Performant Recovery Demanding a hugh payment for a past due student loan. Alexander, Arkansas

I received a call from an agent of Performant Recovery at work yesterday (01/11/2013) regarding a student loan that I co-signed for.  It was for my daughter's nursing school.  They told me that since she had defaulted on the loan, they expected me to pay the loan in full by 01/15/2013 in the amount of $22,797.13.   I explaine that I would consult with my daughter about this and they told me that it was no longer her responsibility, it was mine since I co-signed for it.

I had my daugther call this agent and she was informed that if we pay $18,000 by Tuesday (01/15/2013), they would erase the debt from our credit report.  Failing being able to pay the $18,000., we could pay $11,000.00 and start making payment of $220.00 monthly with an escalting interest rate that would continue for an extended amount of time. Like we would never pay off this debt.

Now, I am about 2 years away from retirement and I am not able to come up with either amount they are requesting.  If I take any money out of my retirement fund, I will only hurt myself in the future. I am concerned that they are going to garnish my pay, or take my income tax refund if I don't comply with their demands.  Do I have any recourse??

Thanks