Sallie Mae Reviews

So NOW not only do I OWE Sallie Mae but now my schooling was WORTHLESS!!!! So I go through a lawyer whom I knew. We tried to attack them for over a year. WORTHLESS!!!! They would NOT disclose any financial records about where or HOW my payments have been applied, interest records, capitalized interest, king compound interest, adjustment interest, account maintenance fees, etc. These are just a NUMBER of different fees and charges that I have been charged for over the years. I have paid so far to them almost $40,000!!!! I still owe 28,000!!!! HOW THE HELL IS THIS LEGAL!!! I can’t do it anymore. Between regular inflation rates, pay cuts at work, property taxes, mortgage, etc. I’m falling behind on everything. Already received foreclosure letters and talking to Sallie Mae on the phone is useless. They don’t care. Where and how can I sign up for any class action lawsuit against them. Please email me and let me know.

I had them set me up for auto-pay for a monthly payment I could afford that would cover all the currently due loans. I asked REPEATEDLY if I would need to worry about ANY other loans coming into repayment before the grace period ended in 2014. I was told except for my private loan, no I would have no other loans to worry about. And as far as the private loan's concerned, I'd get a repayment notice well in advance of the due date so I could make arrangements for the private loan. Great, right?

So my first payment comes out in October fine and dandy. A week later I get two separate billing statements with due dates different from my auto debit date. I call Sallie Mae to ask what the statements are for. The recording says my auto debit payment is 40 bucks more than what I agree to pay AND that the payment is due 2 weeks later than the date I agreed to! I get to the operator and she says, "Oh, that payment is for your DEPT OF EDUCATION LOANS, because some of them ARE IN REPAYMENT. And by the way, your payment for those loans is PAST DUE." WHAT THE FLYING **?!?!?

What was the freaking point of calling and making payment arrangements in advance if you're not being forthright about my loan activity Sallie Mae? Plus I'd signed up for electronic letter notification and got the statements in the mail. What if I'd moved or not gotten regular mail? That's why I asked for PAPERLESS STATEMENTS. Did you not want me to know I had another bill this month, Sallie Mae? That would make it so much easier to slap me with late charges, after all.

Anyway, I asked for everything besides what I'm paying to be put in forbearance until all the rest of the loans are due. I agree to the script, hopefully that settles it. But wait, there's still the private loan.... which is due in two days, by the way. Where the ** was my advance repayment notice for that? Had I not called I wouldn't have even known it was due. Of course if I want a forbearance on that it'll be 50 bucks, like it's so easy to come up with 50 bucks in 2 days.

I freakin' HATE this company. I want to do the right thing and pay back what I borrowed in good standing. This company's dead set on tripping me up with omitted information so I can get into default. Just make the debt noose around my neck a little tighter why don't you? I'm trying to do the right thing here and they're giving me half-assessed information. I'm the one who has to pay for that negligence. All I asked was to make sure what I arrange will cover everything. Some of you have had a far worse experience than mine already. This agency seems to have made headway for a lot of mistreated consumers: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/. I recommend going there and filing a complaint. It can't hurt. One more slip up like this and I'll be filing a complaint there myself.

How does this come to an end? Do we get a loan from another institution and pay this greedy company off? Or will they still harass us and say we are still behind? Someone needs to be held accountable for this mess. Is there a government official that we should contact?? We have made every payment and have faxed documentation to SM to prove it. We need help...

So, I was told to submit the IBR form (income-based repayment) so that I pay nothing. The problem? They keep telling me that they never received it. Yeah right. My other loans got the info and I don't have to reapply for another year. Sallie Mae is required to send you the forms, which they do, but they don't provide a return address to send it to! When I go online and request the address, it takes them over a week to respond but it really doesn't matter because they still "never receive it". I will be sending the form in for the third time and I will be sending it certified mail. If they give me any hassle about it this time and tell me they never received it, I am going to look into legal action.

Original Review: Oct. 11, 2013

Been paying this for my son since 2009. Website was down for maintenance in July. I called to make a telephone payment. Total amount gets debited from my account. In a week, the online statement says 20% less than what I paid. I quickly pay extra online and call Sallie Mae to get the situation straightened out. Since July 19th, I have made 7 phone calls lasting one hour each. Each time I get a name and Employee ID number. Each time I get either 10-14 days for the money to be returned and applied on the account, or 1-3 business days.

Each time I get a different person on the phone and it has to be "investigated" by a special department - or - a Supervisor has to be spoken to and make the change. Here it is October and nothing has been done. I make online manual payments because I don't like automatic withdrawals. So glad I chose to do this as I read other people’s nightmares about money being seized from their account. Four years of flawless payments and then boom. You Lawyers out there need to file a class action suit against Sallie Mae for the complete disregard of SNAFU's hat they create and don't fix!!! My son has two other loans that he is paying that I didn't co-sign. I feel bad for him.

I can prove the payments were made and Sallie Mae has my money, but I can't MAKE them apply it to my loans. So I just keep getting threatening calls, emails and letters from them stating I will be sent to collections for payments I already made! Does ANYONE know of ANYTHING I can do?? I'm completely at my wit's end!!

Why is it that no other business can get away with these business tactics, but Sallie Mae has no accountability to anyone? This is the most despicable company and the government allows them to engage in these practices. I will not give one more red cent, but will gladly hand over my worthless diploma to them!

A month went by and suddenly she has had two payments pulled from her checking account from Sallie Mae. When she called today, they told her she had FOUR LOANS!! This is not the case. We cannot get the same information from any person there and they refuse to let us speak to a manager... They told us to go online to see our four loans and when we tried, it told us our account is suspended and we no longer have viewing capabilities... We can't even see what the four loans are to argue that they aren't ours!!

What is going on and who do we get a hold of to help us here... She did everything to pay on these loans and do what she is supposed to and nothing is right on their end! We are totally helpless!! If anyone can advise where we go from here, it would be greatly appreciated. We are in a panic!! Sallie Mae is an absolute nightmare that we cannot wake up from.

I was put on hold for another THIRTY minutes (I am not exaggerating. I worked in Philly at the time and took the train all the way back to the NJ shore, 1.5 hours away). I got on the phone when I got on the train and was still on the phone when I got home. This issue was never resolved. I was going back to grad school at this time, so my loan went into deferment anyway and I forgot about Sallie Mae. Until now.

I am still in school and received a bill stating that I have a payment due TWO DAYS AGO! The envelope was postmarked SIX days ago. I'm sorry Sallie Mae, but you guys are **. How am I supposed to pay a bill on time when you don't send it on time? Why am I paying my loan when the status is deferred?? If you want to enjoy the rest of your life, DO NOT TAKE A LOAN OUT FROM THEM!!!!!!!! The first thing I'm doing when I graduate is consolidating my loans for the sole reason of getting the hell away from these jerks.

The final option is you get behind on payments and THEN they will try to work out a payment with you. When I asked them how they can help me now, ahead of it being a problem, they just repeat options one and two I mentioned above. This is the worst company to ever deal with. I have been paying my loans on time for 10 years with the exception of forbearance right after college and during a time I was laid off. There is only a plus side to them postponing full payments so why not just work with your lendees? I can't believe they rather their clients default and get behind than be fiscally responsible and work with them on payment options during difficult times.

I finally got so fed up I contacted an ombudsman and he is even having a hard time getting SM to send him my original loan paperwork. I have everything from day one. I am a hoarder when it comes to my loans. But what I do not understand is why the Dept of Ed not going after them to get their money back??? Something fishy is going on. My next step is getting a lawyer due to the fact my paper work shows something different and I have call logs with SM and Dept of Ed and what was discussed. I will start working soon and if I have to take one class a semester for as long as I live because I am not paying that until it is fixed. This has been going on for two years and I cannot take it anymore. Is there anything I can do? This is fraud.

This is very simple - amount+interest due. I have paid my dues for earning my college degree and Sallie Mae is not going to jerk me around anymore. Sadly, even when I do get a direct answer from them, the damage done to my credit from their claim that my loans are delinquent and remain unpaid can't be fixed so easily.

In July '13, my husband and I made an $8k lump sum payment toward her loan to reduce her principal, also assuming that this would significantly lower her monthly payment (you know what they say about assuming...). When it didn't lower her payment, she called in Aug. '13 and explained that she couldn't afford the full payment (and she's one of those rare college grads who found a job in her field right away - it just doesn't pay a lot). She asked if her payment amount could be reduced, particularly since that $8k payment had been made the prior month. She was told no. Practically in tears, she asked to speak to a supervisor. She told her story again. The supervisor told her what they could do is credit that $8k toward future payments, so her monthly payment due would show $0 until that lump sum was exhausted. She could still make monthly payments in amounts she could afford, which she fully planned to do, since she is very responsible about her credit score. She was told it would take about two weeks for this amendment to go through, and that when it did, she'd receive a letter, in addition to having it reflected on the SM website. That was the first week of Aug '13.

With her Sept. '13 due date approaching, and still no amendment after three weeks, she called again. The rep told her that oh yes, he saw that request in the system, didn't know why it hadn't gone through yet, he's going to expedite it. Check the website in two business days, and the change should be reflected. Three business days later, still no change. She called yet again. This rep appeared to go the extra mile and actually go to a supervisor and have her do the expediting magic as our daughter sat on hold. She was then told that the supervisor put it through, give it two business days, and it should be reflected on the website. Can you guess where this is going? I bet you can. Again, we gave them an extra day, and sure enough, after three business days, still no change.

On Sept 13, my husband called, as the co-signer. He asked immediately to speak with a supervisor, relayed the entire situation to her, and was told it would be adjusted in - you guessed it - two business days. My husband told them that if this weren't resolved at that point, we would be taking a loan from another institution for the sole purpose of paying the SM loan in full, and we would be gratified to have them lose out on all that interest, after they've put us through this runaround. As of today, Sept. 25, there is still no amendment. My husband did receive a voice mail from SM, but when trying to return the call, has been unable to get through to a human being.

Earlier this week, we submitted a loan application to a local credit union. Getting rid of this Sallie Mae nightmare will be cause for celebration. I have NEVER experienced this level of terrible, unresponsive, dare I say, dishonest customer "service." They have caused a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress for our daughter as she has simply tried to do the right thing and pay her student loan as she embarks on adulthood. Shame on Sallie Mae for making that so difficult for her.

The foreigner on the phone had an attitude and told me it would take over two weeks for them to adjust the application of my payment. Seriously, this is just a few mouse clicks. It doesn't take two weeks. But I guarantee I won't be credited that additional interest that is accruing on the balance that should have been lower if the payment had been applied correctly. I suspect they monitor borrowers attempting to get loans paid off and impede them in any way they can. Beware.

Further, the customer service phone line seems to be just as confused as to the information on the site as I am. For instance, when I tried to apply a payment to a specific loan, it was split between two loans, pushing both to become delinquent. We both spent fifteen minutes talking through the issue until we came to the conclusion that that was the case. I presently urge all graduates (and any readers) to avoid dealing with Sallie Mae if at all possible. This company purposefully engages in shady tactics to add penalties to borrowers. My advice is to use any other loan agency because I cannot fathom a greater degree of inadequacy in a company.

