US Education Department Reviews

Additionally, they did not transfer over a payment from NAVIENT as they claim it was 5.00 short. They forgot to add the money in and they have been informed. I called them to figure out a payment plan to get the two months of payment worked so I could have a chance to come up with the money. I was told no many times. The phone person even said to make a payment every week until it was paid for. When I became outspoken, the phone attendant started adding on more requirements in order to get the two months to count towards my loan forgiveness. When I asked for everything to be put in writing I was told they didn't have to. I said that everything needs to be in writing and they told me that they could call me. Finally, after the payment day came and went I received a letter that wasn't nice at all. They cited a department of education rule that they could call me. I researched that rule and found that the rule is only for those in default.

My loan has never been in default and payments were current. I cited the fair credit debt collection and explained to them that everything has to be in writing. As far as I am concerned they lost their phone privilege with me. I frankly don't care if I am in the grip of servitude. The loan servicer nor the department of education own me. I feel that my 13th amendment rights have been violated. I live in fear of the consequences that I am told over and over, from the department, the loan servicers, news articles, that there will be legal consequences if I don't pay on the student loan. Everything from wage garnishment, tax offsets, lawsuits and being sued. How am I supposed to fight this monster that I can't get away from. I have called lawyers but no one will take on this case even if I feel my credit rights or loan payments are not properly applied.

Anyway, over this last incident, I have realized that the department of Ed nor its servicers are really interested in seeing people not succeed in paying of loans or receiving forgiveness. I figure that because of the misapplication of loans or going into programs it takes off 3 months a year. This applied over 10 year is 30 months which adds on additional 2.5 years. Not to mention that over 10, 20 or 25 years life events come up that force one into forbearance. This ends up accumulating more interest and adds time toward the loan forgiveness. So unless your lucky student loan forgiveness of 10, 20, 25 years can turn into a lifetime.

The department of Education has figured all this out. The government actually uses money loaned to students as an asset. They like anyone else try their hardest to protect their assets. They make close to a 100 billion a year in interest. My story is a lot longer than this but hopefully this is enough to to help others to not feel so alone and to think before taking money from the department of Education. The money they give is predatory and leads to no good.

This was a very hard slap in the face by a branch of our government. With that being said I didn't have a partial hardship, I had it hardship none the less. They ended up keeping the other $7,300 that was my other part of my tax return. It's unbelievable that they can do it upstanding citizens like that and put them in a greater hardship than what they was already in. I'm very unsatisfied with the Department of Education and the way that they have done my family and myself.

The problem is that US Department of ED violated federal law 455(h) Section of Higher Education Act (HEA) required that the Department of Education define by Regulation which acts or commission of the school constitutes defenses to repayment of the student loans. US Department of ED never made that Regulation which was required to make based on 455(h) HEA. US Department of ED never defined by Regulation which acts or commission of the school constitutes defenses to repayment of the student loans.

Another problem is that my (American Student Assistance ASA) and all others guarantee agencies violated Law 682.410 b(5)(vi)(I) by NOT including pertinent information in the notice they sent me (and to millions of other FFEL loans borrowers) specifically neglecting to include (the) description of the grounds on which the borrower (me) may object that the loan obligation as stated in the notice is not a legally enforceable debt owed by the borrower.

ALL guarantee agencies violated federal law, Title IV and ALL FFEL borrowers Due Process Rights. Law 682.410 b(5)( ii) states "The guaranty agency, after it pays a default claim on a loan but before it reports the default to a consumer reporting agency or assesses collection costs against a borrower, shall... provide the borrower with - C) An opportunity for an administrative review of the legal enforceability or past-due status of the loan obligation;[...] Law 682.410 b(5) states:(vi) The notice sent by the agency under paragraph (b)(5)(ii)(A) of this section must...(I) Describe the grounds on which the borrower may object that the loan obligation as stated in the notice is not a legally enforceable debt owed by the borrower.

An FFEL Program borrower who alleges that he or she has Defense against repayment of his or her student loans because of some action or failure of the borrower's school may present his or her arguments to the Guarantee Agency or US Department of ED during the collection process. 34 CFR 30.24 and 682.410(b)(5)(ii)(C) and 682.410(b)(5)(vi)(I)

The notice sent to borrower should have, according to the above, information that borrower (me) have the Right to file Defenses against repayment of the student loans when school violated law, or/and because "of some action or failure of the borrower's school". None of the notices sent by American Student Assistance (ASA) do not even mention that I had a right to file defenses against repayment of the student loans when school violated law or/and that I had a right to file defenses against repayment of my student loans because of some action or failure of the borrower's school and that I may present my arguments to the Guarantee Agency or US Department of ED during the collection process.

Some important information: Any lender holding a loan is subject to all claims and defenses that the borrower could assert against the school with respect to that loan. 682.209 (g). 682.609 (a) The Secretary may require a school to repay funds paid to other program participants by the Secretary. The Secretary also may require a school to purchase from the holder of a FFEL loan that portion of the loan that is unenforceable. The repayment of funds and purchase of loans may be required if the Secretary determines that the payment to program participants, the unenforceability of the loan, or the disbursement of loan amounts for which the borrower was ineligible or for which the borrower was ineligible for interest benefits, resulted in whole or in part from - (1) The school's violation of a Federal statute or regulation.

FFEL master promissory note did not contain the key information that would assist me and millions of other borrowers in asserting a defense against repayment of student loans in the instance, the school in question, violates the law. FFEL master promissory note did not include extremely important applicable law. The Department of Education, along with the guarantor(s) both failed to notify me (and millions of other borrowers) of my (and others) due process rights in establishing the grounds for defense against repayment of FFEL Loans when college violated the law. For OVER 20 YEARS the US Department of ED FAILED to inform borrowers of their legal due process rights.

Addition to that, Middlesex Community College in Middletown, CT grossly mislead me and thousands of other students by incorrectly informing myself and others in 2005-2006 official Middlesex Community Catalog in the "Financial Aid Information" section (page 36, top page) that Stafford Loan (FFEL) can be discharge ONLY if borrower becomes permanently disabled, or if he or she dies. The keyword to the note is "ONLY". This is not a violation by omission, but by deliberate misrepresentation of fact and deception.

The last time I attended college was in the Spring of 2006, 10 years ago! By incorrectly informing me that Stafford loans can be discharge ONLY if borrower becomes permanently disabled, or if he or she dies, Middlesex Community College at the same time withheld information from me that I can ask to have my student loans discharge (cancel) if my school violated law. I found out about that law sometimes in April 2015.

At the time I found out about that law, time of limitation to investigate college by US Department of ED already passed. Unfortunately, there is no time of limitation on student loans. Fortunately, there is no time of limitation until when borrower can file defenses against repayment of the student loans. Problem is, how after 10 years borrower can obtain documents to support his or her defenses. ONE WAY, OR PERHAPS ONLY WAY, BORROWERS CAN OBTAIN THOSE DOCUMENTS IS BASED ON FOI REQUESTS (if school still have any documents). All FFEL student loans should be discharge immediately because US Department of ED does not have any longer power to investigate college and schools do not have any longer student's file. Borrowers can ask US Department of ED Secretary, honorable Secretary King for help.

What I have found out was in fact a very clear documented trail of loan deception and I currently have submitted a formal complaint to the Department of Justice and also filed to the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau. The two original loans, I believed I had applied for Pell Grants. It wasn't until 1996 after I went back to school in 94/95 that the US Dept of Ed contacted me regarding the past debt. I never denied attending this school, and it was my name, however the SSN was not mine. After much discussion, I agreed to cooperate. I had no reason to mistrust them. I cooperated fully to include signing a promissory note to "get the process started" and I had 3 good faith payments made. I was told not to worry about signing the promissory note with the incorrect SSN, as they couldn't change it, they would have to find out why and get it fixed.

Let me tell everyone one vital thing about this. The promissory note, when signed in Feb 1996 did NOT have any lender name or their terms listed on it. At the top of this promissory note also uses the word application. You must understand, the US Dept of Ed did NOT front this money. This was a consolidated loan. The money would have to be borrowed directly from a lender. The US Dept of Ed told me the SSN and everything would all be fixed by the time I received the lender contract. The lender was their own solicited lender. But I had two demands. Demand 1. I must have the proof of the original debt. Demand 2. If valid, the consolidation MUST be under my correct SSN or I would not consolidate. I was assured this was not a problem.

In April of 1996, I received the contract from the lender and was dismayed and suspicious that it too was under the incorrect SSN. What lending company doesn't even so much as run a simple credit check on that SSN? It is their most basic fundamental job. I never received the proof either as directed (and you will find out why if you keep reading). I retracted from the consolidation. I contacted the lender and told them I was not signing and returning their contract and why. I never heard another word... from anyone. In 2003, this debt was placed on my credit reports under the incorrect SSN. I submitted a formal credit dispute and it was not validated to be my debt. It has been off my credit reports since 2003.

Fast forward to 2015 and my federal taxes were offset by the US Dept of Ed... For a consolidated loan I didn't even know existed!!! 20 years... they waited 20 years to pursue this debt and it is my allegation that they did so as an attempt to leave me in the most defenseless position I could be in. Well defenseless I'm not, and I knew as fact I never borrowed for that consolidation. Problem was every time I spoke to the US Dept of Ed by phone they actually had the audacity to tell me it was my problem if I didn't keep the lender records, they didn't require them. I was in a panic because of course by the time my taxes were offset... the lender had folded. It was my persistence for such records, but I ended up getting two documents that tied it all together.

Those two documents were... On the New Jersey Higher Education Pursuit activity sheet it actually showed the lender was allowed to bypass what is called the Lender Reimbursement Claim form. This is the form the lenders use when filing their case for reimbursement. It also lists requirements and documents that must be submitted. And now I understood that despite all my written requests for the records... the US Dept of Ed never wanted to acknowledge in writing the missing lender or their contract. Once the light bulb went off, I started disputing how the lender was allowed to bypass this form, how this lender never proved I defaulted, how they never even proved I was every their borrower or they were ever my lender and yet this debt was settled. What I got in return was a letter on May 2015 that if I didn't pay on this debt they would continue to garnish me, including that of my paycheck. I consider this extortion.

Not only that. This letter came with an excuse that wasn't even legally accurate reasoning. The US Dept of Ed refused to acknowledge this missing lender in writing. When I disputed the legality of their rejection reason in June 2015 and again persistent in them not having the legal proof I owed this debt, they rejected citing their decision stands and that they gave me everything in my case file. It was then that I contacted the Office of Inspector General in July 2015. After sending in statements I finally got them to send my case over for a high priority review and investigation for Federal Student Aid to conduct. And finally I found out the truth about it all.

