• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The College Investor

Student Loans, Investing, Building Wealth

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Research
  • Contact
  • Save For College
      • How To Start

      • How To Save For College
      • How To Pay For College
      • What Is the Average Cost of College?
      • What Is A 529 Plan and Where to Open One in Your State
      • How Much Should You Have In A 529 Plan By Age
      • How To Use A 529 Plan For Private Elementary And High School
      • What Are Qualified Expenses For A 529 Plan (And What Doesn’t Count)?
      • The Best Brokers To Open A 529 Plan
      • Tools + Accounts

      • 529 Plans: The Ultimate College Savings Plan
      • 529 Plan Contribution Limits
      • Prepaid Tuition Plans | What To Know
      • Understanding And Using 529A ABLE Accounts
      • Using A Roth IRA To Save And Pay For College
      • FAFSA Deadlines for Financial Aid
      • CollegeBacker Review
      • Upromise Review
      • UNest Review
      • Other Options

      • Student Loan And Financial Aid Programs By State
      • The Guide To Military And VA Education Benefits
      • How To Fill Out The FAFSA
      • How To Find College Scholarships
      • The Best College Scholarship Search Websites
      • How To Find Grants To Pay For College
      • Pell Grants: What They Are And How To Qualify
      • Understanding Federal Work-Study
      • How To Use A 529 Plan If Your Child Doesn’t Go To College
  • Student Loans
      • Borrowing

        • How Student Loans Work
        • How To Apply For A Student Loan
        • How To Find The Best Student Loans And Rates
        • Best Private Student Loans Of June 2022
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Graduate School
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Medical School
        • Parent Loans To Pay For College
        • No-Cosigner Student Loan Options
        • Guide To Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs)
        • Best International Student Loans
      • Get Out Of Debt

        • Best Places To Refinance Student Loans In June 2022
        • Best Student Loan Repayment Plans
        • Best Student Loan Refinancing Bonuses And Promotional Offers
        • Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (The Complete List)
        • The Full List Of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs By State
        • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
        • Top Student Loan Scams
        • Average Student Loan Monthly Payment
        • Average Student Loan Debt By Year
      • Reviews

        • Credible Review
        • Splash Review
        • Ascent Review
        • Citizens Bank Review
        • Commonbond Review
        • Earnest Review
        • ELFI Review
        • Laurel Road Review
        • LendKey Review
        • SoFi Review
  • Investing
      • How To Start

        • How To Start Investing in High School
        • How To Start Investing In College
        • How To Start Investing In Your Twenties For 22 – 29 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing In Your 30s For 30 – 39 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing With $100 Or Less
        • How To Give Kids The Gift Of Stock
        • What Is Dividend Growth Investing
        • IRA Rollover Chart
      • Tools + Accounts

        • Best Online Stock Brokers
        • The Best Traditional And Roth IRA Accounts
        • The Best Robo-Advisors
        • The Best Investing Apps
        • The Best Places to Trade Options
        • The Best Places To Open A Health Savings Account
        • The Best Solo 401k Providers
        • The Best Self-Directed IRA Providers Of 2022
        • Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges
      • Reviews

        • Vanguard Review
        • Fidelity Review 2022: Still One Of The Best Online Brokers
        • M1 Finance Review
        • TD Ameritrade Review
        • Charles Schwab Review
        • Robinhood Review
        • Webull Review
        • Betterment Review
        • Wealthfront Review
  • Earn More Money
      • Extra Income

        • 15 Best Side Hustles You Can Start Earning With In 2022
        • 53 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money
        • 100 Ways To Make Money In College
        • 80 Ways To Make Money From Home (In Your Pajamas)
        • 5 Quick Money Making Ideas (That Take Less Than 1 Hour)
        • 10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving
        • High-Paying Side Gigs That Earn $1,000 or More Per Month
        • The 10 Best Money-Making Apps
        • Paid Surveys: Earn Money For Giving Your Opinion Online
        • 10 Crazy Ways To Make $10,000 You’ve Never Heard Of
      • Build Wealth

        • 35 Passive Income Ideas You Can Use To Build Wealth In 2022
        • 3 Ways To Make $50,000 Per Year Without Working With Passive Income
        • How To Become A Real Estate Investor With Just $500
        • 15 Best Online Business Ideas
        • How to Create Streams of Passive Income on a Limited Budget
        • Residual Income: 7 Super Smart Ways to Build It
        • The Most Common Multiple Income Streams
        • How To Become A Real Estate Mogul With Only $10,000
      • Reviews

        • Fundrise Review
        • RealtyMogul Review
        • FarmTogether Review
        • AcreTrader Review
        • Swagbucks Review
        • Survey Junkie Review
        • TopCashback Review
        • DoorDash Review
  • Personal Finance
      • Banking

