Here's the situation:

I borrowed a loan from Direct Loan in late 2002. The loan was put on deferment immediately. Last month, I was informed via Score Watch that my credit score had dropped significantly. When I checked my report, my student loan appeared as almost 90 days late! I could not believe what I was reading. I quickly called them and inquired about this negative situation. I talked to a lady and when she was trying to confirm my identity, the mystery bubble burst. They had an incorrect address on file! She mentioned an address which I've NEVER heard about, nor lived in. Now I know why I never received any notification that my student loan payments were beginning. When I checked that address personally, it doesn't exist! I'm sure the mail went back to them undeliverable. Somebody please help me!

Unfortunately you will be stuck with it. The DOE considers it the borrowers responsiblity to know when their deferments end and payments start. One of the dispute pages at the DOE states that the student must makes their payments on time even if they dont receive a billing.

On the wrong address....did the DOE have your current mailing address?? Not your parents or the schools, but the address you currently sleep at each night?? It is quite possible that it was simply a clerical error. Happens. Address changes are a manual function.

What I don't understand is how they got that FALSE information. How can a company change an address on their system without the person's consent?
I never authorized any changes. I sent a letter to them disputing this and came back as "Unable to clear credit history". I am extremely stressed and depressed since that is the only negative item showing on my credit report. It is affecting it significantly. This is not just. Such an important goverment agency is supposed to keep accurate information on their systems. If the mail came back undeliverable, they should have tried to contact me via the school, etc.
Nope,they won't do that. Again it comes back to you knew when your deferment ended right?? When you didnt receive a bill the first month, you should have been on the phone.

How was I supposed to know that they didn't have the correct address? Just last year they sent me a letter for tax purposes. Even more impressive is that this past June, the Department of Education Student Financial Assistance sent me a letter regarding the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act.

I need helpful advice from everyone in how to handle this situation. I don't think it is fair for me to have to pay with this for 7 years. Thank you.

Thanks for the reply, but there are a couple of things that need to be explained better. The address they had in no way shape or form resembles ANY address I have or have had. It was located in a totally different area of town and the house number they had does not even exist. Another thing is that I received several statements over the years telling me when I was supposed to start payments. Each one of them told me different dates and in none of them did they mention they would start in the summer of 2006.
Did you call to clarify when your start date would be?? Aren't deferments granted for specific periods of time?


Also, the DOE sent me a letter regarding a Privacy Act this past summer, so I know the main office did have the correct address. I believe it is their responsibility to keep accurate and consistent records, as much as it is my responsibility to give them correct information. I never authorized an address change on their system, much less an incorrect address, so it is not like a credit card, in which I knew I had to pay an amount monthly and didn't because I didn't have the paper statement in front of me. I think what they did is not responsible and I deserve to know how they came up with that incorrect information.

Sorry for the late reply. I've requested an investigation as to who gave them that address. They sent me a letter stating that on March 20th, 2006 they received the address change through the post office. After this, I now recall having one month's worth of letters lost while I moved to my current address. When I contacted the post office about this earlier last year (February/March) they also did an investigation and found out that whoever keyed in the new address into their systems from the mail forwarding form, keyed it in incorrectly, even though it was written correctly in the form. They claim (after the fact) that the handwriting was not very clear and only apologized. I've requested a copy of that form and the new address is completely legible in the form. I think it is incompetence. I'm thinking of going to court for this unless somebody higher up in Direct Loans can help me SOON.

Does anyone know what address could I send another letter to a CEO of Direct Loans before I take the local Post Office to court?

Dream on. It is *your* responsibility to notify the holder of your student loans immediately if your address ever changes, at any time, before your loan is paid in full. This is very explicitely covered in the "Borrowers Rights and Responsibilities Statement" which is part of the Master Promissory Note you signed before taking the loans out.

Your failure to exercise your legal responsibilities lead to valid reporting of your delinquency.

Direct Loans is not a corporation and has no CEO. Writing a letter to the Secretary of Education trying to blame the post office for your delinquency will just make you look like an irresponsible borrower.

I appreciate your responses.

I notified ALL lenders of the change of address in February when I moved. The post office MESSED UP disastrously and changed back the address to the one THEY HAD which was incorrect on March 20th. That is WAY AFTER I had notified them of THEIR error and they apologized.

Do not judge someone if you don't know the whole story.

I notified ALL lenders of the change of address in February when I moved. The post office MESSED UP disastrously and changed back the address to the one THEY HAD which was incorrect on March 20th. That is WAY AFTER I had notified them of THEIR error and they apologized.