I am now delinquent because I didn't want to pay someone else's loan and I really feel my hands are tied. I am a single mom and can't afford this nonsense. The same happened to my mother. She actually paid her loan off, then got delinquency notices and ended up paying $16,000 in loans again. Something needs to be done about the shady business dealings of Sallie Mae.

My bank told me there would be $35.00 fee for them to stop payment and that the fact that Sallie Mae would mention this option without also mentioning a fee is "ridiculous", so I had to call Sallie Mae back AGAIN (which is a nightmare in and of itself) and they told me they wouldn't refund any sort of fee but if my account overdrafts they "might" refund me the money. So I had to run to the bank and deposit a check from another account which will hopefully clear before they auto-debit the account. You would think they would make it easy for people to actually pay their student loans but they almost go out of their way to make it as difficult and/or frustrating as possible. No wonder nearly everybody hates them or just doesn't pay. This corrupt and inept institution needs to just be shut down. I still can't believe they have the nerve to accept a bail out and still be so worthless.

My payments were increased this month when I was assured they wouldn't increase, and when I called to confront them they said, "Oh sorry, she was a new employee and told you false information. You can report her if you'd like, but you still have to pay the extra $250 this month." Once, I asked for a forbearance for my loans, and they said I would be charged $150 for each loan and could only forbear them 2 months max. I feel as though Sallie Mae tries whatever tricks they can to get the most money out of you as fast as they can. I would have never went to college if I knew I would of had to deal with this.

I recently became laid off and have yet to find anything or even begin to get back up. I'd messed with deferments in the past; however, I don't care to be dealing with these clowns the rest of my life so I do what I can when I am able. A month or two ago, I'd gotten automated calls from the robot Heather, telling me I needed to either call them or get on their site, two weeks straight at 8AM on Monday morning. Nothing like an automated bill collector calling first thing. I knew I was late paying, but I'd sent a payment off that weekend before the first call came, so I did nothing. The same call came the next Monday at the same time. I wasn't going to have a third week of it, I figured my payment should be there, but I tried getting on their website. I care to have as little to do with these jabronis as possible, I rarely get on their site, so I had long since lost my log-in info. I was sent a link to reset my password only to have it fail both times, causing my account to lock up.

I've dealt with their nothing short of a circus act customer service before and I was reluctant to have to call them again. After about a 10-minute wait, I was transferred to a foreign gentleman I could hardly understand. I asked him why I was being harassed when my payment should've been there by now? Numerous times I was put on hold and I'm not sure how many times he told me how much I owed. This fool said nothing when I told him my account locked up because their password failed and told me my payment had yet to be received. The conversation either ended due to disconnection, or he hung up on me.

Twelve hours after the fiasco with customer support, I found out I'd be getting an overdraft if I didn't get money in that day. The bank teller told me that check had cleared by the time I wasted probably a half hour listening mostly to what I needed to pay. All you'll found out by calling their customer service or take their calls is that you're either late paying, or what you owe. You'll know less after you call than you did before. They'll harass you to death, too, either with junk mail (which is usually sent back to them, sometimes even unopened) or worthless calls. I even had them, along with a collection agency, threatening me on the job. How they found out where I worked I'll never know. I wouldn't recommend anyone to these bozos, let alone kids looking to continue their education. Sallie Mae is one jumbled up, confused mess that'll make you sorry you ever got mixed up with them.

Now here we are today. I have contacted Sallie Mae every two weeks for the last 2 months and they are yet to CORRECT their mistake. I get the same answer. "This has been escalated with the finance department and they will update your account within a week." My account is currently 75 days past due and I am sure this is affecting my credit. I have never missed one payment and am being penalized because employees can't do their job correctly. I have wasted countless hours stressing and working to get this situation resolved. Someone please help!

I received a letter from them that my new principal was almost $68,000. They increased my loan by almost 28,000 dollars. When I called them to find out why, they simply had no answer or did not know why. They had payment plans but it was for more years or I could pay interest only. Then in a couple of years, my payments would go up. After 20 years of paying on this, I will have paid close to $200,000 on a $40,000 loan. I have no problem paying back the debt I owe but this seems almost ridiculous. Now we struggle to make all our payments each month and we are put right back in the situation again. Forget about calling them! You will be put on hold forever and cannot talk to anyone live. Also they said they would send me paperwork to argue the increase and to do different payment plans but have not received anything yet!

Sallie Mae refuses to acknowledge the fact that I barely get by with the meager SSI/SSDI income I get; I have had to get a lawyer (through Legal Aid because I can't afford one otherwise) and this agency has made ridiculous requests demanding that I pay what I can't afford. My lawyer has tried to reason with them several times, but they refuse to defer the private student loans, although they have deferred/consolidated the other half. Until I get a job, there is no way I can pay the ridiculous amount they demand; I have a letter drafted by my attorney, which clearly instructs them to stop harassing me by phone (and to which they agreed). As of today, I have 4 voicemails on my phone as proof that they have violated this agreement. In addition, they keep texting me and calling me when I am working at my non-paid volunteer job, which causes me to lose focus in my concentration.

Sallie Mae continues to send harassing/demanding letters in the mail as well, including the "We demand that you pay X amount" letter, in spite of the fact that I have called them on my own numerous times and tried to explain my situation to anyone who will let me tell them. What am I supposed to do, starve so they can have money I can barely afford? I can barely pay my bills as it is and towards the end of the month, there is no food in the house and no money to get anything. Several people I have tried to reach out to have made things worse by playing the "blame the victim" game with me. My mom, the cosigner, doesn't have a job either and they have been ordered not to harass her either. They don't listen to this as well.

I remember that one time my legal aid lawyer was on the phone with them and doing a little "arguing back and forth." I distinctly remember her ordering them not to call me again and getting their agreement that they would not do so. As I stated above, they have violated that agreement several times and send in ridiculous requests for money I don't have.

Sallie Mae has been my worst nightmare. They never try to work with you when you tell them (until you are blue in the face) that you can only pay what you can afford, and demand in very aggressive voices that you pay what THEY want you to pay when the reality is you don't have the amount they demand for. Then they make threats to "seize your assets if you don't pay" and I don't even have a car. I don't have anything of value that they can seize. My lawyer said they can't even take my meager SSI/SSDI, but a debt relief lawyer I just spoke with today said they might be able to, which places more stress on me because a great majority of the funds go to food for the month and the rent I pay for this apartment by the Housing Authority (the latter also raising the amount of rent every time my SSI/SSDI goes up). In the latter's case, when the manager told me last time that I have to pay more rent, she laughed. Why is taking all my money so I can barely survive so funny?

I don't know what to do about Sallie Mae. It's like talking to the wall and their customer service is terrible. It seems like all they care about is money I don't have and threatening me. They don't care about the fact that I can't find a job, no matter how hard I have tried since graduation and they don't care about the amount of stress they place on the student. If I had to do it all over again, I would start college with loans from another company that actually works with its clients. Sallie Mae blackens your credit standing for things that are not in your control and accuses you of "refusing to pay the bill" with money that isn't even in your bank account.

If you can't afford a large payment every month, you can't afford it. You can't squeeze someone for something they don't have. Should they live homeless on the streets so they can afford to pay Sallie Mae back? There is something drastically wrong with what this agency is doing to people - ruining their lives simply because they were stupid enough to get student aid from Sallie Mae. This place should be shut down. I know they are under investigation now.

I was going to purchase a home but denied because of Sallie Mae - I thought that the Sallie Mae Loan was taken care of. Today I found out that Sallie Mae took back the loan from Integrity, and when I called Integrity they told me that they did not know why Sallie Mae took the loan back because I was paying well on my loan - I still to this day have not received a phone call or letter from Sallie Mae. In addition, when I try to call Sallie Mae, I am being transferred all over and, then back to the start of the phone call.

When my loan had been transferred to Integrity Solution Service I had paid my loan down to $41,367.00 but, now due to penalties and interest that Sallie Mae has added I now owe $49,000.00. This seems illegal to me. NOT one time was I made aware that Sallie Mae took my loan back - no letter, no phone call. I feel this was an attempt on Sallie Mae's side to inflate my loan and once the loan became large enough due to penalties and interest then, they would contact me for payment - I am sure when I call them on Monday and if I am able to speak to someone they will insist that they have tried to contact me even though they know good and well they didn't.

Their robot calls me 5-6 times a day beginning at 7:00 am and do not stop until 10:00 at night. I have asked that they not call during my work hours but I have been told that as long as I am behind in my full payments, the robot calling will not stop. I could go on, but many of you have already stated many of the issues I have dealt with. It is extremely stressful.

Upon talking to a representative telling her that I didn't know that the student loan was purchased by Sallie Mae and my daughter is still making payments to Citibank. Who by the way had sent me 3 or 4 checks with no explanation. I asked the representative to give me to her supervisor because I could hardly understand what she was saying. She hung up on me. After some time I was able to reach another representative, and after giving my account number, mailing address, social security number, etc. 2 times I could finally explain the problem that I was having. I had requested that they send me a normal bill without all of the late charges because they did not notify me - I am the primary person responsible for the loan, instead they sent a payment book including a higher balance and late charges attached.

I tried without success to reach a representative to straighten this out. Two or three weeks went by. As of August 14th I received a DEMAND FOR FULL PAYMENT INCLUDING INTEREST AND LATE FEES. I called them back, I reached the same person, I could not understand her. I asked for her supervisor. The supervisor would not acknowledge my problem but kept asking what my address was, phone number, etc. I told him that I gave that information several times before and had given it to the representative just before I spoke to him. He refused to acknowledge me or let me explain my problem. I told him that I am going to see a Lawyer then.

My daughter also called them on the same day with the intention of paying them in full because she was stressed out as I was about the whole thing. They hung up on her and when she called back 4:30 Pacific Standard Time, and went through the menu they were closed. We were not given the opportunity to straighten this out and my credit which right now is excellent is going to be trashed. I believe that the people at Sallie Mae do not give a crap about the people and are not qualified to do their jobs.

Last year I was finally able to reach an agreement with one of their representatives and was put on a rate reduction plan with just days to spare before the loan defaulted. The payment was much more than I anticipated (my income-based Federal Loan payment which is based off of my income is 1/10th of their reduced expected monthly payment) and was more than I comfortable with but I had just gotten a new job with a slightly greater income so I accepted. I wanted to do the right thing, get my accounts current and start the painstaking process of cleaning up my ruined credit. (… and put an end to the non-stop phone calls) I made it through the year long program with no issues - payments were always withdrawn on time and in full, my account was current with a solid year worth of payments. Towards the end of the initial program I received information about the possibility to extend my stay in rate reduction due to good payment history. PERFECT! Honestly, it was the ONLY way I could “afford” to keep in good standing so a month before my current plan ended I called to speak with a representative to set up another payment plan.

