SLM CORPORATION
Consumer Complaints
There are over 1991 complaints on file for SLM CORPORATION. Dated between 2019-11-26 and 2012-03-06.
Complaints Page 34
2017-01-26
Westfield Ctr, OH
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Having problems with customer service
Complaint: Once i graduated i was not aware of all the Loans that i took out for School. A couple months after graduation i started receiving phone calls from Sallie Mae saying that i am past due on my balance. I first checked with the school to ensure that i did in fact take out this loan that was about {$7000.00}. Once i confirmed that i did i set a payment plan up with them. I was to pay {$700.00} for the first XXXX payments to catch up. My first payment was taken out of my bank account from Sallie Mae so i did n't think anything was wrong. I then got a phone call from a bill collector referring to the loan. I told them that i had worked out a plan with Sallie Mae and they had already taken the first payment. The bill collector said that i was to pay them due to Sallie Mae contacting them. I started paying the bill collector until i could reach out to Sallie Mae and figure everything out. It has been a little over a year and when i call them they say they are working on it and someone will call me back. I still have not heard back from them and this is ruining my credit. I still continue to pay the bill collector hoping that i can get this all figured out and restore my credit.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-26
Clayton, MO
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Received bad information about my loan
Complaint: On XX/XX/2016 I submitted a complaint about my student loan with Sallie Mae bank. The case number to XXXX is XXXX. I do not believe the response from the company was truthful. In their review of the case Sallie Mae referenced XXXX phone calls that were on recorded lines, XXXX was on XX/XX/2016 and XXXX on XX/XX/2016 On these phone calls the company said that they did not intend to harass me or my parents into making payment and the " consequences '' of not making a payment. They furthermore said that the representative informed me that that both loans would not be included in my repayment plan which they did not. I am writing to request Unedited Transcripts or recordings of these phone calls be sent to me directly. I believe that would settle the issue of wrongdoing.
Company Response: Company disputes the facts presented in the complaint Closed with explanation
2017-01-26
Harrisburg, PA
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: My private student loan company, Sallie Mae, will not offer any alternative type of payment plan. My payments have gone up to {$760.00}. I contacted them several times but they offer no options. The only thing I am told is they offer a direct debit payment option. How is that any help if you ca n't make the payment to begin with? I do not want to default and want to pay something reasonable but they just wo n't budge.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-26
Saint Clair, MO
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Federal student loan servicing
Received bad information about my loan
Complaint: I got a student loan from Sallie Mae. I went to school and graduated XX/XX/2014. I moved to Texas and was unable to find a job outside the service industry. Waiting tables was not easy nor did it provide a huge income. My student loan payback was asking more that {$400.00} a month to repay. When I called to ask if there was something I could do about repayment plans they said I had to pay that amount. I talked to my grandma who luckily was able to help me with payments. I called again and asked again to speak with someone in lowering my payments. They told me I had to let my loan go into default ( make no payment for 2 months ) to be eligible for a repayment decrease. I did what they told me because they said it would no affect my credit and when I did that I called again and said it would affect my credit. Although my payments decreased they said it would extend my loan for so many years. I felt like I had no other option but to do that not knowing I would nearly three time in interest. For the life of my loan. I felt cheated and lied to the whole time I was communicating with these people. Anyone going to college I always tell them not to get loans through sallie Mae.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-25
Federal, CA
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-25
Olathe, KS
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-25
North Prosser, WA
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Trouble with how payments are handled
Complaint: I 've called Sallie Mae a few times now to try and get an extended loan for lower monthly payments. They will not offer me this, they instead tell me my two options are putting my loan into forbearance for three months if i pay them a {$50.00} " good faith '' fee OR if i just flat out do n't pay my loan a collection agency will call me and help me set up a payment plan. Both of these options only hurt me and help them in the long run. How are they allowed to try and force me into collecting large amounts of interest or late fees?
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-25
Wrentham, MA
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Having problems with customer service
Complaint: I am the XXXX y/o single mother, homeowner, who co-signed private student loans for my XXXX children. They are XXXX & XXXX & neither can afford the monthly payments Sallie Mae wants. We were close to a resolution involving an affordable payback plan ( $ XXXX/month ) but then we " lost '' our Loan manager & now every time we call we are rerouted to another dead end situation where they want what we ca n't pay. The " special program '' seems to have vaporized. I do n't know what to do. I 'm worried they will come after my house, my only asset. I am more worried than the students. What recourse do I have to get Sallie Mae to work with us?
