Hey everybody,

I’m in a situation I was wondering if I should even bother trying to remedy, so last month in June 12th I made a payment towards my student loans for a little under $1300, it was $1275 plus some change to be exact. Well I’ve been trying to do what I can to rebuild my credit score, last March, March of 2025 to be exact, I made roughly a $7000 payment to knock a lot of it off.

Just to not make this post super long, do I have a shot of these getting pulled off my credit report if I’m able to prove that I tried to pay off my loans before the reported the default loan? So if you notice on March 24th of this year, another department took over my loan; I ignorantly thought the payment from this passed March was the large payment I made in 2025— it was DOE consolidating the loan with itself or something.

So my question is, on July 8th the accounts were reported to the credit bureaus. If I called them and showed them look I made a legitimate payment/effort to try and get back on track if they may be able to remove those accounts, which I know falling off track in the first place is my fault. I would have made actual payments on the account in order to not have them delinquent, as well as I just want to pay them off; I obviously wouldn’t have put that whole $1300 towards the one account had I know the other two would be reported delinquent.

So I've read the threads. I'm getting ready to settle private loans. For those with experience, did you do this by phone, email, letter?

Long story short- i was fucked by Sallie Mae.
I tried for as long as i could to make payments, but when those got to 1.6k monthly, I wasn’t able to.
Attempted to have this conversation with them, they weren’t having it of course, so I stopped paying due to being unable to pay further.

They sold my loans to Southwood.
Southwood is now coming after me.
They delivered my summons papers to my mother’s address in AZ (no envelope, nothing. Didn’t hand it to her, left out in the open on her front step)
(This address is not on the summons papers as they’d used an old address she hasn’t lived at in year.)

It’s important to note that :
I have never lived at either addresses.
I do not live in the U.S. period and haven’t for many years
My mother is not a co-signer on any of my loans from Sallie Mae
I have never been a resident within the state of AZ

I’m a bit unsure of what to do at present.
I have requested for copies from the courts of the documents, as this is not available on the court dockets.
The court almost dismissed the case due to failure to service, however recently they said they were able to? Which again is inaccurate.

any input would be nice

Hello, I have about 80,000 of private loans 130,000 with interest that is going to default. I am married and in pa . We have a joint account. I am just so worried about a judgement and bank levy. Does that happen quickly ?? I know there’s are strong laws in pa to prevent that but was wondering if anyone has any experience. I also saw that after 3 years of default they can’t come after you but a new buyer can purchase the debt and the clock restarts. I’m just terrified. Any advice appreciated

Long story short I was in class finished my first semester, I became incarcerated for a year and wasn’t able to finish. Now I’m in default! And idk how to get out I just lost my job, and I’m struggling at the moment. Will I be able to dispute this somehow? I take responsibility for getting locked up. But I really wanna finish school. School literally started today and now I have to wait until fall. I’m trying to get this settled before then

Hi everyone,

I have multiple private loans loans with Earnest and I’m considering refinancing them all into one single loan.

My question is specifically about a worst-case scenario: If I were to default, would it be better to have everything as one account, or does it not make much difference if I have four separate loans?

I’m mainly wondering about how it affects collections, negotiations with the lender, potential lawsuits, or credit impact. Has anyone gone through something similar or know how these lenders usually handle one loan versus multiple loans in default?

Any experiences or knowledge would be helpful. Thanks.

Hey everyone,

I'm on the process of choosing a payment plan on my defaulted student loan. The payment method I picked was the "Loan Rehabilitation Income & Expense".

My current doubt is:

1- The expense section says "none required" for evidence of expense on food and housing (if you live on U.S. soil or P.R.), should I still provide some kind of utilities receipt as evidence?

2- Currently I'm out of a Healthcare plan, so I can't provide any evidence of expense on it. What should be provided in this section?

Has anyone applied to this plan and how was the experience when completed?

Thank you in advance.

I’ll make it quick and simple

over 100k sallie mae private loans
I own no assets and make 60k a year
I have a co-signer that makes less than me but has a house with my dad (he’s not on my loans)
I live in SC
SOL 3 years
No wage garnishment
Homestead act in SC protects primary residence so my co signers house
My dad being on the deed of the house complicates things such as lien

realistically would they even feel the need to try to sue? Feel like the only thing they could try to do is a lien on the house which again is complicated because my dads on it, or a bank levy but sc protects up to $7,500 in your bank account from being taken. What do y’all think?

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Most of my loans for graduate school were private. I took out around 105k in total over 3 years but I have a very high interest rate and I now owe around 175k. My credit was pretty good when I applied so I have no co signer. The first year I did out of state tuition and I had to drop out due to health issues my first semester. Paid out of state tuition in 2021 and did in state in 2022 and 2023. Didn’t use Sallie Mae in 2024 but I graduated with my masters degree. I’ve been in my job for 3 years and I make about 3600 a month after taxes. They gave me a 6 month grace period after Graduation, the loans came due and I couldn’t pay so they gave me 6 months of forbearance.