But when I received the report from Federal Student Aid on Jan 21 2016 I was stunned... literally... on the outrageous and flat out blatant falsification of its content that it prompted me to now deem this as a criminal and a civil violation of my rights and filed a formal complaint to the Department of Justice. I also did a formal rebuttal against the report and filed it back to Federal Student Aid, the Office of Inspector General USDE, the Department of Justice, and I am getting ready to file it to my local attorney general's office. Every single one of these loans are missing a lender. No lender equals no lender every claiming that I ever defaulted on a loan. Yet these debts were settled despite this. So let me give you the facts and you can understand exactly how this happened as to why there are no lenders.

In 1986 and 1987... while I was a minor child the SSN was actually changed on the promissory notes not just on one loan... but BOTH that were a year apart. It is my allegation that Higher Education Assistance Foundation, the Federal Guarantor of the loans actually physically altered the promissory notes and re-wrote a different SSN on the actual promissory notes ABOVE MY CORRECT SSN!!! Yes folks you read correctly. This was NOT a clerical error here. It is my accusation that HEAF conjured a Lender Reimbursement Claim form to make it "appear" as if these loans were serviced by a lender but never were. There is not one single document to validate this form. The lender that is on the promissory note simply vanished. It is my belief that due to the changing of the SSN, HEAF either did not send these loans out to be serviced, or the lender actually refused to serviced them because of that change... either way HEAF was stuck.

While I am not a lawyer I firmly believe this debt was legally non collectible. The 1986 loan is not even signed by any lending authority either. If it is not signed, it is not valid. Basic contract law. To this day the US Dept of Ed refuses to prove what SSN those funds even were... but tell me verbally that I received funds that funded my schooling. Regardless, I gave all of us a chance in 1996 to fix whatever mistakes we all made. Me for my misunderstanding what I applied for, and the US Dept of Ed for the incorrect SSN. But what happens next is such a grave injustice. It's an outright travesty. Before I move on... when it comes to the original loans. My SSN was physically changed while I was a minor child and my documents actually altered. HEAF was the only source that could have done so, and did it over TWO separate loans.

One loan isn't even signed and they were SETTLED as if they were LENDER DEFAULTED CLAIMED LOANS. This was NOT and that is a fact. Yet, the US Dept of Ed pursued this debt as if it was. Now perhaps you can understand why in 1996 why I never got the proof... just what were they going to send me... my manipulated documents? Now when it comes to this consolidated debt, EVERYTHING is missing. Again we have a missing lender. And just you wait until you read what was done to me regarding this loan. The lender – not one single legal trace of this lender exists not by actual document and the promissory note. If you remember I stated I signed in Feb 1996, retracted in April of 1996 and guess what... a STICKER. YES A PRINTED STICKER BY THE LENDER was attached in May 1996. I am also disputing the legality of this so called "sticker" as a non legal binding way to sign a legal contract.

And when I mean just that... it is fully typed. It is not authentic as a signature. It's as typed as this statement is. Now we fully understand why no aspect of the US Dept of Ed wanted to talk about the lender in actual writing or my missing lender repayment schedule. The promissory note outlines that the repayment schedule is the contract to be honored. It was not even in existence when I signed the promissory note and retracted before one even existed. No payments were ever made on the actual consolidation. After writing the OIG's office I found out that there are service lender records (you know – after telling me twice in writing that they gave me my case file in full and refused to acknowledge my submitted FCRA which is federal law to comply but they didn't).

Again, now I know exactly why they tried to withhold those records. NO LENDER. The servicing lender shows they received outside claim but not by who and NO COPY of this claim. So just how were they able to service this loan? Not one single trace of anything remotely of a repayment schedule exists. In the federal student loan investigation instigated by the Office of Inspector General USDE, actually changed not only my allegations but the document reference as well. The Federal Student Aid changed the document Repayment Addendum instead of the Repayment Schedule (the very contract that actually borrowers the funds from the lender... the one the promissory note outlines) ...as the document I did not sign and return. The repayment schedule was mentioned far too many times both verbally and in written manner to have such a grievous oversight of the incorrect document.

Oh and the Repayment Addendum that they do use to "uphold" the debt isn't even the correct lender. Nope. In fact it took a FAKE forbearance to generate a new Repayment Addendum to correct the lender name and of course if you have ever done a forbearance then you know that those letters require to be signed by the borrower and come directly from the lender. They are also required to be maintained and submitted by the lender upon settling for default. So again the one thing that would prove either myself or the lender's involvement is of course and I'm sure you've guessed is MISSING!!! The servicing lender records were never submitted by the lender via the lender claim form so I am citing that these records are non legal to use as claim for default.

There is no proof that the lender even requested this servicing lender to even service the loan on their behalf and the lender never directly claimed these documents either. They are moot. So I am dealing with my federally protected SSN number abused/misused 4 times through this 30 yr trail like a game of ping pong and having it changed when it suited the US Dept of Ed to do so. Missing lenders... no lender ever claiming I defaulted on their loan directly which is the ONLY reason the US Dept of Ed should have settled it in the first place. Falsified notations, unsubstantiated notations.

Oh... and New Jersey Higher Ed who got it from the US Dept of Ed shows they pulled my correct SSN in 2001 and in 2003 they received my formal credit dispute. In that two year time frame the only thing they do is send out two letters to OTHER addresses that wasn't even what they pulled in 2001... given my unique spelling of my first name. What they got that was VOLUNTEERED by me in 2003 which matched EXACTLY in what they pulled in 2001! ...New Jersey Higher Ed actually falsifies that they didn't have that address on file which they did since 2001! I can prove they spent more time actually evading me than to contact me. Right up until the lender was gone. I had my refund stolen on a debt that has no lenders. I had my refund stolen on a debt that was removed from my credit report in 2003 because they didn't validate the debt as mine!

The pursuit trail stops on the notations of receiving my credit dispute... it returns back to the US Dept of Ed in 2005 where it sits for an additional 12 yrs. So these loans have gone through HEAF, the US Dept of Ed, New Jersey Higher Ed... These "lenders" that they solicited back to New Jersey and back to the US Dept of Ed right back under the same incorrect SSN for a total of 28 years. Despite the fact they had the correct SSN the ENTIRE time... despite the fact that I had a mountain of other documents from my rightful and PAID OFF loans from my education in 94/95. The promissory note that the US Dept of Ed crammed down my throat until I practically choked on it this past 1.5 yrs since this battle started.

I am INSISTENT is a non legal binding contract and has been VOID for 21 years! Void because of the sticker placement. This is not a legal way to authenticate a legal contract. And because it is being used in by illegitimate claim and by deed of lender claimed default... when there isn't a single shred of proof. No, this lender that was secured by the US Dept of Ed in 1996 was allowed to waltz through this ENTIRE debt from beginning to end without having to prove a single thing. Not by direct letterhead document, not by a copy of the repayment schedule... they didn't submit it. The servicing lender doesn't have a copy... yet were able to service this loan without it. New Jersey Higher Ed never had a copy. The forbearance letter missing. The actual Lender Reimbursement Claim Form is missing and actually NOTATED that it was bypassed... so it was not a mistake or oversight and they did nothing to rectify this.

And most importantly... the way these debts were 'settled' was a violation of my civil rights. PERIOD. So I bet by now many of you are wondering why I am still fighting this debt. GOOD QUESTION... something I hope the Department of Justice gets to the bottom of. While I cannot get justice for what happened with these loans 30/20 yrs ago... I believe I have the grounds for this current pursuit. Withholding my records, which is provable multiple times. What I feel was extortion after I brought up the issues with the missing lender and the bypassing of the lender claim form. I am even claiming the Federal Student Aid who told me during the phone interviews that they were getting assistance from the Office of General Counsel of my case file. I am firm that it was to mislead me into believing they were going to address the legality of all the issues with these loans.

Their report does not notate this and I am insisting that these calls may have been recorded. I have challenged the Federal Student Aid in my Feb 2016 report which I backed up with documents and fact to PROVE me wrong and I challenged them to PROVE that the Office of General Counsel backs their report and finding based off my case file... silence of course because they CAN'T. Another thing I have asked the Department of Justice to investigate. There is NO WAY the Office of General Counsel can back that report against my documents in my case file AND my allegations of the legality of the lender and the promissory note. And here I still sit twiddling my thumbs. You see, Federal Student Aid not only now has to explain their current pursuit... but they have to explain why they not only have to discharge the consolidation loan but the underlying loans as well.

I am firm in my stance that the Federal Student Aid is now trying to not only cover up their current pursuit... but to cover up the past actions their pursuit stems from. Liability. Well they should have thought about that before they thought I was too stupid to understand what they were trying to pull. They just thought they had me by the thread on a hook by what they deemed as the worse position to be in... completely and utterly defenseless. In a nutshell, they just didn't think I could but this case together... and now they are all back-peddling. Silence is the best defense to them at this point. So let me warn you all right now. They will do EVERYTHING they can to manipulate you. They will even threaten you as they did me. They will reject using excuses that have nothing to do with nothing. They will use word manipulation in their rejections.

And remember one thing...they don't have to do ANYTHING until they are forced to do so. They thrive on backing people into a corner... and let's face it... not that many attorneys out there that handle these types of cases and it does NOT help when everyone harbors the attitude that because you sign a promissory note you owe it. THAT IS NOT TRUE. They are only the GUARANTOR of a loan and they are in full knowledge of this fact. So in my case, what loans?? WHAT LOANS?? There are no LENDERS to my loans. All I see is a 30 yr long trail of loan deception because of them doing everything they could to rectify HEAF's gross negligence in changing my SSN when I was just a kid. When they lost my cooperation because they REFUSED to provide the proof AND correct the SSN (I guess they expected me to commit fraud to pay a debt they didn't want to prove at that).

They pushed that loan through behind my back without my knowledge or consent and then waited.... waited 20 years. I was not hard to find here folks. My last name never changed. I worked and lived in the same place for this entire 20 yrs that matched what they pulled in 2001! This wasn't about a debt pursuance. This was about crushing my rights so badly to only say that I owed it and there is a difference. This is an absolute travesty. My advice is, if you are ever in a position like mine they are NOT giving you your records... they are NOT addressing your concerns but denying your disputes with ridiculous excuses that doesn't address what you are even disputing. Contact the Office of Inspector General USDE and insist on an investigation. It took me writing 3 times. Yes...

I was SERIOUSLY misled in the FSA investigation I got, BUT it wasn't for nothing... now I know exactly what they have, what they don't and more importantly what they never did. Now I fully understand why those records were being withheld. Now I'm after justice. If you did not do a loan... and you know for a fact you did not, and you aren't getting anywhere... the FIRST STEP is to find out what THEY have on file and from your lender if they are still viable. The US Dept of Ed seems to take their sweet time... 20yrs in my case. If you are getting the runaround go to the OIG's office. If you get your copies and you see missing information, fraudulent information but they still insist you owe it then contact the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau and MAKE SURE when you do, you know exactly what you have and make sure you submit it and make sure you are very detailed.

Well they told me they sent it off to collections so there is nothing they can do to stop it. So then I proceed to ask them "how much did I owe?" They said 4446$ in student loans. Well that is what I expect them to take out then finding out I accrued interest and fees and fines and such so they ended up taking out a total of $4874.36 which is well over what I owed the loan itself. So I’m like Cool my loan should be paid off by now because I was getting back from my refund before the offset $7791 dollars so any fees or charges or anything should have been taken all out at once.