Getting through to a live human is agonizing but, nonetheless I set aside an afternoon I was off work, prepped my new budget and expenses and prepared to wait. I must say that setting up the extension on the rate reduction plan was pretty easy. This time I was prepared with all my figures, we crunched numbers and the rep put me on hold to run all the information, on hold for 20 minutes, but I was prepared and had set aside plenty of time for this. She came back with my new payment, an increase from last years of course, and as I explained how difficult it was to commit to such a number out of one pay check (I get paid twice a month, and the payment was around half of one of my paychecks already) she offered up a solution of splitting my loan payments to correspond to my pay periods so I’m not getting hammered out of one check. GREAT! That I can commit to, that seems reasonable - as reasonable as you’re going to get from a private lender.

I picked 2 dates that worked with my pay periods, agreed to auto debit from my checking account and the representative said she was sending a request to move my due dates to reflect the agreed upon payments dates - so my payments would never be late, my account would always be current. The first scheduled payment on the new plan was a month and a half away - plenty of time for changes to take place I was told.

Fast forward to August 12th, 2013 - the date of my first scheduled auto payment on my new plan - and I’m not seeing any activity in my checking account. That’s ok, I’ll panic tomorrow if it still hasn’t posted. Tomorrow comes and I’m panicked because I’m not seeing a payment posted to my Sallie Mae online account, I’m not seeing any money debited from my checking, and I know that my account has to be in good standing to stay in this program. My boss can tell I’m upset so she excuses me to make a call while I’m on the clock - because their “email” option is a complete joke. After being on hold for 45 minutes and transferred 3 times I finally get someone that can help me. She assures me that my payment is visible on their end, that it could take 48 more hours to post to my bank account, and that my account is in good standing. 2 days later I see the payment amount is taken from my checking, with confirmation number - WHEW - that was scary!

Fast forward to today, Monday August 18th, 2013. I receive an email stating I have a new document to view online - I assume it’s a “thank you for your payment” type thing so I log into my account and to my complete horror in big orange writing is a notice that reads - “YOUR ACCOUNT IS 11 DAYS DELINQUENT - MAKE A PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID LATE FEES AND MAINTAIN THE RATE REDUCTION, ANY DELINQUENCY MAY RESULT IN REMOVAL OF PROGRAM”… Wait, WHAT?!? How is my account delinquent, I just made a payment, like we agreed and set up over a month ago - this CANNOT be happening! And once again, I’m at work when I get the news, so I try the “email” option and I hear nothing after a couple hours (in fact it’s almost 10pm EST now and I sent that request at 11am EST and have heard NOTHING still...) I decide I have to call on my lunch break and try to get some information, I'm upset.

So I call the number listed in my delinquency notice, and I’m on hold - for 30 minutes - finally a live person! That can’t help me, so I’m transferred once, twice, three times - back to the rep that helped me set up the plan in July. It’s been 45 minutes of my hour lunch at this point but I’m optimistic she can resolve this. WRONG!! She explains that my due dates never got changed so my account appears delinquent and the "reason" my due dates never got changed because of some new processing software/program that started in July - the same month I set this all up. OK, I understand server updates but why was I not informed of this, or at least made aware of the potential for something like this to happen?

A major change isn’t just implemented overnight, I should have been notified in some way and now I’m upset - why wasn’t I made aware of the possibility of something like this?? And now, what can be done to fix this? The resolution - I can either change my payment dates to reflect the current due dates (which do not correspond with my fixed pay days, which was the reason for all this in the first place) OR she can send the due date change request AGAIN... And that it SHOULD go through this time, but they are backlogged like 20,000 people, but it should go through. That’s reassuring.

So, let me get this straight - YOU have a major system flaw that was not at all prepared or accounted for - yet alone disclosed to your customers, and I’M the one that’s suffering? She then proceeds to tell me not worry that my account is sitting delinquent, just ignore it and check back in September. At this point I’m fuming, then she adds - “don’t worry about your credit, we don’t report until the account is 45 days delinquent and it SHOULD be cleared up before that – oh and those late fees you’re seeing accumulate already, you won’t be charged for those”.

When I inquire about receiving that in writing for my records and frankly my protection, I’m told that’s not possible. Sure, ok, I’ll just take your word for it, just like I did back in July when I was told everything was all set up - look where that got me. She finishes with “oh, and I’ll make sure you’re taken off the phone list too”. TIME OUT - you’re going to CALL me about my delinquent account that’s YOUR FAULT?!? That’s IT, now I’m PISSED. This isn’t good enough, I need some type of resolution NOW - “what can you do to remedy this?“ I ask. “Nothing - YOU can change your payment dates OR I can re-submit the request but you will have to wait.” That’s not a resolution in my opinion and when I say this to the representative she responds with “well, I can’t wave a magic wand” – OK NOW I’M DONE, I WANT A SUPERVISOR – NOW! Put on hold and transferred again, this time to a female that sounds like a teenager – and it almost seems like I’m on speaker phone because I’m hearing a lot of background noise, in particular giggling, which I’m fairly certain no customer of Sallie Mae would be doing while engaged in conversation with their delightful representatives.

I again verify my identity, explain my frustrations and am met with a scripted response - “I understand, I’m sorry you’re so upset, how would you like to proceed..?” I need this delinquency removed immediately, I don’t care that “it won’t affect my credit, I won’t be responsible for the late charges” because no one can OFFER THAT IN WRITING, nor can anyone change my due dates - not without it going through this whole process that apparently 20,000 of your other customers are stuck in too. She keeps repeating her “angry customer script” and I realize I’m getting nowhere, it’s now been an hour and twenty minutes I’ve wasted on the phone, not getting paid, for nothing.

This is absolutely unacceptable. First, the only way to “contact” anyone is by phone – which is an all day affair. Emails are lost in space, unanswered, and I’m willing to bet not even read. The majority of their “customer service representatives” are mouthy, rude, and unwilling to offer any resolution. Not once were my major concerns addressed, I was only given “take my word for it”. That’s crap and bad business, I don’t care who you are. And I don’t buy for one freaking second that not one single person can manually override a payment due date in the computer, I just didn’t have an afternoon to dedicate holding and being transferred a million more times to get there. Now I’m sitting here looking at documents that were sent to me today which state that my account is past due and that I need to make a payment or risk removal from the rate reduction plan. Am I just supposed to ignore that too? Just wait it out until September and hope the previously agreed upon plan takes effect? And feel comfortable with their representative’s “word” that my account is safe, that this delinquency will not negatively impact my credit and the late-fees I’m seeing accumulate will be magically wiped away - as if by some magic - wait, that can’t be correct.

I am trying to repay this debt; I made arrangements well in advance to avoid something like this and what for? So I can spend hours on the phone while I’m at my job - the job I NEED to PAY them back - to sit on hold, be transferred, treated rudely and still have ZERO resolution. Waiting it out is not an option - and frankly I DON’T TRUST “THEIR WORD”. I'm not doing this again in September arguing late charges and seeing hits to my credit - the credit I’ve worked so hard to start rebuilding. I will not be pushed around and I will not accept “waiting” as a resolution - this is THEIR ERROR. The fact that the company did not account for this possibility is not my problem. The fact that it wasn’t disclosed as a possibility to their consumers in advance or once it was confirmed there could be some issues is not my problem. My account has been paid to those agreed terms and should not be sitting in delinquent status. It is appalling that their response is - don’t worry about it, ignore it, wait it out even though the notices and the late fees keep mounting.

This is affecting customers that are all too familiar with delinquency and late fees - the ones that rely on these programs to dig themselves out of a huge hole, with hopes of restoring their credit. Ignoring their delinquency notices 2 years ago got me here, paired with the company’s unwillingness to be reasonable. I’m sorry I can’t just ignore the bright orange message, feeling confident this company will take care of me. I deserve better than that but unfortunately I cannot expect it. Their track record in the resolutions department is nonexistent, this company isn’t one to admit fault or offer up a solution until the bitter end. Somehow it’s always the customer’s headache. I don’t want to hear the excuses, I refuse to believe there is no override and I do not accept the offered resolution of waiting it out when the documents and alerts they are sending me clearly state otherwise.

ACT NOW, AVOID REPERCUSSIONS - not something I can turn a blind eye to. I will not be bullied or made a fool of and I will not accept no as an answer. My account needs reflect good standing, with due dates updated, payments to execute as planned, and all signs of delinquency removed. I think that’s reasonable considering I was given ZERO information about a server update and its potential to negatively affect my repayment plan. No accountability, no customer service, and I know I'm one of many, too freaking many, with a serious complaint and grudge against this disgusting company.

Then you go to the website and nothing happens, no notifications or anything telling you were to go or why they emailed you with this urgent document you needed to see. So once you get frustrated enough with the spam every day and going to the slow nightmare of a website, you will probably do what I did, just reroute those emails to spam. Which worked for the day to day, however, automatic debit does not work on the website, for some reason I do not even know why they offer it.

I have signed up for automatic debit from my account the first time a logged on the website then resigned up for auto debit every month after that because it never worked. Finally on the 4th time I called into customer support to have them walk me through it, and once we were done doing exactly what I had done before to set up automatic debit they promised "yes all your loans are automatic debit". So I hung up and thought the nightmare was over. Well it’s been 3 months and every month at least one of the auto debit loans does not debit my account so I get more spam from them and a phone call of a recording saying please Sallie Mae at "1-800-TalkToARobotForAnHourEvenThoughWeCalledYou".

I call then finally get to a customer service representative and ask why did you call, and they say, “I don't know sir, what do you want?” As if it is weird, and completely foreign to them that they are sending out automated calls telling people to call them for urgent account information. Anyways to add salt into the wound, to make a minimum payment it goes through immediately; however if you pay extra it takes 7-14 days at which at any point they can decide to debit your account.

After probably 5 phone calls to numerous reps., the check was finally posted to the correct acct. The following month, I mailed in another check, with the correct acct. number on the check as well as an 8 x 10 piece of paper stating which acct. to post it to. Again, the check was posted to the wrong acct. I again contacted Sallie Mae to inquire what happened again. I was told that I must have had the wrong acct. number on the check, that the envelopes are not opened by an actual person, blah, blah, blah and that they would fix it. I mailed a 3rd payment in. The check was cashed on July 15th by Sallie Mae but did not show up on any of the transactions. Again, I called, spoke to 2 more reps who advised me that I had to send in a copy of the bank statement to verify the info. I told them to get me a supervisor who could help me. Spoke to a supervisor, AGAIN, she advised me that I did NOT have to send in a bank statement and that she would take care of it.

A week goes by, still no activity. I spoke to another rep today. She asked me the same questions that the other 15 reps asked me. I told her that I wanted to speak to a supervisor. After spending 10 more minutes on hold, I got yet another supervisor who told me that I'd have to send in a bank statement because they have no record of my check!!! I told her to pull up the phone call from the supervisor that I spoke to last week who told me that I did NOT have to send in a bank statement because she could see on her screen that the check was indeed in their system. She told me that I was given the wrong information by that supervisor!!!