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-25
Briaroaks, TX
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Springfield, MO
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
2017-01-24
Town Center, NJ
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Hollywood, CA
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Natrona Hts, PA
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't get flexible payment options
Complaint: I recently saw that the federal government has filed a lawsuit against Sallie Mae and was directed to file a complaint against them on this site. I have had nothing but issues with Sallie Mae since I applied for a loan prior to starting college in XXXX. I believe that they had me borrow more money than I ever needed to from the start and since I graduated in XXXX I have struggled tremendously with repaying them. I have had issues finding a job in any field despite having a XXXX and my payments to them are making it nearly impossible to repay them. I contacted their customer service this past summer to attempt to sign-up for an income-based repayment plan and was treated rudely by their customer service and was told that they do n't have such a plan. Later, I found out that they do and ended up defaulting on a few payments until it all got sorted out. I am tired of dealing with this company and, alongside millions of other recent graduates, would like to see them have to deal with how they have treated their borrowers.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Philadelphia, PA
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Don't agree with fees charged
Complaint: Sallie Mae made my pay for forbearance up to 12 months for the life of the loan for up 3 months at a time because I could n't afford to pay my loan.
Got from article against Navient law suit. In other cases, borrowers who would have qualified for lower-income-based payments under federal law were instead steered to something called " forbearance, '' which allowed them to skip some payments but saw their interest mount up, unnecessarily increasing the total they supposedly owed.The CFPB claims XXXX may have collected XXXX in interest it should n't have from putting people into forbearance, often multiple times.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
MD
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Trouble with how payments are handled
Complaint: Summary of Personal Experience with Sallie Mae Student Loan I began making regular payments on my Sallie Mae student loan in XXXX 2015. I had just graduated and started working and wanted to pay them off as soon as possible because of the very high interest rates ( XXXX {$10000.00} [email protected] % & 10.25 % ).
I signed up for auto-debit payments on a 10-year standard plan, but also planned to make extra payments on the loan. I called Sallie Mae to see if they would allow me to set my auto-debit at a higher amount than the minimum payment due, or if I could select an additional amount to be auto-debited to help me pay the debt faster. Sallie Mae informed me that there was no way to set that up and that their system only allowed the calculated " minimum payment '' to be auto-debited. If I wanted to make extra payments, I would have to log into the account online or call them. For several months I logged into my account at the end of each month and made a manual extra payment.
After a few months of extra payments, I noticed that Sallie Mae 's courtesy auto-payment email reminder listed a lower auto-debit payment amount than I had originally been paying. I called them to find out why my auto-debit amount was decreasing. They could n't answer why that was when I called, and asked if it was okay if someone " researched '' my account and called me back in 5 days. Before the 5 days was up, I realized that the reason my auto-debit was deceasing was probably due to the extra payments I had made on the loan. I was trying to pay the loan faster, but Sallie Mae was adjusting the auto debit amounts to catch me back up to a full 10 years of payments.
I called Sallie Mae and requested that they not decrease my auto-debit payments because I wanted to pay the loan early and I like to keep a budget and it helps to know the exact amount that will be debited each month. Sallie Mae told me that unfortunately " their system '' generates the auto-debit amount and that it can not be adjusted. Their system will keep decreasing my auto-debits as long as I made extra payments. They told me that if I wanted a constant payment I would have to log into my account on the same day as my auto-debit and manually " make up the difference '' every month.
Customer Service Issues : Calling Sallie Mae was an incredibly frustrating experience. For example, I was often put on hold for hours at a time without ever reaching a supervisors or anyone with answers to my questions. When I asked politely to be transferred to supervisors or managers who had more experienced knowledge I was told " no problem '' and then transferred to another call representative over and over again- never reaching a person who could answer my questions. The call representatives refused to provide their names or their names of their supervisors or provide me with direct contact numbers so that I could resolve my questions/issues more quickly.
