I was put on the ICR, Income Contingent plan, to pay off my student loans. Direct Loans told me I had to submit my latest tax return by a certain time to them to stay on the plan or else my monthly payment would go up dramatically. I sent the information but Direct Loans refuses to acknowledge it. They removed from my account on their site the letter stating I had to send in my tax return. I suddenly cannot access the letter and they insist on new monthly payment. Fortunately, I kept a copy of the letter and have sent them a copy by email, offering to resend the information.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
According to the guidelines on DL website, I qualified for a deferment due to unemployment for the past several months. I already had a deferment through the 6 months after I finished with school. Unable to find work, I submitted a new request for deferment with plenty of time to be processed before the other one ran out. I never was notified of the outcome, but I continued to see bills. Thinking it didn't go through, I submitted it two more times, the most recent time over a month ago. I just received a call today being told my account was 80 days past due.
They explained that requests can take up to 3 weeks to go through, but my last was well before 3 weeks ago. Now I am told I can get a two month forbearance and am being sent paperwork for the deferment I've already done 3 times already because they haven't received the requests. Forbearance, meaning I still have interest added all these months even though I did the right thing and they never notified me until now that I was still being billed.
I stopped receiving bills in the mail months ago as well and though this was taken care of, I never received any sort of notice for the bills and I never requested them to stop mailing bills to me. Because of all this, now I have to pay a lot more money back once I am able to get a job enough to start paying back at all. All because of an issue with their system. Yet they are not willing to give me any lenience on the matter as though it is my fault for their **. It's ridiculous. I don't make enough money to make payments now and by the time I will, those payments will be ridiculously high causing me to have to wait even longer to try to start paying them off when I can make enough money.
I, Richard **, have been given the run-around from on my student loans for way too long. I've also submitted a request for a wage garnishment hearing as far back as September. I have yet to hear back on this request. I've called GC services numerous amounts of times to get the status of my student loan but they keep forwarding back to the Dept of Ed for further information. When I contact Dept of Ed they keep telling me that they have no information regarding my student loan because it's with GC and they would be better suited to assist me. When does this end?
My financial situation due to this wage garnishments crippled me financially from taking care of my family and is causing me extreme amounts of stress. No one is working with me in taking care of this issue. This wage garnishment could have been prevented to begin with if the proper paper work was forwarded to me when I had moved August 2010. Even then, when I called to get information regarding the status of the loan in August 2011, I was told by GC services that I need to forward my current financial situation to them with accounts numbers with payment amounts so a case to prevent wage garnishment can be established. I did that and nothing.
I've submitted 2 wage garnishment requests for hearings and have not even received a letter/email/phone call regarding the status. I've been hit with a 15% percent monthly wage garnishment that is totaling $444.00 a month. I'm enrolled with a monthly payment to GC services in the amount of $86.00 a month for 9 months. All this will do is lift the garnishments after the 9th month. GC is sending me statements showing a balance that seems to be getting higher than what it is. I've paid a total of $2340 as of 11/28/2011. How is it that they are sending me a higher balance every month when I'm paying in two separate directions?
GC sent me an agreement in error regarding a 6-month lift of the wage garnishments if I sent DL a payment of $86 and mail back the signed agreement to them. I did that and was told that it was sent by accident, although the payment was cashed. I called DL and was told to call Regina **. I called her repeatedly for over a month. After no avail, I called DL back and was told that Regina ** actually works for GC services. When I call GC services they tell me that Regina is out on sick leave until the end of the year. Again, no one to discuss my student loan.
Today 11/28/11, I called GC services and was informed by a rep that they have no records of a wage garnishment being issued to me. The only payment they know of is the 9-month agreement I enrolled in to bring the back in good standings. How is this possible? I'm completely confused on where my money is going. They did, however, say that they are solely in charge of collecting on this loan. Any further information regarding the hearing/account balance would need to go through DL.How is that all of a sudden GC services has no records of the wage garnishment?
What is my true balance on my student loan? Is anyone working on my request for a hearing? If so may I make contact with this person? Why was my address changed and never submitted back in August of 2010? This would have prevented this wage garnishment to begin with. Who am I suppose to contact to get accurate information regarding my account?
I've submitted a copy of the agreement sent by GC services for your review. The month of December is really hard for me financially because I have my car's registration/smog due. I've borrowed tons of money from co-workers as it is just to buy grocery for my family and the remaining balance for rent. Some thing needs to happen here. I have a 4-year old daughter that has severe asthma and requires medication that I can not afford anymore due to this garnishment. I have no problem sending a reasonable amount for this student loan, but the way that these payments have been forced upon me has taken a massive toll on a father of two little girls. Again, I am the only one working in my household.
