GREAT LAKES
Consumer Complaints
There are over 1568 complaints on file for GREAT LAKES. Dated between 2019-12-12 and 2012-03-26.
Complaints Page 6
2019-07-03
Tacoma, WA
Struggling to repay your loan
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-07-01
Spencer, MA
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: On the most recent occasion, XX/XX/19, I attempted to pay off a small loan XXXX {$120.00} XXXX with over payment from my monthly payment. This time I attempted and followed emailed directions to completely pay off this loan, I came to find out that only {$.00} went to principal and {$.00} went towards interest on this loan. The other amount went towards the last loan I have through them. It is with great frustration that I am writing this, I am trying to move forward and pay off loans as a working professional and this company makes it very difficult.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-30
Manhattan, NY
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Company Response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error Closed with explanation
2019-06-29
Denver, CO
Incorrect information on your report
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Account information incorrect
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-28
Fallbrook, CA
Incorrect information on your report
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Account information incorrect
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-24
Okc, OK
Struggling to repay your loan
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Complaint: I will try not to be too winded. I did some Parent Plus Student Loans for my son that went to XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. I approved 1 that I know of. Then they would let him change my password and re-submit loan applications every year in my name. Please help!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-22
Greensboro, NC
Struggling to repay your loan
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Can't temporarily delay making payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-21
Wann, OK
Incorrect information on your report
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting
Account information incorrect
Complaint: In process of closing on home. Contacted XXXX because they are the only credit bureau that is reporting my student loan that has been paid off back on my credit file after was already removed and reflecting never late paid in full balance is now XXXX. they directed me to their website which doesn't allow you to open new investigation. Please help time is of essence. I am currently in process of closing on a property and my score dropped and now my debt to income ratio is 10 times higher.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-20
Columbus, OH
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: I'm writing this letter on my behalf, regarding my hardship denial. I am aware that I was denied due to my hardship not being turned in on time. The basis of my complaint is there were several different representatives that were providing contradicting information on the proper protocol and exact instruction and nature of the hardship appeal process. The offset was posted on XX/XX/19. I had within 30 days to have that in and you received my hardship on XX/XX/19 3 days after. Upon my request for the hardship I spoke with more them 1 representative on the day of XX/XX/19. Trying to get clarification on the process because I was told something different each time. The original offset letter was sent to the wrong address twice interfering with the 30 days I had to submit the application. Due to the fact of giving me misrepresented information my application was received 3 days late. I understand the decision was made on XX/XX/2019. However, I understand there is accountability to remedy issues that cause clients financial harm and extended hardships. I was unable to act according to the protocol because the information provided was in fact not accurate yet provided by the agents of U.S. Department of Education ( customer service representative ).
I was facing eviction at the time and because of me not receiving my refund, I lost my home. I'm currently experiencing homelessness. Living in my car since XXXX. I have an XXXX XXXX that affects me working at times, which Im currently going through. I was looking to my refund to help with catching up on bills and establishing housing. I was unable to do that and suffered a financial injury due to bad information.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-19
Ft Myers, FL
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: The letter Great Lakes provided in claims XXXX. XXXX stated I attended the institution of XXXX XXXX college but they did not admit to the institution in question who committed the fraud which was the XXXX institution of XXXX XXXX, Nevada. I can not prove I attended this institution with school documentation because I did not attend this institution!!! My loan service through Dept of Education named Great Lakes Borrower claimed to have done there own investigation on the Institution in question. The claim they presented they opposed investigation claim they found to be true, was in fact inaccurate!!! XXXX XXXX college orchestrated the FRAUD through another institution. As a result the school has been closed, if the Department of Education knows this why are they still trying to hold me accountable for fraud one of their employees committed??? Did this person get jail time? There response does not justify this claim as resolved, there response does not justify a resolution to this issue. My original claim XXXX should have never been closed because it was not resolved. The letter they attached for their response is dated XX/XX/19, I NEVER RECEIVED THIS LETTER! SO how could be a resolution or explanation for the issue at hand when the letter was just written. Meanwhile, they continue to report to the credit bureaus and hurting my credit.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-18
Hinsdale, IL
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: I have contacted Great Lakes Servicing repeatedly over the last year, asking for assistance in determining the monetary forgiveness amount in my eligibility for the Federal XXXX Loan Forgiveness program.
Studentaid.ed.gov specifically states to direct all questions relating to XXXX Loan Forgiveness to the servicer of the loan.
