GREAT LAKES

2016-09-11

TX

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Received bad information about my loan
Complaint: My wife and I took out approximately {$24000.00} each in federal student loans, for a total {$48000.00}. We got married before either of us graduated from collage, but after graduation it was recommended that we consolidate our loans into XXXX. When we had originally taken out the loans, we were mislead ( lied to ) with regards to the interest rates, processing fees and repayment schedule. We had the original agreements, however our loans have been sold so many times that for a while we were not sure who was servicing our loans. Currently, Great Lakes is the company servicing our loans. As I mentioned, we borrowed approximately {$48000.00}, Great lakes claims that we owe a little over {$130000.00} and expect a payment of {$96000.00} now and {$8400.00} a month for an undisclosed amount of time. We have attempted to set a reasonable payment arrangement multiple times. We speak to an agent, negotiate terms that we can afford, the agent says that they will send the paper work. We fill out and return the forms and when we follow up on the status we would hear the same thing. " We are sorry, but that agent was not authorized to make that type of arrangement and is no longer with the company ''. We have been through this scenario no less than 20 times and our loans continue to get higher and higher. We are actually being charged interest on our interest. Instead of 8 %, we are being charged more like 75 %. And there is no limit to how much this balance can grow, even to the point that we can not service the interest.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: Yes Timely Response

2016-09-11

Rockford, IL

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Need information about my balance/terms
Complaint: I got a letter from Great Lakes stating I owe {$20000.00}, I signed a Promissory note for {$25000.00}. No payment have been made as of yet .... So my question is where did the {$5000.00} go? I have stated before that the student loan industry engages in fraud to facilitate the application of fees to one 's loan total. I asked for all of my loans to be consolidated, yet I bet one of the loans has accidentally misplaced or other jargon to cover themselves.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-10

Tulsa, OK

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Complaint: Hello my name is XXXX XXXX. I attended XXXX from XXXX to XXXX to gain a degree in XXXX. I was honestly ignorant of how much it was going to cost me per month once I graduated. It was over XXXX $ a month and with the job I had I could not keep up. I was able to get it reduced to a pay as you earn bracket but would have still been stuck paying a considerable amount back. I was able to talk to a relative and have them pay the entire {$40000.00} off and am now repaying them back. My question is if students are now getting their Student Loans Forgiven then should n't I be eligible for Disgorgement? I would greatly appreciate any information and assistance with this. I have a child on the way and would love to have this freed up off our backs. Please feel free to call me a XXXX or email me at XXXX. Thank You!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-08

Orion Twp, MI

Can't repay my loan

Student loan: Non-federal student loan

Can't temporarily postpone payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-08

East Windsor, NJ

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Complaint: I am currently a XXXX and have been since XXXX 2014. However, in XX/XX/XXXX my Stafford loans from my XXXX were taken off of in-school deferment status by my servicer ( Great Lakes ) and I was asked to resume repayment and interest started accruing on my subsidized loans, which should be interest free while I am in school. I have twice submitted the form documenting my XXXX status ( signed by the registrar at my current university ), spoken with Great Lakes on the phone at least 8 times, and sent multiple emails trying to resolve the situation but they still have not resolved the issue. I have been given the run around rather than people actually trying to help me. For example, I was told they could not help me because their " system was temporarily down '' on multiple occasions separated by several weeks.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-07

Aurora, CO

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Non-federal student loan

Need information about my balance/terms
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-05

Chaska, MN

Taking/threatening an illegal action

Debt collection: Federal student loan

Sued w/o proper notification of suit
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-05

Simi Valley, CA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Received bad information about my loan
Complaint: When I took a XXXX mortgage on my house the loaner insisted we pay the loan in full and we did. Great Lakes XXXX.mygreatlakes.org XXXX is charging us interest from after the loan was paid off. They wo n't stop calling and emailing. This is harassment. I have sent them a copy of the check 3 times and they wo n't stop.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-03

Seattle, WA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Trouble with how payments are handled
Complaint: I misdirected a mortgage payment using my banks bill pay. The mortgage payment instead went to GreatLakes Higher Education, with which I had an account five years ago but which I do n't anymore. I called and asked them to return the money after my mortgage company told me about the missed payment. Great Lakes told me they forwarded the money to XXXX, another student loan company. XXXX denies they received anything. The transfer of money happened XXXX XXXX. Great Lakes continues to refuse to return the misdirected funds. My banks bill pay says this is common and Great Lakes makes " XXXX '' on this sort of thing. I am very concerned about paying my mortgage and other expenses given Great Lakes refusal to return my money.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-02