Well that apparently wasn’t the case. I needed to go back to school so I can get my Teaching License to be able to start this fall as a teacher in Hillsborough County. Well I get an email stating that I’m still at default. I was blown away because I didn’t understand how I would still be at default when I paid my student loans off (so here comes the discrimination from the department of EDU).

So I called the Department of Education Yesterday 05/05/2016 and got a rep on the phone. Off the bat didn’t sound professional at all but hey that’s not my problem. So anyways I spoke to her in a nice calm manner to figure out how to handle this situation of me being in default. I asked her "how am I in default if you guys already took everything I Owed you?" She said because I still owe $119 dollars.. I asked then "why didn’t you guys just take that with the almost five grand that you took from my refund Or at least send me a letter stating, 'Hey Mrs. Torres your new balance with us is 119 dollars and after that is paid you will be lifted from default status.'" She got all rude with me and was like, "Well you have three options. You can pay for school out of pocket or don’t go to school till it's paid or pay the 119$."

I told her flat out I don’t like those options as I have no money. I’m homeless right now trying to start a career being a teacher and take care of my two children. Little by little I’m getting there. I wouldn’t have been homeless have you if I would have gotten my full refund back. Anyways so then I proceed to tell her that as per a Lawyer I consulted with, they are supposed to send you a letter stating they are taking an offset so that way, if you need to fight it, work out a deal to settle without touching your refund, you are able to do so. Well I never got that letter and like I said previously I only found out the offset from IRS when I called them to figure out why my refund was taking forever but I would like to speak with a supervisor because I need to clear this up.

She then states on the phone mind you a recorded line "we did send you a letter btw in December." So I said "where did you send that letter?" she was like "St Petersburg" so then I said "Where in St Petersburg?" She then says "Somewhere in St Pete." I’m like yea exactly so I came back and said "Regardless if you all sent it or not, you did not send it to me because I had a legal documented lease that states I was residing this apartment complex since Feb 2015 to March 2016. But anyway let me speak to the supervisor." So she sends me to the supervisor. So I asked him the same thing and he broke down what I owed so here it goes.

So I owe 95.20 to Principal (which to me makes NO SENSE why didn’t you just take that out my refund with the other almost 5 grand you took). .92 cents in interest so I owe now 96.12 so I asked "where does the 119 dollars come from?" Then he said "Oh 24$ goes to collection fees." I’m like, "Are you kidding me? So pretty much you guys left me enough to not get out of default but to gain interests so if I wasn’t paying attention to my school loans I would pay another offset next year." So he started to get sassy. Mind you he is a SUPERVISOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. He told me flat out, "Well if you can’t afford to pay for school then don’t go to school then."

So I was shocked to hear that from him so I redirected him and was like, "So that’s the message you want to give our kids in this world. Oh can’t pay for school, no education for you. That’s the message you want to send out?" He said "Yes" and hung up on me. I was blown away. You're probably wondering where the discrimination comes to play. Well I feel they were being racist to me as on the phone I sound like a proper country ** girl. Trust me I hear it all the time. Well what’s funny is I’m Hispanic not ** at all. I have no accent because I’m from Florida raised here and I’m sorry to say but the REP and Supervisor was **.

I feel I Deserved to have been listened to with my concerns and maybe helped with options so I CAN go to school and pay whatever is needed in small increments but they didn’t want to hear what I had to say. I know it’s a lot to read. I will file a formal complaint with an attorney and all the news stations in the area to get my story heard. I was treated unfairly and to tell me not to go to school because I can’t afford it was downright a disgrace not everyone is BORN RICH sorry we all struggle.

Any human natural reaction would be a negative response! No joke! But I am only a stone's throw away from being a homeless veteran! I am dependent on family and that sucks! I know God is watching out for us (my family that is). I must say that I hope when the CEO of Nelnet passes from this world he doesn't have to realize the misery he has caused many in my shoes but if you read the Bible it states the plight of his future sorrily enough! The quote, "It is easier for a Camel to enter through the eye of the needle (old smuggler's route into Jerusalem) than to enter into heaven! At any rate I will keep playing the game and watch my original principal balloon into the astronomical figure that it has become! I just have to say, THANKS NELNET FOR SCREWING A POOR VETERAN!

I have not filed taxes in 3 years because I didn't have any income. Now I try to start again, I get laid off, but I managed to get a decent refund due to EIC and they take it. Thanks Obama... I have paid back more than my principal over the years... You can't negotiate like you would with a bank or a credit card. I took these loans out when bankruptcy was possible. I was about a year too late and... Well no more. My interest and penalties are over $10,000 EACH while my principal has never been touched by any of the payments I made over the years. Well the government, (thanks, Bush) bailed out the banks. Why can't they bail out the people like me who are single moms with kids. Guess we get EIC so we can pay back a debt that NEVER ENDS. It is loan sharking at its finest. Let's help immigrants and take in thousands of refugees... hmm can you be so sympathetic to an AMERICAN?

CTI called end of January to tell me they were trying to collect a debt and I told her to contact my rep and listen to the vm. She kept me on hold so long I was at work and hung up. I received my monthly reminder 01/25 advising that 01/31 they would be taking money out of the account. That never happened. They never attempted to pull the money from the account. NOW since I complied with wage garnishment and a payment restructure why would I also be hit with an offset. We needed that money for mortgage that we are under water for. This is a mess. My loan was 1998 for 10k. I have paid 17k but they say that is all penalties and fees so they don't plan to let me pay off this loan in this lifetime. My balance is now 23K I do not think I am responsible to pay back the national debt.

She then said connected me to a supervisor who again tried to pressure me into making an unaffordable payment. Then the wage garnishment started. West Asset now has the loan and they have me on income based repayment, which NCO claimed was not an option. I filed my taxes for Minnesota and was told by DOE that they would not take a state income tax refund and they did it anyway. When I called, they said they are not responsible for their representatives giving false information. I have now contacted my congressman.

I'm not asking for a lot but I should be able to legally utilize this education I am going to be required to pay for in some way even if it's just on paper. Call center jobs pay better than what I make but require a diploma or GED. If I have to pay for an education I don't have I just think I should be able to put it on a resume legally. But jobs require telling them where you received your education. Since I didn't receive anything past the middle of 10th grade but will have to pay from my 8.50 an hour, it seems not fair that I can be garnished for but not use this education I don't have.

Well --- Not until Collections and $4000.00 in EXTRA COLLECTION FEES --- and now it's non-stop & they have addresses and phone numbers of every family member including her 85 year old grandparents who were terrified that "people were looking for their granddaughter!" thinking she was "in trouble" and called us panicked! We are trying to pay back things honestly, but this is a SCAM --- THIS IS HORRIBLE!! SHAME ON ANYONE INVOLVED. SHAME ON THE US GOVERNMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!!

I don't understand you Department of Education. Wouldn't it be a lot more lucrative for you to take steady payments from people who can afford you every month, than to take money one time every couple of months or longer from people who can't? Well congratulations, you defeated me. I have to step out of the economy now, and hope that mercy will spare me.

We were told that the check was received and processed March 26th and we could expect a check within 30-60 days. That time has not passed, I have not attempted to call again, but after reading the stories on here, I am very concerned about what trouble may arise. Along with the majority of this country our finances aren't in the best shape. We are working hard toward a better future but right now we belong to the working class, living pay check to pay check. Tax refunds are a saving grace, and are depended on. If we had still been in default I could more than understand them taking it, I just don't understand the extreme time frame.

I can't imagine what they have to deal with every day. It seems that more and more people have a sense of entitlement and it is a fact that student loans go unpaid all the time. The majority of the loans taken out do not get paid back except through tax offset. I understand that it is a necessary evil to make sure people follow through with their loan contract. But for those of us that have been doing as promised, especially considering that the Dept. of Edu is a federal office as is the IRS, how was this messed up? I will post again when I have more contact and or receive the refund as promised. Praying for a miracle!

The credit agency VANRU CREDIT, totes themselves as being a branch of the Dept. of Education. Since when is a government agency permitted to legal loan shark? An average of $300 every 2 weeks is being added to the loan amount, making it impossible for it ever to be paid in full. Now I see how that woman who had $20,000 in loans ended up paying almost $50,000! What the heck are our law-makers doing to make this legal? I know my husband is not the only one. Thanks to this mess, we've lost 2 homes and we're about to lose another because we can't cover our bills. They say to file a document for a "hardship" hearing, but it takes up to 60 days to be heard and even then there's no guarantee there will be an approval, which means the government "contracted" agency will continue to drain what little resources we have. Our own government is making us homeless!!!

Why does it take 60-90 days when you took it in 60-90 seconds plus charged me 17.50 to give me my money back!! I've called several times. Every time I call the dates change. "It was taken the 25." "No they are wrong it was taken the 21." "No it was taken the 28". And then "We logged for a refund the 9th of May." "No the day we took it is the day we logged for a refund." "No we logged for a refund the 28th." The 17.50 add fee? Um. Why are you charging to refund money you took and where in the wrong? The people are nasty! One man, whose never went to college never took out a loan informed me on my responsibilities on keeping up on my student loan.

Oh here go more inconsistencies. "We are going to send your check back to the treasury dept". So I call the treasury dept. They claim to have nothing to do with it. Even after calling the treasury dept, they still try to tell me it will be sent back to the treasury dept. Then a few days later I get "No we aren't going to, send it to the treasury, we are going to give you a paper check." So then one woman, nasty, tells me that it takes that long because it's first come first serve and they get 100s of refund applications. Great. Then I should be receiving my check soon, because I filed taxes early. Nope. Wrong!

Now we are in the thick of filing season. Ok, so then is there the possibility that others have received their check before me? "I can't answer that. It has to go through processes." Ok. What are the processes?? "No one knows. You have to wait for the processes." The processes. The processes! WTF are they? No one knows! Give me my money back ASAP! Give me the 17.50 add fee you charged me and the money I lost on rapid refund!! I will call everyday until I get my check, cash it, and have the money in my hand!!! I will keep you updated!

I have been making monthly payments only for them to tell me I have not been on time but yet I have proof of when the mail was certified and copies of checks which were sent. I even have electronic checks sent to them timely and they still did not process in a timely manner. They need to hold up to their end of the bargain and repayment process and stop screwing up people's lives! Just because they are the government doesn't mean they can threaten individuals and bully us. We as consumers have rights too, but according to them we do not.

I graduated in 2005 and these loans were taken out in August 2007 at a school I NEVER attended. But trying to get answers is almost next to impossible. All I have heard so far is that there is no information on my loans and they don't know what to tell me. I know it it's illegal to track interest and fees on a loan if it wasn't in the initial agreement that you signed. I spent the last week constantly on the phone trying to get answers, and all I get is the typical government red tape. I am not a sue happy person, but at this point, it looks like a court case might be my only option to get answers.