Okay, I am so done with this. Now I have the supervisors telling me that the other supervisors are wrong!!! Definitely doesn't give me a good feeling. I asked this supervisor what happened to my check??? It was cashed, it was in their system and it does not appear on my son's acct. She told me that "50 dollars was a common payment and that it could possibly be attached to the wrong persons acct., or that it could have ended up in the "bucket" where checks go, that have the wrong acct. numbers on them!!!” Imagine that???? I have my phone number on the check, the acct. number on the check and the darn check was cashed????? What the heck is up with this company???? I am now calling the Better Business Bureau to report this company. Had I know that this is how they operate, I would not have touched them with a 10ft. pole. Run, don't walk away from this company.

Upon further research, I discover another issue. Thankfully I am extremely organized and keep track of everything. Now I see that they debited my bank account $600 (which I did authorize) and credited the Sallie Mae account...great. However, the next day, decide to take the credit back (for whatever reason) but not return money to my bank account. I have spoken to 5 different reps and all of them start with..."How would you like to make your payment of $39.98, your account is past due 708 days." When I mention the issue of the $600 dollars, they say I am wrong and that they have credited the account accurately. No one wants to research or claim the research will take 7 days but will not listen to what I am trying to tell them.

There is clearly a system glitch!!!!! Speak to your IT people for goodness sake, unless they are just blatantly trying to steal money from people. How could the system be soooooo unreliable? I know I am probably not the only person in this world with this issue. Please review your accounts in detail. This is unfair and cannot go on. I know there are some people out there that would never question their bill and innocently pay whatever is charged. This is extremely upsetting and discouraging and has to be corrected.

I call every month and get the same answer and when I check on the Sallie Mae website the interest rate has not changed, nor will Sallie Mae speak to me directly but they will take the $303.09 from my account each month. I have contacted my representative for Ohio and he said to write a complaint. The private student loans need to be allowed in bankruptcy. With the high interest rate, the economy down, no jobs, Congress needs to pass the bill to allow these private loans to be bankrupt so students like myself are able to move on. Yes I do have federal loans which are not in default because they able me to pay according to my income - which is $0.

Something needs to be done with these private loans. I will never recover in my life trying to pay these ridiculously high private loans. I also am not anywhere with Sallie Mae or Central Credit Services on the "promised" interest rate yet they keep taking the money out of my account. Please help!

Each time I send an email, they tell me it will be applied according to policy - they will eventually apply it as requested, but in the meantime, I am paying interest on the balances that have not been lowered. Then when it comes normal payment time - they do not apply the normal payment to the account that I made an additional payment on, as well as they do not even pay the interest so it keeps accruing. PS - the account that I am trying to pay down first did not have any of the 126$ payment applied to it after being spread across the board.

Lately, I've gotten calls for two consecutive weeks telling me to get on their site. I care to have as little to do with them as possible, so I never go there. I had to reset my password, but I couldn't log in after I did, causing my account to become disabled online. I called the number, talked to a rep, but was constantly put on hold before eventually being disconnected. I'd recently made a payment last week, but they'd yet to receive it the same day. Less than 12 hours later, it'd both gone through and been received.

They have poor customer service, their employees are hard to understand speaking, and they have a very unorganized Mickey Mouse operation. I deeply regret ever getting mixed up with Sallie Mae, to the point where I almost regret attending college. If you can make consistent payments, you won't have to deal with them much; however, they'll harass you at every corner if you struggle making ends meet.

I do have email accounts and NEVER received notice by mail or email until a month AFTER my complaint was resolved. Make sure in your complaint to the Ombudsman, you request a complete accounting of all payments transferred appropriately to Sallie Mae, credit of all interest and penalties associated with their negligence in accepting the payments without forwarding to Sallie Mae, as well as evidence they have corrected your credit history profile to reflect that the payments were not late. It took about 90 days to go back and forth, but the Ombudsman was wonderful in lighting a fire under someone's backside to fix the mess they created.

So I got my bank payment records together and sent to Sallie Mae and DOE letting them know that indeed I had made payments and here's the proof. IT MEANT NOTHING!! I tried talking to anyone there that had an ear. They all had deaf ears. I now wonder if there was some kind of kickback or bonus structure that these representatives are receiving. If they see where they were wrong, then they would have to give the money back. There's something wrong there and I can feel it. I used the Dept. of Ed Ombudsmen's office - after a year of giving him the same information and he confirmed that I had been making all of my payments - DOE and Sallie Mae continued I was in breach of my contract.

I have contacted both Senators, and the eloquent letters that Sallie and DOE sent back would make it look like I never paid them a dime. Never mentioned that they had misapplied many of my payments, but it was my fault that I didn't maintain my contract. I am not stopping. THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMEONE OUT HERE IN AMERICA that cares about the scam of scam. I have one caution and please pass this on to everyone you know that needs Student Loans for their kids for fall of 2013 - cancel them. Since the interest rate has doubled because of the poor performance with Congress and the folks assuming that the rate would be retroactive - DON'T TRUST THEM.

I am very sincere. Just have them wait out one semester until it is all squared away. If the rate is the same at the end of July, then cancel it or go to community college and pay a course at a time because at the end of 4 years, you will regret it. All of these bloggers are not lying when they are writing about their horrible experiences. One more suggestion - have everyone you know call their Congressional office and start reporting/writing our problems. I don't have any extra money to pay for an attorney. Heck I am making $800 payments every month and not a dime to spare. Easy to get the loans - a nightmare when you are trying to pay them off. I have left out a lot of stuff because it's too much, just too much. But I am a fighter.

All of the loans got very confusing, so we worked with Sallie Mae to combine ALL loans into one payment. We questioned, on several occasions, if ALL of the loans were combined. We were assured that they were. We made all payments on this new combined loan on time. We continue to make payments to this one loan on time.

Months later, we found out from Sallie Mae that we have not been making payments to a loan that, to our surprise, did not get combined with the other loans. We were not making payments on that anymore because we were told they were all combined. Our record on Experian shows exactly that. There is the proof that we thought this loan was combined. When we were told that we could fill out a forbearance on this loan so that the payments could be delayed to give us time to adjust and make payments, we were told they would send us the paperwork. We received no paperwork, nor did we receive any other notice or phone call. Roxanne confirmed this with Tracey.

The next we heard from PHEAA was that the loan was in default, with a balance of $41,491, which was due immediately. If we could not repay immediately, we had approximately 75 days; then, a $9,000 fine would be added to our loan. They contacted us on around 15 days into the 75 days.

We called Sallie Mae back and ended up talking to a specialist to ask what had happened and what this was all about. After reviewing our record, she said that Sallie Mae actually did not try to contact us. Nowhere was it written that they tried to contact us to let us know that our account was in trouble, which is very strange since they would call at all hours of the day or night, seven days a week, if a payment was late only within a week. Very strange!

Now, after reviewing their records again, they said that they did mail out notices that our loan was delinquent. I do not believe they sent them out; we never received them. The first we heard was in early 2013. They informed us of the loan status that we believed we no longer had due to the combined rate reduction. We talked on the phone about a forbearance that they would mail to us. We never received it.

In the meantime, believing that it would come any day, we sent a payment in to show our good faith. We spoke with Tracy, Tara, and Roxanne to try to get them to purchase back the loan, which they must do if mistakes were made on their part. The first mistake they made was telling us that all loans were combined, which it is obvious now that they were not. They said that they did try to contact us through the mail. I do not believe them since we did not receive what they claimed they sent. We have received different stories and "facts" from everyone we spoke to there. I believe once they find the mistakes they made, they would go back and cover up their tracks.

I firmly believe that this is a practice of Sallie Mae. They are using these unethical (if not illegal) practices to gain more money. As I said, we were, and still are, making payments on the combined loans. I have never defaulted on any loan in my entire history. They first give you so many different loans that it's hard to keep them straight, while hounding you to death on the phone; they then say they are combining all loans into one, but make a mistake and leave one out. Then they do not contact you until it is in default. They sell the account and never have to deal with you again. I feel they should be investigated for their shoddy and unethical practices.

2) Remove and restore my credit rating by removing all negative reports against me.

I will never stop digging deeper and pulling more government agencies into this until it is resolved. On the combined rate reduction loan, which comes out of our bank account automatically in the sum of $376.11, they claim we are only paying $366.11. Who is getting the additional $10.00 per month that is coming out of our account each month? Are they also, in the coming months or years, say that this, too, is in default because we did not pay the correct amount, or is someone pocketing the other $10.00?

This entire experience with Sallie Mae has been a nightmare, a living hell. We have nothing left to do. We have never defaulted on a loan; we feel that if we borrow something, we need to pay it back. There have been mistakes made here on Sallie Mae's part, and we would like it made right.

I kept an eye on my account and noticed the amount that I owed increasing. I called again to find out what happened. Again, I was told there was a mix up. This time, I was told interest is daily. At this time, I'm realizing they can't train their staff or their staff is told purposely to lie to the customer. At this time, I also checked how my first check was used. I saw that only 2/3 went to my principal while another third went to interest. When I reviewed this information, I went over my terms and it says that if my principal balances are paid off, then interest would stop occurring. This is the only reason I can think of why my full check didn't go to my principal balance - so they could keep collecting on the interest.

I asked this question too and was not given an answer. I sent in another check to finish off the balance and called to ask them why it hasn't been processed. They told me there's no way to find out why and I reassured them that I sent it verified mail so I know they have it. I asked about the daily interest and they told me they would keep charging me until the check was processed. I don't know if this is legal. If I send a check and the facility gets it on Monday, but waits until Friday to process it, then I shouldn't be held responsible for the interest occurring from Tuesday to Friday, but this is what they told me would happen.

If anyone decides to use this company, I strongly advise against it. I would suggest getting loans from a place that you have looked into and also a place where you can talk to someone face to face. I also suggest you bring someone with you that understands contracts. I was 19 when I signed on four loans and it was for school. I should have just gone through my bank, but I was fooled by the idea of not having to pay anything until I completed my courses and how low the monthly payments would be. After reading more into it, I found out my payments would jump way high if they weren't paid off in 3 years. I was not told this. Be very careful if you decide to do business with this company.

I've argued for three hours total about this issue as my budget is set up so they get one lump sum at the end of the month. I have had to bite the bullet and move my payment due date up 4 days. They lower my payment every three to six months as I start getting ahead of the interest. They want to keep you from paying anything on the principal.

If I can say anything to future students it’s this: borrow from local banks or work with your school’s financial aid team to get grants and scholarships. Do not use any assistance from Sallie Mae. Also ask your school's FA team if there is a local private lender that you can borrow through. I had one with my school and it was interest free; and I had it paid off in a year. Do not use Sallie Mae at all.

