How To Remove Student Loan Late Payments From Your Credit Report

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This is the story of how I was able to remove student loan late payments from my credit report. 

As soon as I found out the amazing travel benefits created by some of the best travel credit cards I was anxious to jump into signing up for new cards and redeeming miles for some amazing trips.

Unfortunately, living abroad in the UK had caused a rift in communication between myself and one of my student loan lenders and I wasn’t aware that my in-school deferment had not been applied.

So one day, as I’m getting ready to start applying for some credit cards, I go to and check my credit score and I see it’s in the 500s and showing SIX late payments! (Six loan accounts were considered separate for payment purposes.)

Thus, my hopes for getting any kind of worthwhile credit card were pretty much gone and I started to deal with the realization that it would take about 7 years for these negative marks to be removed.

There had to be a way to remove student loan late payments…

I figured that there had to be something that I could do and so I started to do some research and slowly but surely started to gain some hope. The following account is how I successfully used the FTC Advisory Opinion on Section 623(a)(2) to get six late payments removed from my credit report.

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First Step: Goodwill Letter

The first thing to know is that these creditors are legally obligated by the Department of Education (DOE) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to report these late payments and are not supposed to change what they report unless what they reported was inaccurate.

So don’t go into this with the mindset that the creditors should just change their mind and do as you ask. With that said, the first step to trying to get these late payments removed is to write a goodwill letter, which is basically just a letter where you contact them and ask them to be sympathetic or understanding to your cause and offer you a second-chance.

If you had a traumatic event like a death or illness take place around that time, this is something you probably want to bring up. Still, some have had success with just “fessing up” and admitting that they screwed up.

If you don’t know what a goodwill letter is or what it should look like just do some basic Google research… there are tons of examples out there.  But for your reference, I’ve included the goodwill letter I sent below.

My Goodwill Letter

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Daniel (DOB: XX/XX/XXXX) and I have an account with XXXX loans (ref #XXXXXXXXXX) .

I recently had an informative phone conversation with a representative of XXXX and was explained why I had late payments reported on my credit score. Back in the fall of 2014, I was under the impression that a notice of deferment was being sent to my loan providers and that I would not have to worry about my existing XXXX loans until the fall of 2015. However, this notice did not arrive to XXXX until December 2014, over 60 days after I had a payment due in September. As a result, the late payment was reported to my credit score.

Letters from XXXX were sent out to my address in XXXX. However, I was enrolled in school abroad during this time and I had issues with my mail forwarding. On top of that, my email and phone number were not updated with XXXX Thus, I was not receiving any communication from XXXX. (I have since updated both my phone number and email address).

I realize that this was not a mistake made by XXXX; but rather, a mistake on my end for not ensuring that the notice of deferment was sent and received promptly. However, after seeking some advice on how to go about the situation, I was informed that creditors, such as XXXX have discretion to remove negative reports in certain instances. I am hoping that XXXX can understand that while I failed to submit a timely payment, I was enrolled full-time and thus eligible for a deferment.

With that in mind, I respectfully request that XXXX consider removing the late payments reported to the credit bureaus. I am fully committed to maintaining prompt payments and am open to enrolling in auto-payments if such an option would help with the requested removal.

Please let me know if you need any information from me.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

The Response to My Goodwill Letter

The goal of the letter was to show that I was: 1) taking responsibility of the late payment and 1) that I was open to do what I needed to do to assure them that it would not happen again. Unfortunately, I was not successful.

The goodwill letter actually backfired on me a bit. They sent me a response back saying that since there was no mistake on XXXX’s account and that I had admitted fault they were not allowed to remove the late payments from my report.

I was very bummed and kind of regretted even sending in the letter since now it looked like I may have made matters even worse by admitting fault on the record. Yet, I wasn’t quite ready to give up and I decided to do a little bit more research just in case.

Related: How Does Payment History Affect Your Credit Score?

FTC Advisory Opinion on Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA

And that’s when I stumbled upon the FTC advisory opinion on Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA which changed everything.

This advisory opinion basically states that a student loan provider is required to both update and correct information provided to credit reporting agencies when that information is provided.

There’s dispute as to whether this means removing late payments entirely from a credit report or merely to updating that the report to reflect that a payment status is no longer delinquent or past due.

There’s a huge difference between the two because in the latter situation your payments may no longer show that they are currently delinquent but in the former scenario your payments are completely removed from your credit score.