I contacted the department of education to check on my offset removal request. The lady I spoke with was rude; she kept interrupting me and asking, "Offset removal for what? What are you trying to request?" -_- If she would have let me finish 1 statement uninterrupted, she would have known!! -_-

It sucks that the government wants our support, but yet they rob us blind. College is a business and it will leave you broke with little to no pay. And they don't care about our situations; they just want to know when they will get a check. I was basically LIED to about the partial refund request. I will NOT get another student loan!!! It's not even worth it go pursue a college education if your degree won't help you pay your student loans.

By the time I knew that I had missed payments, I was already in default on my loans. I called them and tried to find out what I needed to do, and told them that I had never been notified of anything I needed to pay. Their response was, "we don't have to notify you of anything." This was in 2013 and I am still trying to get out of default. I went through a divorce and a bankruptcy that was an effect of the divorce, and this complicated things even more.

I had been making payments for a few months. Right before the bankruptcy I set up a payment plan as part of a "loan rehabilitation program" and was told that if I make 9 consecutive payments of the agreed upon amount, I would be out of default and all of the extra fees and interest would be removed at that point. I told them that I was about to file for bankruptcy and they told me to keep paying my loans and even if my account was transferred to a different dept, I would still get credited for them as part of the plan to get out of default.

Well I filed for bankruptcy and at that point my account was sent to a different dept, I stopped being able to monitor my account online, and when I called to ask questions they told me that they could not answer any questions while I was going through bankruptcy by law. (because less knowledge, guidance and control over your debt is EXACTLY what you need when you are trying to get your accounts in good standing....right...) I was advised by my lawyers to keep paying my student loan payments, so that's what I did.

I decided to call and check with the US Dept of Education to check if there was anything I would need to do after my final (9th consecutive payment) went through, so I would be out of default. They seized my Tax refund last year. When I called this December (2014) I was told by a very robotic customer service representative that in August they changed the way they calculate required payment amounts, and because I was never officially enrolled in a Loan rehabilitation payment plan, none of the payments that I made will count towards getting me out of default, and in fact do not meet the new higher rate (as of Aug 14) that requires 15% of Gross monthly income as a payment amount.

I was never notified of any of these changes, nor was I ever directed to or sent any "official" paperwork to start a payment plan. I set it up on the phone and followed the directions of the person who helped me. In fact, I talked to at least 6 different people and NOBODY ever told me that I wasn't officially enrolled in the payment plan that was supposed to get me out of default! He told me to keep paying in the mean time, but that I will need to set up an official payment plan and start over! I can't afford the more than $400 a month that they are asking me to pay for the payment plan, so it is an impossible goal to aim towards. I was so upset I almost started crying and eventually hung up.

After thinking for a while I decided that I needed to see a statement of how much I owe, and to confirm where my tax refund went from the previous year. I also asked if there was a lump sum that I could pay to get out of default. I called back to ask these questions and was told that "we don't send statements in this office." The girl I was talking to actually seemed understanding after I couldn't control my crying. She told me that she could see in my file where it was documented that they told me if I complete the 9 consecutive payments that it would be considered as out of default, but after speaking with her manager, she told me that they could not apply any of my previous payments to help get me out of default.

She told me that I could write a letter and mail it to another address if I wanted a statement of where my payments have gone. They told me I could propose a "payoff amount" to work out a deal to pay off the whole thing. My parents were willing to loan me money just to help me get out of default, so I submitted this document, but was denied. The letter simply stated. "When you signed your promissory note, you agreed to pay the full amount of your loans plus any late fees and interest fees. "

I have been begging the people on the phone to help me get out of default and I have been paying every month for more than a year, but I am no closer to getting the default status taken off of my loans. The financial documentation I provided clearly showed that I cannot afford the payments that they are asking of me, but all of my requests have been denied.

I am a teacher so my income doesn't necessarily reflect my education and it is a struggle just making ends meet month to month. I am told that there are programs to help teachers get lower payments, but I have to get out of default to qualify for these programs! It is an endless cycle meant to keep people down. I believe that they don't want people to get out of default because it means less fees and interest that they will receive.

What kind of organization is allowed to not send any notifications, provide any statements or documentation of where your money goes, and can change the rules on you at any time without letting you know? It feels like a hopeless situation to ever get out of default. I am considering hiring a lawyer, but obviously money is an issue, so I'm not sure how long it will take me to save up. Especially if they take my 2000 tax refund again.

While I had gone back to work in the fall, my hours were only part time and then come December, I lost my job, resulting in being behind on rent. I'm being evicted now. My tax return was to be used for an entire years security in a house while I get settled in the job I am beginning on Monday March 2 2015. Well, when I made my payment to Pioneer on the 11th, it was them that informed me of my Offset. Oh, I was set off then. I contacted the Dept of Edu and was told that I could send numerous paperwork in and it would reissued to me. I was relieved.

I called back that following Monday to be told, "Oh, there is a note from the last person that you talked with stating that he had misinformed you. You are not eligible to get your return since you got it back last year." I fell apart. I told them that I was a single Mom, being evicted and living off of Food Stamps. NOTHING helped. I spoke to a Supervisor who was extremely hateful and told me that under no certain terms can I have my return. Come on, we are talking $11,000!!!

I feel that with a payment plan being followed. No matter how little amount it is, you should get your refund. Or, they need to take a percentage of the refund. They SHOULD NOT be allowed to just literally STEAL every hard earned dime, not only from the person getting the return but the family as well. Something and I mean SOMETHING has got to be done. I'm all in for filing a Class Action LawSuit against the Dept of Edu. I have nothing to hide and nothing to lose. Yes, I owe them money and no, I am not trying to get out of paying. However, at this point, they are ruthless in dealing with and they need to be held accountable for the families that they are hurting come tax time.

I know that I am not the only single parent who was depending on this. Heck, even married couples depend on this refund each year to catch up financially. Let's get together and see what we can do. In the meantime, I had to create a gofundme account this afternoon to help come up with my deposit and first month's rent. I have no one to turn to for help. Please pray!!!! What can we do? Who's in for going after them like they go after us?

Maybe you should get the USA out of debt instead penalized us. The way you treat the little people is wrong. I am furious with the IRS, US government, and department of education. I really hope ya'll feel bad because I am fixen, to homeless, electronic turned off and now can't afford my medication but ya'll don't. You could at least leave me some of my income tax money to live on selfish people the US government, IRS, Dept of Education are.

I am currently in a forbearance with them but another group was calling me stating that I have another student loan I have to pay. "What??" I was told that ALL of my loans were consolidated. They responded "who told you that?" They told me that I could consolidate my undergraduate loans with my graduate loans because I already consolidated my undergraduate loans in 2002. This is the FIRST I've heard of this. I document every phone call. If they had given me some kind of notice about taking my tax money, I would've looked into borrowing against my pension which I've never done before but I would've done this to stop us from being homeless.

I am going to write a letter to the Governor and anyone else who's listening. I think that collection agencies should be mandated to inform people of the tax offset via certified mail to start. Secondly, communication is horrible.

When I lost my job as in life all bills came due. I borrowed money to stay in our INCOME based apartments that was based on my 15.00/hr job. My truck is beyond repair and uninsured so we have no transportation. Rural area so no public transpo. Coworkers get me back and forth to work. And we have applied for food stamps and are awaiting that decision. My wife of 13 years and I have 3 children ages 11, 12, and 13. Our water has been off for 2 weeks now. I'm trying my hardest to stay positive but when Dept of Ed. come thru and takes the whole $8200 needless to say we are devastated.

This system is broken. I know I owe the money and have every intention of getting all my debts resolved. But they are already garnishing me for 15% plus my monthly payments. Why does our government penalize hard working people just because they are not rich? They are not less than or stupid because they don't have the same resources as a family with family money or a lucrative family business. This is very disheartening and I would be unopposed to finding a better way to help families that have a span bad breaks than kicking them when they are already walked on. This is not right no matter how you slice it and what you yell yourself to sleep at night. Signing out from frustration and beyond...

I received the letter from Texas Guarantee stating they requested the Ed Department suspend my offset on Feb. 10th because the debt was already paid. Now my refund was sent to Texas Guarantee but no one knows who owes me refund, yet they all agree I am owed one. Where do I get my money back from? Don't know what to do.

I began taking online classes in 2012, and received loans and grants to pay for them. I have chronic health issues (an entirely different complaint trying to receive disability) which were recognized by my school, placing me in a special program. I was allowed a grace period to turn in papers, so long as I formally submitted the necessary paperwork the day before the due date (this was their procedure). Roughly 2 days prior to a deadline, I receive an email detailing a new procedure, in an extremely confusing manner. I replied and called my advisor (this was the only person I could speak to regarding my classes/health services agreements) several times, leaving many frantic messages explaining that I wasn't sure how to proceed with requesting a deadline extension under the new procedures. I received no response.

Therefore, 24 hours prior to the due date of my final I submitted the "old" completed form as I had always done. I emailed my teacher explaining that I was aware of the new procedures but didn't know exactly how or what to send, resulting in my sending the old form. Long story short, she failed me and my advisor contacts me days after the original deadline. My old form was not accepted although I had proof of several inquiries made to my advisor trying to obtain assistance with the new procedures. He said that he would rectify the situation. Within a week, my school had dropped my future classes, and would not even speak to me.

I was sent to their collections department, of which would not help me unless I paid almost $4000 within 30 days to cover the class. I had no consistent source of income and 3 children. I explained my finances and the situation resulting in this mess, yet they refused to speak about anything or put me through to my advisor until I made the full payment. After 30 days, the total cost for the entire year and a half worth of classes was sent to collections, and I began receiving calls and letters. I spoke to a rep from the lender and told her that I had absolutely no income at that time, and was in extreme hardships. She said that I would need to pay as soon as possible and I assured her that if I had any extra money, I would.

Fast forward 2 years, my health took a turn for the worse, my children had to move in with their father, I lost my home and was renting a room in someone's house. The only income I had was from friend's assistance (which wasn't much nor regular), and odd jobs that I could manage when my health allowed. My roommate got deported after 6 months of me living there, and told me 2 days prior. I have literally no family, and 2 friends. I stayed with a friend for 2 months, and continued working odd jobs, and saved a measly $800. My friend needed me to leave, as the original arrangement was for only 2 weeks, so I began staying in a hotel. After a week of that, I began renting rooms on a website where people host an available room in their home.

Current situation, moving my 2 boxes by bus and train daily to different homes, in which I pay up to $60/night and have no money for dinner. Performing odd jobs during the week, crying myself to sleep at night from the pain all over my body, no insurance, can not afford my medications, and trying to earn enough daily just to survive. I was DESPERATELY relying on my income tax (I earned less than $9000 annually from self employment and claimed 1 dependent), just to find out the day before I was supposed to receive a deposit, that the entire $2830 was seized! I needed this money to find a home, a simple efficiency or even a stable room in someone's home. I literally have nothing but 2 boxes of clothes, shoes, and photos of my children, who I can't even see because I have nowhere for them to come and can't afford $10-15 a day to get to their home in the next county and back.

