VA 23510. I attended this school for less than two months. My husband was in the military at that time and Virginia is where we were stationed. This school advised me that because I fell under that military status that I would be able to stop when needed and unused funds would be returned. I signed for one loan. They have me signed up for two.

The school closed and I have been going through hell trying to get this loan dismissed. I have been fighting this for years. I have reached out to the Ombudsman, within the student loan dept. I have contacted the Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson but it seems that she is too busy handing out free scholarships. I can't find an attorney brave enough to touch this.

The IRS holds some responsibility from this as well because they returned money to me that was supposedly over paid to the student loan which is causing this headache. Now they won't respond or take any responsibility to what has transpired. I have paid over $15000 on a $3500 loan with no degree and they are still taking drafts from my check currently. What can I do?

I have been filing my student deferment forms consistently and even have them filed with the Secretary of the Dept of Education. Still, they are not processing my forms and holding me delinquent. I have even filed some forms and sent them certified! Despite many attempts to resolve this by phone, they have not provided any additional assistance. Instead, they have negatively impacted my credit and refuse to process my student aid form which I need to pay the last year of my doctoral program. These actions appear very deliberate and worthy of rigorous, legal investigation into our student loan system.

They hold my student loan and refuse to come to an agreement about a monthly payment. They stated they want a debit or credit card number, or my checking account number, which I will not do. They keep refusing to send me anything on paper. They just refuse to work with me not being willing to give my checking account number. It's impossible to get this debt taken care of.

Young people that can't afford to go to college have left home and are working can't apply for a Pell Grant based on their own income but must show their parents tax returns as their own income until they are 25 years old. Now isn't that clever it looks like cheap way to cheat this country out of giving a fair chance for an education. All of our jobs requiring higher education will be filled by foreigners and you and your children will go where? Who benefits from taxes anyway?

When my case was filed, the Department of Education was listed as a creditor; and after reviewing, the documents provided to me by my attorneys paralegal, the Department was included on the mailing matrix. The Department is saying that they were never were not notified of the case.

I never heard from the Department of Education regarding my loans to indicate they were going to place my loans in default status. I heard from Citibank regarding my loans and I informed them at the time of the call that I had filed for bankruptcy and did not believe they were supposed to be collecting on my loans during a time when my bankruptcy was in active status. I was told that I needed to file for forbearance in order to protect my loans. I did so at that time. Those were the only loans I was made aware of needed to have a forbearance filed. I have since learned from the Department of Education that neither they nor Citibank should have contacted me during that time because I had filed bankruptcy. The Department of Education informed me that they had not contacted me regarding my loans because I had filed for bankruptcy. I asked if they were not contacting me; how would I have known they were placing my loans in default status. Additionally, if they were not contacting me because of the bankruptcy, then they had to be aware of the case; however, decided to place my loans in default status regardless of my active bankruptcy case.

At the request of the Department of Education in January, I amended the mailing matrix to add the Department of Education to receive notifications regarding my case. The Department of Education did not need to be added as a creditor, as they were already included as a creditor in the case. I was told if I added the Department of Education to receive notifications, my loans would be returned to good standing. This was not done after I filed the amendment.

After filing the amendment, the Department of Education indicated that they wanted my attorney to file a claim on their behave. My attorney has agreed to file the claim on their behave; however, the Department of Education has now said, they still may not return my loans to good standing.

I am a single mother of seven, out of work due to a disability. I am trying to return to school to complete my education in a field, which will be more accommodating for my disability. The Department of Education is causing me undue hardship regarding my case. Although they are aware of the fact that I filed for bankruptcy, the date that I filed and that my loans were not in default at the time of filing, they have refused to return my loans back to good standing or to provide me with a letter of eligibility in order to receive grants for which I qualify at this time.

they closed the school i was attending. then my loans were discharged march of 2005. then in jan 09 i get a garnishment from them on my pay check was told they lost the discharge papers. i refiled the papers then they took my tax return. now i can't get my money bk. i have filled out all the required forms. now i'm hearing it could take up to 90 days for them to decided if there going to return my money.

the tax money was for me to go home on. now i'm stuck in oregon. can't go home to florida. i lost a good paying job in florida because of this. my autistic son is now living with family. the garnishment is killing my paycheck. i only work part now not getting full time any more. this is not fair to me or my son.

iv been disable since 2004 have had my doctor fill out the discharge papers every 6 months only to be called by a debt collector. when i call the discharge unit im told they need more and more info. ive got montains of papers from my doctor. why wont they mail or call me to tell me instead of sending back into colections? i have not work since my fall off a scaffaloding 30 feet. i would love to go back to work. who will hire me. i cant move my left side. walk with a cane and im 51 years old. with 8 percent unempolyment out there who hire me

they taken my wife and mine income taxes every year

I am disabled and I went to North eastern business college 25 years ago and they got shut down for fraud and I graduated and did not get my deploma. They wouldnt give me my records and they expected me to pay it back

I am now disabled and on social security disability and they are taking money out of my check and i cant make it i only get 1000.00 a month and they take 150.00 a month out of my check and I pay rent utilites and food. Im tring to get the loan discharged and the are making it hard and they are denying my request

After 35+ years, I am now beimg dunned for a loan w/interest from a school that I never attended. They sent an official statement that showed me taking a student loan from Ingram State Voc School. I deny this competely.

