It is very common for fees to be tacked on and for interest to continue to accumulate. Generally these fees should be only 25% of the debt, but some abusive collectors charge (and get) 30-40% of the debt and go unchecked for a long time (Padilla vs. Payco). In the past a lot of the "uncollectable" collections went straight to the large collection agencies after the default period. The government has since changed that and tries various tactics in order to collect.
You can complain to the Department of Education regarding the lack of contact. That will not (unfortunately) change a thing.
The fun thing about the government is that it follows the golden rule; the one with the gold makes the rules. That having been said, they will get your money one way or another.
You are going to have to pay the bill which means that the collection agency gets paid for what they did; track you down and contact you. You *may* be able to negotiate the fees with the agency, but the money due to the government has to be a "PIF", or paid/payment in full.
Good luck,
UBF

