Reference for Educational Benefits

[velochic]

I'm not sure what this letter implies, so I thought maybe you all could help me.

I received a letter stating that I was given as a reference for "educational benefits" for my nephew and they do not have a valid address or phone number for him. He is an adult. He still lives with his mother, though, (my sister), and they recently moved. They want his new address and phone number.

I checked out the website noted and it appears that it's an education finance company. My nephew flunked out 2 years ago. He and his mother are both horrible money managers, so my *guess* is that he's stopped paying this and they're trying to find him.

I did not consent to him using me as a reference. They spelled my name wrong and got my address wrong (only by 1 digit, though). I don't know what my obligations are here. My mother (who lives with us) got the same letter.

I know this isn't much info, but am I assuming correctly that he's just not paying and now they are wanting to collect, so they're contacting anyone that might be in contact with my nephew? I don't know how collections work as we've never been through this.

I thought I'd just call my sister and tell her about this, but she is so busy that it could be a week before I reach her/get her to return my call.

TIA!

[RollerCoasterMama]

I remember a million years ago needing to list some extra relatives on my student loan applications. I picked my grandpa--never mentioned it to him though. If this is the same kind of thing, it's really just providing an extra way of tracking down the borrower if they can't find them (like this situation). It wasn't that I was saying my grandpa gave me a thumbs up as a borrower or had any liability. My own opinion...if he listed you as a reference, he's pretty much giving you permission to help them reach him. I'd provide the correct address if you've got it. It's a little different than a random collection call just trying to find anyone that might possibly be related. But that's my own opinion.

Anyway, studen loan lenders are muuuuuuch better to work with if you actually talk to them. If he can't pay, deferments and forebearances are usually pretty simple to get. And they don't go away ever. He might not think so today, but in the long run you're helping.

It could very well be that if they moved, they really just need to reach him. If mail is getting bounced back, they will need to try and get a current address. Tax forms, statements, etc. (From the sound of it, you're probably right that it's collection related, but you never know!)

[velochic]

Thanks RollerCoasterMomma! That makes sense. I will wait to hear from my sister to ask her what she wants me to do. I haven't signed anything, so I'm not worried about them coming to me to collect. Just didn't know if this was something I really needed to pay attention to.