Hate is a strong word, but this is exactly how I feel. Maybe hate isn't strong enough of a word: loathe, despise, abhor, detest... yeah, those seem a little stronger, let's go with one of them.
Anyway, I have a tech school loan through Sallie Mae, which I took out despite being raped on the interest rate (currently around 14%) even while using a co-borrower. What can I say, I was young and needed the money.
So, I pay this loan on the 5th of every month automatically through online bill pay with my bank. For the last 3 months I have received phone calls (like, oh, I don't know, 5 in one day, until they finally leave a message) on the 5th of every month from Sallie Mae asking me where my payment was, and did I know it is 8 days late. So my payment is due on the 27th of every month and in reading their paper work their is a 15 day grace period, and I'm pretty sure that 8 is less than 15... so why are they calling me? So when I called them today and talked to them.
Here's my recollection of the conversation:
Me) My payment has cleared, today, I can see it right there showing as cleared from my bank.
Sallie Mae) Well it hasn't shown up in our system yet.
Me) By the way, why the hell are you calling me? I'm well within the grace period, haven't been late on this loan since you guys took over the servicing contract, and pay more than the amount due every month on the same day.
Sallie Mae) Well, you are 8 days past due, and if we want to call you we're going to.
Me) Umm... seriously, it's within the grace period, and I pay you more than I owe you every month, WTFO?
Sallie Mae) Yeah... we'll you could pay the day it's due or switch the payment date
Me) Well I guess I could switch the payment date, but again, that's what the friggin grace period is for, and I pay on the same freakin day every month, which based on the month (28, 30, or 31st) is either 5, 7 or 8 days after the due date.
Sallie Mae) Yeah, switch the payment date, or we are going to keep calling and harrassing you (or something to that effect).
Me) So how do I change my payment date
Sallie Mae) Call this number
Me) Can you transfer me?
Sallie Mae) Nope, sorry
Me) k, thanks, I guess
That led to another conversation, after calling the other number:
Me) I'd like to switch my payment date.
Sallie Mae) Okay, you have to do that through a written request.
Me) Okay, I was told to call you, but that's just dandy, what's the address.
Sallie Mae) blah, blah, blah, Oh yeah, you can fax the letter over also.
Me) Okay, what's the fax number?
Sallie Mae) blah, blah, blah...
Me) Any other methods your not telling me about?
Sallie Mae) Well, you can email us also
Me) What's the email address?
Sallie Mae) Well, it's not really an email address, you have to go to our website, login to our account, and submit a customer service request form.
Me) Thanks, you've been very, very helpful
So, whoever is still reading this post (which is really about me venting, and hopefully gaining some traction in search engines about Sallie Mae, just to get some vengeance), is probably thinking to yourself, "umm, Felone, why don't you just pay on the 27th?"... The truth is I probably could, but I prefer to make all my payments on two days each month (it helps me balance ye old check book better), the 17th and the 5th which allows enough time after pay day to make sure everything will clear fine and dandy.
So the obvious question is why not pay on the 17th instead of the 5th.... Well, yeah a few years ago I did just that... One huge friggin' problem with that:
For several months in a row I paid them 10 days early each month... guess what happened? They applied the first payment as a principal payment (instead of my monthly payment) and the next one they applied as a late payment, and this went on every for a while, so when I switched back to paying around the due date (a few days later), I was somehow 30+ days past due... This went on for 11 months, where they somehow recorded me as 11 consecutive months of 30 days late payments (different servicing company within the Sallie Mae Cartel) who didn't call when I was 8 days late, much less 30) so my credit score went down 130 points in one year. I can't figure out how the hell any of these were 30 days late, and I'm disputing it, but you can my hesistance to pay early...
So, I've made the request to change the date, with one caveat, if I end up having to pay two payments with 10 days, forget it, I'll just ignore Sallie Mae's harrassment on one day each month....
Did I mention, I hate this company?
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61 comments:
You don't know me and I don't know you. But, you're not alone. Everyone I have ever known and a few strangers that I've discussed Sallie Mae with has had nothing but problems. They seem to have some very creative ways of screwing with everyone. All you can do is DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT. I even went as far as having an attorney contact them. I won't bore you with the details of my story but this month they have found yet another way to screw with me. I guess I'll waiste countless more hours dealing with them, again.
Sallie Mae sucks! I hate them! I hate this fricken student loan! I can so relate to your struggle with them.
All I can say is that I HATE sallie mae and if a meteor hit the building and wiped them from the face of the earth I would dance the dance of the free.
Arrgh!!!!
Anyone remember the end of Fight Club where all the credit companies buildings are blown up but nobody is harmed? (We'll no one other than Tyler Durden, who got his head shot, by himself). I'd be ok with that for Sallie Mae...
Felone and others have hit the nail on the head. This (strong-arm) (dis)organization appears to be accountable to no one.
Here is my story:
For the last five years I've been making payments to Sallie Mae when one day I discovered they processed a check to another creditor I had mistakenly included in the envelope. The check they processed was to a completely different creditor, but instead of notifying me, or simply destroying the check, they cashed it; electronically; with no paper record!
This is when I discovered the wonder that is ACH (Automated Clearing House). With this new means of processing checks, the bank no longer receives the paper check, just a transaction request for funds, which they appear to honor, regardless of who the check is written!
Now, I called Sallie Mae and explained to them the check written to American Express was clearly not written to them. I further requested from my bank that all future ACH transactions from Sallie Mae be rejected (yes, you can do it, but it will cost you). This was in March of 2005.
