SLM CORPORATION

2017-11-14

LA

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem with customer service
Complaint: I currently have 3 private student loans serviced by Sallie Mae.Which means I am making 3 monthly payments ( {$250.00}, {$190.00}, and {$230.00} ) totally {$680.00}. It is completely insane that ( 1 ) I am making 3 monthly payments to the same company, ( 2 ) the total monthly payment greater than mortgage, and ( 3 ) the monthly payment amount tripled without prior notification. In an effort to better manage my finances and lower the total monthly payment amount, as well as number of monthly payment, I have contacted Sallie Mae several times requesting consolidation of my student loans. Each request I have made for student loan consolidation have been denied by Sallie Mae. It is truly a struggle for me to make the of {$680.00} payment to Sallie Mae. I know I am responsible for repayment of the loans and I am making valiant effort to repay them, so why is Sallie Mae not willing to work with me and consolidate my loans into one, lower monthly payment?
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-14

Arco, CA

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Sallie Mae stating that my billing statement was available online. I clicked the link in the email to view my billing statement. The page that opened said " Bad Request. '' I tried again on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, with the same result. I can not access billing statements by logging into my account at www.salliemae.com. The only way to access billing statements and other correspondence with Sallie Mae is through the link in the email. With other lenders or servicers, I can access billing statements and other correspondence by logging into my account at their website, but the same is not true with Sallie Mae. It 's very frustrating.
Company Response: Company believes complaint represents an opportunity for improvement to better serve consumers Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-14

East Windsor, NJ

Struggling to repay your loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem lowering your monthly payments
Complaint: I am the cosigner on three Sallie Mae loans with my son, XXXX XXXX : Sallie Mae Smart Option Loan # XXXX ( current balance {$54000.00} ) Sallie Mae Smart Option Loan # XXXX ( current balance {$53000.00} ) Sallie Mae Smart Option Loan # XXXX ( current balance {$23000.00} ) These loans are currently in forbearance as my son can not make the monthly payments which are {$570.00}, {$630.00} and {$250.00} respectively. While the loans are in forbearance ( which will end XX/XX/XXXX ) I attempted to contact Sallie Mae to work out a payment plan. Sallie Mae refuses to discuss ANY type of payment plan until the loans are in default. Obviously these loans going into default will have a strong negative effect on both mine and XXXX ' credit standing. I have tried to be proactive and attempt to work with Sallie Mae to make payments that are affordable. I can not understand why Sallie Mae refuses to even discuss any type of affordable payment plan until the loans are in default. This makes no sense either for them or for the consumer. Why are they so unwilling to work with a client who genuinely wants to be responsible and get the loans paid and NOT default?
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-13

Dundee, IL

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Keep getting calls about your loan
Complaint: I 've got 4 calls today to my pre-paid cell phone from XXXX. They want me to call back and enter my SSN. I graduated college in the 70s and my only student loan was paid off over 3 decades ago. This is a SCAM, not an attempt to collect on a student loan.
Company Response: Company can't verify or dispute the facts in the complaint Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-13

Clarksville, MO

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Received bad information about your loan
Company Response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-11

South Florida, FL

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: This is the second time in two weeks that I am reporting Sallie Mae for their actions and complete disregard of my rights as a consumer to make decisions for my finances as needed. After multiple rounds of misinformation by Sallie Mae staff, at all levels, and a failed attempt at a loan modification with them ( mind you my XXXX payments, for which I owe a lot more than Sallie Mae, are {$12.00} ) they proceeded to add my account on " disaster forbearance '' without my permission under the pretense of " courtesy '' when we all know they are just trying to make sure that my account do not go past due because I nor my cosigner ( a XXXX patient ) can make {$440.00} payments every month. Please someone do something. My next stop will be Senator XXXX 's Office.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-11