Thus, I changed my strategy from employing the nice-guy, apologetic tone (“I screwed up and am sorry”) to going with a more aggressive and authoritative style and actually asserted that this loan provider was in violation of Section 623(a)(2) by not removing my late payments.

The below is the letter that I responded to the loan provider with. This time I sent the letter via certified mail.

August 25, 2015

My Name and Contact Info

Loan Provider Contact Info

Re: Late Payment Removal/  Ref # XXXXXXXXXX

Dear Sir or Madam:

This correspondence is in response to the XXXX August 17, 2015 letter I received regarding my goodwill request to have late payments removed from my credit score report. In the letter I was told that such reports could not be removed due to regulations promulgated by the DOE and the FCRA. Contrary to these assertions, by failing to update previously reported information, XXXX is in violation of Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA.

I have attached an FTC advisory opinion which interprets Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA. The issue posed in the advisory opinion is how a lender is to handle a situation when subsequent information updates a report that was allegedly accurate when it was made but no longer is accurate in the present time (i.e., the identical situation I am currently in).

The advisory opinion states that the Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA addresses the duty to correct and update information by “furnishers,” or persons who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies (“CRA”) such as credit bureaus. In particular, this section requires a person that “has furnished to a consumer reporting agency information that the person determines is not complete or accurate” to “promptly notify the consumer reporting agency of that determination” and provide any information needed to make it complete and accurate. Thus, on its face, this provision requires a furnisher to provide corrected or updated information to the consumer reporting agency that it had reported to originally. This duty extends to all student loan accounts reported to CRAs, regardless of whether they were accurate at one point, because the section requires the furnisher both to “update” accounts as well as to “correct.”

XXXX representatives told me that because the delinquent payments were accurately reported in November of 2014 that any subsequently initiated deferments would not allow for XXXX to update reports to CRAs to show that the payments were not late and actually in deferment. However, Section 623(a)(2) clearly shows that the reports must be updated/corrected regardless of whether they were accurate at one point.* 

All of my XXX accounts that were part of the September 2014 late payments show deferment status effective as of “9/15/14.” Also, I was enrolled full time before any payment in September became due. Therefore, my credit reports do not currently accurately reflect previous payment statuses with XXXX, both as they actually existed and as XXXX has recorded them. I am thus requesting that in compliance with Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA that the six accounts showing a 60-day late payment in November 2014 be updated and/or corrected and removed.

In the event that these reports are not immediately updated to accurately reflect my payment status during November 2014, I intend on filing disputes with each credit bureau in addition to official complaints with the FTC, CFPB, BBB, and pursue other legal routes if necessary.

Please respond within 14 days of the date of this letter with an update to this matter.

Very Truly Yours,

[*Footnote: For the record, I do not agree that XXXX ever “accurately” reported the status of my loans. Since my July 28th email, I have discovered that all other loan providers timely processed the deferment leaving me to suspect a processing error on behalf of XXXX. In addition to the possible Section 623(a)(2) claim, I intend on disputing the processing of my deferment if need be.]

As you can see, the tone was much different from the email I had previously sent. There are a few points to consider about my situation and the letter I sent.

  • I sent the letter as an attorney (e.g., I signed “Name, Esq.”). That representation in addition to the attaching the Advisory Opinion and supplying my own quasi-legal analysis of that opinion could’ve played a role in lending more gravity to my argument.
  • The footnote above was meant to let them know that I no longer suspected the error to be my mistake (as they reiterated in their original response to my goodwill letter). Since other loan providers had timely processed my deferral (which was not sent from me) I thought I had a good argument that they were the outliers and likely the party who made the mistake.
  • Keep in mind this was for an in-school deferment — it was indisputable that my loans qualified for deferment. I say that because there may be some differences if you are trying to argue that your loans should’ve been in forbearance or some other status allowing for delayed payments. I don’t know that for sure, however. It may not make a difference but that is just something I’m saying to take note of.

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The Response to the Advisory Opinion Letter

In a couple of days I received a letter via snail mail that upon further consideration my payment history was being revised!

Within a few days I logged in to check and my credit report for another matter and noticed it had shot way up — they had removed my late payments!

And what was great was that my credit score had made an astronomical leap. The removal of the late payments coincided with me paying of all my credit card debt and a slew of hard-pull inquiries dropping off my report so my credit score jumped from the 500s to the 800s!