The story gets better. So, now I'm writting my checks to Sallie Mae secure in the fact that they can only process my checks as paper checks, which they do for several months (actually, until last month). Then, out of the blue I get a notice from them stating that my check from October was denied by my bank. Like most people these days I have overdraft up the wazoo, so I know that, just short of a complete colapse of the American economy, my check would have been covered. So I contact my bank (before calling Sallie Mae, as I know I will get no where with their outsourced monkeys - but that's another story), and request information. They provide me with a letter stating that the check I had written was never sent for processing by Sallie Mae, not as a paper check and not electronically. Now, lest you think I'm a moron and didn't mail them the check, remember, they send me a letter stating my bank rejected the payment!
Moving on... I call Sallie Mae, and after 30 to 40 minutes of banter with a variety of monkeys, I manage to get a fax number where I can fax my letter from my bank in order that they may "investigate" this error. I fax my letter and several days go by... when I finally receive a response (via fax), the statement was straight and to the point: Sallie Mae is not responsible and I owe them the payment, plus late fees. This, after I sent them a letter from my bank on bank letter head stating clear they did not received a request for fund from Sallie Mae either via paper or electronically! NOTE: The letter I received from Sallie Mae stating my payment was rejected clearly states that if a payment is rejected electronically they will process the payment as a paper check. I mention this only because all I can figure is that they attempted to process my check electronically and ACH rejected it per my request.
This was the last straw. I wrote a check to Sallie Mae for the outstanding balance just last week. They are not going to get another dime of interest, late payments, or anything else from me. I'd rather pay a reputable financial institution the same OR MORE interest than to let these unaccountable, worthless, loan sharking bastards get another dime of my money.
The question that's been burning in me since earlier this year (when the ACH fiasco transpired) is: who is Sallie Mae? Are they a publicly traded company? Have they a board of directors? Who are their competitors? When my kids look to finance their student loans, who else can they go to other than Sallie Mae? And where does one go to take complaints?!? When I spoke to the "customer service" (clearly an oxymoron), and they tell me the problem needs to be delt with by another entity within the organization, but that I can't speak to anyone from that entity, what am I, or anyone, supposed to do?
Oh, and just a quick note: Sallie Mae is now moving into mortgage lending. Better check who your mortgage has been sold to!
I have researched Sallie Mae and discovered that when I got my student loans through them, and consolidated through them, they were a government-subsidized organization. However, in 2004 they moved to a private organization and are now traded on the SEC under the ticker symbol 'SLM'. Given that fact, we will be contacting the corporate office, preferably the office of their general counsel to ask for remediation on this issue. If that fails, I will contact an attorney to pursue this issue.
My question is, though, and I'm researching this to find it out - can these shenanigans be considered "inappropriate accounting practices", and if so, under Sarbanes Oxley, I should be able to file a complaint with the SEC...
I just googled I hate Sallie Mae and found your site. I know exactly how you feel, if you are still doing this blog and read this, I probably hate Sallie Mae more than you. If youre still paying them, be sure your at Level 1 or whatever, and make sure your payments are not all going towards interest. On Wikipedia, apparently the CEOs of Sallie Mae are the highest paid...somewhere...and the CEO's last name is Lord. How terrific.
Sallie Mae is a joke! I have had nothing but problems! The worst part is the customer service reps can never help you! They repeat the same thing over and over again.
I took out a private loan through them in March 2005. During the summer I only took one class, which put me below "part time status." So, they kicked my loan into the grace period. In the mean time, I started back up in school full time and thought everything was fine. Until I get a letter stating that my grace period is up and I have to start making payments! I call them immediately to clarify the situation when I am told that there is nothing they can do to fix it. The grace period has ended. I explain that I have been in school and have the paperwork to prove it. So, I fax the paperwork in and call two days later to make sure they received it. I was then told they didn't receive it and faxed it again. This exact situation happened THREE TIMES!! Then I am told that there is nothing they can do. This calling and faxing has literally gone on for over a year!! About three weeks ago, I got someone on the phone who seemed like he knew what he was talking about. He said he was going to mail me a form to fill out that would put my loan back into in school status. I have yet to see that form.
I made a payment three weeks ago and today I get a phone call that I need to make a payment to make my account current. So, I call and explain that I am waiting for that form and that I just made a payment. The customer service guy didn't care. instead he went into the whole explanation about my private loan, all of which I hear on a monthly basis. How does it make any sense that I owe another payment when I just made a payment three weeks ago!!
Then I get into the discussion of why my loan is even in repayment status. I was told that I was in school part time from January 2005 to May of 2005 AND August 2005 to December 2005. They gave me this loan in March of 2005! If I was less than part time why would they have given me the loan!!! When I asked the customer service guy, he could not answer the question and repeated over and over that there is nothing anyone can do fix the mistake.
Sallie Mae is a rip off! If you are thinking of taking a loan out with them, think twice and then don't do it!!
its late im stressed and i hate sallie mae with their high interest rates while misleading me to believe that i was approved for one low flat rate that never existed! I guess you have to read the fine print, or just say fuck getting an education. They say hind sight is 20-20, I should have went to community college for the same bullshit degree.
I am with all of you. They lie, they are a rip off and have customer service reps that can't even understand english. There was a time when I could call them and talk to them about my account. Once they outsourced their customer service to India, it is a lost cause. They lied to me and told me that I would be eligible for an interest rate reduction once I went a year without one late payment. They lied. Imagine that. I had one problem in 2005 with my bank and my payment, (ONE PAYMENT) was late. So, I sucked it up and waited a year and called them back. Now they tell me I'm not eligible because of that late payment in 2005. I am furious. They are a rip off company. I would rather pay the IRS.