XXXX XXXX qualify for {$5000.00} in federal forgiveness, while XXXX XXXX who XXXX Math or Science can receive {$17000.00} in federal loan forgiveness. My previous co-worker, XXXX XXXX, also a XXXX XXXX science XXXX, directed the same exact question that I have t ( are we XXXX or XXXX XXXX ) to his loan servicer ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and received an immediate response. XXXX XXXX was able to complete the federal XXXX application and was awarded forgiveness of {$17000.00} in XX/XX/XXXX. I have attached a copy of the email response from XXXX XXXX XXXX stating that XXXX was eligible for the {$17000.00} forgiveness amount because he XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX grade in a XXXX district.
I worked for the same XXXX district as XXXX from XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). That district wants to certify me as XXXX science on the XXXX Loan Forgiveness federal application because of the email from XXXX XXXX XXXX. My current district ( XXXX XXXX ) of which I have XXXX XXXX and XXXX grade computer science/stem classes for the last 4 years, is not sure how I should be certified on the federal XXXX Loan Forgiveness app, so you see, I can not consult my chief administrative officer for an answer. I have been filing complaints against Great Lakes for over a year as I am unable to complete a XXXX Loan Forgiveness application without their clarification.
I have not received any assistance or solutions from Great Lakes. Instead, they continue to accrue interest on my loan and state, we have not received a completed XXXX loan application.
I have received numerous contradictory responses from Great Lakes over the course of the last year. Their most recent response " Great Lakes is unable to determine whether you qualify as an XXXX or XXXX XXXX. Your Chief administration Office must certify your qualifications. As of XX/XX/XXXX, Great Lakes has not received a XXXX Loan Forgiveness Application from you. '' I can not complete a XXXX application to send to Great Lakes until they make the determination of XXXX or XXXX XXXX, just as the other federal student loan servicers are doing for their customers!!
I called the Ombudsmen group to dispute the latest response from Great Lakes, just a few days ago. The Ombudsmen rep directed me to the Illinois XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, claiming that the state should decide my eligibility. I have included the email I received from XXXX. The State can not determine eligibility in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX because it is a federal program! The State has its own program but I can not apply until the federal application has been processed by Great Lakes. I can not complete and submit the federal application to Great Lakes because I XXXX at 2 XXXX over the course of the last 5 years and neither XXXX is in agreement with the federal classification of XXXX or XXXX science.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-14
Chaska, MN
Incorrect information on your report
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Information belongs to someone else
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-12
Janesville, WI
Incorrect information on your report
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting
Information belongs to someone else
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-11
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-10
Tibbs, MS
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: Please see the attached documents including a letter addressing all issues and concerns regarding the loan, documentation, emails, etc. that describes my transaction from 2006 to present.
Thank you for your time and consideration, XXXX XXXX
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-08
VA
Attempts to collect debt not owed
Debt collection: I do not know
Debt was result of identity theft
Complaint: XXXX and XXXX has failed to prove its client the US Department of Education case. On XX/XX/XXXX, I reported a " well known '' Conduit for Identity theft and Fraud to the OIG of the US Department of Education. This website was www.pin.ed.gov. This Website allowed essential anyone with anybodies SSN, Date of Birth, and address to obtain a PIN ( Personal Identification Number ) This website not only failed to authenticate or verify by 2 part authentication the person behind a keyboard and monitor. It further was identified by the US Department of Education as a " Well Known '' Conduit since XXXX, according to the redacted report sent to my Virginia XXXX District Congressman. After my Letter to the OIG, explaining that this very Website caused me to become victimized of identity theft and a XXXX Federal Student Loan created illegally and without my knowledge or any signature. It was shut down on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX and XXXX has been advised numerous times regarding this matter. In fact they have failed to produce any validity to this collection harrassment. They will deny they are required by law to prove that you applied for and signed for and actually receive money, which I did NOT receive a penny of money from the Department of Education or anyone else. This is identity theft and Fraud and needs to be removed from my credit file. In fact the redacted report sent to Congress confirmed that over 874 million in fraudulent loans was created by this very website in XXXX, so I'm not the ONLY Victim here.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-07
Atl, GA
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: My student loan was due XX/XX/XXXX and was set up to be drafted on auto pay. I had to take my son to the emergency room which resulted in unexpected expenses and not enough money in my checking account for the draft. On XX/XX/XXXX Great Lakes attempted to take the payment 4 times and then 4 times again on XX/XX/XXXX resulting in XXXX of NSF fees. By the time my direct deposit came through on the XXXX, I was missing over XXXX dollars for a XXXX dollar payment.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-06
Dacula, GA
