HippieAtHeart2

Thanks snowpuppy! Yeah I'd prefer to do rehab for sure. How do they determine how much your payment will be with rehab? My original loan amount was around 6K, but I currently owe 9K for the Perkins Loan since it has defaulted. I'm unemployed right now and my income is actually $0, but a family member said they would help me a little bit until I find employment. I really like your suggestion about forwarding their response to the Ombudsman's Office. Judging by my last conversation with the W&F, I think that is the route I'm going to have to end up taking.

Hello! I am in the EXACT same boat with Williams and Fudge. They are pushing consolidation. What did you end up doing??

When I was in college, I consolidated my student loans. The person in the financial aid office that was helping me fill out the student loan paperwork explained that consolidation just lumps all your federal student loans together so that you will make one monthly payment instead of one for each separate loan. Being ADHD, I thought that sounded like a great idea... much easier to keep track of! What I didn't know, is that the Federal Perkins Loan would not be included in that consolidation. Anyway, I'm unemployed now and have been filling out the proper paperwork for deferments. I got this letter the other evening from a collection agency called Williams and Fudge saying they were going to sue me for this $9K Federal Perkins Loan unless I paid in full. I freaked out and began looking online and discovered "rehabilitation" for Perkins Loans. I called the agency the next day, but he said I couldn't rehab it because my account is in default and the school had authorized them to find an attorney. He said they hadn't sent my file to an attorney YET, but they would next week. He told me my options were to consolidate the loan with my other loans (which is what I thought I had done to begin with) or be sued. Is he correct? I don't mind paying extra interest over the long run, I just want to have a chance to get back on my feet. Help!