Sallie Mae's billing and payment collection systems are the WORST!!!
http://salliemaebeef.com
I'm right there with all of you. I own up to the fact that I was uneducated regarding the loan process, and assumed that those I was borrowing from would be as up-front as I was about financial situations... Boy, was I wrong. I also own up to the fact that I don't have a 6-digit income per month in order to pay them, and that somehow (at least, according to them), it's my fault.
Y'all are welcome to come and visit me as well: http://merripan-serena.blogspot.com
Sallie Mae is truly the devil on earth. I have made payments electronically to them for the last 4 months yet they continue to call my home and annoy me. They try to threaten me and tell me that they will report me to the credit agencies. I even had one operator tell me that they gave me money for a quality education, "what are you doing with your life, you need to pay us" I kindly responded with "I'm working for my money and not being a lowly, uneducated operator for Sallie Mae” All I know at this time is that Sen. Ted Kennedy has launched an investigation into the business practices of Sallie Mae and several law firms are filing class action law suits against Sallie Mae. Hopefully one day Sallie Mae will get what they deserve.
Listen, I took out loans with Sallie Mae in 2000 through 2003. Every story I have just read I have also gone through. I live in New Orleans and when Katrina hit and destroyed my business, Sallie Mae somehow was still able to get through to me two days after to demand their payment. FINALLY other companies are consolidating private loans. LEAVE THEM. I went to Next Student and so far NO PROBLEMS. If we all leave them, they will crumble.
The more I deal with Sallie Mae, the more disgruntled I have become as well... I take solace in the fact that it's not just me that they keep screwing royally, however. Something needs to be done to inform the poor, unaware, young college freshman to steer clear of this company. I blame my own college for not giving me any options... perhaps sallie mae has a tight hold on many of our colleges to create their monopoly.
As for me, I will be jumping ship and keep trying to get in touch with Sallie Mae to resolve my current issues with their horrible movey overlords.
....and here i thought i was the only one getting kicked in the shin by sallie mae!
i made an online payment but accidentally entered the wrong bank account number. (i used an account i hardly touch but like to keep for the heck of it) anyhoo, of course it went bouncy bounce and my bank informed me of this. i called sallie mae to let them know what had happened and if they could just reprocess my payment since i transfered funds to the account.
the rep told me that they do not "reprocess" so it would be best that i quickly make another payment in order to still be within the grace period.
so i did.
..........baaaaaaad move.
guess who got paid twice this month??
Here's a good one....I have been out of school for over a year, and have never missed a payment. But will Sallie Mae cut me a break when it comes to consolidating? NO. My federal loans are consolidated (thank goodness), leaving an affordable monthly payment. My private loans however are another story. I'm paying $500 a month just for these private loans!
They told me a year ago that i would be able to consolidate within a year of employment, blah blah blah, lowering my payments to around $350. I just called them today, and now they tell me i need a cosigner! "Well why do I need a cosigner?" i asked...."well it seems that your debt to income ratio is too high" or something like that...pretty much they told me that i dont make enough money to qualify for consolidation...
HELLO!!$%?? How can I afford to be making $500 payments, but can't afford to make $350 payments???? Once again, I've already made 5, on-time payments to these jerks, and i'm doing it by the skin of my teeth, so lowering my payments would really help. They're scam artists.
My parents aren't in great financial shape, so they aren't able to cosign. But that's not even the point, i shouldn't NEED a cosigner. i have a full-time job, in my major, great credit, and have never missed a loan payment! but I can't keep paying $500 a month just on these private loans. i'm in an entry-level job!!!! but still, over a year later i still cant consolidate on my own to lower these payments. its an atrocity.
the saddest part is, here we are actually graduating college to better ourselves, and Sallie Mae is making it near impossible to actually live our lives! I shouldn't have to work just to pay off Sallie Mae, but yet that's what I'm doing, and will be doing for the next 15-20 years. oh yeah, and of course paying close to double of my original balance because of the interest rates.
something needs to be done. we go to school, we get an education, and yes, we have to pay for it. but it shouldn't be on these terms. *tears*
hey maybe if you stupid fucks read your promisory note that you signed you would realize that you dont have a 15 day grace period or that if the payment is not made and processed before the due date that the people at sallie mae have the right seeings as there a first party collection agency collecting on money you borrowed from them to call you every hour up to 20 times a day. further more you would also realize that when you signed up for this loan that sallie mae wasnt even the people who pushed it on you just enforcing a contractual agreement which you signed. since you all found this and see how much you hate sallie mae maybe you could realize the person you should hate is yourself for taking money from the largest student loan provider in the world.. haha your all fucking dumb.. pay your bills when there due
Maybe YOU should educate yourself on what the actual problem is before you go calling people "stupid fucks" for falling prey to a system that is designed to trap people.
Hey, maybe if you learned to spell and use correct grammar (with a stronger vocabulary instead of "stupid fucks"), you wouldn't be working at Sallie Mae to stick up
for them.?
Here is who we need to flood with emails Robert C Ballard email address Robert.C.Ballard@salliemae.com
Vice President of Servicing
Lets flood him with emails like the flood us with phone calls demanding payments that they will not post on time or correctly
Reply to stupid .....