I have always been financially stable and independent until I started experiencing an array of health problems 5 years ago. I had insurance at that time through my children's father's employer, and was in the middle of getting tested for Lupus and MS, among other ailments. About a year ago, their father took me off his family plan because he felt it wasn't safe for him since we were no longer together. I used to own a business, drove a luxury car, had a nice home, savings in the bank. My medications were costing me almost $1000 a month the last 6 months of 2014 (which was reflected on my tax return). I physically cannot walk most days, and am limping around, carrying my things day after day, in unsafe neighborhoods, just trying to keep afloat for the next 24 hours. That refund LITERALLY would have changed my life. Of all the years, this was the 1 time I desperately relied on it.

How can the DOE offset my entire refund of $2,830, on an outstanding loan of more that $30,000, and my annual income is way below the poverty line with 3 children?!?! How is that even right on a moral level? I am beyond disgusted! I have never received government handouts. I have been a tax payer for years, and a contributing member of society. Now I am literally homeless, can't afford an attorney to get disability, can barely afford to eat, and lost the only source of income that would have changed everything. Not to mention, I lost all 36 credits, 4 shy of my degree, and will be paying for this for the rest of my life. If God does not send me a miracle, I will surely not make it much longer.

I paid off any student loans that were under my name and my social security. This loan was stemmed from a 1996 consolidation loan that was done that I have always denied was not mine. When I got the phone call regarding for me to do this consolidation, I made it clear that I will not sign my name on a contract with a social security number that is not mine. After a long debate and despite my protests over owing this loan, the woman told me, “I tell you what; I will send you the paperwork, sign it and return it.” I did get the paperwork but when I saw that it was NOT under my SSN, I did NOT sign it and I did NOT return it, and I am 1000% certain of that fact. 20 yrs ago it may of been, but I know I didn't sign it because I spent 45 minutes on the phone trying to tell that loan officer I would NOT sign it. Nobody has ever proven to me that this debt was mine.

I can't even prove anything because the US Dept of Ed. REFUSES to send me a copy... well let me rephrase... they TELL you they sent it, but if you don't get it, it's YOUR fault. They won’t even send it certified upon your request. From 1996 to 2015 the US Dept of Ed NEVER proved this was my debt. Not once. They told me it was up to me to prove I didn't owe it. I thought I more than proved that when the credit bureau sent them my dispute that the debt was mine and it was removed off my credit report because the US Dept of Ed could NOT validate the debt.

What more was I supposed to do? And all these years later they gave the IRS my SSN number and took my refund...a SSN number that wasn't on the promissory note and they openly admit that the number is not the same as mine??? I don't understand this. I just don't. I have called an attorney, they don't know. I have tried the tax lien attorneys, they don't know. I tried the Inspector General's office (referred to them by the US gov website), they can't help. I even contacted the Ombudsman through the US Dept of Ed. and got routed to Default Resolution instead.

I'm waiting to hear from them but I read in a review about this area, and it doesn't sound very promising. Where is someone in my situation is supposed to go or what to do? The US Dept of Ed stated to fill out an unauthorized signature form and I need 2 signatures that either has to be 1yr before or after 1996, which I have. I was told by them that I don't need to have the copy of the promissory note to send in my dispute but frankly, given the underhanded way, they took it upon themselves to route this under my SSN to take my refund.

I feel that what they did was dishonest and underhanded and frankly I want that form before I send mine in so that way I am assured that no tampering was done. I know I didn't sign that form, and I can't even get a copy of it. Now I have to wait until the end of March. It's a shame. We are all tax payers here but yet when it comes to dealing with Government agencies we are thrown to the wall. We have no rights, we have no protection.

Updated on 07/16/2015: A few months ago I posted on here. I am doing a follow-up. Dealing with the DRG and the Ombudsman's group has been a complete joke. The Ombudsman's office, the very group that's supposed to be NEUTRAL actually stated to me, "did you attend the school?" And I said "yes but..." and she cut me off and told me I owe it. What does that have to do with ANYTHING of my dispute? What I uncovered about my loans is truly appalling. I also discovered the great means and deception and even what I construed as fraud by the US Dept of Ed and they did so willfully, knowingly, and maliciously. Let this be a serious warning to others to WATCH YOUR ACCOUNTS!

In 1986 and 1987 when I was 16 yrs old I attended a local side Barber College, something I never disputed. However, I was told I had Pell Grants and the college led me to believe I did. In fact, 27 days after graduating I attended Beauty College and yep, every bit was covered by Pell. It wasn't until 30 yrs later that I actually finally got the copies from the US Dept of Ed and did indeed discover they were actual loans. But wait. The first loan, when I was 16 yrs old, that loan is not even signed by a lender at all. It looks like an empty application. According to the most BASIC contract laws, it renders that contract void, or so it should.

The second loan, when I was 17 yrs old was signed by a lender. But here's the real kicker. On both loans the lender actually changed my SSN. Yep, you heard me right, the lender actually changed the number on BOTH loans even though they were a year apart. This is why I never knew about them and why no payments were ever made. Fast forward to 1994. I went back to school in 94/95 with NO issues (even though I was unaware there was a defaulted loan under my name/incorrect SSN since 1993). I got both Pell and student loans and I graduated.

In 1996 and NO DOUBT they crossed referenced me in the database is when I got a call in February of 1996. There was NO WAY they found me any other way but using the database. This is important because they knew that it wasn't my SSN prior to contacting me. Imagine my surprise to discover this loan when they called me. I told them I wasn't aware, that it wasn't my SSN but I did attend the school and it is my name. They wanted me to do a consolidation and I told them I wasn't doing any consolidation without proof and if that proof was valid it MUST be under my correct SSN. In an attempt to do the right thing and settle the debt I cooperated, but only so far.

The US Dept of Ed filled out the promissory note. They told me over the phone it was only to get the process started, that it would take about 3 months to complete. She told me it had to stay under the incorrect SSN for now but by the time I got the lender contract I would have my proof and the SSN would be corrected. She also asked for what she called "good faith" payments which I made during this process. By the time I got the lender contract that I was to sign, I never received the proof, and the SSN was never corrected. I did not sign and I did NOT return that lender contract and I stopped all payments. My last payment was April of 1996. The lender finalized this loan on May 9th 1996. I never legally borrowed that money from the lender AELMAC which the US Dept of Ed admitted was their affiliated lender.

The US Dept of Ed submitted to a lender willfully knowing that the SSN on that promissory note was not mine, and they used an affiliated lender to complete the consolidation without my knowledge or consent. And what is the lender's most BASIC FUNDAMENTAL JOB? Verifying that all their information is correct and accurate, but guess what, they finalized the loan under the incorrect SSN--two departments and both kept it under the incorrect SSN and it is MY STRONG BELIEF they did this to re-secure to what I construed as invalid original loans. It is also my strong belief as to why they never wanted me to see those copies either, as I demanded as proof of the debt.

I never heard another word from ANYONE, not a call, not a bill not anything. In 2003 I saw that it was put on my credit reports under the incorrect SSN. I did a formal credit dispute (which I have documents that show they did in fact receive it) so what did they do? Nothing. That's right, nothing. They refused to validate the debt and it was removed (and still to this day does not show up on my credit report). They then proceed to continue to not change anything despite being given this information and still continued to report my name and incorrect SSN for a (get this) an additional 12 yrs.

Why 20 yrs? Well I tell you why. Because they wanted to wait until that lender AELMAC folded before coming after me to pursue this debt. Yes, you heard right. Because guess what, AELMAC had on my for that "loan" I supposedly borrowed. Nothing. Not one single document. In fact, when they returned this defaulted loan in 1997, they only stamped and returned the promissory note (oh and with a self attached sticker of the "repayment schedule" that wasn't even there during signing as I signed in Feb and the sticker was attached in May).

A month later the US Dept of Ed contacted the lender and I actually have it documented on a copy of their pursuit activity sheet. They asked the lender what collective actions they took while holder of the loan, listed NONE. They asked for employment date, the lender listed NONE. They asked for relative date, the lender listed NONE. In fact, they had NOTHING. The US Dept of Ed knew in 1997 what this lender did. They knew.

Highlights from my written disputes: At the top of the form of the promissory note, it states it's an application. I asked what made it go from an application status to a final status and they refuse to answer. It also states in the section where I signed that I promise to repay as according to my repayment schedule and its disclosures. There IS NO repayment schedule. It also states it MUST BE SIGNED prior to going to a lender. It states clearly that I would be given a copy of my repayment schedule at time of discharge of the loan. This loan wasn't discharged until May and I never got such copy and one doesn't exist.

So despite ALL the other things the promissory note states--they don't care and are totally disregarding it. What is killer to me is there is actual lender info on the original loans (that's how I knew the SSN was changed by them cause it is correct on the actual promissory notes) but yet, not one stitch of anything from the lender on the consolidation. To add insult to injury, on the original promissory note the US Dept of Ed actually stamped the incorrect SSN on the promissory note with the correct SSN on it. Their excuse in an actual denial lender: the reason why it wasn't changed was because the LENDER didn't have my SSN. What the HELL does that matter??? You HAD the promissory note.

So needless to say it is clear they pick and choose what they want to use to hold the debt valid and pick and choose what SSN they want to secure it. They gave the IRS a SSN that isn't even on the promissory note, the VERY promissory note they weren't willing to use in 1993 or 1996. Now, they are telling me it is ONLY the promissory note that they need to hold this debt valid. And last but not least, in 2012 they did an "internal" review to change this debt with my SSN but yet kept reporting the incorrect SSN to their collective agency Systems Assets Management. Never had I dealt with an inept group. They should change their name THE DEFAULT RESOLUTION GROUP RESOLVES NOTHING, they resolve NOTHING.

I am now trying to secure an attorney. I feel utterly defeated. I know what they did. This was NOT about me bailing on a debt. All my other student loans were paid off 8 yrs early in fact. I even offered to settle the original debt up to May of 1996 and they refused. They really expect 22K in nothing but interest and fees on a loan they set up and finalized behind my back. 5125.00 loan has now turned into 32K principle and it took me 30 yrs to even get a single document from them. They expect over 6,000 in collection fees even after I submitted my formal credit dispute they continued on reporting without any corrections. I submitted an FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) which states I have a right to my entire case file. I confirmed receipt on April 8th 2015. Federal Law mandates a response within 30 days. Now, they can't "find" it. Their arrogance knows no bounds.

Whatever happens (as I am going to try to speak to an attorney about my case but like one told me "it IS the government") I will go to my grave knowing the US Dept of Ed set me up and did a consolidation behind my back and used their affiliated lender to do it. Call it fraud, call it whatever you want. But I know what they did to me, and so do they and they deliberately waited until that lender folded before pursuing me so they knew I wouldn't be able to contact them. They knew fully well on my stance over the phone. They knew I wouldn't do it without the proof and the correction so they just did it behind my back and kept it under the same number. This was NOT a mistake.

