I took out a student loan in XXXX to pay for XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX. I was told by the school that I did n't qualify for any grants or other programs despite being on my own at the age of XXXX. The school told me my income could n't be right and increased it, so I would qualify for the loan. THat 's another story. 
At the school I met my future husband and after graduating we married. I began repaying my loan on the first day, his came due later. We tried making payments, but it was impossible. A person at Nelnet advised me to consolidate and sold me on the benefits of consolidating our loans together. 
I completed paperwork and submitted. Prior to completion an employee contacted me and did caution about the consolidation, but I was already sold on the idea by a previous representative. At that time, I believed I would not get divorced so this was the best option. 
In XXXX I divorced my first husband, he was not willing to work and we were falling behind prior to the divorce and had put the loans on deferment. He did not make a single attempt to pay any of the debt, despite a court order to do so. I repeatedly complained that he would n't pay. I was forced to file bankruptcy. I contacted Nelnet weekly ( not an exaggeration ) to ask for some kind of relief, interest rate reduction, refinancing, anything. The only relief they would offer was deferment. I took the offer a couple of times. When I would call I would explain that I had a XXXX, I was a single mom and struggling to make the payments and did n't want to keep seeing my principle increase. This was XXXX school. My interest rates were about 13 % if I recall. The only option they would ever give me was to defer the loan. At one point I did n't get the deferment papers in on time and I thought maybe they would give me another option. They began calling my employer and asking questions like " How much did I make? ", " When was my payday? ", " How many years had I worked there? '' all in violation. They were also calling me at work and I told them, I would contact them. I thought this different route might give different results. 
It did n't. I did another deferment and the principal continued to escalate. It seemed pointless to even send in any payment less than the {$300.00} they requested every month, but I did n't want the debt to continue to increase so much. 
I met my current husband and he is very responsible. He took on the debt which at this point considering my attempts to make payments on my loan for years, would technically belong to my ex. He started making the payments and keeping me current. I made calls every now and then just trying to refinance or lower the interest rate, to no avail. I was also annoyed that they would n't change the name on my account. One day in XXXX (? ), I made a call to Nelnet again and asked to get the name changed ... .my ex should receive no credit for my current husband making payments. I also thought I could ask ONE more time about refinancing. 
THIS time the representative said I could always refinance with the Department of Education. I could probably get a rate of 8 %. I was floored. Years of phone calls and no help! I did n't know whether to be happy or angry. I thanked this woman for finally giving me this answer. I asked how long this option had been available. She told me it ALWAYS was. If this had been the case my loan would have been paid off YEARS ago, I am convinced. As it is I think my {$12000.00} loan for XXXX school will be paid off in 2 years.