Well if you knew what you were talking about and you probably work for Sallie Mae which means you do not then you might also know that when the loans were taken out they were not thru Sallie Mae but they were sold to Sallie Mae. If I knew what I know now, all of my sons loans would have been done thru Citi Group who we have no problem with
Just wanted you all to know that we hate them as well and are at our wits end. We co-signed for our son who has fell on hard times so we called to refinance and they said we cannot since our debt to income ratio is too high. No really now!!! That is why we are calling to lower our payment well they said no. We then spoke to a manager who was nastier then the person before. The call 20 times a day and we are now in danger of losing our home. Our son owes 101,000 dollars. I have never ever worked with such a rude and obnoxious unwilling to help company in my life.
Sallie Mae Sucks. I kept getting call after call from a private number that would not leave a message. Finally I picked up and it was a recording. They said I was late on my payment- I wasn't. I paid my $216 payment already. They kept calling up to 10 times a day. I went online- and it said that they never received my first payment- my bank said they did receive the payment and it cleared. They kept calling and calling and it never showed up that I paid online. They threatened my credit- I paid it again under agreement that once I send them proof of payment from the last time- this new payment of $216 will go for the next month. After the next payment cleared (remember I've paid $432 so far), they are still calling and calling and calling. My cell, my house, my work! From a private number- and no message. I call them back all the time and every time they tell me I owe them $50...it a FUCKING scam. I am consolidating with another company and getting the FUCK out of my relationship with Sallie Mae.
Oh, and for the fucks that work for them- how much did your education cost? Oh wait- you didn't get one or else you wouldn't be working for Sallie Mae.
Ok everyone, We all recieved or are recieveing higher education (at the cost of our very souls, but lets leave that olaone for a moment). There must be something we can do! Can we jump on a class action suit? Is there any way to find out how much Sallie Mae is making on doubled and tripled monthly payments due to their incompetance? How many different people do I need to talk to every month just to find out that my loan payment is increasing...no wait, that won't happen until July..wait no, in fact you do owe us more money this month and because you haven't paid it, you are late...but wait, we can clear this up if you just fax us a letter...no I'm sorry we never recieved that letter, did you try this number...i'm sorry until we recieve that fax, we must collect the higher amount that is past due...I WANT TO FUCKING SCREAM!!! We have to do something-how do we get them? If everyone could take a minute to research lawsuits against them-or anything against them, maybe we can jump on-at least for our sanity and human dignity. I'm an adult and I don't like being treated like a lab rat. By the way-thanks to whoever left the vp's email. I'm going to send him my regards now.
I hate them too. Is anyone else paying a 14% intrest rate on a 40,000 loan? Well, I am... for the next 20 years!!! When I first applied for this loan, they said I would have and intrest rate around 3.5%, like most student loans. It wasn't until a year later that I started to actually make payments on my loan and realized my new intrest rate. Does anyone have any ideas on how the hell to get out of this black hole? Every freakin penny I earn goes to this damn company. I wish i never would have went to school. They make me hate my life!!
That Sallie Mae company has got morons working there. They keep sending me delinquent notices in the mail everytime I make a payment through their website but as long as I send a check in the mail, that seems fine for them. Not only that but they burden me to death with garbage they send to me in the mail. I sent them a letter in the mail to stop sending me junk & harassing me with delinquent notices. But they just don't get it. It's to the point I dread getting anything from them in the mail cause it really infuriorates me. They give me horrible panic/anxiety attacks, those jerks!!! We all need to start a petition to fight to get them out of business & report them to the BBB.
I just googled "sallie mae sucks" and found this site. I was in a motorcycle accident that incurred more bills than I owe to sallie mae and I have had them tell me I need to borrow money from grandparents, parents, siblings, friends or anyone else willing to loan me money to pay them back. They have been rude, obnoxious, and screwed with me since day 1. Yes, it is my responsibility to repay them but when I can't eat for a month because I literally don't have any money...how am I supposed to pay them with something that doesn't exist. Maybe they will accept a kidney? or maybe a testicle? Or maybe if I ever meet one of those damn representatives in a dark alley i'll feel better.... Uhh... so I just wanted to add my comment to the ever growing list of people sallie mae is screwing with.