HEED MY WARNING, watch your loans carefully. If you attend school and have taken out loans but quit, make sure the money has been returned. If you get a bill stating you owe, do NOT ignore it (yes, you may believe as I did and expect the debt to be proven, but they don't have to do NOTHING and it will only accumulate). Do NOT let this linger because if someone borrows money out under your name and SSN and you are not aware, the signature samples you need two and they MUST be within on year of the date signed. The longer the time goes by, the more difficult it will be to obtain such signatures within that time frame and they will NOT bend on that rule.

The one thing I found about the DRG group is they will NOT provide me a single excuse, answer or explanation on how they handled my case. Even the fraud department rejected my dispute in 7 lousy days. Yep, 30 yrs and they rejected it in 7 days with a feeble excuse. My last denial--they actually had the nerve to tell me those 3 payments were an "acceptance of debt". 1) those payments were made on the original debt, not the consolidation debt, and 2) Their own documentation states you MUST PAY even if you are in a dispute. Talk about double standards.

To the US Dept of Ed, you have no morals, ethics or decency to what you do to people. You are killing this country and its youth. You have made it clear that all you care about is getting the money back and you spit on people to do it because most of us minions don't have a way to protect ourselves and fight. You couldn't be fair to me, even when I offered. Your betrayal 20 yrs ago and current is evident and the documentation does not lie. You stole my money and along with other Government agencies will continue to squander our hard earned money. I love reading how the VA doesn't even take care of their patients to the point they die. I love reading how Pentagon employees ran up over a million dollars in adult entertainment and gambling fees. Need I go on?

Your behavior speaks for itself and so does the documentation. You knew in 1997 when you contacted that lender, you knew then. You didn't even question that lender why they had NOTHING or done NOTHING regarding that loan. You didn't even take any reasonable action against them. You instead hid what they did and I will go to my grave believing that.

Never mind the fact that that money was going to replace our furnace and repair my wife's car. I guess she can lose her job and go on unemployment. Maybe we should also sign up for energy assistance to pay for the furnace. The Gov't. makes no sense, steal from the poor. Maybe by the time, they get off their asses and process the injured spouse claim. My wife's car will have broke down and she will have lost her job so we can explain why she needs unemployment. The fact that they refuse to issue you receipts for the money they take is downright WRONG. But hey, at least the illegals in the country will have all the resources they need!!!!!

The name in the form was similar to mine social security, driver license and previous addresses did not match. I called them again to let them know that I never ever had a student loan, the social security did not match. They said that social security was as an identifier and for that case any number can be used. Once again I told them that they may had confused me a similar name as mine. Until now my $1800.00 dollars are lost, I just can believe a government agency be to so fraudulent and what is even worse backed up by the Federal.

I couldn't believe it. Here I am a single struggling mother who was recently diagnosed with MS and about to lose my house. I needed that refund to get on a payment plan with my lender. The rep I spoke to said "oh don't worry it's not tax season, it should only be about 30 to 45 days." Well 30 days goes by and I call again to get update and this time I spoke to a supervisor, at that time she said it's more like 60 days, meanwhile I feel like I'm talking to a robot, she just kept saying "I'm sorry ma'am, it will take 60 to 90 days" over and over again.

60 days later I call again and speak to a complete jerk who was a supervisor. Now he saying "oh no ma'am we have 90 days to review for an approval on your refund and then if it's approved we send the money to treasury and they send you a check. If we don't have approval by the 10, then you can escalate the refund decision but that will take another 45 days." "WHAT THE Hell, you're saying I did everything right to get in good standing and just because you sent the letter to treasury late, I don't get my refund and meanwhile losing my home."

I was furious, so I waited til the 12 and called and they told me the Treasury electronically withdrew the money and I should be receiving a check anytime between now and 20 days. Nope!!! I called the treasury today and they had no idea what I was talking about. They had no money showing owed to me or sign of a refund. I couldn't believe it, I have less than 10 days to make my mortgage before my fees and cost jump into foreclosure.

So I called again the Dept of Education and spoke to the rudest supervisor, and he definitely was a robot. I keep trying to ask him questions and he just kept saying "ma'am you will have your check in your mailbox on the 7th of Feb." But I said "the Treasury said they don't have a refund for me," again he says the same thing over and over again, I lost it and hung up.

This is so ridiculous. I work hard for every penny I get to provide for me and my children and here is a government agency giving me the run around on my refund. When we are default they call us 10x a day, talk condescending while trying to collect and if it's treasury and we owed them they charge high interest and we can't get our refunds in a timely matter, when they made this mistake--I didn't.

Their "apologies" are of no assistance. An offset would be taking 15-20% like they do when they garnish your wages. At least they leave you some to live on. In this case they do not. (Got no credit for the garnishment either, as I said, kept them defaulted). It's simply greed from where I am. Asked them to leave me some, apparently no one has any control over the offset practices (unless you are facing eviction or foreclosure). Again the government "works for the people".

The U.S. Department of Education program that is in charge of offsets gets bonuses for the money that they collect so they have no incentive to give it back to people who are struggling and thus they try to make it extremely hard to get those offsets returned even when people are experiencing extreme hardships. It is a racket, one that involves the U.S. Department of Education and the debt collection companies they hire to collect on behalf of them. In addition, they try to keep information a secret while forgetting that they are a public entity accountable to the public.

They are public servants who are supposed to be accountable to the public. They try to act like they are not, but they are a public governmental agency. Don't let them tell you to go away because they are a public governmental agency. They are accountable to the public whether they like it or not, they are accountable to the public. For some reason, the U.S. Department of Education currently thinks it's a private business out to make a profit when the goal should never be to make a profit as government agency.

So I paid them all over again. I made the 8 payments this year. I called them today to have them fax the form to my school saying I was out of default. They said they could not do that, because I am not officially out of default until "someone picks up my loan". They said (now, not when i started the program) that this can take anywhere from 2 weeks until never and unless someone picks up my loan, they cannot tell my school that I am out of default.

So I have been homeless basically, walking to school 6 miles every morning for class. I luckily got an emergency scholarship to pay my tuition and fees at least, but not housing. So I have been freezing at night and walking miles carrying books etc with rheumatoid arthritis. I have applied to a couple other schools that I was planning on transferring to in January, but I apparently wasted my money on application fees, as my financial aid cannot be processed there, so I will not be able to transfer and will be stuck here for another semester best-case scenario. They have lied by not telling me necessary information. Had i known all of this, I would not have even signed up for this ridiculous program, which is nothing but a farce.

My advice to anyone thinking about rehabilitating a student loan: DON'T FALL FOR IT! It's a bunch of **. Once you are considered a "defaulter" they do next to nothing to help you and only want your money. They will also treat you very rudely on the phone; try to talk over you, and basically treat you like a scumbag because you got into default.

So this has left me homeless in a city and state I am not from, with nowhere to go. I am now faced with withdrawing from all of my classes and most likely, I am going to commit suicide over this matter. I have been beaten around enough by these cold robots who operate with impunity and the federal government does nothing to keep them in check. They can just screw people around all they want and have no repercussions against them. So thanks for wrecking my life, Department of Education. You have likely caused my death. I only wanted to do the right thing and get my life back on track, but you would not let me do it. I can't believe you lied to me by not telling me the necessary information when I first began this walk through hell.

It is too late for me coz I am blowing my head off, but I just wanted to warn anyone else who may be thinking about trying to rehabilitate a defaulted student loan. DON'T BELIEVE THEM!!! DON'T SEND THEM A DIME!!! If you do, you will suffer as I have. They are totally full of crap and just want to steal your money. The federal government will not do anything about this at all. You can't sue them or anything. I wrote the White House and told them about it and sent a link to this page, but I seriously doubt they care at all nor will they do anything to fix it. This country is through, and so am I.

Overall it's sad that many company think the only ways which collect debt from consumers is through intimidation and demeaning their clientele, little do they know if they actually upheld the system they imply in the beginning of actually trying to work with consumers to get debts paid they might actually be able to obtain their overall goal of collecting funds. I have worked with my own debt collectors in the past and have never been treated like this company.... maybe that explains why their customers are paying them.

I had a $999.00 loan in default that disappeared for seven years during the Clinton administration and magically reappeared during the Bush administration without any interest and now it's resurfaced under the Obama administration at the ridiculous amount of $3,094.48. Tried going to I.T.T. to complete my education and got turned down. They'll never get a penny of it from me! If the laws were being upheld, from public to adult education and privacy....they'd owe me a mint of cash and apologies!

Anyway, I was approved for a refund of that offset on MAY 15. Here it is, July 16, and I have heard nothing. I have called numerous times and they tell me the same thing. 30-60 days. Really?????? Oh yea, you want to tell that to my bill collectors? You want to tell my pharmacies this? Would you like to explain to the people working at the grocery store WHY I can't pay for anything? At this time, that return would really help me financially. I am lucky I have the people supporting me, otherwise I don't know if I would be homeless or not.

YOU ARE THE GOVERNMENT. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP PEOPLE. This country has become disgusting. You want to keep a few thousand dollars from someone who has paid you over $20,000 back in school loans? Will that help you out? My measly tax return really help you out, government? GET REAL. These people suck, a joke, disgusting, unhappy, and waiting to suck the life out of every single hardworking person in this country. I'm moving to Europe. This country sucks.

Their website is always down as far as trying to accomplish any of these things online. Then I was told to get pay as you earn type of papers (IBR) - you call - it's automated - they don't have forms anymore according to their recording. Then, without warning, it was turned over to a collection agency: Conserve, who tacked on a $6,000 fee, called all over my job & home looking for me which resulted in a co-worker sending me an embarrassing email to "take care of this so they don't call here anymore"!

Well, I contacted a few attorneys online and was told I could sue them for that and recoup $1,000. Once I emailed Conserve this, they stopped with the calls and sent a letter about trying to reach me. After many emails and a phone call, they finally emailed me economic hardship forms and at a later date, a forgiveness form. I faxed them my papers, and it was like pulling teeth to find out if they received them. Finally, someone answered me, after many, many, emails to all different people in their company, they told me they didn't receive all the papers. So I faxed them again - it was a phone number... it's just unbelievable.

Now I email them every day, a few times a day, constantly offering them a payment plan arrangement, but no one ever responds - ever. I told them if I had the money I would pay, but I don't and am willing to pay what I can afford. I email them every day, a few times a day, about 5 different people, including the Dept. of Ed, expressing this and expressing why we can't settle on a simple monthly payment plan. No one ever, ever answers me. I now started emailing them from various email accounts. I know they don't like what I have to say, because, especially after reading all of these complaints, it seems like a nice little scam they have going in order to tack on more fees and collect more money or write off bigger losses. Appalling.