I couldn’t believe the change and I was on my way to getting some pretty great credit cards.

When you research the authority of Section 623(a)(2) and this FTC advisory opinion you’ll come across a lot of varying accounts and opinions. There are a lot of accounts of using this opinion not working and some others who have had success like I did.

Don’t get too discouraged by the negative accounts. I almost never sent in my second letter because it seemed like a wasted effort but thank God that I did… I don’t even want to think about where my credit score would still be right now if I hadn’t.

If you have some late payments that hit while you were supposed to be in an in-school deferment status or in forbearance then I definitely recommend giving this method a try.

Try the good-will letter first and if that doesn’t work then you’re next step could be using the FTC advisory opinion Section 623(a)(2). Remember, there’s no harm in trying.

Please note: I no longer offer services to assist with these issues and due to an extremely high volume of requests, cannot respond to emails on this subject. 

95 comments

  1. I have the same exactly problem with my student loans from Department of Navient. I have already tried the “Nice Guy Approach” but i wonder how many people have actually tried this and will it work this time for me?

      1. Hi! Im not sure if youre still helping people with this personally but I could really use it if you are! I sent you an email with my specific problem earlier this week on March 20th to [email protected].

  2. Thank you so much for posting your 2nd response it helped me so much when writing back to my loan provider. I sent the letter via USPS today and will update you on what they say! Thanks again!

    1. You’re welcome. I’m glad to see others being proactive about their situations. I hope that it works for you and definitely keep me updated!

  3. Very interesting! I wrote a goodwill letter to my lender and was denied removal of my late payments. I wrote a goodwill letter 2 years ago and was denied. My issue is that I am just starting a job search and future employers will check my credit. I am director/management level so a blemish like late payments will hugely impact my employment prospects. I have been on auto pay for over 2 years so i have a consistent record of payments. My late payments occurred in 2012 and 2013. I don’t think I can use your same defense as I was not in school and was not in forebearance or deferment. Wondering if I should try to file a claim to challenge the late payments and hope they do not respond to the inquiries. I would love any advice anyone might have as I am really desperate to find a new job!

  4. Hello,

    What FTC advisory opinion which interprets Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA did you attach?

  5. I am sooo glad I came across this. I have been tussling with Nelnet for a while now. I just sent the letter, I will give you an update on the response.

        5. Hello, where did you send your letter to? I would like to send one to them as well.

    2. Which address did you use for Nelnet. I was supposed to be in an administrative forbearance but they apparently issued in error. I found out when I went to make my payment that it was 4 months past due. D

  6. Dan, thank you for taking time to respond. My situation is different yet similar. To summarize, my loan accounts were in forbearance and expired April 30, 2016. I overlooked this because my dad was diagnosed with cancer and I just wasn’t focused on the daily grind while caring for him. I learned my account, which is comprised of 3 payment accounts, became 90 days delinquent. Now, my credit report reflects this and has suffered greatly. I called the loan servicer and received a delinquency forbearance that is back dated to the date when the forbearance expired (dated May 1, 2016). This forbearance made the account current with no payments being due through December 31, 2016. Is the furnisher required to correct and update this to the credit reporting agencies since a retroactive forbearance was granted or am I out of luck? I have written a goodwill letter but to no avail.

      1. I sent you an email as requested. let me know if you do not receive it in the comments above. Thanks

      2. Hi Dan –

        I am the same situation as Jason above. Can I email to discuss my options with you?

        Thank you

          1. Hello Dan,

            I am in the same situation. I disputed the late payments 2 times, I even filed a CFPB complaint , but every time this is their exact response:

            As explained more fully in the letter/packet of materials uploaded to the CFPB portal in response to the individual’s inquiry,

            · FedLoan Servicing is servicing the loans in accordance with federal guidelines and the terms of the signed promissory note executed by the borrower.
            · FedLoan Servicing provided the effective dates of the Administrative Forbearance status.
            · FedLoan Servicing provided the credit reporting dates.
            · FedLoan Servicing advised that the period of Administrative Forbearance applied in conjunction with the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) application restored the loans to a current status. However, any previously submitted unfavorable information was not removed.
            · FedLoan Servicing advised that the credit reporting was accurate.
            · FedLoan Servicing advised that we are unable to update credit information that was submitted accurately to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies.
            · FedLoan Servicing provided the borrower with a special credit reference letter that showed the current account status. (attached)

            What should I do?