Okay, so let me pay you monthly using my credit card. It works with every other company I have ever dealt with that is not Canadian. "Sure! However, you cannot set up an auto payment and you will have to call us every month to make the payment (ever tried calling Sallie?). Oh, yes and just one more thing... that will cost you an extra US$15 to pay by credit card... Oh and I see you have loans with both Sallie Mae departments, so really you will have to call both offices and pay the US$15 processing charge to each in order to pay with your credit card." REALLY? You want me to make two phone calls and pay an extra US$30 in fees so that I can pay my loan? Now, I am seeing red.

When I asked to whom I could talk with about this terrible and unfair business practice, I was told the only way to make a complaint would be to compose a formal letter and mail it to the Sallie Mae address with Attn: Regional Manager in the address. I could not even get a name of a human with whom to correspond. The consequences are that I refuse to pay extra fees just for the privilege of paying back my student loans. I will also refuse to pay any and all interest added to the loan as consequence of my refusal to pay the extra. It is Sallie Mae's problem that their system is antiquated, not mine.

On May 28, 2013, I again contacted Sallie Mae again at 6:15 pm because my refund had still not been applied to my account. I was told it would be in my account on Monday, the 27th. I waited until Tuesday because Monday was Memorial Day. The person I spoke with informed me that the previous person I spoke with had lied to me and that it would take 7-10 business days for the refund to be placed into my account. I, of course, became furious and frustrated with the situation, and demanded action. The supervisor informed me that they would put a priority on my refund and I would have it in 24-48 hours. At this time, I also double checked to make sure I had been removed from the auto debit, which they confirmed. I also specifically asked if this was effective immediately and was informed that yes, it was.

I checked my bank account the next day and found that I had been charged an overdraft fee yet again. That is $90 in overdraft fees! So, I once again contacted Sallie Mae on May 29, 2013 at 3:45 pm. I immediately asked to speak to a supervisor and demanded an explanation for the continued lies. She informed me that it should have been explained to me that my removal from auto debit wouldn't take effect until next month. Since I had them on the phone, I inquired about my refund and was told that it was approved and on the way.

On May 31, 2013 at 6:34 pm I again called Sallie Mae; I had waited the 48 hours and still had not received my refund. The Supervisor I spoke with informed me that once posted, it would take 24 hours to get into my account - yet another lie. I argued with this woman and informed her that this was getting out of control. I keep being put off, and am sick of it.

This company has lied to me numerous times. I find this unacceptable. I live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford any one messing with my finances. I have been given excuses and apologies, but I require money to live on.

My Advice: To anyone even thinking about receiving a PRIVATE LOAN from Sallie Mae, BEWARE! DO NOT DO IT. They will steal from you and unlike most company's who rush to correct their wrongs made to customers, Sallie Mae is so immoral they don't give darn about a customer. We Come a dime a dozen to them and they couldn't care less if we're cheated out of our money!

I certainly understand debt collection, but they go overboard with being rude, attempted intimidation, and repeated calls. I would love to see school counselors and financial aid offices STOP referring kids to Sallie Mae for loans. ALL other alternatives should be exhausted before using Sallie Mae. By using Sallie Mae, kids are facing years of abuse from this company. It's a very taxing and frustrating experience for a young person trying to start their lives after college.

They claimed I was late every month since the one slip up. Finally, a day came when I got a call from the people they passed the loan on to. This young woman on the other end sounded about my age at the time (23) and was very nasty with me. She claimed I had been late for months. I found her funny trying to be intimidating so about 15 minutes into the call I started having fun with her. Basically, I finally got out of her that since I was late, there was a past due fee I had to pay that I was constantly behind on!

Finally, after getting them off my co-signer and my back, one day out of the blue, I get an email notification that my loan due date had been pushed back. I had no issues for about a year and a half with them so I figured this was a good sign. So I show up as usual, a week in advance of my brand new due date, only to find that it only applied to one of the loans! I am past due on the other so I sent extra money. We will see if they let the dogs loose again. My advice, if you are seeking a job in Medicine, Law, or other Sciences, please, by all means, go to school! Anything else, learn WordPress and coding and sit behind a PC and learn how to run freelance or work for yourself because there are no other jobs or avenues that will keep you sane. What a waste of time my higher education has been!!!

Here is some additional information - since I graduated - I have paid well over 35G in loans back to Sallie Mae. Throughout the process, I would have to phone in monthly as they would misapply payments to the different loan bulks, which would then incur late fees. I would have to call monthly go through the process of getting a senior person on the phone and would have the payments applied correctly. Following that, they would refund the late fees. I recently finished up a residency and was in deferment. I did not register in the spring to take a semester off from the graduate program. My loans came out of deferment and although I am registering for summer and fall, I've decided to once again begin to pay them down. 1 payment in and Sallie Mae was up to their old tricks!

I paid $200 over the due amount (around $800) and they misapplied to a bulk of loans that isn't due till June or July. The account incurred 50 dollars in late fees due to their mistake. I tried to reach them via phone but their automated system now makes it impossible to reach a human being (typically a senior rep) that can deal with these issues. I had to email them and demand that someone call me back to correct the issue. A senior rep called me back in 48 hours (on a Saturday) which is the only nice thing I can say - and fixed the issue. My $50 will be refunded (which is typical if you catch this mistake). However, the senior rep who handled the issue transferred me to a closed department for my refund. So that will have to wait until Monday.

There are only 2 ways you can reach a person at Sallie Mae now. One is to email and demand an urgent call back. Two is to have your banking institution contact them directly via a special phone number that only they have. Complain to your congressman if you are having similar issues.

Had I known what I know today, I would have never financed my education through Sallie Mae! I have complained to the Better Business Bureau twice in the past 10 years and received over a hundred dollars in a recent class action lawsuit.

They call him multiple times a day, this includes Saturdays and Sunday. Additionally they call his parents, who have nothing to do with his school loan, multiple times a day. Yesterday, they called me for the first time ever saying that he "used me as a reference", which is a lie. They used this new lie on his parents as well. Around Christmas time, we would get red card envelopes in the mail that appeared to be holiday cards from friends/family, but once opened, we saw they were from Sallie Mae. We even got an envelope from UPS one day from Sallie Mae. They are great at harassing us, but no matter how much they harass us, it is impossible for us to make the payment they're asking us for ($500+ a month). We have told them we could squeeze $300, but they will not lower to that amount and will not accept "partial payments".

Anyway, I called back and another worker told me that only one of the loans was paid on, so not only did she charge me earlier than requested, she didn't even allocate accordingly even though she agreed that. I spoke with a supervisor to put in a complaint, not for the sake getting Kaitlin fired, but to tell her to wake the hell up. Management will do what they will with her, especially if they are actually trying to weed out bad employees. I had to call back today because (wait for it...) I was charged on the requested date as well, and it really pisses me off. I have bills pending payment soon and if those aren't paid, that's a cause and effect that I don't wish to deal with, but I would expect and demand that Sallie Mae pay for it because it was no fault of my own. They refunded it but said it will take 24 to 48 hours.

This isn't the first problem I've had with them in regards to these loans. I was told that they could be grouped together into one payment prior to a separate payment at a certain amount being paid like now. I was told they would be grouped together for one payment amount, got several confirmations and after being notified that payment was delinquent for one of the loans, I found out that they weren't and could not be grouped together regardless of the confirmations I was given over the course of several days. I had to go through Sallie Mae's customer advocate because they didn't want to work with me and honor what they led me to believe. The supervisor (Lucius) wanted me to forget about it as if I'd just accept that crap. So the customer advocate worked on the case basically so that they could get a grip and honor the lie I was told.

And during that time, Sallie Mae sent the unpaid loan to a collection agency (National Enterprise Systems that had an extremely aggressive worker by the name of Raymond ** who tried to make it seem like I refused to pay regardless of the pending case and actually hung up on me, but no one answered when I called back to make a complaint about his rudeness). That amount was recovered from collections by the advocate, and now I am here trying to move forward like I was prior to this **, and it's one problem after another based on Sallie Mae hiring some of the dumbest people. How can someone make good on payments, or at least try regardless of situations if we are being met with problems from the lender? It's a stupid situation that I have no time for. I'm trying to make money to keep our heads above water so that we don't end up on the damn street not wasting time because of bad customer service.

There are so many other companies to use. Please don't do what I did and use Sallie Mae. Every time you need to speak with someone, you will be let down. I talked to Latricia in the ghetto (I know this because she said, "I'm in the ghetto dawg"). I was then transferred to someone name Alger or Aljeer (English is definitely not his first or second language). I have been told lies when people don't know what the answer is; they given the wrong pay date, the wrong forbearance end date, invalid credit card entry (put someone else’s name with my credit card info, how that happens only god knows), a voided credit card entry that made my payment late, because no one put a name on the card I used after I changed it so I had to pay late fees (i.e. they just ran the card without anyone’s name on it after I told them whoever’s name is on the card is not mine and gave them my name), and not to mention sitting on hold for hours out of a day to try to find someone that has more brains than my dog.

I have had the phone hung up on me by some lady who would not give me her name or code. I have never been put on hold so many times in my life with a company. For a while I thought they may just not write anything down and just argue with you for ten minutes and act like they are doing things to your account, but I figured it out. I think they write things down with crayons that is why they can never keep track of anything. I am an attorney myself so I do not need anyone to contact me, but I will help anyway; I can if you send me an email. Also, this isn't a big deal, but every time I call, they have the wrong address for me listed so I don't get anything in the mail. I have given them my address twice and no one will change it. I tried to get email notices since they can't figure out how to write my address so they can read it (it is hard sometimes with crayons), but I have never received one email.

It has become a part-time job trying to get this money back. I call every week, lately every day, and each time I call, I have to start from square one as no one there has any idea what's going on. This has taken 4 months already with no end in sight. Then I get put on hold and when someone picks up 20 minutes later, they have no idea why I'm holding and I have to start all over again! I don't know how many hours I've spent on the phone with them but every time I call, it's at least 45-90 minutes. Then I spent money faxing proof of bank transactions, certified mail. I even missed calls for overtime for my job, because I didn't want to lose my place in the phone queue so that's more money out of my pocket. You dial one number and they say, "No, try this other number," and when you get through, they tell you that you must call the first number back!

I've never seen such incompetence in my life! This is how we were rewarded for being a customer of Sallie Mae and paying off our loans on time in good order. They steal money from our bank account and it's on me to prove everything. I present rock solid proof of their criminal incompetence and it's not enough to get my money back in a timely manner. You would think a decent organization would have realized the error and acted immediately. Don't expect this from Sallie Mae.

I became so frustrated at getting weekly early phone calls this past week that I asked to speak to a manager to try and resolve this issue. Once I got to talk to a manager, she was just as incoherent as everyone else I speak to. She was very rude and gave no effort to make things any better. She also went through the same wrong payment issue as everyone else. Just pathetic! I guess this saga is never going to end and I just wanted to give my two cents on how horrible this corporation is, as everyone else I have read about. If you have a choice to avoid getting a loan through this so-called corporation, I would move to other options - and I'm just a cosigner.