Company Response: Company believes complaint relates to a discontinued policy or procedure Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Silver Spring, MD
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: Got a full time job in XXXX XXXX. Graduated in XXXX XXXX. Suddenly in XXXX XXXX, my payments increased from about {$200.00} a month to over {$700.00}. Tried to apply for a different repayment plan so that I can afford to live, but they told me I ca n't since my dad is a cosigner ( who definitely will not be making payments for me ). Operator then misled me into a Forbearance agreement so I could get a reprieve for XXXX payment. Also said I ca n't try and remove my dad as a cosigner so I can get a new repayment plan. When checking online, is shows me that I ca n't remove a cosigner if I 've been given Forbearance in the past 12 months. Now I 'm stuck paying over {$700.00} a month by myself.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Charlotte, NC
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: I graduated from college in 2015 and I took out private loans through Sallie Mae throughout my four years. I was XXXX and my parents cosigned with me. I have been paying more loans for a little over a year now. In that time I have paid over {$6500.00} just in interest rates. I am currently paying {$670.00} a month just for my private loans this does not include my federal loan of {$180.00} per month. I have called multiple times to Sallie Mae to refinance or consolidate or receive income based payments. I was told we do not offer any of those things. I have also have tried to refinance through a bank which I was denied for because of my debt-to income ratio. I currently work at a job where I make {$XXXX} an hour. This is the only job I could get out of college in my field at an entry level position. I am currently struggling to live because of my student loans. Paying {$850.00} a month is not acceptable. I have barely paid anything to the principle because my interest rates range from 8.5-9.875 %. I have payments of {$0.00} going toward the principle. Please help me!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
Savannah, GA
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: My payments are {$510.00} a month and I have called several times to ask for lower payments or for them to work with me in anyway. They told me point blank, they do n't care about customer service, they would rather I take my loan elsewhere and they lose out on money than to help me with making my payments. I had no idea that when my loan went into repayment that I had been locked into a monthly payment of {$500.00} to pay it off in 120 months. They did not explain that to me until after the fact when my monthly payment increased and when I called to ask they said that 's what you signed up for, the best we can do is offer forbearance for three months with interest still accruing. More people need to know how awful Sallie Mae is with their policies and their customer service. They simply do n't care about the customer at all.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
MI
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: I have been dealing with XXXX XXXX ( Navient ) for years and have n't had one positive experience. Currently, I pay {$170.00} a month. I went to XXXX XXXX ( in XXXX XXXX Mi, ca n't find the listing in the bottom ) and had to stop going 3 months into graduating due to family reasons. After a few months had passed, they were having me pay that amount. I let them know right away that I could not afford this amount so they told me to do a foreberence on my account which would make it so I did n't have to pay for 3 months, but the interest rate remains but I would need to pay {$50.00} to do so. What I did n't realize, is that my interest rate flew way up and majorly high. I had to keep calling and pay {$50.00} every 3 months because I still could not afford the high payment, and they offered me nothing to help me through the struggling months. I had to resort to my co-signer and he had been paying for me for over a year. But, this is just the start of the harassment these people have put us through. They always had no issues calling me and my co-signer when my payment was coming due or when it was past due. They would always call my work and my co-signers work and his cell over and over again as we told them numerous times to not call us at our place of employment. Better yet, they would call late hours as well past XXXX. So, my point to this part of the story is, the last foreberence I paid the {$50.00} for was denied and they never told me it was. They told me the payment went through and the foreberence was accepted. The calls stopped for 3 months so I thought I was in the clear ( they gave me a confirmation number and all ) until I got a call stating that my account was 3 months past due and I oued them 3 months worth of payments and late fees! I told them I was not going to pay them a cent as it was their mistake for not letting me know and all they could say was they were sorry but there was nothing they could do, I then hung up as I was so frustrated. They called my co-signed seconds away before I could reach out to him and let him know what was going on ( because I knew they would trick him into paying ) and they did that exact thing, he paid the full amount. After all of this happened, another incident happened. It was getting harder and harder for me to pay the {$170.00} as I kept stressing to them to please lower the payment for me so I would n't be past due, still no help. I began to become part due every month. I was told that I was past due one month and owed {$340.00} ( I was told this was the late fee everytime ) so my co-signer had to pay it for me. The next month came around and I paid {$170.00}. This happened a few times over and over again until one person told me that they have n't been giving me late fees, that those payments of {$340.00} was including the next month so I was paying double! Example, for the month of XXXX I paid XXXX and XXXX and then XXXX again! It took a few months for someone to be honest with me 1 time! Recently, me and my husband had a XXXX and I left work because we ca n't afford daycare so we have one Income coming in. I spoke to 5 different people that I can no longer afford those payments and to please help me lower it to at LEAST {$100.00} ( I never said I would n't pay them, just asked to lower ) they would n't do that for me. Because of them, we are financially strained to the max as well as my co-signer ( he is no longer able to help me )! We are close to losing our house, and they do n't sympathize whatsoever. They do n't care about helping you at all, instead they have made my life extremely stressful and I think about it all the time. I told them, all I have is {$100.00}, nothing more, and they threaten that they will send me to collections ... I need my story heard, not just for me but for my family. We are physically and mentally drained because of these people.