      3. Hi Dan,

        I am also in the same boat as the two people above. Hints? Advice? I’d like to send a letter to FedLoan Services with the same demanding tone as the Advisory Opt letter.

        Unfortunately, the mistake was made on my part and I found myself in the same position as you when asked for a “goodwill” correction – I was shamed for admitting I hadn’t paid attention. I was traveling abroad and wasn’t aware that my deferred status was ending (I was under the impression I had another year), my loan became 149 days delinquent before I was able to solve the problem. Due to the fact that I had FIVE loans out through FedLoans, my account reflects that I’ve missed THIRTY FIVE payments with them from the span of February 2013- September 2013. Ugh. Needless to say, my credit report has one big GIANT ugly scar on it’s face.

      4. Hello! I am also in this boat – was on deferment and then that ended, due to life/health issues I didn’t re-apply for forbearance. I now have my forbearance and accounts brought to current, but my credit report is destroyed. Can I also contact you regarding the best way to handle this matter? I was going to try for the nice-guy e-mail…but that sounds like maybe it won’t work. Still, I have had some very realy, and very serious health problems lately.

          1. Hello Dan! I am in the same boat as the individuals above. My account was in deferment/forbearance when I went to basic training for the military and didn’t realize it had expired until i checked my credit report and seen how low my credit score dropped. I called them and explained the situation and they placed a retroactive forbearance on my account and brought it current. Is there anything I can do to get the late payments removed? Do you mind if I contact you as well?

  7. Hello Dan,

    I’m currently battling with FedLoan Servicing regarding late payments. First, I sent a goodwill letter and then I disputed with CRA’s and I had no luck. I then filled a dispute with CFPB and attached the FTC Advisory Opinion on Section 623(a)(2) of the FCRA as supporting documentation and I received the following response to the dispute.

    As explained more fully in the letter/packet of materials uploaded to the CFPB portal in response to the individual’s inquiry,

    · FedLoan Servicing is servicing the loans in accordance with federal guidelines and the terms of the signed promissory note executed by the borrower.
    · FedLoan Servicing advised that a loan verification letter detailing the loans by sequence numbers was enclosed. (attached)
    · FedLoan Servicing explained when the loans entered repayment status and when the first payment was received.
    · FedLoan Servicing provided the dates of unfavorable credit reporting.
    · FedLoan Servicing provided the effective dates of the Delinquency Forbearance periods.
    · FedLoan Servicing provided the borrower with information on the current repayment plan and account status.
    · FedLoan Servicing advised the borrower of the findings of the credit dispute. No unfavorable information could be removed as it had been submitted accurately to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies at the time of reporting.
    · FedLoan Servicing provided contact information.
    No further actions are planned by FedLoan Servicing at this time.

    —–> I was wondering what other options I have as it looks like Fedloan Servicing completely ignored the Department of Educations stance on retroactive forbearance and updating credit files. Please let me know how I can proceed.

    Thanks

      1. I’m in the same situation with lates with Fed Loan Servicing. I sent a Good Will letter, complained with the Obudsman, FTC and CFPB and disputed it with all three CRB yet no luck. It has to deal with a mistake they made four years ago stating I was 60 days late and ending my Deferment too soon. I have all my loans consolidated through them however they are reporting it as seven seperate loans with each one with a 60 day late. As a result it has destroyed my credit and is keeping me from getting a home for my family. This is the only negative thing on my credit report.

    2. Hi William (and Dan),

      Was your situation figured out with My FedLoans? I’m also dealing with a similar situation trying to get my late payments erased, as I was in school abroad, and It’d be great to hear how other people’s stories have played out. I was planning on doing the same thing as you did – attaching the FTC advisory opinion to a letter, but if it didn’t work for you, I was curious on what other routes there are to take.

      Thanks!

  8. Thanks for putting this info out there! I have 2 late pays (120 days, bad divorce, don’t ask!!) in Dec 2012 and December 2014, I was put into a plan following the late notifications to catch up and haven’t been late since. Do you think this will work to get 2 late pays removed? Also, should I put each late pay in a separate letter?

        1. Ok, Navient is notoriously difficult to deal with so I wouldn’t count on a letter working but you could always try. Your earliest late is almost 3 years old though so the good news is that the effect from that late should continue to be minimized since Late payments generally hurt your score the most within 2 to 3 years (although they show up for longer).