My paycheck was still being garnished by West Asset Management even though the loan was refinanced and I am making payments. West Asset Management garnished 2+ paychecks that should not have been. They also will not help me to get my money back. Instead, they keep telling the loan is paid off and they would not accept the money; however, the State of Kansas did in fact garnish my check and sent the money to West Asset Management, because they never issued a withholding cancellation notice until I make over 5 phone calls to Sallie Mae, US Funds and West Asset Management because no one wanted to help, instead passing me off to someone else.

With over 3 hours of phone calls, finally West Asset Management on 9/12/12 sent the cancellation notice that should have been done on 7/1/12. Please help me! I still owed money as of 2/15/13 with no one to call back! All the document I mailed were certified and I still have.

I offered to add the difference to my next payment, but I was not going to pay the penalties, etc., incurred by their mistake. "Spencer" put me on hold for over 20 minutes before returning to say that the penalties would be removed. I double-checked with him as to the amount still owed, as well as how much my existing loan payment was, and how much those two amounts would total. Next payment was made with these adjustments. A month later, another overdue notice. After checking online again, there was still fifteen cents left on the loan - talk about nickel and diming. Also, it seems that instead of clearing the penalties, SM shifted the amount to my other loan payment, raising the amount due almost five dollars over what my coupons indicate, setting me up for more BS. I'm still in communication about this, so I can't say how this will end. But I'm pretty sure it won't be to my liking.

But enough complaining. What I really want is some direction toward someone who can help people like us take SM to task. We've just let all these greedy/incompetent money-grubbers get away with almost bankrupting our country. Isn't there anything we can do to defend ourselves against this sort of willful disrespect?

Yesterday (02/14/13), I got a call from Sallie Mae requesting another payment. I advised them again that I just recently made a payment and my next payment was going to be processed at the end of the month. They offered to help me bring down my past due if I postdate two payments. I told them that I make payments in different ways, meaning with different credit cards. Postdating a payment was not a good option for me and also I've had very bad luck doing that in which by mistake, the incorrect payment amount has been taken out from my accounts leaving me with hardly anything to go by the rest of the month.

The man who spoke with me started saying that I just didn't want to pay and that they were going to keep calling me every day until I get the account cleared. He even assumed that this loan was a student loan saying that I already graduated and I was working, so it was my responsibility as a student to pay them back. Little did he know that this loan was to cover tutoring classes for my child that has a learning disability.

Today, I got another call to request another payment. I advised the man that I spoke with someone yesterday and the same attitude of rudeness. I told this man that I could not come up with any more money until the end of the month, and I advised him of the two recent payments I had made. He didn't even care and offered again postdating of a payment. I told him that was not an option and he told me that they were going to keep calling me every day and ended up hanging up on me. What kind of customer service do they have in their company? Not every person who gets behind in their monthly payments do it just for the pleasure of it. My vehicle got repossessed; my home is in foreclosure and my husband lost his job a few months ago. I'm trying to survive and still I'm sending payments. These are very unprofessional ways and so-called options of helping a customer.

"Well, y'all have done it again, posted the monies to the same account." I keep asking, "What else can we do besides paying what we are supposed to do? Can we come to your location and post the flipping payment ourselves?" This is nothing but harassment and if anyone has a name and number that I can call and report this to, please let me know. Each time, we are told, "Oh, we are sorry, we will fix it," and the next day they are calling again. And they wonder why people are going off in America! This is a fine example!

When you apply for a change in payment plan, you are supposed to be put in administrative forbearance. Their website even says that, but not me. I'm delinquent for some reason. I assume they will send their information to the credit reporting agencies as well, and I can do nothing to stop this! I am just another victim of Sallie Mae. I understand they have a very poor rating and I know why. So my credit will be ruined, and I can do nothing? How is this company allowed to do this to people? I have documented every inaccurate step they have taken, just in case somehow somewhere they can be taken to task for their horrible actions.

I am currently not working, suffering from an enlarged heart, diabetes and other medical issues. I also am the only caretaker for my terminally ill husband. I have a son who wants to go to college, but after witnessing everything that my mother and I go through, he has changed his mind. I have a master's degree in Criminal Justice, but have been unable to use it or even find a job. I make my payments; most of the time they are on time, sometimes they are late since I live on my husband's social security. We can barely survive on that with bills and medications. I would like some assistance with the harassing phone calls and letters. They told me that they would no longer harass my mother, yet they continue to do it.

My family is getting seriously pissed off at me because I am doing my best, but they are still harassing my mother and me. Is there anything at all you can do to stop this harassment? I think it is totally sick that they have turned an $8,500.00 loan into me owing over $17,000.00, because they change the interest rate everyday. It is sick and I really don't know how they expect me to pay it off when making the payments I am making don't change the balance at all.

My credit is messed up now. It was awesome before and now every time I call Sallie Mae, they keep messing up my loan. No one knows what they are talking about. No one makes correct notes of what I ever say and my loan is out of hand since years ago. Now it's some crazy amount like a hundred thousand and no one has ever helped me. When I was laid off and I had trouble paying my loans a few years ago, they said all deferment was not available anymore.

I'm pretty much broke each month because of mishandling of all my and my co-borrowers loans and credit is destroyed. They keep debiting my account and taking my money. They say if I don't pay that amount, they will take taxes at tax time etc. so I keep paying in fear of taking what I'm relying on for my children. I need help to lower monthly payments and find out what they have done to my loans. I can't go into an office and everyone on the phone never helps me understand and has any right answers. They say, "We will call back," and never do. They give me the runaround and broken promises. Please help!

I have to spend too much of my own free time dealing with their incompetence and mistakes, yet I have no choice in the matter, being that this is who my federal loans are now handled by. Back when my loans were handled by the Department of Education’s Direct Loan service department, I did not deal with these headaches and blatant incompetence. I'm currently looking to see if I can transfer these loans to another company. It's bad enough dealing with the stress of paying back school loans and the compiling interest rates. Sallie Mae only adds to the stress, and if I could, I would avoid them like the plague.

After receiving another "hate later" from accounting, we had a lengthy discussion which included a conference call with our bank to verify what was going on. We were promised we would hear what the remedy was, but we kept receiving daily robo calls to pay up. Today, we talked with customer service once again and tried to reach the person from the week before; she had given us her employee number. Instead, we were blocked off and had to explain the whole thing again. Considering we verified that Sallie Mae was depositing money back into our account each month, we okayed the full payment, but have no idea if our automatic payment will make it to them in the months to come. If these "delinquent" payments show up on our credit report, or if we have extra charges, I will be contacting an attorney.

At that point I was quite a few months behind on the student loan that payments were not to start on until my son was out of college. Not the case, but I wouldn't know as they sent me nothing even stating I had the loan with them. When I started making payments, they often didn't credit that payment and made online for well over a week after the payment was made. So even if you made it several days prior to the due date, it was late. Often the money was taken out of the bank account on time, but the payment was still deemed late and they would apply a $59 late fee. They also do love to call you on the hour every day - your payment is deemed late with strong arm threats.

In October of this year, I consolidated my Sallie Mae loans (somehow wound up with two separate loans on the one education) with the U.S. Department of Education. Everything was paid off at almost twice the original loan value plus all late fees were consolidated into the new loan. The other day I get an email to loan into my Sallie Mae account because I have a delinquency - two months after the loans were paid off! The claim was I owed another $55.66 on the second paid-off loan that in the transition history shows everything was paid. When I called, I got a guy from a call center in India who implied the entire second loan wasn't paid. After arguing with him for almost an hour, he agreed it was actually paid but I owed this $55.66 but reason why. Just if I paid it the loan would be paid off.

When I explained there was no explanation online and no way to pay it, he did his magic and I was able to pay $55.56 online. As it wouldn't let me pay the $55.66 it said I still owed claiming I would be paying more than is due. I am sure in a couple of months I will again owe for this 10 cents with another late fee added. Is there anyone out there who defends people from these thieving **?!

Meanwhile, I am getting calls from them. What happened to customer service? Why would they call me and demand payment when the borrower has contacted them and is trying to make arrangements/payment? Why does Sallie Mae refuse to call and contact the borrower first before threatening the co-signer? Why can't their customer reps read the notes on the accounts and see that arrangements are being made? If they need to follow up on those, why don't they take a moment and call the borrower to clear up the matter? Why are the representatives so poorly trained?

Now, I am getting 47-day notice that the payment is late when you can see online that the double payment was made. When I called in, they told me about the May payment that magically got lost or appeared. The account I am finding out should have been put in forbearance, but the payment never took and they didn't tell me. Now, I am out two months’ worth of payments with another one on the way. Did I mention when I told them about the problems I have been having, they hung up on me? The reason, they are in collections, they don't have to be good at customer relations. Will someone just tell Obama it’s okay to forgive these debts so this company can go out of business, or someone tell me a lawyer I can get to sue them.

When I called to have them look at the account I made the second payment out of, they said they had no way of doing that. They then said that in the future, I need to make sure I make the payment out of the right account! How would they know they have no record of it!? (Unfortunately, neither do I since I did not save the screen.) My online payment never gives any record of where the payment is taken out of. She then unenrolled me from automatic debit saying that was my problem. Although how that had anything to do with it, I am unsure. She then said I could attempt to get a refund for my overdraft fee; however, she could not guarantee it since it was not Sallie Mae's fault. Overall, a very frustrating experience.

I did attach the first page of both letters, along with application so they can see the confusion. I asked that someone could either call, email me or US mail me a response ASAP. I have already dealt with another big company with the BBB and got them to fix things, so I am not one that will back down from easily. I also noted some of the other complaints for other Sallie Mae customers and want to let them know never to sign up for auto-payments from any of the edu companies. Why? Because they can change things without notifying you and increase your payment. Even if it takes half your paycheck, they don't care. I have attached the parts of the two letters I received, so please note the dates and what it says. I have also highlighted areas for reference.

Then as the deadline approached, I was on the phone with one manager. He apologized since the request was not even processed and that he will send the request again to have it emailed to me within 48 hours, so I can have my packet post marked on the deadline date. He told me they don't have a phone number to contact the department that was supposed to be in charge. Everything must be requested through email. Can you believe that a big company like this would have no phone number for their managers to contact in case of an emergency?

Still, nothing was sent to me on the deadline date. I called again, and another manager apologized and said she cannot do anything but to email the archiving department requesting it to email me the form again within 48 hours. By now, my CPA had to have the packet postmarked and sent without my 1098-E form to the IRS. I waited 3 weeks with 5 follow ups for a document and they still didn't send it to me. This was how I was treated after paying off my loan.

Also, calling them for any reason only brings nightmares. I found in the beginning even if I called to ask a basic question, my account there would have some sort error on the next payment somehow. I know of two other people who had similar experiences with this company. So do yourself a favor, when you talk to someone, write the time, date, their name and reason for your call (store it until whatever problem is completely resolved & done). You can ask for their last name or work ID number. I was told they should technically be able to give both. Also, I had to mail my letters or checks to them - anything important you should send by certified mail with delivery confirmation. This stopped a lot of my headaches for a long while. And someone wrote about not paying them and letting it just go and eventually they settled; I have heard from two sources they did that and it worked.

