Can anyone advise me on what to do? I arranged to rehab my loans with Windham Assoc. They told me I had to make 12 payments. These are Stafford loans (is it supposed to be 9 payments?). So I made my 12 on-time payments. They sent me some paperwork to fill out after my third payment or so which I did and mailed back. Never heard from them again, so I kept making my payments. After payment 12, I waited to hear something... nothing. I wrote to them asking what to do next...nothing. After several months of getting no response, I contacted the ombudsman. His reply was that there was no rehab agreement so I was still in default!! I am furious! I did everything I thought I was supposed to do... I requested to rehab, arranged a payment amount, paid on time for a full year, and filled out their "financial information" paperwork. Did I miss something? And get this... the ombudsman said I made "several" payments. No, I made 12 and I have proof of every payment. So what am I supposed to do? Start all over again? I already had my taxes offset last year. I didn't want that to happen again but I guess it will now.

Pick up the phone and call them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over and over again I have stated that student loan CA's do not respond to mail requests.

I couldn't agree more! You can't get anywhere unless you physically talk to someone, document names, dates and times.

Collection agencies are crooked and don't want to give you anything in writing you can use against them.

Rule #1 in the credit forum is never talk to CA's over the phone. Come to the main credit forum and read how people deal with collection agencies.

The creators of this site made a separate student loan forum because they know the rules are different.

Ah, excuse me, but student loans operate under a completely different set of rules. They are FEDERAL DEBT. The Government does not allow the agencies to put payment arrangements in writing due to a PROMISORY NOTE that the borrower signed that states that if they default, the balance is due in full.

RULE#1 for student loan collections is to CALL the agency!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot speak to whether or not the govt ALLOWS them to put payment arrangements in writing. Fortunately for me, the student loan CA did, in fact, put the payment arrangements in writing, and did their business with me via the mail - if you have no phone by which you can be reached, you simply have no phone. Believe it or not, some of us don't have home or cell phones!

As the ombudsman later said, it's to their benefit to rehab the loan. Turned out the paper trail was important after all, because the same thing you are dealing with happened to me. I continue to read of cases where these agencies claim not to have received the necessary documents.

Be sure you do your correspondence, no matter what it is, via certified mail, return receipt, and keep copies of everything! Document your phone conversations well! As in my case, it may turn out to be extremely important in resolving problems. Dunno how you will get yr resolution, but wish you the best. I do understand what a pain it is in dealing with these CAs.

Then the CA that did your arrangement screwed up. None of the clients I ever worked would permit negotiations by mail or even a payment plan letter. A payment plan letter is in direct violation of the prom note. Any letters sent out had to be approved by the guarantor.

As for rehabbing, they will not approve you without a phone number or work number.

Over the years I worked, DOE, EdFund/CSAC, HEAF,NELA, Ohio, Great Lakes, USAF, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma,Colorado, North Carolina and ISAC.