I referred this to my attorney who wrote them but they never reponded.

More than 15 collection agencies have dunned me at all hours ruining my credit. They did not send the info about this loan until 8/19/08 although

I requested it three years ago.

The school I went to was able to take out a loan in my name with the US Dept of Education, I never signed a note or anything else, yet I owe them $18,0000. The school and the lender took the loan out and I am stuck with it. I fought as much as I could but now it is in forbearance until 02/2009 until I can figure out what else I can do to fight them.

I have a student loan in my name that I never applied for and it was done by the school and the lender without my knowledge. It has impacted by credit and finances. I have other student loans that I am fully aware of, however, this one I did not sign up for. I have been fighting it for several years. I even sent them signatures of mine, and other evidence and they said I didnt have enough.

They called and asked about my payment and they said I could defer my payment for six months but two months later, they reported me 60 days late to the credit bureau. I told them I had spoken with someone who allowed me to defer the payment and they said that was a mistake and she shouldnt have told me that. I told the lady (who was very rude) that I wanted the late payment removed from my credit report. She initially refused but they finally did after I disputed it with the credit bureau but it doesnt end there. My payments were supposed to be $50 a month but now I got a bill from them saying I have to pay $328 a month. I told them I cant afford that but they say they wont accept less and if I dont pay that amount every month, I will go into default.

Student loans multiplied through capitalized interest, collection fees charged when the loan is in garnishment. The only people making an effort to collect are the employers.

On June 19th 2007 my request for refund forFalse Certification of Ability to Benefit was recieved by, The Department of Education. i disputed the two loans reporting on my credit report. On Aug 1, 2007 I recieved one letter stating I was entitled to a discharge for my loan or loans. NO OTHER LETTERS OR COMMENTS.

I had to call Sallie Mae and United Student Aid Funds as well once I got the letters to have them remove the loans from my credit reports. At no time did either of these entities tell me any different than the letter stated. In December 2008 I applied for a student loan and was denied because the department of Education said I was still in default. This was news to me since I recieved no letter stating this I asked for a investigation for all outstanding loans and referenced them on the letter I sent in.

I spoke with a manager at The department of Education he was very cold and told me that the paperwork I sent in did not proove I was not in default of this second loan. (He did this without looking at the papers) I asked all three entities (department of education, Sallie Mae, United Student Aid Funds) to send me a copy of the letter that was sent to the credit reporting beareaus and they pretty much refused or said they will request it to be sent to me, but I still have not recieved any letters discharge or still any other results to date. This was back in Aug thru Nov 2007. I have dates that I spoke with Managers at both Department of Education and Sallie Mae.

This has caused me much drama, wasted much of my time and energy. I am a single mother just trying to get ahead, in the middle of moving and a hardship, and this has helped destroy my credit and now I have to despute this all over again and These entities should be in trouble just for refusing to send me the discharge letters they sent out to the credit bureaus. That seems like that got a dirty business going on. Or just shows the incompetency of the investigation department if they cant figure it out in 90 days, they figure they are not going to give you a letter that is required by law.

On or about May 2001, I received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education for repayment of my student loans. I had a problem with the amount that I owed. Their statement reflected a total of $38,000 on a $2,000 loan. I sent a letter dated July 27, 2001 asking for a breakdown of how they came up with that figure. In response, their letter dated August 9, 2001, stated that I called them on March 29, 2001 requesting them to repurchase my loans. In turn, they opened a consolidation loan for me and purchased my loans based on my request.

The breakdown is as follows $15,485.53 is the principal, $16,599.89 in interest and $5,935.81 is collection fees. In my letter to them of August 27th, I refuted their ridiculous allegation that I called them. I never called their office nor have I had any contact with them or any collection agency since my loans were defaulted.

I told them that they would have to provide documentation supporting their allegation and that I am not going to pay those collection costs and no payment will be made until we come to understanding of what I owe. Furthermore, when I tried to call the service center I am confronted with bureaucratic red tape when trying to address issues regarding my account. They ask for information that I know they can not possible have. They use this as a duplicitous attempt to gain information from me. When I correspond by mail I only give my account number but when I call they are asking me to verify information that I know they dont have. When I refuse to give them what they want, I am denied access to my account. Furthermore, their letters never have a signature of an individual that I can correspond with, just a generic signature that states Borrower Services Representative. In my letter of August 27th, I requested that they give me a name of a representative, a telephone number and an e-mail address to correspond with someone directly.

The only consequences I see is that they can attempt to garnish my salary or put a lien on me. First of all, I don't have a permanent job because I just relocated to Maryland nor do I have the income to make the $270 payment they are seeking. They are causing emotion damage because they are stressing me out and I find myself in a confrontational situation each time I am dealing with them. They are not consistent with the information that is on the statement and on the correspondence that is sent out. They tie my hands when I attempt to call the service center and some how they think that they can make erroneous claims and get away with it because they said so. I know that I will need the services of an attorney to resolve this issue.

I feel that I've been deceived. and leave in costent fear that my check will be unfairly garnished.