They do not care if you are unemployed, injured, or any other reason you may have no money. I just asked to lower my payment by 60-80 bucks, since I cannot afford the new payment of $300 a month in addition to my other college loans. What they forget to mention when you sign up for a lowered payment due to circumstances, it is for a limited time which you can never use again. Also, you payment will drastically increase. No one from the company ever mentioned this at the time of accepting an economic hardship. They will only offer to charge you to put your account into forbearance. They also somehow mess up payments and claim you never paid when they cashed the checks. The best part is, when you have not missed a payment and you can see every check was cashed, recite back check numbers and dates and time they cleared. You have to be persistent and keep calling. It only took me about 6-8 months to learn. You eventually find someone who knows what they are talking about.

Overall, they are the worst company I have ever worked with. I would never recommend them. I also highly advise others to warn high school grads to pay attention to who they sign their loans with and if it is Sallie Mae, request another loan company. I have started to be much more careful when I sign my loans for my masters program. I just wish someone would find a way to sue this company and take them out.

We chose the option to pay interest now. I set up the payment from my online banking 2 weeks ahead of the due date to be sure there would be no problems. The payment cleared. A week later, I checked Sallie Mae, and the payment was not applied to the account. So, I called. I offered the transaction number, but they require a paper copy of the payment. Really? I've had private companies who can track a payment from the date and transaction number, but Sallie Mae cannot. To avoid a late payment, I used their online payment option and am waiting to find out where my other money landed. To add to the frustration of the above, Sallie Mae, as others have noted, is totally outsourced. While the reps are polite, they read from scripts and only from scripts.

My husband receives his paychecks every other week and is responsible for the bills. Depending on how the bills fall due is when the mortgage can be paid. This is the only payment we are ever late with and never later than 29 days. I paid cash for my first two years of school. Then when I entered nursing school, I began taking out loans. I cannot believe that at this time in my college career, Sallie Mae is refusing to help me finish and graduate. This is probably one of the reasons Sallie Mae has so many people in default. They do not help you when you need it. Obviously, students call them for loans because they are having a hard time paying bills and getting through school. Sallie Mae has a duty to the students who work hard and want to contribute to the economy and repay their loans in a timely manner. Sallie Mae is the only option for students after federal loans, which leaves students at an unfair disadvantage.

Eventually, we began getting calls from two separate collection agencies! The Army paid off the entire loan, and both our son and we received a payoff letter stating "Paid in full" ($41K!). You think it's over? Not by a long shot. We are now getting calls from another agency telling us that Sallie Mae claims we still owe another $530! Now it's on! It's time to have the military JAG office go after them.

I received the paperwork in late August 2012 and was told payment’s due on September 24, 2012, I think. And I do not know why I was sent a bill. I did not send out my request for Hardship loan until the 7th of September 2012, because of not having any stamps. I sent it out on the 8th when I shopped. I’m on a strict budget and must take a cab; I do not have a car. I recently received a letter from them stating that the date I wrote to repay was too far into the future. I did tear it up and threw it away. I have been having trouble with every business that I do business with.

Now I am in the mortgage company in shock and not understanding, and the mortgage writer is not understanding either. She noticed everything else is great, and even she felt that I have been screwed over. And I have. I called Sallie Mae and of course "they don't have record." Next, the rep said, "We can reverse it and cancel the payments. Just fax in proof of income." Here is the part that blew me: "We can reverse it, stop the calls, and show your account current; but that information on your credit report can't be changed."

My credit has been ruined, but my fight has just begun. People, beware of student loans with Sallie Mae! They do not keep accurate records; they change their system frequently so that they can use this as an excuse as to why they don't have a record of your information. They never receive your fax. But with all of the flaws their system have, they are allowed to ruin the life of an American dreamer, such as my self. If the info can be so easily reversed in their system, then why must I suffer for 7-10 years from inaccurate info that is placed on my credit report. Something major needs to be done. Too many are being affected by the inaccurate info. Check your credit report!

Good luck refinancing unless you can get another private loan to do it with. No federal refinancing since it's not a federal loan. I've always paid early and usually with extra towards principal but the one time I messed up a digit on a check, they called the co-signer of my loan and me (in that order) constantly over a measly 64 cents. Yes, seriously, $0.64 missing from a payment. They had to tack on a $20 fine just for the CC payment not to cost them money. Stay away!

I called back on Friday and was told by the supervisor that she wasn't going to approve this. After going over a monthly statement of my expenses, I was told that 150 dollars a month was too much to be spending on food! She told me to disconnect my cellphone. When she said I had a disposable income of $300 a month, she told me she wanted that as a payment. I told her no because I have car repairs as well as doctor bills I have to pay, not to mention not having money to pay for gas except to get back and forth from work. She told me, "People like you who owe us so much money don't deserve to have a life!"

I was in a blind rage. All this happened at work making the rest of my day miserable. They have also called me at work, two weeks after making a payment! They also threatened me to take my co-signer's (my ailing grandfather) house! We want to file a lawsuit against them but haven't had any luck as of yet. I honestly can't believe nothing has been done about this company. It makes me sick and depressed. I feel like I have no options and just like another person stated, I don't want to get married or even start a family and good luck buying a house!

It was a young lady telling me that my account was $400 past due. How was this when it was the 29th of the month and the payment was made earlier in the week? She told me that the extra payment I made went toward interest and not my August payment. I was outraged. I told her to investigate it, fix it, then call me back. Well, they called back alright, over and over and over with a recorded message letting me know I had options for my account and to call a toll free number to speak with someone. My father, who is co-signer on my account, noted seven, yes, seven calls from Sallie Mae on his answering machine yesterday and the calls are still coming today, Labor Day!

I tried calling all of the numbers I have for Sallie Mae, but each time the recording says that they are closed today. Then, just minutes ago, I got an automated phone call from them telling me again that I had options and that there was an account representative waiting to speak with me, just call the toll free number. I called, and again, the recording said that they were closed. What is it with this company? My father and I are tired of being harassed by this company, especially when it was their mistake and they continue to call when they aren't even open! I want this to stop!

About three months later, I hadn't heard anything so I called them and they said that my doctor failed to fill one section and therefore, they couldn't discharge my loan. I was at that point beyond upset and I started making all kinds of phone calls, and I was just transferred to many departments and given the runaround. Then, I received a letter with another form enclosed for my doctor to fill out. And in the meantime, the interest has been accruing and they pushed me into a deferment. I tried to tell them that I didn't need a deferment since the loans should have been discharged long time ago and they said I needed to do it or I would have serious collection problems. My credit has taken a toll by now since my score has dropped considerably and no one will extend credit to me.

I hate Sallie Mae. They are incompetent and are involved in misleading business practices and fraud. I'm trying to file a complaint against them to see if I can have these loans discharged once and for all, but haven't been able to find any government agency or department that oversees Sallie Mae to file my complaint. If anyone knows where can I file a complaint against them, would you let me know? And if an attorney wishes to contact me to join the class action, I would be happy to speak to you.

Three months later, nothing back from Sallie Mae. I called and they couldn't find the info until I threw a huge hissy fit about how they had the information because I had a receipt stating it had been delivered. Miraculously, they found the information. I was processed for an IBR, finally, after lots of follow-up phone calls. Second year, I submitted the information via fax the day after I received the notification requesting a renewal thinking that they couldn't lose it that way. Well, they still managed to lose it. This is disconcerting that my private financial information contained on my tax returns disappears every year into Sallie Mae oblivion. After dealing with them several times via phone again and resending my information, the IBR was finally processed.

This is the third year and this time I submitted the information electronically through my online account on their website and now three months has passed (thus ensuring on their part that the IBR has expired) and they never processed the paperwork. Instead, I received this week electronic correspondence showing a change in terms which takes me off of the IBR for which I clearly qualify. I am convinced that they play this little game on purpose in order to circumvent the government regulations regarding the IBR. They are completely unapproachable, uncommunicative, unconcerned, and uncaring. If Sallie Mae were any other corporation or an individual conducting business in this manner, they would be at the very least out of business, under government sanctions, or in jail. Do not use Sallie Mae. You'd be better off with Larry the Loan Shark. He probably has better and more moral business practices.

Since interest is accrued daily and since some of my payments do not go through, I am paying less to principal and more to interest, which is what Sallie Mae wants. I find myself to be more attuned to what is going on with my student loans than some people. I have also checked to see what the interest should be between my payments and have had times where I am charged more interest. When I bring it to their attention, it gets corrected. Granted, it may be a $1, but still, with the number of borrowers, a $1 here and there adds up quickly in their favor.

Low income payments, unemployment deferment, etc. Denied. I applied again. Denied. I started calling them. Every person I talked to gave me a different story. Either way, the lowest payment they would settle with is around $700-$800 a month. That's more than our rent! At that point, they were auto calling me once an hour. I would answer and no one would be on the line but a machine saying I owe them money and to call this number. After signing one class action suit, the calls had stopped. For a while. Not only are they calling me again all day every day, but they are calling my father as well. Same message as last time.

This morning, they called me at 8:21AM. Then again, three minutes later with a different phone number! Same message! What makes it even worse is that they were paid $800 this month and they still feel the need to harass me. It just never stops with them. Ever. Same issue with my husband's loans. His got sent to the collection agency about a year and a half ago, he wheeled, dealt and managed to get a manageable payment plan out of them. About two months ago, his mother called him saying that Sallie Mae had taken a hit off of her credit score (conveniently right as she was applying for a home loan) for late payments, chewing us out for not paying them. So, I had to make a request from the bank to send me a list of every payment we had made to them within the last year!

When we proved that there were no late payments, they refused to pull the late fee off of her credit and claimed that they did that because they don't think we are paying enough. Is that even legal? All in all, this company is nothing but a big group of slime balls who will do anything to get money.

First, a letter sent to me from Sallie Mae stated that I had a lack of references. I could not understand this, as I provided two references on the consolidation application like the application requested. Second, another letter I received from Sallie Mae stated they were having issues with my references. So, I updated them online on Sallie Mae's website. I thought things were good. I was wrong.

Later on, within a month after updating the references, Sallie Mae then called me on the phone. I again provided the names of my references with addresses to some foreign-speaking person on the phone who stated she works with Sallie Mae and whom I could hardly understand as well as her understanding me. I then received a third letter a few days later that stated "We tried to contact you by phone for updated references but were unable to reach you." I just provided this non-English speaking representative at Sallie Mae with all the reference information. What gives. I thought this was some kind of mistake, since it came a couple days after the phone call. So, I ignored it? I heard nothing more after this from Sallie Mae.