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-24
TX
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: Called Sallie Mae XX/XX/2016 : XXXX asked for help with deferment payments the woman on the phone said " The credit collectors would get ahold of us '' and there is nothing we can do for you at this time. XXXX Asked " is there anyone you can transfer me to that can help me with more information? " .... " not at this time '' XX/XX/2016 - I called Sallie Mae again and was informed by XXXX that they do not have a rates and reduction program, and that they are unable to renegotiate my payments or put me on a payment plan. I asked to be transferred to collections ( ca n't remember her name ). I was informed by XXXX ( spelling? ) that my account must be delinquent in order for collections to help me. I asked to be transferred back to customer service and was connected with XXXX ( Florida ). Wrong department. XXXX ( servicing general ) XXXX informed me that I was transferred to the wrong department. I informed him that both collections and customer service had told me that they were unable to help me out. He then called over to customer service for me to see if there was anything to be done. Transfered once again, to XXXX in Escalations. She informed me that my account must be in delinquency in order to apply to rates and reduction program.
In a subsequent call we were told that we were put on a rates and payments program, where our rates would be reduced as would our payments which would be capped at XXXX, but the payback period would be 30 years.
XX/XX/2016 : Sallie Mae call I called Sallie Mae to talk about why my account read ( approx. ) negative XXXX dollars. I was put on with someone who told me that our Sallie Mae loan account was signed up for a {$120.00} auto draft from our checking account, and that this would be for three months : XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, and that after XX/XX/XXXX our account would be updated to reflect the fact that we were on the new program.
to date our loans are still not adjusted as " Rate and Reductions '' rates that were were supposed to be paying, but instead we are supposed to still be paying the nearly {$500.00} a month for all our loans instead of {$120.00}. We can not stop getting the run around and we are struggling financially mostly due to the issues and over payment to XXXX/ Salei Mae '.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-23
Harvard, NE
Can't repay my loan
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Can't decrease my monthly payments
Complaint: The company where I currently have my private student loan through will not give me any options to lower my monthly payment, that I have repeatedly told them I can not afford. The only option they would give me was to put the loan in forbearance. Even though I have told them I can pay something just not the total amount of the loan due to being a single mother of XXXX children. I have had to put the loan in forbearance 2 times for 3 months each. While the loan is in forbearance it is still accruing interest which will increase the monthly payment even more. When I asked the employee about this and how that made any sense if I already can not afford the payment and basically the only thing they will do is increase the amount of the monthly payment, the employee would only state that he was sorry but there was nothing they could do for me.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-23
Eton, GA
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Having problems with customer service
Company Response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error Closed with explanation
2017-01-23
Chesapeake, VA
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
2017-01-23
PA
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Student loan: Non-federal student loan
Trouble with how payments are handled
Complaint: I have recently graduated and surpassed the six month-post-graduation deferment status. I intend on continuing my education, but until then I planned on paying on my student loans. When I had initially called Sallie Mae, and XXXX, and Sallie Mae, and XXXX again ( due to their incredibly confusing split of my loans after I had taken them out ) they had given me one specific payment of which was reasonable. When the bills actually arrived in the mail they were quadruple what I was told on the phone a few months prior. Without having been employed in my field yet, I was able to pay the original stated payment but can not afford what they are claiming I must pay monthly now. Every time I call I reach a different person who is insistent on handling my call rather than trying to transfer my call to whom I had spoken to the last time, this leads to ever changing advice and totals. Every time I call they give me a different amount, date, and information. I am so overwhelmed because I feel as though Sallie Mae and XXXX have successfully made this process way more confusing and difficult by splitting companies and loans without any prior notice.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law Closed with explanation
2017-01-22
Canton, OH
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