800-848-0981

Got the call yesterday, they left part of an automated message because I didnt' answer the call.  Listened to the message, and decided to call it back for curiosity.  The man who answered didn't even introduce himself and said "social security number please" ... I said "you called me, I am not that stupid, I don't have a loan, bye" and hung up the phone.
Stupid people.  I hope that someone doesn't get caught up in it.

I just got a phone call and it was for my brother about his student loan that he doesnt have. The woman was very rude when I told her this number is on a don't call list. She told me it isnt my business because the phone call was not for me.

I received a call from this number today (12/03/07); the caller identified himself as an employee (name, LaMar) at the Department of Education.  He said he wanted to verify my son's address and went on to give me the former address of my son.  When I told him it was wrong, but would not give him an updated address, he asked that I ask my son to call him at 1-800-848-0981.  He reemphasized that he was calling from the Department of Education and my son should give the information to whomever took the call at the 800 number.

third call today at 8:42pm

I keep getting these calls at work and I don't know why, I have never taken out a student loan in my life. The recording says Fed. Department of Education but when you look at the caller ID it just reads an 800 number.

1st call 11:00
2nd call 11:15

They are legit.  I just got a call from this number and called back and didn't even speak to anyone.

I then called the Federal Student Loan board (a number I got right from their official website) and asked them for the Student Loan/Dept. of Education number.  They told me 800-848-0979.

I called that number and spoke to someone.

The problem isn't that the number(s) given aren't legit.  It's that it's shady.  It's just another example of government systems failing to properly communicate with the citizenry in a comforting way.  It's really absurd to ask for a social security number without really identifying yourself.

Anyway, it's really the Department of Education/Student Loan service calling.

Woman from this number left voice message regarding student loan.  We have none.  Called number back and woman immediately wanted SSN information.  Sounds bogus.  Phishing complaint forwarded to Feds through hotline.

Legitimate, I doubt it... The 800 number does not belong to the Gov't. Belongs to a company that suposedly provides call center and disaster recovery services. Anyone you speak to at that number would not be a government employee.
I called them back, gave them my daughters name, told them they called me and should have any other info they would need to find her "account". They hung up. So, my opinion is that this is not legitimate, is fraudulent and should be reported to the authorities.
1) Even if they are calling on behalf of the DOE, they should not be misrepresenting themselves as Governmant employees. They work for a private firm.
2) If they are calling us they should be able to search their database, if they really have one, by name as well as SSN.
3) My daughter just took out a loan last summer and is still a student. So there should not be any "collection activity".
4) I never received any kind of paper communication, only a phone call requesting a SSN.
5) I searched the company on the internet. There is only one person on the Board of Directors and in the executive profiles section. The company appears to be in Chapter 11 proceedings.

Just got a call. They call sometimes three times a day.

Called a business line left only a partial message- sad to call immediately8

I just got a call from them also. The number was 1800-848-0981

I received the call at almost midnight EST (crazy indicator). Thanks to this site and the OKhighered site, I was able to make a complaint with the FTC. Thanks.

They called our business and left a message claiming to be from the Dept of Education calling about our "student records."  It's been over 25 years since I had student records. :)  They also gave a website www.dl.ed.gov ... which doesn't exist.  I have filed a complaint with the FTC.

I got a call from the 800-848-0981 number about my parent PLUS loan, which was past due. I didn't call that number but went direct to dl.ed.gov (which is the federal student aid website) and got a number there, 800-848-0979. I called that number and the person who answered could not have been nicer. The 0981 number is listed on a number of sites as the number for the collections department for the Direct Loan servicing center. So I think it's legit although apparently they also call the numbers people given as references on student loan forms, so those people who don't have loans or have paid them off years ago may be getting calls because they're listed as references on someone else's application.

yah... their real. . I had moved and they got returned mail from the place i was at and called me to get new address. I just don't understand why they don't tell you anything except "can i have your ss number".

The company that is calling you IS bogus. They have a number similar to the actual USDoE, but they are not them. No legit company would immediately ask for a SSN without even introducing themselves.

Reported to the FTC also.

I started receiving messages from the U.S. Department of Education Direct Loan Servicing Center this week.  It's been many years since I've had a student loan.  I called 800-848-0981 and told the woman who answered that I believed they called me in error.  She was very polite and did not ask for my SSN or any other personal information.  She did ask for my phone number and offered to remove the number from their system.

Do not, Do not, Do not, give your soc number out.  Am I making myself clear?  They are a scam.

Calls several times a day over a period of two or three months!   Always say I have "a student loan problem" - THEY HAVE THE PROBLEM!