      2. Can you help me I have Fed loan servicing and I have over 4 accounts with them which is now showing Over 24 late payments. I haven’t sent any goodwill lates or despite’s at all. I would like some info on how to approach them. I lost my job in 2016 and I thought my hardship deferment was in place because I requested it online, apparently it wasn’t and now it’s killing my score. Please help

  9. Hello Dan I am in a similar situation I completed the rehabilitation program through U.S Department of Education and my loan was sent to Fed Loan Services they previously had my loan back in 2010 and shows late pays from then until now I have made payments on time so far and was wondering how can I if possible get those late payments removed? I’ve already tried goodwill letters as well as disputing is through the CB which both got kicked back. Please help what should I do?

  10. Please email me and let me know what your rate would be to address my situation. I will email you the details once I get a response to see if you are still doing this type of work. Thank you.

    1. If you email me your details (email in contact tab), we can see if I can be of some assistance. Thanks.

  12. Hey Daniel,

    How do I contact you directly regarding Fedloan negative reporting. My score went from 803 to 585. It’s recovered in the last 3 months to 650 since the remove the deliquency. Do you think I could get the reporting removed. I disputed and sent Good will Letter and there response was We received and investigated your credit dispute. Our investigation included the review of all relevant account history and
    documentation, including any information you provided to us. Based on this review, we determined the information reported
    is accurate; therefore, no corrections were requested for the loans listed on the back of this letter.
    Do you still have concerns?
    If you still believe we reported incomplete or inaccurate information, please complete and return the Direct Credit Dispute
    form, including all relevant information, to the following address:
    FedLoan Servicing Credit
    P.O. Box 60610
    Harrisburg, PA 17106-0610

    1. Same situation as me. When were your late payments if you don’t mind me asking? I immediately paid all past due and now have auto pay setup to avoid every putting myself in this situation again. One 90 day late set me back 7 yesrs. Went from 800 to 632 on 2/28/17.

  13. I tried the tough guy letter with Navient, they don’t budge for nothing. I’m going to try the CRA approach and try to remove it via them. I’ve never read or heard of Navient cooperating.

  14. Thank you for posting! I also have a very similar issue. I had legal issues due to a divorce and a 60 day late payment with Mohela. They granted Forbearance and back dated it but reported on my credit report. What are my options?

    1. You could try the demand letter route. Send me an email if you’re interested in obtaining my services for the demand letter.

  15. I’m with Fed Loan Servicing, and they are refusing to remove the 90-day past due Reporting. I’ve complained to the BBB and CFPB, Disputed with the CB’s, sent Good Will letters, and contacted the ombudsman group with no luck. Can you please help?

  16. Hi Dan,

    I became delinquent on my student loans last year because I was not making enough money to pay anything but living costs and the minimum balance on my credit card and I sent in a form but they never responded. I called in a few months ago to deal with them and they approved me almost instantaneously and told me they’d remove the late payments but haven’t. I just called to extend my forbearance a few months and the new rep told me they wouldn’t remove them because they have to “accurately report” to the credit bureau. Have you had any luck with the above recommendations with Great Lakes? Would love any advice. This is the only thing tarnishing my credit at the moment so this would be amazing to have removed. Thanks!

  17. Hey whats bro, appreciate the info. I have 8 loans but they are showing up negatively on my report 16 times i am assuming because i was late for both different creditors. anyway i can email you and see if you can give me some pointers and see if these letters would actually work. Trying to get a home and everything is on point except with these student loan deals. where can i find your email if so. thanks appreciate anything

  18. Hey Daniel,
    My situation is similar to most people. After I noticed some inaccurate payments on my student loans, I challenged the bureaus to provide documentation that the loans are accurate. Only TU removed the late payments and updated my file from their investigation. My points increased by 50plus. However, EQX and Experian hasn’t bulged and they are coming back saying the loans are verified. With both dispute, I sent a copy of the TU report but it hasn’t worked. I am in need of help ASAP! All 9 loans are saying they are paid was collection. My TU says it was a deferment which is true. I am lost why there is a difference. Before I enrolled in my graduate course, I had loans consolidated. Lastly, I am in need of how to get the late payments remove from my credit profile using the FTC Opinion letter. The original creditor is the DOE.