        • Best High Yield Savings Accounts Of June 2022
        • 10 Best Money Market Accounts Of June 2022
        • 10 Best Free Checking Accounts In June 2022
        • The Best Bank CD Rates Of June 2022
        • 10 Best Business Checking Accounts In June 2022
        • The Best Online Banks Of June 2022
        • 5 Best Credit Unions Nationwide Of June 2022
        • Best College Student Checking Accounts In June 2022
      • Insurance

        • Best Life Insurance Companies
        • Renters Insurance
        • Car Insurance
        • Pet Insurance
        • Umbrella Insurance
        • Disability Insurance
        • Tuition Insurance
        • Travel Insurance
      • Credit Tools

        • Best Budgeting Apps
        • Cash Advance Apps
        • How To Get A Free Credit Score Report
        • The Best Credit Monitoring Services
        • Debt Settlement: Inside The Secret World
        • Credit Repair Explained: Should You Pay For Help?
        • Best Personal Loan Companies And Lenders
        • Online Loan Companies To Borrow From Home
      • Tax

        • Best Tax Software
        • Free Tax Software
        • IRS Tax Refund Calendar
        • Common IRS Questions and Errors
        • Federal Tax Brackets
        • Capital Gains Tax Brackets
        • 401k Contribution Limits
        • IRA Contribution Limits
        • HSA Contribution Limits
  • Forum
  • Search
Home » Student Loans » What To Do If Your Student Loan Lender Messes Up Your Credit Report

What To Do If Your Student Loan Lender Messes Up Your Credit Report

Updated: September 17, 2021 By Robert Farrington

Tweet
Share5
Share3
Pin72
Email

At The College Investor, we want to help you navigate your finances. To do this, many or all of the products featured here may be from our partners. This doesn’t influence our evaluations or reviews. Our opinions are our own. Learn more here.Advertiser Disclosure

There are thousands of financial products and services out there, and we believe in helping you understand which is best for you, how it works, and will it actually help you achieve your financial goals. We're proud of our content and guidance, and the information we provide is objective, independent, and free.

But we do have to make money to pay our team and keep this website running! Our partners compensate us. TheCollegeInvestor.com has an advertising relationship with some or all of the offers included on this page, which may impact how, where, and in what order products and services may appear. The College Investor does not include all companies or offers available in the marketplace. And our partners can never pay us to guarantee favorable reviews (or even pay for a review of their product to begin with).

For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full Advertising Disclosure. TheCollegeInvestor.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products and services are presented without warranty.

Student Loan Lender Credit Report Errors

Imagine this situation: You get a letter from Nelnet confirming that your student loans are paid in full. Then two years later, you attempt to go back to school and get a student loan, only to find out you're denied because the National Student Loan Database says you're default on said loan. Through multiple glitches, Nelnet sent your loan to collections instead of marking your loan as paid in full on your credit report.

Or image in this situation shared to me by student loan lawyer Adam Minsky: I had a client who tried to consolidate his loans through the Direct consolidation program though a servicer (Servicer 1). The loans were held by Servicer 2. In the middle of the consolidation process, Servicer 2 transferred the loans to Servicer 3. Servicer 1 sent the consolidation payment to Servicer 2; Servicer 2 didn't return the payment or forward it to Servicer 3. This resulted in a duplication of the loan balance - Servicer 1 demanded payments on the newly issued consolidation loan, while Servicer 3 demanded payments on the underlying loans that were yet to be repaid. The Federal loan servicers all blamed each other and refused to communicate or rectify the situation

Now, while both of these are more extreme errors, glitches do happen. You have to realize that they loan servicing companies employ tens of thousands of people, and process millions of payments and requests each year. Even working at 99.99% correct, errors will still happen to thousands of borrowers each year (sadly)...

What can you do if your student loan lender messes up your credit report or your loans? Here's the steps you can take.

Table of Contents
1. Communicate With Your Lender
2. Send A Certified Letter
3. File A Complaint
4. Talk To A Student Loan Lawyer
Final Thoughts

1. Communicate With Your Lender

The first step you should take is simply call your student loan servicer. Honestly, so many people want to jump to lawsuits and think they will get their student loans paid off because of a simple paperwork error. The chances of that happening are extremely low, and they are non-existent of you don't even try to resolve the issue yourself.

As we mentioned above, these are large organizations, and they are doing lots of different things. Mistakes do happen. The best thing you can do is call your lender and try to get the error resolved. Yes, it will take some of your time to make the phone call and document your conversation, but it's the first step, and it will resolve a lot of issues.

Just remember, document date, time, who you spoke to, and the nature of the conversation. Even better if you can take a screenshot of your phone to prove you called, or record the call (as long as you tell them you're recording the call - they are anyway).

2. Send A Certified Letter

If talking to your lender over the phone or via email isn't getting you the results you need, it's time to take things up a notch. Now's the time to send a certified letter to your lender and ask for resolution to your complaint.

Depending on your situation, you may need to send multiple letters. For example, if your lender is incorrectly reporting information to the major credit bureaus, you'll want to send a lender to each bureau and your lender.