Those bastards from Sallie f***** Mae had the gall to send me a letter in regards to a complaint I made on the BBB.org website
Those turkeys were the ones to keep me upset by sending me delinquent notices everytime I paid through their stupid website, but they don't seem to do that when I mail them a freakin check. I don't know what their problem is. Anyway, I didn't even read the letter they sent as I opened the letter just a bit to see that their stupid letter was regarding the BBB complaint. How dare them!!! Who do they freakin think they are!!? They better not harass me ever again
hey im only 23 im sick of these loan companies bullying everyone they destroyed most of the youth kids are commiting suicide because of these monsters and they dont care thier billionairs ive investigated personoly and still am. i dont care if i win or lose my case i just whant to ruin thier company now just like they ruined so many peoples lives. ive found that are taxes are paying for thier bs they even have judges and politicions in thier pocket the bourd members all make money on thier investments that they make work oh and if you didnt know salli mae and bush are working with each other thier one of the best investors for bushes war of terror wich makes hmmm only rich people who know what to invest in richer god bless america im sick of this and as any real american should be stop letting these people take your money and lives while they hide behind a goverment that protects them sometimes its best to deal with these murders face to face cause thats what they are is murderers
I haven't used the word hate to express how i feel about something but if theres a word stronger for the hate i feel for sally mae. Thats the word i want to use. I had to calm down so that every otehr word wasn't a cuss word. I pay one loan.. then the next week theresa nother loan i gotta pay on.. i finally did research and thought hey maybe i could conlsiadate. I can't even consildate with someone else because i need a cosigner. Is there anyway to move the loan from these guys? I mean this is nuts. I make payments but i owe more payments. I wasn't even able to get into a community college because i coudln't get enough from PEL grant, my family is not good not good on credit. See the ITT commercial go up there.. i didn't think i would get into school like usual but i wanted to see.. THen oh snap im in school, yup its that easy. I was in school i was so excited i came out with a 3.5 gpa.. The teachers sucked i taught myself everything i kenw in that school, i taught hte class to .. I graduate .. And you know that 6 months grace period you were suppose to get.. Well i get a call a month after i graduate.. i haven't even found a job yet. These bitches are calling me already. Im like dude i just gradated last month.. I want my 6 month grace period.. Um no we sho wyou graduating 5 months ago.. Im like no thats bullshit.... So i start making payments anywayz.. did that for a while then all fo a sudden the bill kept getting higher.. And i got one every week.. Conslidated my Federal.. Thats no problem but lmao at my privates.. There like haha you can't put these together.. HAHA we goign to bill you ever Other day.. HAHAH another bill.. then bam 500 from this loan 200 from this one.. 150 from this one.. I DON"T MAKE THAT KIND OF MONEY... So now im in forbendce.. What can i do tho? i Can't offrod to pay them.. so now im building up more itnerest.. I don't know what to do. ANd after all i paid my final balance is higher than when i first started paying on them 5 months early.. OH ya i tried to fax them all this syaing that i graduated but i spent a whole week on the phone with them and no luck what so ever.
It is so nice to hear other people hate Sallie Mae as much as I do. I am surprised however to hear that so many people for trapped. There are a few things you can do, which i have done in the past, so you will never have to pay Sallie Mae another dime. One option is to do a balance transfer on a low interest credit card, just make sure the fees are low and you can even ask for the fees to be waived or capped. Another option is to go speak to your local bank, where you have achecking or savings account, and ask them about a personal loan to pay off Sallie Mae. You will still be paying interest, but it might be lower and it won't be for Al Lord's salary. If enough people did this, they would be forced to rethink their predatory practices. Also, right to the Attorney General of NY, Andre Cuomo. Send him a letter about your bad experiences at Sallie Mae and if enought people write, they will investigate
SALLIE MAE SUCKS SO BAD! HERES A NUMBER THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW ITS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ADVOCATE THEY HANDLE ALL THE SHIT THEY PULL... 1-888-545-4199
to add to all the horror stories of this POS company. my issues started monthes ago when one of my payments i made over the phone was applied to another person account!!! this took weeks to correct but finally was. on to the next one. my private loan which had the interest rate jacked up to 18% when sallie mae bought it without notifying me. ok well maybe they did but does anyone read all the junk snail mail and emails they send? i know i dont. ok let me continue...called to pay off my private loan one day the 18% intersest one...told tthe rep to pay it off in full. while i had the rep on the line i asked .to pay my other 2 loans for that month which she did. then i get a notice of a $dollar balance on he one i had just paid OFF!!!! so at this point im over it and have decided F sallie mae and im going to pay off my other loans with a low interest credit card. come to find out sallie mae says there are fedral laws that will not allow them to pay off loans with credit cards. soof course i asked why? was told because you could pay it with a card and then file bankruptcy on the card. so i then say WTF is sallie mae to judge my credit worthiness and tell me i cant pay off the loan with a card that BTW has a lower rate then what i have with them. just another why for them tto keep you trapped with them. they would not even allow a credit card to pay off the $50 balance they somehow left on my private loan i asked to pay off.
this company to by far one of the worst ever. myadvice if you consolidate your loans with bank or reputable lendor if you can. i am working 60 hours a week just so i can pay that Bit** off and be done!!!!
PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THRU
I work for Sallie Mae. I understad alot of these frustrations I also have a loan with them, which I did get before I even worked for them. I have worked with every type of loans government, all private loans including career training loans, so I can tell you how each work.
First of all I have complained to the higher ups about customer service. I said that it needs to be in America. Of course they blew me off and said that their customer service rating is above 80% satisfactory thru a pole. I don't believe that one bit. I also complained to them about processing how is it that you can apply a payment to a loan that is already paid off or in deferment or forbearance. Once again they blew me off. I'm in the line of management and these things bother me and I will not stand by them on these issues. But I cannot stand by alot of you (meaning borrowers and cosigners) either. As a borrower it is YOUR RESONSIBILITY to read the promissary note and the terms of the loan before you sign. There is no 15 day grace period. Unless stated otherwise if you are 10 days late on your loan you will be accesed a $20 late charge. How is it right for Sallie Mae not to call and advise you of this. We give all borrowers the opportunity to prevent late charges and credit reportings, it's how you handle it will determine what will happen. If you are a cosiger remember you are EQUALY RESPONSIBLE for the loan. This is no different than a car loan or mortgage. If you are a borrower and you get a sick or ederly family member to cosign then shame on you. YOU shouldn't have put someone of that state of mind in the position. I live in a college town also. I see how alot of college students use their money. That's why there's a liquor store every block, clubs, and bars around campus. If any of you writing comments about Sallie Mae and your paymnts are $100 or below a month and you smoke cigarettes then you have no excuses for not paying. QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!. If you pull a loan in 2002 and in 2004 decide to get a $25,000 car loan with a $600 payment is that wise? I'm not saying that all of you fit in this category but I talk to people everyday that do. I talked to a girl last week. Her payments were $85 a month. She was 120 days late on her loan. We have access to her credit report. I looked at what she had and last year she got a $22,000 car with a $575 payment, last month in May she racked up $600 at victoria secret, $1,000 at the new york clothing store and $500 at Sam's club. Are we harrassing her? Are we the bad guys because she borrowed $7,000 and AGREED to pay us monthly, but decides to spend her money in this manner. What about all of you writing these comments. Are you telling me that your priorities are intact 100%? Are you telling me that ALL of you are living on necceties and not luxeries, such as cable tv, sattilite tv. If you TRUELY are then I have compassion for you. But If you are on here complaining and you smoke,drink,got into $300-$800 car payments, $700-$3000 mortgage payments,you have the money for cable and sattilite but not your loan,rack up credit cards at clothing stores. And yes the mortgages and car payments I have seen them personally. Then no I don't have compassion for you, and you have no right complaining about anything.