They have lied and I have done everything too. I was not even supposed to get a loan. It was to be a grant because I was disabled. So sad that they can sit by and watch so many suffer even more. Worse of all, I would not be even disabled if it had not been for an illegal hitting me with his uninsured car and putting my life in this mess to begin with and then my husband fought for this country for them to take the last of money we had to fix car, etc. I want my refund and should of had it. If you think they will give it back in 90 days, you are wrong. I have called ombudsman, etc... nothing. It will take months and still you will not get your money even with the proper paperwork done.

Upon a bit of research, I find that I may be able to claim injured spouse. I proceed with that application and am subsequently denied due to the vagaries of tax law in California. That took 8 weeks to even discover that I had been denied.

Upon further research, I finally am able to discover that the Dept. of Education still services the loan and that they do indeed have a hardship review request. The self-help packet contains no information about what to expect and I would say even discourages contacting the Federal Offset Review office in Texas to look for status. I followed the directions, wrote my letter explaining the hardship this offset has created and sent it off using certified mail. They received it on May 23. It has now been over 3 weeks and I have not received a response or any form of acknowledgement other than return receipt from the USPS confirming the signature delivery of our paperwork.

Like others here, we are in a dire situation. We live in a rural area where jobs are few and extremely far apart. I am currently hamstrung by this situation. Our home, transportation, and the income we do have simply depend on access to what was rightfully ours.

I had been considering going back to school. In order to do that I would have to borrow nearly 20k in order to complete my degree. Considering that I never know when cancer could strike again, I cannot afford to take the gamble that the same set of circumstances would be repeated. So ultimately, I will not borrow that money and not receive the education I need to better myself. As a final consequence, I find it likely that my children, after watching us struggle with the Dept of Education for over a decade, will be that much more likely to never attempt higher education if only because if something bad happens to you, and you cannot repay, they will do everything in their power to "break your legs" as if they were nothing more than a sadistic loan shark. But I ask the same question to the DOE that I would such a loan shark, "How exactly do you expect me to begin repaying with broken legs?"

A few years later, I received a letter from the Dept of Ed stating that my loans were due in full or my wages would be garnished. I was working full time in a job that paid just above minimum wage but I called the Dept of Ed to find out what I could do to get my loans in good standing. I was told I could rehabilitate my loans. The woman on the phone said she would mail me a financial status packet and to fill it out, make an offer of monthly payments I could afford, and to include a check with the paperwork. I made copies of all my monthly bills and I offered $50 per month. I don't own a car and I didn't even own a computer at that point but I was going to cut my grocery budget to have the $50 per month to pay.

I made 3 payments before I heard back from the Dept of Ed. I received a letter stating my offer was accepted and I began receiving bills each month for $50. I paid my bill every month, on time and in full. A few months later, my job was eliminated and I was unemployed. I continued making my payments with my unemployment money. My employment counselor encouraged me to return to school because the job market in my area is so bad. I was accepted into a local community college but I was informed I couldn't receive financial aid because I had defaulted loans. At this point, I had made 8 consecutive payments.

I called the Dept of Ed and was told that she could see on the computer that I had a rehabilitation agreement and that because I had made at least 6 consecutive payments, my title IV aid could be reinstated and that she would fax a letter to my school. I received a pell grant for that semester. I did well and only had 1 semester left. I received another letter before the start of my 2nd semester stating I couldn't receive financial aid because I had a defaulted loan. At this point, I had 14 consecutive payments.

I contacted the Director of Financial Aid at my school and told her what was going on. She called the Dept of Ed for me. They told her I had a rehabilitation agreement and I just needed one more payment and my loans would be rehabilitated. She said the problem was probably from the previous fall when the Dept of Ed had the computer system changeover and my paperwork was lost and that was why my account had not been updated. She told the Director of Financial Aid that she would fax the title IV letter and to make sure I made that last payment. I still have the email with all of this information. The Director called me a week later to inform me that when she received the title IV letter, she called to confirm it with the Dept of Ed and they told her I had no rehabilitation agreement and that I did not qualify for financial aid.

I was mad and wrote to the default resolution group. They kept giving me a runaround full of lies - I missed payments, I set up a payment schedule online, they never received my financial status packet (the one that included the check they cashed a week later), and that I would have to pay back the pell grant I received the previous semester. I proved each of their lies wrong with written documentation but they just came back with more lies. I was fed up and went to the ombudsmen group.

The ombudsman got me nowhere. She kept telling me she was setting up a teleconference with managers at the Dept of Ed and the Director of Financial Aid from my school (because she was a witness to my rehabilitation). However, she kept telling me this for almost a year. I was unemployed and without any income at all once my unemployment benefits ran out. At that point, I had made 22 consecutive payments on my rehabilitation agreement. I didn't have the money to make the payments anymore. However, the Dept of Ed kept insisting that someone with no income, no bank accounts, no properties, no cars, and is on public assistance could afford to pay $365 per month. Mind you, I sent a financial status packet via certified mail a few months prior and they never picked it up. They were determining my payment based on the packet I sent a year before, the one they claimed they never received.

My loans were sent to collections. So an additional $12,000 has been thrown on top of the debt I already can't afford to pay, all because I did what I was supposed to do and they did not. I have all of my documentation and even a witness showing I had a loan rehabilitation agreement but the Dept of Ed feels they don't have to follow through with their end of the agreement.

I contacted my congressman but he can't do anything more than get them to respond to me. Well, I have no problem getting a response out of them. I just don't know where to go to get the right thing done. Who do we report these crooks to? I followed the agreement (and then some) so why am I being punished for doing exactly what I was supposed to do? I'm never going to be able to afford to pay this off and my loans should be in good standing. HELP!!!!

I explained I was going to get caught up on my rent payments when my taxes came in and explained the situation. She has been very patient with me but is at the end of her rope. I was told, when they finally got my information to the right place, on April 5th that it would be 6 to 8 weeks to make a decision (I was told several times before it would be 4 weeks but the majority of reps said 6 to 8 weeks). Well, last week was the 8th week. I have called every week for the last 15 weeks to check on the status. I was told they would make a decision within 6 to 8 weeks and then mail the check within 30 days.

When I called last week they stated that it would now be the 10th of June that I needed to check on it. All of the sudden, knowing I'd called every week for the last 15 weeks, they say they didn't receive the information until April 10th. So this means I needed to call back on the 10th of June (I called three times that day and each week I've had to call several times to try and get to the truth).

I call today, June 11th to only be told that my case is with a Team Lead and they are reviewing it. They said no decision has been made and can't tell me when one will be (8 weeks is a long time for someone in my shoes. My case is a no-brainer because I have more than proven our desperate situation (22 pages of documentation). We have no family or nothing. Why would they do this to people? This is America and it makes no sense to wait this long to take care of a need as big as this for the American people. People who can save their homes and possibly keep their children from going to foster care or something worse! Americans being put in the worse circumstances due to the misinformation and the amount of time it is taking for the US. Dept. of Education to process this! It is ultimately costing more money and causing severe psychological and emotional damage to families! It's truly unbelievable! It's one thing when it's child support, quite another when it's over student loans.

This organization is not just ruining lives but they are destroying lives and the lives of innocent children! They are lying to people and able to confiscate their taxes after promising they won't. Even people who are in extreme poverty are making payments and they are taking their refunds after promising not to. People are suffering at enormous levels who are in tremendous hardships trying to get back their refunds in these bad economic times. It's sickening....utterly sickening!

I have not received any answer today. I was given a new phone number and a last name of the Team Lead handling my case. This number only sent me back to the original number that gave me this one in the first place. The people working there are very rude most of the time. What is happening? I feel like a convicted felon with the way I'm being treated. I work very hard to take care of my children and jobs are super scarce where I live. Why are we throwing women and children into the streets over this? Women who are doing everything they can to survive in a country whose lost every moral fiber of its being? This is the type of thing that will drive people to suicide! These are people who are trying to pay something on their loans! We are being lied to and I wish a lawyer would step in and begin a lawsuit.

The US Government should not be able to do this. I ended up getting a contact, online, of the head person in Washington. I emailed him and got no response. I emailed secretary Arne Duncan at arne.duncan@ed.gov because I was told he was ultimately in charge of the US Dept. of Education sect. I have been waiting for 15 weeks!!! We are going to be homeless in 2 weeks because the US Dept. of Education is not doing their job. Not only that, they are giving out false information and costing people and children their very lives! This is not a simple matter of inconvenience. This is VERY SERIOUS! Something needs to be done and it needs to be done now! It is happening to Millions of Americans! It is a crime on humanity!

There's no doubt that the fund on the major returns are being held so the agency can make money off the interest and they make it seem as though there are no options. But on the other hand the way our government is now, do we? I have no idea where to turn to or who to talk to because the answers ALL lead to dead ends. This page is the best I've come across and still it leaves me with no more answers than it's not just me. I had to cancel a trip to Saint Martin's planned since last year because I have them take out extra taxes from my check so I have a big return for vacation and now I has to explain to my two kids that we can't afford it this year. I would appreciate if someone who had been through it and received their funds eventually would let me know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and point me in the right direction or just assume that I will never see that money again.

I am in the process of trying to find a lawyer to see what can be done. I am tired of not getting a correct answer from them. If I owe them money they want it now, but since they took my money I can't get a damn answer on where it is. I am to the breaking point. I have done what I was suppose to do to keep them from taking my taxes. I filed all my paperwork in time and was told by them to go ahead and file my taxes, and they still have not done their job. I want to know to how they get away with this crap.

I'm now left with no way to pay for an attorney, no savings to support my two children (as finding a new job has proven far more difficult than I'd imagined) and little hope of getting the refund returned to me as is the 'just' thing to do. I'm so deeply disenchanted with the governing of this country. How sad that we live in this nightmarish bureaucracy.

When I called and explained this, I was told that even though they acknowledge their mistake they couldn't do anything to expedite my return. I spoke with a supervisor and received the same info. I asked to speak to his supervisor and was told that he didn't take calls. I asked for an email and was told they wouldn't provide for security reason. This department is very inefficient and unhelpful. If I incur any penalties because they are holding my money then I plan on seeking legal action against the department. It is ridiculous that they don't work harder to fix these types of issues.

I signed my contract and made my first payment which was received on the due date of Feb. 15, 2014. 3 days later I received a letter from a collection company that the US Dept. of Education transferred me to. They tacked $1200.00 onto my balance and I needed to reapply for the rehabilitation program and that I needed to commit to at least $65.00 per month, also they needed my financials and my husband's. Confused I tried to explain that I was already in a program with the US Dept. of Education itself, had a signed contract, and made my first payment. She told me she knew about the payment because it had been forwarded to their office from the US Dept. of Education.

I hung up the phone with her and called the U.S. Dept. to find out what was going on. This was Feb.26, 2014. A man helped me this time and said that because I had made my payment on time and had not breached the contract he was having me transferred back to the US Dept. of Education, but to check back in a week to make sure it had processed properly. He told me to continue making my payments as normal. 2 days later now Feb. 28, 2014. I wake up to find out my taxes have been offset by the U.S. Dept of Education for the remainder balance of my loans minus my $50.00 payment. Not just my portion of my return but my husband's as well.