Columbus, OH

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Non-federal student loan

Trouble with how payments are handled
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-09-01

San Francisco, CA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Trouble with how payments are handled
Complaint: After making timely monthly minimum payments to Great Lakes for over 2 years, I made an extra payment in the month of XXXX 2016 of {$100.00} toward a specific loan in my loan package. I received a confirmation message to my Message Center on XXXX.org acknowledging that the payment would be applied to the specific loan as requested. Shortly thereafter the payment went through - except the {$100.00} was applied across all loans in my loan package, with a whopping {$2.00} allotted to the specified loan. When I called about a week later to resolve this issue - an issue brought to my attention only because I thought to check the Payment History page of my Great Lakes account - a Great Lakes representative told me he would submit a ticket to have the payment reverted and applied to the correct loan, but that it would take 5-7 business days to be resolved. When I called 8 business days later, having received no update from Great Lakes, a different representative told me there had been no such ticket made, and then began to suggest clearly invalid reasons for why there was actually no problem from their perspective. All this despite the fact that Great Lakes had already verified in writing that my payment was supposed to go to the specified loan. I asked to be connected to another representative, who told me that the payment would now be reversed and re-allocated when my next automatic monthly payment was processed on XXXX XXXX. I asked this representative for some sort of confirmation that this would indeed take place, owing to my steadily declining trust in Great Lakes after the last couple of phone calls. He assured me he would send me a " custom e-mail '' to confirm this new supposed fix scheduled for XXXX XXXX, but that it would take " 1-2 business days. '' At this point I was feeling a strong sense of deja vu. It does n't take 2 days to send an e-mail. But 2 business days later, not only have I not received said e-mail, but this last representative has also failed to answer any of my phone calls or return my voicemails. At this point, my confidence in this issue actually being resolved in XXXX is virtually nonexistent. And even in the unlikely event that my issue is resolved, Great Lakes ' behavior in this matter is, to my mind, tantamount to fraud. At every step of the way I 've been misinformed, misdirected, or otherwise placated, without any sort of resolution to my issue, the cause of which lies squarely with Great Lakes. It 's become painfully obvious that Great Lakes representatives are trained not to try to fix problems, but to make up bogus reasons - " the catch '' - for why debtors ' payments are n't being applied the way they should be. Worst of all is the fact that I now feel actively discouraged from paying my loans. How can I trust that if I make another payment toward my loans, Great Lakes wo n't simply take it and apply it elsewhere, in other words, lie to me again? I 'm reaching out to CFPB in the desperate hope that Great Lakes can be held to some form of accountability. I 've held up my end of our bargain ; it 's not too much to ask that they hold up theirs and do their one job, taking my hard-earned money, correctly. Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-30

Chandler, AZ

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-30

Covington, KY

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-29

City Industry, CA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Keep getting calls about my loan
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-28

Centerville, OH

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-28

Cottonwd Hgts, UT

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Need information about my balance/terms
Complaint: The balance on my student loans is not accurate and have submitted a discharge application but all my supporting documents including bank statements were rejected and not used to make a decision by Great Lakes
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-25

Asheboro, NC

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Having problems with customer service
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-25

Sioux Falls, SD

Can't repay my loan

Student loan: Non-federal student loan

Can't get flexible payment options
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-23

