Help For Those With Student Loan Problems

The quickest and most effective way to resolve problems with your student loans is to contact the loan servicer directly. If you don't know who the loan servicer is, call 1-800-4-FED-AID. Many loan servicers have programs in place for people who have problems with making the payments on their student loans. These programs range from payment relief to forgiveness of the debt. Call your loan servicer and see if you qualify for any of these programs. Remember to BE NICE when you speak with the representative for the loan servicer. Their job is to help you, and arguing with them will not encourage them to do their best job in helping you. Also take good notes of everything that you talk about.  

If working directly with the loan servicer does not resolve the problems you are having with the student loans, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman for assistance. The US Department of Education has set up a system where an Ombudsman acts as the middle-man to help you deal with your student loan servicer.

There is a great deal of information you are going to need prior to making a call to the FSA Ombudsman. Check outhttp://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/resources/toolschecklists/prep-checklist.html for the list of information you are going to need. Then call 1-877-557-3575 to get in touch with the Ombudsman's office.

The first thing they are going to ask you is if you tried to resolve the issue yourself. Be sure to visithttp://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/resources/toolschecklists/selfresolution-checklist.html to make sure you truly have tried to resolve this issue yourself prior to calling the Ombudsman.

Here are a couple things that people have said about the Ombudsman's office:

"I had been going between 2 of my lenders for over a year, going round and round with the two of them. One of them promised to remove one of my loans, but I had consolidated with the other lender prior to learning that. Hence neither lender would take responsibility, and I wanted that loan gone like promised. It took over 6 months with the Obmudsman, but they did all the work and I would just call in to check in once a month or so. Much better for me comparatively to trying to get through the insanities of dealing with each lender. I would highly recommend them."

"I called the FSA Obmudsman a few months ago and while they could not directly do anything about my problem, they got me some phone numbers over at my old school that proved to be pretty valuable. No one wanted to give me any of this info, but the Ombudsman had it."

Sometimes after all efforts are exhausted, one may consider how a bankruptcy would affect student loans and student loan collection. OlsenDaines website contains detailed information explaining the relationship of student loans and bankruptcy including "hardship discharges" or discharging student loans through bankruptcy.