I called the US Dept. of Education to find out why they did this. The lady I spoke to this morning could not tell me why it was not disclosed to me that my account had been set up for tax offset, by either individual. Or why I was set up on this "rehabilitation" program with them knowing they were going to take my return anyway a month later. She also could not explain why the man from the Feb. 26th call did not tell me my account was already paid in full from this Tax offset, since they had already received the money. He just let me believe he had helped me and told me to call back in a week.

My tax refund of $5000.00 was suppose to save my house... You see when I lost my job my husband went through a 1 year lay off, where we fell behind in house payments. He has been working steady since he has been back, but we are playing catch up. The US Dept of Education knew this and that is why I was able to be on a $50.00 per month plan. That is literally counting pennies all we could afford. I have an attorney who was helping us negotiate with the bank to get out of foreclosure and save our house. Our tax return money was part of the negotiations. We pledged this money to the bank, to be paid next week. Well its gone.

When I explained all this to the lady on the phone this morning she admitted that they shouldn't have taken my return and told me how I can get it back, unfortunately it takes 30 days. So now I am going to be homeless with my husband and 2 children, with no explanation as to why they did what they did... my only thought is because they could.

I really want to know how this is legal. Yes I defaulted on my loans, but I also stuck to my side of the agreement and contract to pay it back. Why were these people allowed to basically lie to me and give me false hope? How is any of this okay? Why is this allowed to happen? Its' just not right. Yes I can get my return back in 30 days, but in 30 days I will be without a home, student loan debt again, and the US Dept. of Education wanting me to continue on the payment plan... Yes the lady told me I may have a $0 balance right now but to continue making my payment as normal so I do not default on my contract. Yes you heard me correct.. so "I" do not default on my side of the contract...

My account has been transferred to (ECMC) for ongoing servicing. In March 2010, (ECMC) mailed me another letter explaining of a recent theft of my records and identity. My Social Security number has been compromised and that's how (ECMC) has my information. (ECMC) attempts to commit a preamble for fraud on old student loans. Any system now using the Social Security numbers as a way to identify you are acting in a criminal manner. US Department of Education c/o Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) are doing just that.... They have been offsetting my Social Security disability benefits for the last 3.5 years.

So, we called every couple of weeks throughout the 90 days in case it was resolved sooner. Unfortunately, after the 90 days, the servicer still had not received the payment and suggested we contact the Dept of Education. As it turns out, they did receive the money back in May but never applied it to our account. They made us go to our bank and fax proof. They did not receive the first fax, so we sent it again. They still have not received it.

Additionally, once they do get this fax, they say it will take 7-10 business days to "investigate". The bank has said there is no doubt the money went to the US Dept of Education. They are essentially holding our money hostage. In the meanwhile, the new servicer thinks we are delinquent because we haven't paid them any money. How is this division of the US government, funded by the American taxpayers allowed to get away with this? They should be paying us interest at the very least.

During Hurricane Sandy, so much craziness and financial hardship occurred. I got a threatening call from a debt collector at work notifying me that I was going to get my checks garnished if I didn't make a payment plan. Keep in mind. This is 4-5 months after graduation! Additionally as if life wasn't hard enough I had no electricity because of the storm and a had a little baby to take care of. The debt collector convinced me to start a payment plan that would end in 9 months to rehabilitate the loan. The price was steep and I just had to adjust to living frugally for the rest of the year. It would have avoided tax return to be taken and no garnishing. 9 months later I figure, hey, my loan is rehabilitated. Let me take a look at the Great Lakes account. This is when the plot thickens....

Apparently no knows why or how my steep monthly payment was still taken from my account without my authorization. $450 just gone. Like if life is that easy these days. I've called everyone and no one can even tell me if it has been applied to my student loan debt. I called DOE and they said they were sorry but there was nothing they could do. They said to give it a week and after that they would help me get refunded which takes 60 days.

When you live paycheck to paycheck, it is difficult to just forget about $450! I just can't believe no one was able to give me answer. The DoE needs better service. We pay so much taxes for us to be living this way. Now, I have no money to even to buy food, Pampers, or other normal things parents should buy children. I'm not eligible for Financial assistance and just have to suck it up. I'm so depressed and upset. I've cried today so much just trying to cope with this. The government and media need to place more focus on the realities of living in the US. How does a master's graduate with a decent job can't afford to buy Pampers or milk today? The dept. of education, that's how...

I have already pursued contact with Dept. of Education, Dept. of Treasury, ECMC, and there is no help. I keep getting directed back to a dead end. I am a single mother of 4, and this offset has made things extremely difficult for my family. I have been researching online looking for another source that I can pursue for help. Is there any information out there that can lead me to a solution for my problem? I am not a quitter and cannot just accept that this has happened, but I am very frustrated nonetheless.

Obviously, I am quite upset. I don't know what my legal rights are. Today is a holiday, so of course no one is there. Tomorrow I plan to go to my bank and get copies of all my checks they have cashed, and I plan to call the US Department of Education. After reading all of these stories, I am fearful I am in for a battle that will be years on end. I fail to understand why they are not held accountable!

I did not even realize that the payments were not being received by the intended Dept of Education until I received a letter in January of 2012 from the Dept of Education telling me I would be in default if a payment was not made. I looked up my payments and called them and of course, they said they had not received them. With further investigation, I realized the payments had gone to the wrong US Dept of Education address. An innumerable number of calls have been made to the default department, which then said they can't do anything to help me because they don't have any record of my information and I was then told to call Direct Loans.

When I called Direct Loans, I was told that they have record of my account and any additional payments that have been made, but not any of the five $500 payments (checks) that were sent and cashed. Direct Loans told me to contact the default department to retrieve my payments. This back and forth calling has been going on for nearly a year now. If I had kept sending in $500 checks to the default department, I can only assume, by their obvious lack of integrity, that they would have kept cashing my checks (again, not addressed to them) without my knowledge and I would have then gone into default. My money wouldn't be found and I would be pushed in everyone else's direction with the same result. Nothing.

their problem, the possibility of being unemployed because of a critical failure on their part is most definitely their problem and not one to be taken lightly. After calling the default department this last time, I had a very frustrating conversation with two different operators who were not only uninformed, unable to communicate well and easily confused, but every question I asked them was responded to with an umm and an unprofessionally long pause or I don't know. If I just called a phone number and gave them every bit of information that identifies me, I am going to demand an answer other than I don't know.

When I requested to speak to the supervisor, it was an even more disappointing, humiliating and heartless experience. The supervisor (whose name she never gave) told me I needed to write a letter (which I did 6 months ago) to Direct Loans and to the default resolution address in Texas with copies of all the sent checks attached (which I did 6 months ago and faxed). By this point in time (August 2012), I had already sent multiple copies to multiple addresses of the checks, proof the checks were cashed, routing numbers, tracking numbers and account numbers. After I explained this to the supervisor, she told me that sending a letter wasn't actually going to do any good because Direct Loans is the one who needs to send the letter and when the default resolution group receives my personal letter, it's essentially meaningless to them and therefore trashed.

Yes, she told me to send a letter and then told me it would do me absolutely no good (brilliant) to send one as it won't be read anyway. She then told me to file a formal request to retrieve my $2,500, which I had done as well and then said I will just have to wait. She condescendingly advised me there is no one I or they can contact, nowhere I or they can go and nothing I, or they can do other than to wait and that usually takes six weeks. Six weeks! It has been 9 months! I explained I had done this on at least two separate occasions and waited the six weeks both times and still have yet to hear anything nearly a year later. I was told just to keep waiting and if I never hear from them and never get my money, then I'm ** out of luck.

I would be happy for anyone to pull up my account and recorded phone calls, and listen to this woman tell me, flat out that they cashed my check and have my money, but there is nothing they can do. I have recently contacted the Better Business Bureau, which has contacted all parties and lo and behold, there has been no response whatsoever. Seeing as though the BBB has no authority over a business who fails to respond, I have been advised to contact the governor of the state in which this has occurred. A draft of this letter will be sent to all the parties involved in order to retrieve my money and settle this as promptly as possible.

I am disgusted and disappointed in this day and age that a young woman like myself that has not defaulted on any of $70,000 in student loans has been treated like this. I promise you that I will continue to fight this until justice has been served. I will obtain legal counsel if necessary and it will cost substantially more than the money of mine the default Department of Education has kept. I would also request that I am paid interest that has accrued on my $2,500.00.

Two months later, I got a call from the collection agency stating that the DOE never picked up the loan, that the loan was still in rehabilitation, and that I would have to continue making these high payments to this collection agency. I later received a letter from the DOE stating that "due to the instability of the markets," they would not be able to pick/back up the loan(?). Excuse me, but the paperwork that these people initially had me sign and agree to mention nothing about the stability of the markets determining whether or not and when they would take my loan out of rehabilitation! They are telling people that all they have to do is make 9 or 12 consecutive payments to get out of default.

To date, I have now been in rehabilitation making monthly payments for 21 months. My loan should have been taken out of default status 9 months ago. To further add insult to injury, the DOE has placed my account with a collection agency that considers all loans in default status until the balance is paid in full. So the payments that I have been making on time for almost 2 years now are not being reflected on my credit report at all. As a result, I have been able to get a car loan or home mortgage, because it appears on my credit report that I am not paying as agreed. This is what I get for trying to do the right thing and paying back this loan - derogatory remarks that have lowered my credit score?

Now, since June, they have told me that my payment was 45 days past due because they never received any income verification. So, how are my loans consolidated under the ICR plan in general if you have 0 income verification on file for me? In my opinion, when Obama passed the bill that you could consolidate loans and go off of your income that has upset a few people, and I believe what they are hoping for is that you'll go back into default, instead of making a $50 or $80 a month payment. They can swoop in on your income tax money and get a good $3,000 instead of $600.00. That’s just my opinion. Also, whenever I have called in, don't they have to give me their speech on collecting a debt? Good luck to all on here. Do not mail them anything unless it’s sent with sig verification.

Don't these clowns work for us? Their incompetence is destroying lives. Their misplaced arrogance is baffling. Through this transition, the department misplaced documents, stopped sending out monthly statements, misplaced payments (Oct 2011 - deposited Jan 2012), "re-certified" as defaulter, ruining their credit and offsetting their federal tax return (mine was $4,600). I was told this was happening to tens of thousands of people and they had no information on refunds or timelines.

After several heated discussions - they told me to contact my congress person if I wasn't satisfied. Are you kidding me? Who gets away with such actions and arrogance? If I did this on my job I surely would be fired. Why aren't heads rolling and management being fired for sheer stupidity and incompetence? Every day I get more and more angry of the situation. I even attempted to contact the department's Ombudsman but was told that they cannot take any action in the default group's system (they are "read only"). I'm amazed at the sheer stupidity of the situation - hurting those that have done everything asked of them. It's not fair.

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.

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?

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.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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 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.

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.