Washington, DC

Can't repay my loan

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Can't temporarily postpone payments
Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, 2016, I called the holder of my federal student loan, Great Lakes, about the possibility of a short term forbearance. I 'm relocating to XXXX in two months and wanted to forbear for three months on my payments to increase my monthly available funds for moving expenses. When I called Great Lakes, I was informed that I was not eligible for a discretionary forbearance. When I asked if there was anything that Great Lakes could do to help me for a short term basis -- my other loan provider was willing to grant me a deferment for relocation expenses and I assumed that Great Lakes would be accommodating since they say to call them for repayment assistance -- I was informed that I could either pay my student loan with a credit card or not pay on my loans. I was told that nonpayment was an option because default would not trigger until 365 days and that there would little, if any, consequences arising therefrom. As a XXXX, I know that this statement was a misrepresentation on many fronts. First, Great Lakes will begin assessing fees on my account the minute I stop paying my account. Second, nonpayment after thirty days will be reported to the credit bureaus, which will adversely affect my credit score and my credit history. Third, nonpayment will make the entire unpaid balance of my loan and any interest due immediately and payable immediately. And fourth, my loan account could be assigned to a collection agency, which could result in wage/Social Security garnishment and further adverse effects to my credit score. The fact that a Great Lakes representative would recognize nonpayment as a legitimate " payment option '' when a customer is faced with a repayment issue is appalling. I hate to think that this is the advice that Great Lakes is giving to borrowers who need temporary assistance with repaying their student loans. Such conduct, to me, appears to be a predatory lending practice that inures in Great Lakes ' favor and not the borrowers.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-23

Atl, GA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Received bad information about my loan
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: Yes Timely Response

2016-08-23

Chicago, IL

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Don't agree with fees charged
Complaint: I took classes via a method I did n't understand in 2014. It was a vet difficult, online college program prepared by XXXX XXXX University. When classes were dropped, loans were not rebuked by financial aid and I think this is wrong. I am {$5000.00} in debt and I only passed XXXX classes -- I also only saw XXXX classes through. I do n't understand why I am not merely paying for those XXXX classes and the loans granted for them. What is the reason I have to pay for student loans for classes I did not complete? Loan is financed by Great Lakes. I had no understanding of loans and no family I could discuss them with but I believe that if I quick the class in time it is n't fair that I was still charged for loans that I never saw the light on.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-23

Greenwood, CA

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Received bad information about my loan
Complaint: I have just graduated from my university on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. Great Lakes says that I will begin repayment on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. I believe that I am entitled to a grace period that would make my payments not due until XX/XX/XXXX. The representative whom I spoke with today stated that there is only XXXX grace period over the life of the loan. The information that I have read online leads me to believe that this is not the case. I will be happy to start making my payments in XXXX, but am not willing to skip my grace period, to which I am entitled.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-21

Portland, OR

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Trouble with how payments are handled
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-19

Lewisville, TX

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Need information about my balance/terms
Complaint: On XXXX XXXX FFEL loan serviced by XXXX XXXX XXXX disappeared from XXXX website including historical payment and interest paid. Called XXXX on XXXX XXXX and was advised loan was resold back to guarantor Great Lakes Education. Next day XXXX XXXX, luckily I observed email from Great Lakes requesting payment due in 9 days when monthly payment was previously accepted for XXXX by XXXX! [ see attached ] Both XXXX & Great Lakes failed to send any prior written correspondence informing of future change in creditor, loan balance, amortization schedule, payment amount, how last payment would be applied, or where to send future payments. Without personal vigilant proactive awareness, I would not be aware of a change in this debt ownership, or balance details! I called Great Lakes and their rep informed me they only send digital notification for account issues and the responsibility to notify change in ownership should be from XXXX. Great Lakes website had outdated contact information for me except for my email address which was the only contact that was still valid. How do I know their balance calculation is correct without any written correspondence to confirm??! In my recorded call to Great Lakes, their rep also advised me to ignore the statement due date while they try and " figure it out '' despite interest accruing each day. I can not just ignore a payment request and hope they " figure it out ''. XXXX advised me that Great Lakes should have notified new change in ownership while Great Lakes points blame at XXXX. Both servicers are not legally handling this migration correctly and giving no valid proof of debt. I request Great Lakes send me an amortization schedule to validate the transferred loan amount, the calculated interest, payment calculation, and historical payment information. Great Lakes advised me they do not provide amortization charts which I feel is a violation of my FDCPA and TILA rights. The loan has already accrued new interest while I am in dispute. Great Lakes has tried to redirect me to the statement balance which is NOT a VALIDATION of debt pursuant to 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 ( b ) of the FDCPA. To recap, I am asking these lenders to validate the original debt by providing original written bearer of instrument of original loan documentation, provide full method of verification of origination loan balance principle, interest amortization disclosure, and fees for this debt up to and including the transfer to Great Lakes. I also want transparent information how my XXXX XXXX payment was applied to the loan balance prior to the XXXX XXXX loan transfer.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response

2016-08-18

Chicago, IL

Dealing with my lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Trouble with how payments are handled
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Disputed: No Timely Response