This is in regard to the person above who works/worked for Sallie Mae. I have $30,000 in private loans with Sallie Mae and $30,000 in federal loans consolidated by a different company but serviced by Sallie Mae. I also have loans with two other companies. I got one of those other loans and all of Sallie Mae's loans without a co-signer. My beef with Sallie Mae is the interest they charge. I admit to being completely dumb at the time of taking these loans out about how student loans worked when I graduated. I asked the Sallie Mae representative if when I graduated I could apply for consolidation, without a co-signer, and if my interest rate and payment would be less. I was told that was correct. At that time the loans had a rate of around 14% but I wasn't too concerned since a nice person at Sallie Mae assured me that is how it worked when I graduated. Now I took out a loan with another company (ACS-Education.com) because I reached my limit with Sallie Mae that year and they accepted my app with a rate a little over 10%. Way was Sallie Mae 3% higher? I graduated and called Sallie Mae to consolidate. The lady on the phone says I was approved with a rate of 13.75%. 13.75% ARE YOU KIDDING ME! My credit was a lot better now then when I took the loans out. I was at almost 720 at the time. You can imagine what hit the fan. Now my interest rate is 11.5% since the economy is in the hole, but my other loan is at 8.8%. I called Sallie Mae so see about getting my interest lowered and they said there was nothing they could do. Now I have spent a lot of time thinking about why I took out so many loans. I have had many answers like I needed another vehicle since my current one was about to have a lot of issues and the gas was ridiculous, that I needed to have a little fun in college since it was partly about the experience, and I needed some money in the bank just incase I couldn't find a job right away out of school. I thought I would be making enough out of school to make the high payments. Now that I have been doing more research and looking at my other interest rates I am beginning to believe I was taken advantage of by a predatory student loan company. I wasn't given any counseling, wasn't asked any questions about other private loan debt (they just ran my credit) or even taken into consideration that I had taken a loan out with them that summer already! They just approved until I was at $30,000 with just them. You include the other debt I had, not including the federal loans for that semester, and I was at almost $65,000! I had high expectations of myself and I thought I would be making $50,000 a year out of school and I would be able to make those payments easily, goes to show how naive I really was. Looking back now, just for the fact I was in my undergraduate degree in Marketing, I should have been denied a loan for more than $10,000 and forget lending me any more until my next semester. That is what a company would have done who actually wanted the loan paid back without defaulting. My other loan company should have denied me totally since I went to them after Sallie Mae stopped me at $30,000, but they were decent enough to give me a good rate. Now I am trying to get my loans put into an interest only payments until I get a second job or a new job that pays more and Sallie Mae tells me it will be $442 a month. Now I know I’m not an accounting major but I am pretty good with math, especially accounting math. I now owe $38,000 in private debt to Sallie Mae at 11.5%. I calculate that at $364 a month in interest only. Where is the other $80 going? I'm about to ask them, if I can understand them that is. Sallie Mae IS a predatory student loan company. They give lots of money at high rates to naive students who really need counseling to inform them of how everything works. Whether they keep students in the dark on purpose or not it doesn't matter. The fact they don't educate these students in what they are really getting into brings into view a very unethical practice which has and will continue to ruin lives unless people start to do something about it. I know I am responsible for my debt and I am not fighting my principal amount (not happy about it), but the fact Sallie Mae is charging credit card type interest is just ridiculous. I want to spread my store so students thinking about private student loans will think twice. I also would like to see people fight for educating students before they are given that big fat check. The government loans students a lot of money every year that can go toward living expenses, but that money is first given to the school and the school then givens the student a refund check for the remaining balance. Why are private loans called student loans when most of the time the university doesn't know anything about the loan? If the school has to handle to money first they might be able to talk to these students before they take out more money then they need for that semester. A counselor at the school can help the student determine if that $30,000 extra for that semester is necessary when most living expenses a year are only approximately $10k a year. Sallie Mae isn't alone in this problem, but they seem to be the biggest and worst contributor to the problem. If you know some one looking to get a loan, PLEASE ask them to get help first!
Awww good ol Sallie Mae. I been having problems with them for more than 5 years. It's exactly a similar problem to Felone that made my 12k loan into a 70k loan. There is a video that Sallie Mae does not want anybody to see. You can view it here http://salliemaestruggle.blogspot.com/ Felone how can I add you as a friend so others can view your Sallie Mae post?
I just Googled "I hate Sallie Mae," and you blog post came up. I HATE SALLIE MAE. I wish someone would wipe them out. They are the bain of my existence.