Incorrect information on your report
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Information belongs to someone else
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-05
Savannah, GA
Attempts to collect debt not owed
Debt collection: Federal student loan debt
Debt was result of identity theft
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-05
VT
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: They delay processing payments submitted by check/mail. When I called they told me that their " official policy '' is to handle all incoming payments " within a few days up to a couple weeks ''. This is unacceptable and results in me paying increased interest. I have to monitor it online and it could have resulted in missed payments if I didn't also make payments online. I believe that this is an ongoing, established practice to increase revenue and charge the borrowers more interest.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-04
Liberty Township, OH
Communication tactics
Debt collection: Federal student loan debt
You told them to stop contacting you, but they keep trying
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-03
CA
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: I have student loans from both my XXXX and XXXX degrees managed by Great Lakes. After completing XXXX school on XX/XX/19 my XXXX loans were automatically put in to forbearance without my permission or consent. I was told this was ostensibly to " align the status '' of my XXXX and XXXX loans. Further review revealed that the forbearance status also cancelled the .25 % interest rate discount I receive for utilizing autopay. I make significant payments above minimum every month despite my loans not being in repayment. This automatic forbearance will in effect increase the potential interest that will be capitalized when my XXXX loans exit their grace period as my payments are applied proportionally to each loan ( I can not allocate manually unless the interest balance is zero at the time of my extra payments ). Greatlakes has offered to cancel the forbearance but has offered my no remedy for the lost efficacy of my payments due to the effective increase in interest rate.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-06-03
NH
Struggling to repay your loan
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Complaint: I received a call from XXXX, NV at XXXX on XX/XX/19 regarding my student loans. I had recently been in my account trying to set up a new payment plan, so I didnt think it would be a scam. They left a message with a reference number and I called back and spoke to a woman XXXX who was telling me about a predator loan and I could qualify for less of a payment. She asked me to verify my social security number and reset my password on the FSA website. She had said they were the FSA. I was telling my mom about it while I was on the phone with XXXX and my mom said it sounded like a scam. I looked up the number in XXXX and found that it was. Now Im stuck.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-05-31
Ft Myers, FL
Incorrect information on your report
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting
Account information incorrect
Complaint: The year XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX Dept of Education paid {$9400.00} to XXXX XXXX College. At the time this school has been convicted of committing Fraudulent activity. At the same time I attended XXXX XXXX College someone in there Financial aid department received a pell grant from XXXX XXXX OF XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NV XXXX-XXXX. When it was brought to my attention I automatically applied for Loan forgiveness with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( my application number is XXXX ) which is still pending I was also informed to notify my loan services Great Lakes Borrower and they did nothing about it. I told them I was a victim of fraud through an institution who was shut down due to fraud and they are still trying to hold me accountable for XXXX plus interest. I have disputed this and reached out to them several times and nothing. I even provided them with the XXXX XXXX of XXXX number and address and it was phony too. My loan serviced did nothing even XXXX XXXX still has my application as pending because it is being investigated!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2019-05-19
Lowell, AR
Dealing with your lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: I have a loan through great lakes borrower. i didnt know my school took out 9 small loans and not just 4 that have a high interest rate. As well as when i but it in forbearance they never explained that when taken out my interest would be capatalized. I also was told i was on a income based plan and that because if my income my amount is XXXX a month. they never said anything was gon na keep adding on. i was trying to figure out why my loan kept going up. when it cane time to remew my income app i didnt get notified till it was to late and they selected a plan fr me than i called and had to reapply for the income plan. and they but it on forbearance without knowing that it would capatialize my interest they just said it would freeze the account. They also make you think that if your on an income driven plan thatbis payment if XXXX than you are ok not that it gets more each month. i got rushed into signing up for school, also XXXX would have went local and not online cause they pretty much had me sigb up for a documents. thing that i had yo intial and sign that they used later for loa s i dodnt know i had.but they hadcaccess to all of that i am just now seeeing some of the paper that aas for my loans. As well as my school was to help me find a job when they accutally made it worse. and never helped i found my oown job not doing what my degree is for, only to find out i still have to take a certification test that cost XXXX for the test XXXX for books and a XXXX memebership fee. thus is 3 years adter school they never me tioned this not even after i graduated they lied on my resume.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation