This question isn't really for me (I paid off a ton of student loans by joining the military and literally broke my back paying all of them back). A friend of mine is defaulted on student loans, and I read somewhere that people don't necessarily need to contact the guarantor or CA to have the loans rehabilitated. Is it true that the original lender sometimes rehabs defaulted loans? My friend is afraid to contact the CA and doesn't believe that the lender will work with him (US Dept. of Education). Is a phone call to the lender a waste of time?

Your friend will be required to work with the CA on this ... DOE will just refer him to the CA. Tell your friend to come here and research rehab ... there is a wealth of information on this site about it.

Send him here! Because of the research and some work on my part, all of my loans went through rehab and came out the other end on the CRA's (where I bust to keep them in FANTASTIC standing). They now show as 9 positive on my CRA.

It hurts; but there is no growth without pain.

The DOE is both a lender (Direct Loans) and a guarantor. Different divisions. When in default you work with the collection division and their CA's. If you call Direct Loans, you will be referred to collections.

I agree with Lynn. I would also like to add that all aspects of service, from before Direct Loans are originated to after they are paid in full, are outsourced to 3rd-party agents. These agents are private, for-profit companies. You will not deal with employees of the cabinet of the executive branch of the federal government known as "ED/ DOE". FYI.