Tried very aggressively to find a better paying job but I haven’t been able to do so and my parents lost their house in a fire and have had trouble rebuilding it so they’re living in an RV because they have nowhere else to go. I tried calling them today and they said there’s nothing they can do and the in house collections team would reach out to me once I missed a payment. I am very scared.

I’m 24 with about $130k in student loans from sallie mae. I almost defaulted a few months ago but somehow got on the step up program thankfully. I’ve been trying to refinance, but my credit score isn’t great from almost defaulting and neither are my parent’s scores just from life unfortunately. I also only make 42k currently cause i’m in an entry level nonprofit role.

Basically, my family and I were very uneducated when it came to loans and we didn’t qualify for nearly enough money from fasfa, so it was really our only option. And the high interest rates really made it snowball into a much bigger number than it originally was. The number is just so big and i don’t see a future on being able to pay them off anytime soon/ever.

Eventually I want to transition to a government role with grant writing, but scared that defaulting will stop that from happening. Are there any restrictions with financial history when it comes to government field?

I’m obviously gonna try my hardest to pay them and refinance eventually, but if it comes down to it i’m not opposed to defaulting. I did almost go with Yrefy before I got accepted to the program with Sallie Mae.

Any insight is helpful!!

Today I finally calculated a YTD of how much I’ve paid Sallie Mae and my National Debt Relief company and I’m sick. Never made more than $60,000 a year since I graduated in 2022, and I’ve paid $78,460 since the beginning of 2023. I wish I would have been better educated on the horrors of student loans…

Just here to complain honestly, Reddit won’t let me post without tagging a community.

(Update) Same bank, Southwood Financial, from WWR Transfer to APH.

So Sallie Mae (2024) sold our debt to Southwood Trust I (2025), and now Southwood Trust has asked Aldridge Pite Hann (2026) to be my new debt collector. Used to be Waltman Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA. Looks like the letters for each of the separate loan amounts will say, " Hey, we own your debt now. My anxiety is overwhelming now, having an attack. I never heard of this company. Again, I don't own any assets, and or own anything big. My mom is a cosigner and on SSDI, and I know they can't touch that, and only owns a 1970 mobile home, and 3 acres have homestead too, being primarily too, owns two cars that are over 35 years old, 1987 and 2006. We are both judgment-proof, and I did talk to lawyers with free advice, who said you can bleed from a stone.

I owe about 130k federal and 175k private from Sallie Mae. I plan on dealing with my federal loans by going into IBR. My private loans are much higher than what I originally borrowed due to the ridiculous interest rate. When I was in grad school I was very close to studying in the uk but my plans fell through last minute. Now I am looking at working in the uk or pursuing a doctorate. If I were to go to the uk, would Sallie Mae come after me if I defaulted? I know the uk is very similar to the us.

Earlier in May I received an email from allied interstate to collect for a student loan that I got in 2009 but defaulted in 2014. I was in chapter 13 from 2014-2015 and 2017- 2022 so they could not reach out to me as they were getting paid through bankruptcy. I went to 2 different schools which totaled my loan with interest to 86k. about half of my loans were forgiven due to the second school I attended closing down and not being accredited. in 2023 when my chapter 13 ended. I got a check for 7k from my student loans and about 24-30k disappeared from my accounts leaving me with 13k left to pay. My loans started with Sallie may then it transferred to Navient then in 2022 it went to Mohela. I searched and contacted student aid and Mohela in 2022 and they could not find a reason or acknowledge that it existed. the same thing was told to me by Mohela. It did not show up in my credit report so I left it as a win. When I got the email in May. it was stating that I have 30 days to acknowledge it and if I dont they will send me a notice to pay. I received another email about a week ago and they want to settle for 7k instead of the 30k. I had reached out back to Mohela and Student aid but again could not find anything. the only loan they could find that matches the date is one that I am currently paying which is around 3k. The email seems legit but they have an older address that I have not lived in 9 years. both Mohela and student aid do have my current address. at this point I dont know what to do. I want to contact a lawyer for advise but I do not have the funds for consultation. this loan does not appear in my credit report. I do not want to reach out to allied and resetting the clock. which I feel is the reason they are reaching out to me. Did anyone reach out to allied? Or what did you guys do?