I've been receiving harassing phone calls for the past five days left on my machine - hey, I work two jobs to pay that godforsaken loan.
So I go online to find out what's up, and it says that I am 7 days past due. WTF - I just paid it 10 days ago. Turns out they applied it to the wrong loan. OK, so I call the 1-888 number. DISCONNECTED 4 TIMES. I am so sick of talking to people from other countries who do not understand what I am saying. I understand they've gotta get paid too, but that is NOT customer service. Anyway, on the fifth call, I get an automated message that says "caller volume is higher than expected, please call back later." Ummm, you're a freaking student loan provider, you should expect high call volume. How about you HIRE PEOPLE.
Oh, so then I wait patiently through the 15 million prompts to try to talk to an actual person. I finally give up and sign up up for a call back. But "no time slots" available for today. I have to wait TWO DAYS to get a call back from this awful company. This is why people just don't pay them back.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ocean%20ave%20new%20york%20blvd%20sea%20girt%20nj&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl
Second house from the street corner on the beach is where SM board of directors (Anthony P. Terracciano) lives, and the beach, like all ocean beaches, is public up to the high tide line. Maybe someone will ruin his morning coffee with modestly sized sign.
I have the same issue with Sallie Mae, I also started a blog about it, feeltogether.com because I just don't know what to do. I can't afford the payment and they are of no help at all to me. They constantly just harass and threaten and think that's the answer. It's outrageous and unfair.
There is one regret I have in life about something I've done and that is taking out a loan with these soul-sucking thugs. Mafia loan sharks are probably easier to deal with than these pigs. My 24,000 loan has ballooned into 76,000 in 4 years because of financial hardship. I can make regular payments now, but it hurts to think it barely places a dent in this enormous debt.
I Hate Sallie Mae! Corporations like this are the reason this country is going under! I was just a poor kid(Our country's future)
trying to better myself and now my private loan has doubled in two years. Rarely can I get any customer servive from someone who can speak understandable english much less an American. Sallie Mae
has discontinued consolidation for private loans because it doesn't benefit them. What about benefiting their own customers? They are also making it more difficult to get a forbearance so more students will default. Imagine that. There is a huge network of people like us at StudentLoanJustice.org. Check it out and join the movement against crooked and predatory lending practices.
I hate sallie mae...they are ruining my life. I want to pay them back, but they want more than my rent and never seem to get my pay information/forms to reduce my payments.
Want an economic stimulus package that would really work, Obama? Forgive student loans for hard working Americans!
I would certainly spend more.
You're not alone in the hate, I told my consolidating company I wanted nothing to do with Sallie Mae and I got screwed into having them for both private and government loans.
A few weeks ago I mailed a forbearance request in the same envelope with a check for the required $50 processing fee. Yesterday, I received a letter stating that they could not process my request, because they did not receive the $50 processing fee.
The last two days I've called them, their phone service has hung up on me. I know for a fact that they outsource to India. Now, I don't hate Indians, but I feel some serious prejudices building.
Jacob Walsh, who either works for Sallie Mae or is just a loony apologist is stalking people now, hacking into their computers. He is an ex cult member and lives in Indiana. He was in the HOOM cult. He is a turd and representative of Sallie Mae.
Sallie Mae/Pheaa is misleading parents and sticking them with their childrens student loans by offering deferrments on their federal parent plus loans, as long as dependent student is in school, but after 6mnths they start billing the parent, when the parent contacts them about a forbayence because their child is still in school thats when they find out that they have to be the one in school now does that make any sense? They trick you into thinking the loan wont come due to your child is out of school but in reality it will be due in 6mnths unless you the parent are in school (doesnt sound like a federal student loan to me). These people are loan sharks and ripping off parents everywhere! They have sent an income execution to my employer for almost double the loan amount and looking for 15% of my pay standing behind the federal laws when they don't folloe federal policies! If this company is run through are goverment there is something wrong here, all my daughters loans were deferred due to military deployment except the parent plus becuase the parent needs to be in school/military this is misleading parents throught Pennsylvania and obviously New York too! Please help
Express your feelings of hate on my website... I hate Sallie Mae .com
Sallie Mae has done some awful things to people. Some people, such as Nanette Rayman Rivera, the racist bigot who made the "Jacob Walsh" post,have made their own problems and simply blame Sallie Mae (in other words, if you went into student loan debt in the last decade but haven't been able to hold down steady work for over twenty years, you have much bigger problems than Sallie Mae). Granted, she also blames blacks and immigrants for her problems, not just Sallie Mae.
I currently work for a garantor agency...why don't you try calling them? If you found this website, you can find out who your garantor is. They will ALWAYS do everything possible to actually help you, since they are the ones who will have to pay off your loan if you default...especially if they are federal loans.
I hate them too. Not because of the loan terms--those are whatever the Feds decided they are. No, I hate their incompetent customer service. I never get the same answer twice, even if I call them on the same day. I am going to school in England, which causes major problems. They repeatedly tried to either 1) tell me that the school doesn't exist, 2) send my money to a school in the US with a similar name, or 3) tell me that England doesn't exist. And this was when all the reps were American.
I also found this blog by googling "I hate sallie mae" and agree with another person who wouldn't shed a tear if that place was wiped off the map by space flotsam. I give that place the finger on the highway when I drive to Virginia to visit family.
These leeches are perfectly at home strongarming young people, and most of the time we have no choice when choosing who takes the loan.
