Consumer complaint received 2026-06-10 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Federal student loan debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Notification didn't disclose it was an attempt to collect a debt
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: DE

Complaint narrative:
My Credit Score has been unjustly impacted ; I was never notified of any sort of debt collection until a huge, one-time credit score hit was issued to my account with falsified payment history. In XXXX, I'd noticed that my credit score had dropped by XXXX pts. This was shortly after I'd just finished working very hard to build it up to XXXX. This happened without any warning or explanation. Originally the collection hit my account on XX/XX/XXXX under " DEPTEDNELTNET '' ( this is when it was first officially listed on my score but has now since vanished, though I have screenshots of both then and now ). This completely transformed my score by dropping it XXXX pts, having my payment history go straight from " Excellent '' to " Needs Work '', and other acute and drastic changes which negatively impacted my score. When I checked out the collection, the payment history stated that from XX/XX/XXXX I was current or active on all my payments until XXXX of XXXX, when I was then marked 120+ days late by the end of XX/XX/XXXX, which is when it was then posted to my account. This is obviously an issue as I was NEVER made aware of this. Within a few days they'd changed the name of the account to DEPTED/XXXX and were gone. When I noticed this in XXXX, I immediately called the associated organizations, starting with this NelNet, in order to figure out what was going on. They'd explained to me that the debt was from XXXX ( XXXX stopped federal student loans in XXXX ) who gave it to them, after a series of forbearances and transfers, before giving it to XXXX. At that time, XXXX essentially told me there was nothing I could do and it was best to start making payments, which I did, as to keep my credit score from dropping any further. I began the process of credit disputing with XXXX against DEPTEDXXXX on XX/XX/XXXX which was subsequently 'resolved ' on XX/XX/XXXX. The result was listed as = unknown. I called and submitted another one via telephone on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX and ended up speaking to someone who had me escalated to some sort of 'Special Finances ' team, where I let them know my situation. They informed me about submitting the complaint here at CFPB after that dispute was done processing. Once I'd received the results of second, which were the same as the first, I called both XXXX and NelNet to get more information before submitting this complaint. XXXX informed me that it was NelNet who was responsible for the initial XXXX hit to my credit score and the false reporting of the payment history surrounding the collection. I then called NelNet on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to XXXX. This phone call was one of the most unprofessional calls I've ever experienced, as XXXX and I were interrupted around every minute or so by some male, seemingly directly behind her, hollering and laughing in the background during our conversation. When I asked for more information about the debt, its impact on my score and why I was never notified before this happened, she explained more. Apparently, the collection, which began as a {$2700.00} unsubsidized loan on XX/XX/XXXX, was transferred from XXXX to a " XXXX XXXX '' company. I attended XXXX XXXX University and XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX so, although I don't remember the loan in question, I originally figured it could have possibly been for some books or something as I'd already finished paying off ALL my student loans ( hence why my credit score was XXXX ). NelNet then received the account from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and apparently started requesting payments on XX/XX/XXXX. NelNet added some sort of Forbearance on the account until XX/XX/XXXX where the account became active in XXXX and was marked late 90 days in XXXX, 130+ in XXXX and 160+ in XXXX before being thrown at my account like a nuclear warhead. When I explained that I was NEVER notified of any of this, XXXX told me that they not only had the wrong address listed for me but the wrong e-mail address as well. ( Which makes sense, considering this account was more than 10 years old at this point and transferred multiple times ). When I asked her about the attempts made to contact me that were on record, she couldn't give me ANY examples except for one " sent to the e-mail address on file '' but didn't give me any specific date. XXXX also informed me there were a number of holds, forbearances and other technical things that were involved in the process of XXXX this {$2700.00} loan over the years into the $ XXXX credit score destroying nightmare that they've slapped on my report. I am submitting this complaint here in hopes of finally finding justice for this gross mishandling of my credit.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation