“I could still teach online from home,” he said.

Debt relief was welcome this spring, but the credit rating confusion came at a time when he was working hard to rebuild his rating. Harrington regularly monitored his credit score through Credit Karma after struggling in the past to keep up with his bills.

He was in a car accident a few years ago, had to buy a car unexpectedly, and then his score dropped again when he took out the new car loan, juggling his student debt and his medical bills.

To get things on the right track, he diligently made sure that he made all of his payments on time and paid more than the minimum owed.

Still, he now hopes some fixes will take place as soon as possible.

On Monday, Harrington said that, according to Credit Karma, his TransUnion score had increased by 85 points as of June 7.

“So most of that 91 point drop has been recouped,” Harrington said. “The Equifax have only gained 2 points and are at 590 so far.”

Another plus: Not everyone has experienced a shocking drop in their credit rating.

Chi Chi Wu, a lawyer at the National Consumer Law Center, said the Great Lakes accounts were incorrectly marked as “deferred,” which influenced the decline in the Vantage scores used by Credit Karma.