I can't stand these bloodsuckers, through my unemployment, I've had to sell boxes and boxes of my childhood and life just to make a single month's payment. They do not care about the financial and hiring climate, and definitely don't care about the number of new grads who are fighting with experienced laid-off workers for scarce jobs. Can't wait until I finally land that dream job and get these mongrels off my back, so they can sod off, die, take my money and proceed to burn in hell with it.
Can anyone explain why these cocksuckers have a website that's harder to get into than the Pentagon and NORAD networks combined?! Fuckin' aye, it is a payment on crappy loan you motherfuckers!!!! God forbid if your payment date falls on a weekend. Fuck Sallie Mae in the neck with a twisted piece of jagged rebar!!!!!
Good to know I am not alone I HATE THEM
First of all they use terrible call centers in India where neither I or the person there can communicate. Second I had the same problem you did. I paid them early once and they did not apply it right and they tried to tear me up for it. I ended up complaining until it was all fixed.
I am glad the new laws make it so they dont get all the free Government stafford laws. I hope they DIAF and go bankrupt.
I am paying all my lonas through them off early just to get rid of them
Also on their website they require you to give them your contact info BUT when doing so they make you agree to them to be able to call you for anything at anytime...which includes spam messages about other products and services.
They also sell your contact info to other companies who try and steal your money through scams.
WAY TO GO SALLIE MAE
Save Our Students.com is an online petition dedicated to ending the outrageous loan repayment plans set up by private lenders.
Help us get Signatures!
http://www.saverstudents.com
I join you in hating Sallie Mae!!! They are totally clueless and WE end up paying for it! I've been charged late fees for .50 cents each month because of their mistake on a booklet mailed out to me. I asked for the late fees to be credited to my account but of course it was denied. Another thing that burns me up is the fact that I'm ALWAYS talking to someone in India or somewhere else overseas!!! The reason we can't find jobs here in America is because they are hiring people overseas! WTH???
Here it is, 2011, and Sallie MAe is still pulling these scams. I paid a 43.03 fee, by rounding up to 44.00. THey applied $42.90 to the fee, then the remainder to the interest, instead of paying the fee in full and the remaining of that going to interest. Unfortunately, they do not have the break down of your payment on the account summary, so it took me two months and several phone calls later to figure out what is going on. Their advise, "Make another payment." I did, and they did not apply any of my payment to this fee. It's like they purposefully let it linger so they have the upper hand.
I wonder what will happen if I hire a lawyer to sue them for mishandling my payments? Any good lawyers out there willing to take up the cause? I have all the ocuments you need to prove they are at fault.
You couldn't afford to go to school. You took the loan money with a smile, I'm sure. You were ignorant; just accept responsibility.
I think you all need to realize that its a government company and they run off of federal guidlines, which is nothing that anyone you call in has any control, when you sign up for these loans you are given a master promisorry note that explains everything that can or will happen to your loans while you are in thr process of paying them off. Your all adults, you all signed the papers and took on the responsibility of handling your finances. Its time to grow up and realize that if you dont keep a good handle of things, your going to be contacted, if your smart enough to attend college, you should be smart enough to handle your loans. Its time to grow up and take responsibility for the situation at hand instead of blaming a company that allowed you to further you education.
Hi,
Private student loan institutions like Sallie Mae have an unfair advantages over their consumers. Private student loans debit is treated differently from other types of debt and they can not be consolidated by another company. I am calling on the government to reform private student loan laws so it is fair competition for the loan insurers so as the consumer I can shop around for a better company or a better interest rate.
So I created a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate and President Barack Obama, which says:
"Why is it that against federal law to consolidate private student loans so basically you are stuck with a predatory lender such as Sallie Mae? It can't be consolidated with federal loans, its treated like a personal loan, but it can't be dispelled in Bankruptcy. If you default on the loan they still get paid by the government and they go after you in court. It is a win-win situation for them...they get all the benefit of giving money for student loans but have NO drawbacks, NO risk. You can ONLY claim up to 2500 dollars in student loan interest. I don't want to owe a lender for the rest of my life. What is being done about this? This dilemma is obviously not fair to the consumer. You can type in "Private Student loan complaints" and you will be overwhelmed with the woes of people that are genuinely looking for a way out of this loan shark situation."
Will you sign my petition? Click here to add your name:
http://signon.org/sign/private-student-loan?source=c.fwd&r_by=804523
Thanks!
I under stand all of your frustrations. I owned a house with my brother as co-owner when I decided to go to school at ITT. My plan was to take time off work and go to school then take a quarter off to save money for my house then go back the next quarter and I did that twice since ITT initially told me it was ok to do so, but I found out that it wasn't ok with sallie mae, apparently they started charging me after that first quarter I took off and I had no way to pay them. near the end of my schooling my brother lost his job and I couldn't afford the house payments by myself so they were late each month and I wasn't even paying sallie mae because I couldn't, their reps told me theres nothing to to they can pause my interest and financial charges so I was stuck with only one option and that was to deal with it... so the same time as I was graduating I was also going through a foreclosure and bankruptcy sue to this issue with my house, stress was high my house was basically gone and I wound up loosing my job to the stress's of everything. I got a job with a company though still couldn't affort to give sallie mae money but I got a promotion to manager on salary and started paying them well over our agreed amount per month for 2 years straight. at the end of those two years I found out my total balance had went up more than $5000.00, I hit a breaking point at that time and refused to pay them.
It seems like they get their rocks-off and wallets full by doing this to everyone.
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