    1. Hi there, email via the link found in the article and we can discuss your situation in more detail.

      1. Hey Dan,

        Can you provide the link. I am not seeing it. Maybe I am overlooking it. Thanks for your help

    2. Transunion has my ECMC as collections, after I finally got them to mark them paid. ECMC and myself have both said they were never collections. They will not remove it and do not have the full consumer statement. When I could access Equifax, they have my Fedloan listed open, ECMC, and original ones that Dept. of Education Sold to ECMC open and showing payments due on some. Dept of Education never updated rehabilitation, deferment, forbearance, and good luck getting touch with them. (sorry for all the typos. It just makes me so angry. Experian though, they have them all reported accurately.

    1. Please see the “contact” section also located at the top of the article. Thanks.

  20. It sounds like this strategy does not work with Fed Loan Servicing. Is that your experience, Dan?

    Thanks!

    1. I think with all lenders, it’s a case-by-case scenario. It usually depends on who, if anyone, made an error and what kind of documentation you supply to show that. If you don’t have any of those then the success rate with the large lenders like Fed Loan can be very low.

      1. Thanks for the quick response. I have reached out to FedLoan for documentation stating the specific months I was on forbearance. They said they would have to prepare a specific document for me, but could provide that within 3 business days. Once I’ve got that, I may reach out to you via email regarding this to see if you think the document is sufficient.

        1. Hi Lucy,

          Did Fedloan send you the documentation and has it helped with the negative reporting?
          In the same boat. Looking for ideas.

          Thanks
          Mark

  21. I have 2 loans with 90 days past due reported on my credit reports. Accounts are now paid current. The reason why I fail to make the payments is because of a tragic death in my family that I wish not to talk about anymore do to the severity and pain it causes. I have the death certificate to prove why I became late. Do you thing if I write a goodwill letter and submit copies of the death certificate and cost of all funeral expenses plus medical bills to tackle depression the Fed Loan servicing agency will erase my late payments? I am now trying to bring my life back and REALLY need help removing this late payments.
    Please advise and thank you for your knowledge.

    1. Very sorry about your loss. You can give it a try but FedLoan is very difficult to deal with at times and I would not be expecting them to change the report. Doesn’t hurt to try, though.

  22. Has anyone had any luck with Navient? I missed one payment now I can’t use my va loan for a year.

  23. Has anyone had any luck with the dept of edu (great lakes)? Between 2015-2016 I put my student loans into forbearance thinking it should last for a year, turns out it did not! I fell on hard time emotionally. I was physical attacked and battle with depression. Everything fell apart for me. I didn’t keep up with my loans, so I didn’t realize it when they came out of forbearance. I now have 9 miss payments. I’ve now rehabilitated the loan, so I’m now current and was told that once I’ve made 10 consecutive payments with no missed payments, that they would remove the late payments. Now they are saying that this is not true. What can I do?

  26. I chatted online with a Navient rep who told me I was only 60 days past due as of 8/28/17 so I skipped a payment because I knew they wouldn’t report me until I was 90 days past due. However, I got a hit on my credit report for 90 days past due on 9/14/17. Apparently the rep gave me the wrong info. I’m following up with Navient and they have moved this issue to a supervisor who has access to the chat transcripts. I would like them to remove the 90 day late and I’ll make payments to get caught up ASAP. If they decide not to remove the 90 day late, should I sent a goodwill letter? Thanks.

    1. You could always give it try but it is very difficult to get Navient to change any of their decisions.

  27. Do you know if this works for a retroactive forbearance?

    A loan provider had granted me a retroactive forbearance and it is reporting me as late. I brought this to their attention and asked them to remove it, and they are refusing to do so because “it was accurate when reported”. I’m taking this up with the credit reporting agencies too.

    I am fighting this and any information I can use would be helpful.

    Thanks for the article !

    1. I think it could work for a forbearance but it is not as clear cut. You’d just have to hope that the lender sides with you.