When sending a letter to the credit bureaus, ensure that you include a copy of your credit report that is incorrect. Here's a good sample letter to send to the credit bureaus.

If you're disputing something more serious, such as our examples above, you might need a debt validation letter. Here's a great sample of a debt validation letter that will require the company to prove they have the right to collect the debt.

It's important to note that if you're looking to get a debt validated, the lender or collector has 30 days to provide you with the information from the date they receive your letter. That's why it's essential you send the letters certified with proof of receipt.

3. File A Complaint

If you're still not getting anywhere, you can file a complaint about your student loans servicing company to try to get the ball rolling. I call this step #3, but you can honestly do it concurrently to step #2.

By filing a complaint, you'll not only get the bottom of the pyramid moving, but hopefully get the top of the pyramid moving as well.

The best place to file a complaint is the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can file a complaint online here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

Make sure you take the time to document everything with your situation to hopefully get your complaint expedited.

You can also file a complaint at the Department of Education here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/gen/index.html

Finally, it never hurts to contact your Congressman. The President and the Secretary of Education have proposed various reforms to how student loans are serviced. If you're having problems, making a complaint could put these potential reforms on their radar.

4. Talk To A Student Loan Lawyer

Finally, if you're still not getting the resolution you need, you might need to talk to a student loan lawyer and see if they can help. 

There are a few scenarios where you should jump right to this step:

  • You're being sued by your lender
  • The 30 days have elapsed and your lender has not provided proof of the debt and no resolution has taken place

Otherwise, if you're not making progress, make sure you've gone through steps #1-3 and documented everything before going to a lawyer. Strong documentation will make your case much stronger if you have one.

Final Thoughts

It can be tough to deal with your student loan lender. It can be even tougher when they are making mistakes.

Make sure that you still start at the top - jumping to a lawyer or paying for assistance when a simple phone call would work doesn't make sense. 

If you're not quite sure where to start or what to do, consider hiring a CFA or CFP to help you with your student loans. We recommend The Student Loan Planner to help you put together a solid financial plan for your student loan debt. Check out The Student Loan Planner here.

Mistakes do happen - but make sure you follow up. Nobody cares more about your money and financial life than you.

Robert Farrington
Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.

He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.

He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.

What To Do If Your Student Loan Lender Messes Up Your Credit Report
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors'. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Subscribe
Connect with
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Primary Sidebar

Robert Farrington will teach you how to get out of student loan debt and how to start investing.

Hi! My Name is

America's Millennial Money Expert

Welcome to The College Investor. We're here to help you escape student loan debt so you can start investing and building wealth for the future

Our expert guides, reviews, and more are designed to help you achieve your financial goals.

Want to learn more? See what's in my wallet.

As Featured In

Social Media

Popular Posts

Side Hustling

53 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money

Best Side Hustles

15 Best Side Hustles You Can Start Earning With In 2022

Make Money From Home

80 Ways To Make Money From Home (In Your Pajamas)

Crazy Ways To Make $10,000

10 Crazy Ways To Make $10,000 You’ve Never Heard Of

Make $50,000 Per Year

3 Ways To Make $50,000 Per Year Without Working With Passive Income

Student Loan Scams

Top Student Loan Scams

Net Worth of Millennials

Average Net Worth Of Millennials By Age

Ways To Get Student Loan Forgiveness

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (The Complete List)

Passive Income Ideas

35 Passive Income Ideas You Can Use To Build Wealth In 2022

529 Plan By Age

How Much Should You Have In A 529 Plan By Age

Ultimate Guides

529 Plan Guide

529 Plans: The Ultimate Guide To College Savings Plans

Student Loans and Financial Aid By State

Student Loan And Financial Aid Programs By State

Student Loan Advice

The Definitive Guide To Student Loan Debt: Everything To Know About Your Loans

Student Loan Forgiveness By State

The Full List Of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs By State

newretirement

How to Start Saving Now: The College Graduate’s Guide to Saving for Retirement

Latest Research

Institutional Merit Grants

Who Gets Institutional Merit Grants At Private Colleges?

Resume Student Loan Payments

Survey: Even With Higher Expenses, Most Student Loan Borrowers Are Ready To Resume Payments

Support From Parents Survey

64% Of Millennials Receive Support From Their Parents

undermatching at selective colleges

Undermatching: Why Do Smart Low-Income Students Not Enroll In Selective Colleges?

How Much Americans Pay To File Their Taxes

How Much Americans Pay To File Their Taxes

Footer

Who We Are

The College Investor is an independent, advertising-supported publisher of financial content, including news, product reviews, and comparisons.

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Press & Media

About

  • About
  • Our Team
  • Podcast
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • How We Make Money
  • Archives

Social

Copyright © 2022 · The College Investor · Privacy Policy ·Terms of Service · DO NOT Sell My Personal Information

wpDiscuz