I can't afford asthma medication for my youngest daughter. I've fallen behind on being able to provide food for my family and have resulted in borrowing money from co-workers and friends to support my family. I can not register my vehicle that I use for work. Very difficult to buy gas for my vehicle. I'm not receiving accurate statements as I requested and keep getting the run around from both the direct loan services and collection agency GC services regarding my student loan. What is taken place here has to be illegal.
Direct Student Loans has changed their website and most of their processes including payments without notification. I sent them an electronic payment on October 5, 2011 and it has not been applied to my account yet, today is November 11, 2011. I had to call several times before I actually spoke to a representative who did confirm to me that they had received my payment on October 5 but have not posted it to my account yet. When I asked why, I was told that they were unable to because of the changes to their system but they have had no problem adding the accrued interest for the past month that otherwise would not be there if the payment was applied. Is this even legal? I thought payments received had to be posted within a certain time frame.
Since the remodeling of the website, there has been mass confusion over the payment date of my loans and my father's loan. For a couple of years, my dad has been struggling financially, so I have taken over the responsibility of the payment for his loan and the money is withdrawn from my Wells Fargo bank account. Every month, our loans are paid automatically on the 14th, and on that day, I check whether they payment has been made.
This October, the payment was not debited. I waited a couple of days to see if it was a matter of delay but nothing seemed to happen. I took the initiative to go online and pay it manually. When I tried to log in the same way I had for years, I discovered that the website was not valid. There had been a change and had I was not notified either by email or regular mail.
After creating new accounts for both my father and myself, I discovered that the auto debit payment feature was turned off. Once I activated it and added my banking information, I manually made the payment for both dad's account and mine.
Today, I find that my Wells Fargo account has been overdrawn because a second payment was auto debited from my bank account. In total, $393.56 has been withdrawn from my bank account in payments to the Department of Education. As a result of this, it has overdrawn my account by -$143.16 and my bank has hit me with overdraft fees of $137.50. As a result of this error, I no longer have the money I allocated aside for this month's bills. As other bills (car insurance and private loans) are auto debited, I will have no funds to pay them.
My bank account is continuing to overdraft, and I am getting hit with more bank fees. All I tried to do was try to pay my loans and my dad's loans on time. Never did I imagine that it was going to have such disastrous consequences. I tried calling them but they say that since I "authorized" both payments, there is nothing they can do about it!
Does anybody know an agency to report this to?
Since they have a new website, I have been unable to sign in and make my payments as I always have online. None of the 800 type phone numbers work. You get a message that says they are unable to take your call at this time. Problem is no matter when you call, that's what you get - no one.
It is impossible to reach or contact anyone there for any reason. Isn't this illegal?
I filled out an application online with Direct Student Student Loan Consolidation and waited for more information about the consolidation. I wanted to ask questions before I considered but they sent the letter stating that I had 10 days but it was sent out late. The letter didn't come until after the April 4th and it was dated March 31st and they paid my creditor off April 9th. I was out of town when the letter came but they still didn't give me 10 day as they said because it was paid off 9 days later. They have my loan set up as if I was paying for a house. Out of $286 on 6 dollars a month will go to my principle.
I called the department to get more information and that is when they told me that the loans were already paid off. That's when I told them I was calling to get more information not to tell them to go ahead with the process. Who can afford to give away $280 a month during this economic hardship? That is a rip off! We need help please have an attorney to call. There are a lot of peolpe online singing the same exact song as mine.
The are trying to rip me off. I owe $42,000 and when I am done I will have paid them close to $90,0000.
Every year Direct Student Loans fouls up the information in both my wife and my Federal student loan file. Then they try every tactic in the book to get us removed from the income contingent repayment plan. When the Department of Education ran the program they were at least responsive and corrected errors and were couteous and prompt about it. The last contractor was a little flakey but I could wade through the paperwork blizzard an accomplish my business. The currant contractor is completely incompitent, rude, and unresponsive.
On four occasions since 08/2007, my wife and I have recieved information request forms accompanied by a nasty gram informing us that they would change the terms of our loans if we didn't reply. Each time we filled out the requested information and retuned it by mail. In follow up calls to Direct Loans they maintained that they had not recieved the information. We responded by sending our responses return receipt requested.
Today I sat with return receipts in hand and attempted to dicuss the matter with the above named employees of the Department of Educations contracted call center. After repeating my story each time to a so called manager, and stating it could all be fixed if they just honored the agreements my wife and signed at college everything would be fine. Representitive Sarah aknowleged that they were Government contractors, but that she was not allowed to tell me her company's name. I explained that I have worked in Government contract administation and that I would find out file official complaints, where upon she hung up on me!
Extreme frustration. Loss of two work days = $400.00. Damage to my wife's credit history when the total fault lies with the lender. The hassle and expense of closing my wife's bank accounts to avoid bounced automatic withdrawals,(cost estimated at $100.00 if we can avoid fines and penalties.