Clayton, MO

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Keep getting calls about your loan
Complaint: I am a co-signer for my son student loans. On or around XXXX XXXX, XXXX my son and I spoke with a representative of Sallie Mae. We informed her ( XXXX ) we had contacted Sallie Mae previously. During the initial contact in XXXX, the automated system continued to loop. The second time on or about XXXX XXXX, XXXX, my son contacted a Sallie Mae representative who kept pressing him for a payment despite him calling to get clarification as to how and why he has three loans with them when he was informed that XXXX would be his loans servicer/processor. He also stated he was not aware of these loans with Sallie Mae and requested additional information concerning the loan. In addition, he informed the representative he has not found employment since graduation and would like information on and/or enrolling in an alternate payment plan. On or about XXXX XXXX, XXXX I spoke with Sallie Mae representative XXXX in an attempt to resolve the issues at hand and stop the constant barrage of calls every day. XXXX stated she would annotate the account we had spoken and we had concerns requiring clarification on and of the loans because the only correspondence we ever received was from XXXX concerning student loans. I also requested copies of the loan documents so my son and I could get a better understanding of his obligations to Sallie Mae. On or about XXXX XXXX, XXXX my son received a call from XXXX. He relayed the conversations and resolutions that had been established previously. XXXX informed my son that it would take up to 10 days to received the information he requested along with changing his billing statements from paperless to a hard copy. She also stated he had 60 days to review the loan documents from Sallie Mae and any financial aid documents from the school to get clarification as to how and why these loans were not properly disclosed before there would be a negative report on his credit. We informed XXXX the payment issue would be resolved by the end of XXXX XXXX. We need to fully understand my son 's obligations and responsibilities concerning these three loans in question. She said she would annotate the account of our conversation and if we had any further questions or concerns feel free to call. Again after our conversation with XXXX, we assumed the issue had been resolved and the calls would stop. However, every day from that date I have received XXXX to 4 calls from a Sallie Mae representative. Over the past two days I have vehemently expressed to these representative we have spoken with members of their company on various occasions, I do n't understand why they keep calling and the constant calls is a form of harassment. I demanded for them to stop harassing me with the constant phone calls. From XXXX XXXX, XXXX to XXXX XXXX, XXXX I have received XXXX to 4 calls per day everyday from Sallie Mae. This has gotten to the point where my XXXX XXXX is constantly at a dangerous level from the stress of these relentless phone calls.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-09

Shalimar, FL

Struggling to repay your loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem lowering your monthly payments
Complaint: Every semester during my college years attended, I was required to apply for FAFSA, only to be denied. I was told the reasoning was because my parent 's made too much money for me to qualify, even though I was living on my own, paying for my own college, and filing my own taxes. I had no choice to be eligible for financial aid until after a certain age. I was forced to take out private loans for most of my college attendance, unaware of the exact price I would be expected to pay because every loan gives only an estimate when you apply. I either had the option to drop out and have nothing to show or continue to put myself in debt to finish my degree. I am almost out of school for 3 years after graduating in XXXX and have yet to find a job even remotely close to afford my private student loans. I have applied to hundreds of jobs within my degree field and no one these days wants to hire someone without 3-5 years experience. Companies have gotten lazy on willing to train new employees. Since my degree is in the XXXX field, I figured I would have no problem finding a job with decent salary-that has not been the case. I have been working in a XXXX, which I have done since before I even was in college. I can not find a job that pays better than what I currently make and besides lack of Sallie Mae is the WORST company between harassing me and people not associated with my loans. They have contacted my grandmother who has nothing to do with my loans, calling my parents and myself at our place of work and during non-business hours. I have received calls on weekends as well as early as XXXX and as late as XXXX. I feel I have been taken advantage of and even though I explain that I am working 40 hour weeks and still can not afford the payments they try to ask of me ( with all my lenders, totals over XXXX XXXXmonth ), they have ruined my credit and keep adding interest on my late fees. They refuse to help negotiate terms to make payments affordable and act like I 'm the bad person for not being able to afford their absurd repayment terms. The entire student loan system hurts the middle class. If my parents were n't so lucky to make what they do to survive, I would have gotten financial aid, yet if my parents were wealthy, they most likely would have paid for my college. Because I am a working individual with no kids and working to put myself through school, I get penalized for trying to get my education. It has been the biggest burden of my life and has made me regret going to college at all. My financial aid counselors were never helpful and I have had several during my attendance. Go to college, they said. You will find a great job only if you have a degree, they said. Well, THEY were wrong.
Company Response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-08

Hamburg, NY

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: Only HALF of the amount I paid to Sallie Mae through my OnlIne Bill Payment Service through my bank was actually credited to my loan. Prior to this incident, I had no problem with the FULL amount of my payment being credited to my loan. XX/XX/XXXX - {$25.00} paid and deducted from my checking account, only {$12.00} credited to my loan XX/XX/XXXX - {$37.00} paid and deducted from my checking account, only {$18.00} credited to my loan
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-06

AL

Communication tactics

Debt collection: Private student loan debt

Frequent or repeated calls
Complaint: I have been sending this company XXXX each month via mail for over a year now. They will not return phone calls or give me a balance owed. They hang up on me and curse me out when I call to get the information on my account called XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX
Company Response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-05

Discovery Bay, CA

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Federal student loan servicing

