Is there any way I can clear a credit blemish off my records (from Federal Student Aid)?

October 18, 2007 9:58 PM

My mom just gave me about a year and a half's worth of mail that she somehow thought I didn't need while I was away at college. A few of the letters in there are from Federal Student Aid telling me my account is overdue -- meaning that I had a small loan for University of California and when I dropped out of UC, I was apparently liable to pay back my entire loan ASAP.

My mom just gave me about a year and a half's worth of mail that she somehow thought I didn't need while I was away at college. A few of the letters in there are from Federal Student Aid telling me my account is overdue -- meaning that I had a small loan for University of California and when I dropped out of UC, I was apparently liable to pay back my entire loan ASAP.

The amount I was supposed to pay is about $1000 and it's now about 70 days overdue. The most recent letter from them says that they just reported me to the three credit bureaus. FYI Prior to this, I had nothing on my records.

So: 1. Are there any loopholes by which I might be able to remove these reportings? 2. How bad is it?

posted by oneous to Law & Government (9 answers total)

My parents did the same thing to me. Leaving me with bills to pay on a phone I thought I had parted ways with when I moved to England. You need to call UC and explain the situation with a financial counselor there. They will chide you about mail forwarding, which is dumb but something you need to think about if your parents aren't opening your college financial papers or are not willing to pay them. UC might give you a break, but you need to ask. In the meantime, you might have to speak to your mother about being a little more snoopy when a letter arrives from your school.
posted by parmanparman at 10:19 PM on October 18, 2007

state you will pay if they give you a written agreement to remove the derog from your credit report.

if not... why pay it at all? you already got dinged for it.
posted by Mr_Crazyhorse at 10:49 PM on October 18, 2007

'if not... why pay it at all? you already got dinged for it.' - Poor advice.

If you can't get help through the school or the collection agency, then you need to man up and pay it. A closed 'ding' looks way better than an outstanding ding.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 11:35 PM on October 18, 2007

Why pay at all

Because the money is owed and it's the right thing to do?
posted by Harald74 at 2:17 AM on October 19, 2007

Same thing happened to me. I called the school and talked to the financial people. They were very happy to deal directly with me if I was able to pay the amount in full.
posted by corpse at 4:36 AM on October 19, 2007

You might also want to ask your parents to pony up with some money, since this is at least tangentally their fault.
posted by Avenger at 5:53 AM on October 19, 2007

I recently found myself in a similar situation regarding some very big medical bills, and while it's not quite the same, it's analogous enough that I'm nthing the recommendations to call the school or the financing agency, tell them what happened, and propose a new deal for paying back the loan and restore your credit.

They are very very likely to be amenable, because given the default rate on student loans they'll be thrilled that you even bothered to call and that you show any interest in or inclination to pay back the loan.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 6:42 AM on October 19, 2007

You're actually not that bad off just yet. There's a different category for 30,60,90,and charge-off.

60 days late isn't nearly as bad as collections, so in this particular case, since it hasn't gone to collections yet, I'd pay it, because that's when the real damage happens.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 4:40 PM on October 19, 2007

Response by poster: thanks so much! I called the UC and they just told me to call Direct Loans. Direct Loans said the only way they can remove a credit bureau report is if I was a part time student or military personel at the time of reporting.

Thank you for the advice, all; If you still think I have a chance, why, tell me what you're thinking!
posted by oneous at 4:49 PM on October 23, 2007