If you default on your federal student loan, the loan may be placed with a collection agency, which will then contact you to obtain payment. 
If you default on your federal student loan , the entire balance of the loan principal and interest becomes immediately due. This is called acceleration. Once your loan is accelerated , you no longer have access to deferment or forbearance options or to a choice of repayment plans. In addition , if you do not make repayment arrangements with the holder of your loan the U.S. Department of Education ED, a guaranty agency, or the school that made the loan and comply with the terms of the repayment arrangement , your loan holder may place your loan with a collection agency. If your loan is placed with a collection agency , you will be responsible for costs incurred by your loan holder to get payment. These costs amount to 17.92% of your loan amount if your loan is held by ED. Other loan holders may charge a different amount. You should check with them to find out what it is. The 17.92% is payable in addition to your outstanding principal balance, interest, and fees. For example , if you owe ED $10,000 , you ll owe an additional $1,792 in collection fees once your loan goes to a collection agency, for a total of $11,792 : 17.92% = 0.1792 $10,000 x 0.1792= $1,792 $10,000 + $1,792 = $11,792 The holder of your loan can take other actions to collect as well. ED currently contracts with several collection agencies to administer many of the collection activities of our accounts. Many guaranty agencies also contract with collection agencies for the same reason. Collection agency employees are trained to comply with the terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which govern collection practices by debt collectors. If your defaulted loan is placed with a private collection agency , you can expect the agency to first offer you the option of entering into a voluntary repayment agreement. If you do not agree to enter into a voluntary 

user: I'm getting calls from someone who wants to charge me fees to get my federal loan out of default.

assistant: This is a scam. The first thing you should do is contact the Default Resolution Group for help.

assistant: Are they asking you to pay for enrollment or maintenance fees?

user: Yes, they are asking for maintenance fees.

assistant: Okay. The best thing to do is ignore them when they try to contact you. If you are in need of real help with your defaulted loan, the Default Resolution Group can help you for free.

user: Where can I go to learn more about protecting myself from these types of scams?

assistant: You should take a look at our blog post titled, "Don't Be Fooled: You Never Have to Pay for Student Loan Help".

user: Thank you. I'm afraid that my defaulted student loan will cause my wages to be garnished. How can I avoid this.

assistant: One way you can avoid garnishment is to make a request for a hearing.

user: I lost my job last year and have just stared a new job 2 months ago. Will my wages still be garnished?

assistant: This is definitely something that you should bring up at the hearing. Since you have been employed for less than 12 months after having previously been involuntarily separated from your employment, it may be ruled that your wages cannot be garnished at this time.

user: What rights do I have with garnishment?

assistant: Your rights include being sent a notice that explains ED's intention to garnish your wages in 30 days, the amount of your debt, and your right to inspect and copy any records relating to the debt. You also have the right to object garnishment and can avoid garnishment by voluntarily repayment.