Problem with customer service
Complaint: In XXXX of XXXX, Sallie Mae marked a student loan that I co-signed for as 60 days late. I did not receive any written notice that this payment was late. When I tried to dispute the claim they said they contacted the individual ( my ex-sister in law ) who was making the payments. Once I found out this was issue, I paid the loan in full immediately. This is now adversely affecting my credit score to no fault of mine.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-01

Bronx, NY

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Trouble with how payments are being handled
Complaint: I was recently set up on a repayment plan for my loans. I was paying {$340.00} a month. This amount was evenly distributed throughout all of my loans. For the months of XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX my payments were not processed. I had the money to pay the loans every month. I did not recieve not one call from sallie mae in these four months stating my payment was being rejected. On XXXX XXXX I recieved a call from a woman who informed me of this. She said if i didnt pay the months that were not processed which was about {$1000.00} by the end of XXXX I would be kicked off of the program. I was not given a second option. I set up a payment for XXXX XXXX, for the {$340.00} amount. She informed me if i didnt pay an additonal {$340.00} in XXXX I will no longer be under the program. I called this morning XXXX to resolve this issue. I was transfered twice spent 27 minutes on the phone and most of which my time was spent on hold. People kept transfering me to someone who can " help '' and I didnt get any answers. I need to resolve this as soon as possible.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-11-01

South Florida, FL

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Received bad information about your loan
Complaint: Sallie Mae employees on more than three occasions have deliberately made inaccurate statements about what I need to do about my account, including supervisors that I spoke to about the issues. Add to that, they have kept my account almost a year over in forbearance limbo because staff at Sallie Mae, who seem to be paid for interest accumulations, would go on my account and made changes that were unauthorized or would call my co-signer, a XXXX year old person, and coerce her into making decision they know are not in the interest of my account. They have even wrongfully coerced her to pay money which was not due.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-30

Skagway, AK

Struggling to repay your loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem lowering your monthly payments
Complaint: I talked to a representative over the phone from Sallie Mae. I mentioned that I was unable to pay the current amount per month that was being asked of me. My payments do not start until XXXX of XXXX. The amount per month that Sallie Mae was requesting was close to {$1300.00} a month. When asked about a lower payment option as I am unable to afford that loan payment, I was told that there were no lower options. I could do for 3 months a repayment plan where 2 out of my 4 loans are interest-only payments, but that would still total more than {$1000.00} a month in payments. I was advised to make the payments or deal with the consequences of not paying and talking to a loan officer. When I asked to clarify they advised me that they did not have any other repayment loan options such as a salary based repayment, or repayment for those who are unable to make the current monthly payment.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-30

Bronx, NY

Attempts to collect debt not owed

Debt collection: Private 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

Timely Response

2017-10-30

Lawrenceville, GA

Written notification about debt

Debt collection: Private student loan debt

Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-29

Bar Harbor, NY

Communication tactics

Debt collection: Private student loan debt

Frequent or repeated calls
Company Response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-10-28

Long Beach, CA

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem with customer service
Complaint: In XXXX XXXX, I co-signed a {$20000.00} Sallie Mae student loan for a friend who was attending XXXX University. We filled out the application online, but when we hit submit, the page gave us an error message and said our application was not submitted. The next day, we went back to the website and filled out the application again. The application was properly submitted. We thought we were only applying for one {$20000.00} loan, but apparently the first loan actually did go through and Sallie Mae dispersed two {$20000.00} payments to XXXX University. My friend had a balance on his student account for approximately {$10000.00} at that time. He called and physically went to the XXXX University Financial Aid Office multiple times to make sure they would return the first {$20000.00} loan and the remainder of the second loan ( after his account balance was paid off ) to Sallie Mae. He never received a check or payment of any kind from XXXX University. The student loan has been in deferment this entire time because my friend was attending school full time. My friend and I stopped talking around XXXX XXXX due to a completely unrelated issue and I have not spoken to him since then. Fast forward to XXXX XXXX, when I received a notification from my credit monitoring company that a Sallie Mae student loan I had co-signed for was 30, 60, or 90 days late. I logged into the Sallie Mae website and discovered both {$20000.00} loans are still due and no payments had been made on either account. I called Sallie Mae and explained what had happened and they transferred me to the Fraud Department. The person I spoke with looked at the original applications and said there was definitely an error since both applications were for the same type of loan, same amount, and submitted within 24 hours of each other, but he said since the loans had already been dispersed to XXXX University, I needed to talk to the University to resolve the issue. He told me to email XXXXXXXXXXXX and ask them to return the unused portion of the student loans to Sallie Mae. On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I emailed the Bursar Office and explained the situation. I received an automatic reply that someone would be in touch with me within 24-48 business hours. I also called the Financial Aid Office but was told no one would talk to me because I was not the student. Over the next two weeks, I called the Bursar Office three times and submitted an email to the Financial Aid Office, but no one responded to either of the emails and every person I spoke with told me they were investigating the matter and someone would call me when the investigation was complete. Today ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, I called the Bursar Office once more to get an update, and the lady I spoke with told me no one would be calling me back or speaking to me about the issue because I was not the student and it was against federal law to give information about student accounts to someone other than the student. I explained I was the co-signer of the loan and no one has been able to get a hold of the student ( it appears he lost his job, changed his phone numbers, and had his condo foreclosed on and has not responded to dozens of phone calls, messages, or emails from me, my family, or Sallie Mae XXXX, but the lady told me it did n't matter, the only person who could request an investigation into the matter is the student. I 'm not sure how to proceed from here other than to hire a lawyer. My credit score has already lowered 10 points, my credit card company has lowered my credit limit, and I had to make a {$770.00} payment to Sallie Mae XXXX on a credit card since this was completely unexpected ) so they would not send another report to the credit companies. XXXX University has approximately {$30000.00} that should have been returned to Sallie Mae in XXXX XXXX but has been sitting on it and refuses to talk to me about it.
Company Response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-10-25