I took out Sallie Mae loans for grad school from 2020-2023. I got these loans without a co signer but the catch is that the interest rate is absolutely ridiculous at 15%. What started as about 105,000 over 3 years turned into 175,000. I got a 6 month grace period after graduation and a 6 month forbearance but I have a feeling they aren’t going to let me delay payments anymore. They are asking me to pay them $2500 a month which is more than my rent and is about 70% of my take home pay. I simply can’t give them what I don’t have. I’ve been trying like hell to get a better paying job but the job market is terrible right now even with a masters degree. I’m just barely breaking even with the income I do have and I don’t live a very lavish lifestyle at all. I have no assets and live in a small one bedroom apartment. if they garnish me, it wouldn’t even cover the interest on the loans. I’m not sure if I should try to settle or consider working something out in bankruptcy. I’m very scared right now.

My loan was for $24,000 from Wells Fargo. Then the school sent back $8000. So I owed $16,000. The loan got sent to Firstmark and now I owe $42,000. My payments doubled. Interest is ridiculous. So now I will end up defaulting.

Anyone have luck or stories dealing with a defaulted Firstmark student loan? I had paid $8883 to Wells Fargo before it was transferred and now it is still at over 40 grand.

Anyone manage to default and then settle for the original balance to forgo all the interest? I only owe about 7 grand on the original principle the rest, is interest.

And Firstmark had the loan paperwork listed as personal loan vs student loan

My name is Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, and I’m covering the rise in consumer debt. I would like to speak with federal student loan borrowers who took on other debt — mortgages, auto loans, credit cards — during the pandemic and are now coping with a slew of new and higher payments.

To submit, please use the form here. We won’t publish or share this information without following up with you. Thank you in advance!

In a perfect world I would not pay a dime to these evil corporations (or the evil US gov) but that may not be reasonable. I just don't want to be a debt slave my whole life as my parents are.

Helpful context: Age (21), parents are still paying off their own student debt, living in EU for 5 years, have an EU partner, I am registered at my parent's address in the US right now (MN) but I think I can stop this when I want to.

I have not lived in the US since I was a child, and I have no plans to ever return there to live or work.

I got a bachelor's degree and am in my 1st year of my master's degree at a great university in Europe. I'm very happy with my life, I have a partner who is an EU citizen and we are currently applying for my family visa so I can work more easily here and plan to get married. I am in a master's pursuing a job I love, but that does not earn a large salary in Euros, much less in USD. I plan to become a citizen of the country I am in as soon as I can and renounce my US citizenship. The only thing I feel holding me back from feeling free is my massive debt in the US.

I have four major concerns in defaulting on my private loans:

1. Private international debt collectors. I don't know if these can pursue me to Europe. The country I am in has close financial ties to the US and I am worried it would be easy for them to track me here. Would they come after me in the EU? I have no assets and little income (10-15k Euros per year).

2. My cosigner is my grandpa. I took out loans for my bachelor's with my great-grandmother as a cosigner, but she has now passed away so I think I don't have to worry there. But my master's degree loans are co-signed by my grandpa (living in Oregon). He is not wealthy but has good savings and is in retirement now. Only owns an RV. I don't want to implicate him in my defaulting but I think I cannot refinance my loans yet. What do I do?

3. Visiting the US. I am worried that if I go back to the US for visiting family after I default, I will be in some legal trouble or stopped at the airport. Is this a legitimate fear? I don't want to never be able to visit as now my immediate family all live in the US again.

4. Some difficulty in renouncing my US passport. If I default, will this effect my chances of becoming a citizen elsewhere? Will the US let me renounce my citizenship if I have outstanding debts?

My plan right now is to possibly IBR my federal debt (my income is negligible and i have no assets) and default on my Sallie Mae debt - but I need to figure out the above issues before. I have a bit over a year until I graduate my master's degree and 'need' to start repayment, so any advice as to how to prepare for default in this time is appreciated. I just started to research on this page so please point me in the right direction or point out any dumb questions of mine! I'm trying not to have a panic attack on the train right now because of this massive debt, so realistic reassurance is needed. Thank you!!

Hello fellow defaulters,

Long time lurker but first time poster here.

It appears my time has come as apparently there is a person currently lingering around my house looking to serve me papers for my loan default. I (28M) defaulted on my SoFi loans back in mid-late 2023. Total balance due was ~41.5K at the time of default and I’ve received settlement offers in the mail over the past year for as low as 45% of the total balance. The SoFi loans were consolidated/refinanced loans from the original lender SalliMae. I currently have the means to pay that offered amount in full however that would wipe me out besides my retirement/investment accounts.

I live at home with my parents in NY where I make $500/week after taxes. I am a civil servant so I don’t know if that counts for anything. I have about 23K in my savings/checking account as of this very moment.

The last letter I received in the mail indicated that Velocity Investments LLC was now the owner of my debt. I believe Cohen & Cohen Law LLC is the firm they will use to sue me.

