I called the Department of Education and they said...

Posted by speedwell (209.63.198.136) on October 25, 2002 at 17:20:03:

In Reply to: Thanks... need a little more advice about what you said posted by speedwell on October 25, 2002 at 16:32:42:

... the debt is still owed; my mom hadn't sent in any payment--so I guess I have to pay it! (Damn.) They told me to call the collection agency and set up a plan.

After hearing my situation, the collection agency, Diversified Collection Services, Inc., offered a payment plan of fifty dollars a month-- which is within my means if I'm careful. Fortunately I have a checking account, so I can allow them to deduct the money each month and I do not have to make a down payment. I can pay the remainder of the loan completely off (if I happen to have the money by then) after six months of payments in good standing, at a rate that deducts the collection agency fees and half the interest.

The collection rep I spoke with at DCS was very pleasant and helpful, incidentally. After having read this forum for an hour or two, I knew many questions to ask to make sure their proposed system for repayment is fair. One surprise... the loan was never reported to the credit bureaus!

I still don't trust collection agencies and I can only hope that this particular one is inclined to deal with me fairly. If they don't, then I guess I'll be back with more questions! But so far, a pleasant surprise.

Much appreciate... Speedwell

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