N Las Vegas, NV

Struggling to repay your loan

Student loan: Private student loan

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

Timely Response

2017-10-24

Lodi, CA

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

Timely Response

2017-10-23

Pacific City, OR

Communication tactics

Debt collection: Federal student loan debt

You told them to stop contacting you, but they keep trying
Complaint: A single individual claiming to call from Sallie Mae repeatedly calls me and asks to speak to either my father or my brother. I tell them that they live in a different state and to please stop calling me. This same person again called me today at XXXX.
Company Response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-21

Green Bay, WI

Struggling to repay your loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Problem lowering your monthly payments
Complaint: I graduated from XXXX XXXX College with around {$70000.00} in private student loans from SallieMae with a very high interest and around {$30000.00} in federal student loans. I was hired right away as a XXXX with a salary of {$36000.00} a year. My total payments a month are {$760.00} for my private loan and {$160.00} for federal loan with a total monthly payment of {$920.00}. My monthly income is {$2000.00}. Which means just about 50 % of my income is going to my student loans. I am unable to live off of the remaining money. I have tried to refinance ; however, they say that I can not because of my debt to income ratio is too high. I am stuck with this huge student debt that I am not able to pay and live.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-18

Chesapeake, VA

Dealing with your lender or servicer

Student loan: Private student loan

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

Timely Response

2017-10-17

Jersey City, NJ

Getting a loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Denied loan
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-10-17

Long Beach, CA

Getting a loan

Student loan: Private student loan

Fraudulent loan
Complaint: On or about XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( daugter of my associate ) asked if I would co-sign a student loan so she could continue with her education. I told her I would but I wanted to see the loan terms before agreeing. I gave her my personal info. so that she could fill out an application. I never saw the loan application nor the loan terms. I never signed any documents relating to the loan. I never heard anything about the loan again until XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX indicated my credit may be impacted because she was unable to make the loan payment. I never received anything from XXXX XXXX regarding this loan. I asked XXXX to give me the information regarding this loan, the account number, ect. She never provided me the information. I did my own research, and, sure enough, I was listed as the cosigner ons this loan I made the payment as did not want my credit impacted. I asked Sallie Mae to immediately send me the loan doc. They faxed them to me. I had never seen these documents before. I did not place my signature on the loan application nor did I sign these documents. I went to the police, filed a report and then filed a complaint for fraud with Sallie Mae. I requested Sallie Mae to run the IP address as they would find that my computer nor my location where any computer I owned would not be associated with the signing of the loan application or loan. They have refused to take me off as the cosigner. I have made numerous attempts to contact XXXX XXXX. She has blocked my number as well as blocked me from XXXX The amount originally on this loan was {$28000.00}. This loan was done by electronic signature. Interestingly, both signatures ( hers and allegedly mine ) occurred on the same day, same script. The loan was signed on a Sunday. The only computer I have today as well as at the time was a computer located at my office in XXXX XXXX. I have a law firm and do not work on Sundays. The signature on the loan was never placed by me or with my authority. This case is easily resolved by running an IP address, which, it is my belief, Sallie Mae never even bothered to do.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation

Timely Response