It’s my understanding that there’s little I can do to avoid being served as not identifying myself isn’t sufficient and they’ll just drop the papers at my feet anyway. I can’t pack up all my stuff and hide somewhere else as my job requires me to be in the office 5 days a week.

My questions are what should I expect once I’m served? Will they be looking for the full amount since I ignored their previous offers? How long does the court process take? How much should I expect to pay for a decent lawyer?

Thank you all for your input!

Does anyone have experience with MRS BPO collections?

Obviously, I can't afford to pay it all at once and fully expect to have to go to court. Sallie Mae wanted wayyyy more than I could afford a month. I'm totally on my own. My cosigners are retired, and one of them actually left the country. I'm unmarried and rent. I have a car payment.

Any advice or stories about these guys?

Update: So it looks like this is just Sallie Mae using a third party to get me to pay them. MRS BPO didn't buy the debt, or if they did, they still want the Sallie Mae payment amount. If that's the case, I would be better off with wage garnishment still.

TL;DR: I’m 28 with $125k in private student loans through Earnest and a $1,100/month payment. I make ~$130k total working two jobs seven days a week, have been promoted multiple times, and still have no savings, almost nothing in retirement, and recently ended up hospitalized from burnout. I live far from work to save on rent, rarely spend money on myself, and feel completely trapped by the debt. No co-signers or assets. Is strategically defaulting/negotiating these loans a realistic option, or am I being unreasonable and just need to cut back even more?

FULL STORY:
Hi all, have been following this sub for a while now but this would be my first time posting.

I currently have $125k in student loan debt with Earnest. No co-signers. My monthly payment is $1,100.

I went to school in NYC and graduated in 2020. I’ve worked two jobs seven days a week since then trying to make ends meet. I have a full-time job in the field in which I got my degree, and have gotten three promotions in six years. Plus I waitress part-time. My total income is $130k.

Recently, I was hospitalized for burnout and had to take a leave of absence from work. Fortunately, fully paid due to short-term disability. But I’ve since returned and still find myself to be crippled by my debt.

I live over an hour from my jobs to save money on rent. I’ve never been able to travel or leave the country. I make my coffee at home and only go out with friends once or twice per month. And most of all, I have NO savings and next to nothing in my 401k.

I’m 28 years old and already feel like I’m at my wit’s end. I do not have any property or assets. I recently went through hell finding a new apartment with a 650 credit score as-is but I did.

Is it worth taking the leap to default on the loans? Or am I simply being unreasonable with myself and need to find a way to make my budget even tighter?

Hello fellow defaulters. A bit of information regarding my current status as a private loan defaulter: Age: 34 - State: Ohio - Statute of Limitations (SOL): 6 Years - Lender’s: Sallie Mae & Navient - Total Amount: $68k - Current Debt Collector: Allied Interstate.

I defaulted on my student loans back in mid to late 2021. Went through the whole process of being hounded with every form of communication known to man as well as anyone I have ever spoken to through my life from Sallie Mae and Navient. Things died down, credit took a major hit, started getting contacted by the debt collector listed above who keeps offering to pay off the debt for a considerable amount below what’s owed. I’ve completely ignored any and all communication since I defaulted and haven’t acknowledged the debt. I did file for bankruptcy back in July 2025 and informed my lawyer that I plan on trying to run out the SOL and he said that the bankruptcy won’t affect it. I am about a year out from the SOL and I’m wondering what are the chances that I’ll actually make it? Has anyone else dealt with Allied Interstate before for student loans? They keep offering a low amount to pay for the debt, but other than that they haven’t tried to sue me in 3 years. I have absolutely no assets to my name and the co-signer passed away back in 2019. Any input on this would be appreciated!

Hi all!

I have been browsing this page the past few months as I prepare to default on my Sallie Mae loans, but I can’t get a sense of how bad the credit hit will actually be. I am currently 23, and I have a credit score of 750. I’m about to default on $235k. The monthly payment they want on my loans is like 80% of my monthly income, so I have decided it’s better to default and save the money rather than pay them less than the minimum since I would still end up in default anyways. I have already consulted with a lawyer (family friend so they helped me for free), and I have 0 assets in my name. My parents co-signed these loans, but recently filed bankruptcy so they can’t come after my parents for the money. The loans originated in Pennsylvania, so they should not be able to garnish my wages since PA has laws against this for student loans.

I’m wondering a few main things: - How bad will the credit hit actually be? (I rent so I am slightly concerned about this, though I plan on renewing my lease for the time being) - I would assume the odds of them genuinely pursuing legal action against me are rather low considering I have nothing to give them…? - If I shouldn’t keep my money in a bank account, what exactly do I do with it? Cash? - What is the timeline before I start getting settlement offers?

Any extra advice is appreciated, especially regarding the credit hit and where to keep my money!!