      1. Good afternoon Dan. Could you please email me [email protected] I would like to discuss your services. I have 6 Navient student loans with 120 days delenquincy on them. Didn’t realize this until it was too late. I thought my loan was in differement but I was wrong. Thank you

        Jim

        1. Sorry, I no longer provide assistance with student loan related issued. Best of luck to you.

    2. Check out section 609 of the fair credit reporting act. Youtube has plenty videos on this section.

      1. It’s with Navient. There will not side with me. ????????

        I tried asking for verification and it came back as “disputed, consumer disagrees”

        1. Look up the purpose of Section 609 if the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It requires CRAs to validate the debts from the loan companies. If they cannot produce an original signed document from you then the CRAs must delete (stop reporting) that credit line. This does not mean the debt owed is removed but simply the trade line on your credit report is deleted and no longer being a negative factor to your credit file (score). If they validate then you’ll have to wait out report statutes (7 years). Credit Reporting laws need to be repealed/replaced. 7 years is insanely ridiculous.

  28. Hi, Dan

    I’m wondering what approach I could take with my situation. Around the time my payments became late my mom suddenly died while I was in deferment. Since my address was her address and I no longer lived there I never changed my address and honestly I was grieving so it never crossed my mind to update information. What should I do? I’m working with Lexington Law for some of the disputes but I’m wondering should I send a letter personally? Thank you

    1. Very sorry to hear about your loss. I would try to send a goodwill letter personally, explain your situation, and see if they are willing to work with you.

  29. If this is happening with so many people… these companies have to be doing something illegal. Why are they allowed to do this?? I am trying to purchase a home as a single parent and have two late marks from Navient and Nelnet on my credit report…. this is ridiculous!!!!!

  30. Dan,

    I have ready written a Goodwill Adjustment letter and received notification that I was denied to have the late payments removed from my credit report.

    The 2 months were October and November of 2016. I got married and moved. I called into AES in December to update my personal information only to be told that I was 2 months behind. I stated that I was in forbearance and was told that that expired the end of September. I asked to be placed back in and paid the 2 months of payments.

    In May of 2017 I was contacted for non-payment. Apparently the first person I spoke with in December never placed me back into forbearance and did not do a retroactive forbearance-I asked for this on the phone call.

    There are no notes regarding this and I was told there is no further action I can take. I have been making double monthly payments on my loans since August of 2017 and even did a payment in March of 2018 for 10 times the amount I am to pay a month.

    What can I do next in order to have this removed from my credit report. I want to purchase a home in the worst way and I am being punished for something I fixed.

    Please Help!!

  31. Dan,
    I took a parent plus loan out for my daughter. After graduation she had a hard time finding a job. I always requested a deferment over the phone and never had a issue. I went purchase a home and noticed Federal Loan Servicing is on my credit report for 120 days past due. Somewhere my verbal request to renew the deferment never was pushed thru or lost. Now my credit suffers. I have been going back and forth with them and they will not budge. I even sent a goodwill letter. Below is what they said. Any ideas.. I have perfect credit except for this.

    “Dear Ms. Zorek,
    The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s (PHEAA) Office of Consumer Advocacy (OCA) provides advocacy for consumers experiencing problems with the servicing of their student loans that are owned or serviced by PHEAA. Our office received your correspondence.
    Based upon our review of your account, we determined that our office previously addressed your concerns regarding credit in a response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) inquiry on May 17, 2018 (Case # 180510-3132903). The information reported on your loans is accurate and no corrections can be requested for the loans. The adverse reporting began at 90 days delinquent on September 30, 2017 and the loans remained delinquent until forbearance was requested on February 14, 2018 to cover the delinquency and bring the account current.
    Please note the application of forbearance restored your account to a current status and allowed us to report your loans to the consumer reporting agencies as current from the time it was applied. However, it does not allow a retraction of adverse credit information that was accurate at the time of the reporting. FedLoan Servicing is obligated to report true and accurate information under the Fair Credit reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2). Altering accurate information, even as a one-time courtesy is not permitted under the law.

  32. Hello my husband has late payments for school loans and would like to know if we are able to do the same thing??? We had moved to Florida for ! 1/2 year and he said he did tell them and next thing we forgot to pay and they did not send us anything in the mail or email!!! Can we do the same thing??

  33. I also have a question. How long before your loans show up on your credit??? My daughter is still in school and its already on her credit!!!

  34. It doesn’t answer my question though!!! How long before your loans show up on your credit my daughter is 20 and still in school and already has loans on her credit!!!!

  35. Hey Dan,
    What if you just screwed up and missed a couple payments? Is there any relief available. Great lakes has been a pain.

  36. I want to know this too! My score has suffered terribly, i had a lot going on a mistakenly missed my payment. Nelnet put 2 negative marks on my credit.

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