I had a similar problem with my student loan a few years ago. I have my loans through Next Student and they helped me with my debt problems by helping me with my payment options. I would recommend to consolidate your loans if your still having trouble paying off the loans.

Before you consolidate your loans you should definitely demand copies of your promissory notes. In the few _reported_ cases available regarding student loan debt and promissory notes, the courts have adhered to general precedents requiring creditors to present promissory notes (originals or copies) to the court when bringing a legal action to collect a debt. If you or anyone else needs more information regarding demanding promissory notes prior to consolidation, post a comment or new topic to this forum.

If you demand copies of your promissory notes, do post a follow-up comment in this forum topic to let everyone know about the current status of your efforts. I'm sure other borrowers considering consolidation can benefit from your experiences.

Dilatory tactics such as making a single payment within 270 days to avoid default have reportedly been effective for some borrowers as a short term strategy, but my personal opinion is that a more permanent solution must be sought. Based upon what you said, it appears you may have already entered default status, so you may be limited to seeking rehabilitation of your default status. Generally speaking, dilatory tactics will simply result in Congress and/or the U.S. Department of Education changing the rules to preclude such tactics.

It is a somewhat different "ball game" when dealing with the federal government as creditor because the fed has constructed preferential rules that operate to its benefit compared to the private debt collection industry. For example, federal agencies can garnish the wages of a delinquent debtor without first obtaining a court order (http://www.fms.treas.gov/debt/awg.html). My experience is that the federal government has been increasingly aggressive in its efforts to collect student loan debt. "Being sued" by the fed is not an effective strategic alternative to consolidation in large part because discharging a student loan debt in bankruptcy is not an alternative for student loan borrowers. The federal bankruptcy code has recently been modified to make it essentially impossible for student loan debtors to be able to discharge student loan debts.

The SLAVE position is that the only way to obtain sufficient clout to effectively protect the interests of student loan borrowers like yourself is to build a sizable community of student loan borrowers, and to pursue class action litigation of behalf of all student loan borrowers. Help us reach out to other people through other website forums, chat rooms, and listserves. The faster we grow, the more quickly we can seek change on behalf of all borrowers.

We cannot provide you with a professional legal opinion because we are not familiar with all the facts in your case, and because our mission is not to provide legal advice to individual debtors. Other people's experiences regarding your questions, including particular tactics that have been effective for other borrowers, would be valuable posts for everyone to contribute to this or other forums in our website.