Any how, after 180 days of being out of school, the loan repayment began. Well, I found out on the first payment that the interest rate was at 7.14%, not at 3%. I contacted Sallie Mae over and over without any success of getting this issue taken care of. I then threatened Sallie Mae that I would withhold payment if this was not taken care of right away and that I was entitled to do this under federal law (Fair Credit Reporting Act). Sallie Mae wrote back promising to correct the issue.

The next month, nothing happened. So, I withheld payment and contacted Sallie Mae again and offered to pay what I actually owed. Sallie Mae refused to accept the money I actually owed. After this, the problems started. I had to send certified letters and e-mails (near 100 e-mails) to Sallie Mae. This went on back and forth on the consolidation issue, and Sallie Mae did not want to talk about it anymore. But they did say they did nothing wrong. I was getting nowhere with these idiots.

Then after a few months of back and forth e-mails, Sallie Mae took the position that I had defaulted on the loan and sent the collection agencies after me. Eventually, after a year and half of fighting back and forth with Sallie Mae and the many collection agencies, Sallie Mae turned the account over to NSLP as a defaulted loan. Sallie Mae never disclosed to any of the collection agencies or National Student Loan Program that I was disputing this loan because of the interest rate. Sallie Mae stated that it was a noncollectable debt and I had defaulted on the loan.

I let NSLP know what was going, and I let the Department of Education know as well. Both stated that they would review the case, but the Department of Education dragged their feet as well way past the time limit that was established to answer my complaint. Only after I complained about them missing the deadline to respond did they answer my complaint unfavorably. NSLP stated they would review the complaint but never followed up at all. I still am waiting on the court review they promised.

In 2009, NSLP did a treasury off on my income taxes for $1500.00 and then told the credit bureaus that I owed $80,000.00 when in fact my loans were less than $14,000. I have asked the credit bureaus to remove this information, and I provided proof. Two of the credit bureaus remove the extra money above the $14,000, but Experian did not and refused to remove it. This ended up causing me problems with my job, as I need to hold a security clearance to keep my job. DOD has seen this in my credit file and has held up my clearance (not denying it or approving it). Well, of course, my employer hired someone else and gave me until this October to resolve it or be laid off.

So, I contacted Senator Murray, Congressman Adams, and Attorney General McKenna's office to get them involved and help resolve this issue. Both legislators and Attorney General wrote letters to Salle Mae, and Sallie Mae denied any wrongdoing. I then provided written copies of the correspondences between Sallie Mae and I showing that Sallie Mae offered to correct the issue. Neither legislator has done a follow up and has done little to nothing to help out so far. Attorney General McKenna did the most foot work but stated that their hands are tied and I would need to sue. Now, I have hired an attorney and I am filing a lawsuit for damages.

I do feel for all of you out there. My advice for others facing similar issues is to get your self an attorney before it's too late and it causes other problems like losing your job or loss of your income tax return check. I'm faced with losing my job here soon, as I have been having issues getting a security clearance because of these student loans on my credit report. My suggestion is to contact an attorney who does consumer protection law or something similar. Sallie Mae currently has a class action lawsuit pending against them in the 9th District Federal Court for phone harassment and robo calls. I just wish Congress or the President would do something useful for once in their freaking lives. I hope this helps anyone who needs the help.

The only silver lining is that my business with them is finished. I feel badly for anyone who has been roped into thinking that Sallie Mae is there to help students in need. They're crooks, plain and simple and just as dirty as any of the scumbags from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

I still did not have enough credit/money to pay for my last year of school, and that $13,000 did not get me far enough. I had to take time off and just work. We started our family and are living on one income, which is possible because we have minimized our wants and have everything we need. I keep my loans in deferment all the time. Federal loans are in deferment; private are in forbearance.

After we had our first baby, day care was impossible, because it cost us more than what I was making. I told Sallie Mae I was not working outside of the home and needed some help with repayment. I told them what I could afford monthly. They said they would not accept it. I could either make interest-only payments (which were still twice what I could afford) or put them in forbearance. Forbearance it was. Finally, about a year and a half ago, they started telling me I could do economic hardship deferment or unemployment deferment. They consider me unemployed, but I raise my kids full time, because we cannot afford day care here on what I was making outside of the home.

If you remember, I could not finish my degree due to financing. I work a harder job with longer hours raising my kids than I did as a nanny, but with zero dollars in pay. Happy to do it, but it doesn't count to SM as working. I have hoop after hoop to jump through to prove I am seeking full-time employment, etc. I asked for the forms to be sent to my house, and they would never come. This allowed them to put me in forbearance to buy time to keep promising to send me the forms or misdirect me online, and I never receive hardship deferment. Almost two years after they were under penalty of law to disclose hardship repayment options, I have yet to get the right form from them or have them process correctly my paperwork. I am currently in forbearance.

Today, we are planning to sell our home to pay off Sallie Mae. This is the home we restored from the floors up and raised babies in. We realize we might not make too much money on it, but we need to get Sallie Mae off our backs so we can move on with our life. What I have offered SM is this:

- I have asked them to consider adjusting the interest rates so that we can pay off what I owe entirely, with no effort on their end to find a meeting ground. All they say is "No. You signed the promissory note promising 11% interest, and that is what you owe us." There's no room for negotiation.

To me, what I'm offering is fair. I am willing to negotiate to maybe 5% (which is still nuts!) and be able to pay them far more than what I borrowed to get an education. They said to me "You're one of hundreds of calls we get like this a day." To me, that should say something - that we valued an education, chose SM to finance, and are willing and maybe even able to pay them what we borrowed and then some, if they are willing to meet in the middle! It makes no sense to me! It hurts, physically, to lie my head down at night knowing what I've taken from my sweet family by financing my education with Sallie Mae.

I realize being able to sell an asset to take care of the debt is a giant blessing. It should probably feel better than it does. But I am not willing to take the roof out from above our heads in order to pay the robbers at Sallie Mae a dime more than what I'm offering for negotiating. It is more than in their favor. I'm not asking for a favor, for loan forgiveness, or for a handout. I'm just asking for what is right and just. They are predators, and they need to be stopped.

I don't know where else to go for support. I can reach no one of importance on the phone, and I have a hard time wanting to call them because the reps are so rude; they're so bullying. I have had one person with Sallie Mae be nice to me on the phone in all of the years of working with them. It makes me sick to know that I am one of probably hundreds of thousands that Sallie Mae is doing this to. Where is our relief. The government needs to step in, since they're the ones who bailed out their parent companies anyway. I'm so sick about this, for all of us who have a relationship with Sallie Mae.

Sallie Mae would not help out with hardship deferments, nothing unless we fell behind (or so they say on the phone but friends from college have told me otherwise). So, my parents have figured out how to keep paying them and the rest of the must-have bills without going hungry. It works out. Well, I got a phone call today from my mother. She's on vacation out of state and is always the one who makes sure the bills get paid. She missed Sallie Mae, so she called me (no computer with her) and asked me to go on and tell them we would send it on the 10th.

Then, she changed her mind, said to post it to hit her account on the 11th (when her check gets deposited) for not just the late payment but also next month's payment that was showing as due also. Then this evening, I got a call, "They've called me 6 times about the payment. Can you call them since they won't talk to me and see what's going on?" I called, thinking it didn't show up yet on the computer as it's going to be pulled on the 11th and get told that where the computer shows this, it won't stop the calls till the payment posts.

I asked about the 6 calls in one day to the same number and each call was answered and was told that yes, the system is set to call many times in one day to which I asked if they thought a person would magically get the money in between the calls. "Sorry for the inconvenience," was all I got, not a "I'll tell my supervisor or anything." Of course, I had to tell her that maybe just maybe this was part of the reason that those that did borrow from them regretted it and hated dealing with them.

I was somewhat forced to use them. The loans I had starting out with a company weren't enough to cover the full costs and they couldn't approve more. My financial aid adviser told us this was a great company and that most students at Harding University used them. And we all hate that we did/do.

After a 3-month forbearance, they told me there's no more time left on my account. Unable to pay, they offered no help whatsoever. All they do is harass with letters and phone calls (about 4 a day), which I don't answer because I know it will end up with Sallie Mae not helping out its customer and them not receiving their money. Truth is, I'm not benefiting from the education I received at Full Sail. Albeit entertaining and informative, received no assistance after graduation and haven't worked in what I studied a day in my life. The jobs I can get only pay so much and not enough for me to afford the payments that Sallie Mae is requesting. I'm stuck on not being able to pay, agencies telling me they can't help me out at all with my private loans and my good credit going away.

I have no problem paying my federal loans. I believe I only owe $8k with low interest and a reasonable payment amount. The majority of my problem is with the private loans, which apparently, no one can help with. Go figure. If there is any lawyer reading this that they can help or advise me, please do. No agencies or financial counselors seem to want to help me, only telling me to call Sallie Mae and work out something with them, which is impossible. I have not been reported to the credit bureaus yet, but soon will be (shortly, as Sallie Mae puts it). I hope there is something that can come out of this complaint and the government can regulate this fraud of a bank. They shouldn't be allowed to lend money whatsoever.

I recently learned that last year, a government agency was set up to look at the student loan industry including private loans. They also are also taking comments regarding private loans until August 13 2012. I only see 4 comments to date. I have been asking for awhile if there is any government agency looking into private loans and Sallie Mae doesn't seem to want to share. I am formatting a comment to add to the site and it would be sad if only four comments are there to form a recommendation to Congress regarding private loans.

On top of that, their website doesn't allow you to make payment with a credit card so you have to call and be charged $15 every time you make a payment, and they don't allow you to set up auto pay unless it's a bank account. This being said, I have someone who is helping me pay my loans but it's a process every time I go to make a payment, and they screw me out of even more money instead of putting a credit/debit card payment option on their website.

Sallie Mae is unfortunately not the best way to go about paying for school, and leaves many people stuck in debt forever, which isn't right. Hopefully, some time down the road, this will be put to an end. I'm lucky to have someone now who helps me but if it weren't for that, Sallie Mae would be costing me my life because I would not be able to support myself or my family and pay them back. By the time I actually pay it all off, it will more than double and that's if I make all my payments on time. People don't even make enough money with a college degree anymore to pay this off, better off not even going to college in my opinion.

One representative had the nerve to tell me to not pay rent in order to make my student loan payment when it came due. Another said that I didn't have a choice but to make my payments or they would send me to collections. Why is it that by being a responsible consumer, contacting Sallie Mae before my loan payments are due and seeking alternatives, I am told no straight up? My federal loans have been deferred due to underemployment. Why can't Sallie Mae at least offer the option to reduce payments? In a word - disgusted.

When I first emailed Sallie Mae, I was asked to provide documentation. I sent them a package of documents by certified mail, return receipt requested. I received the return receipt with their stamp and the date they received it, May 18. I waited and waited. Then on June 7, I called to ask why I hadn't heard anything. At first, I was told that they hadn't received the documents. Then, when I said I was holding the certified return receipt with their date stamp, I was put on hold for about 10 minutes, then told that they had received the documents, but it would take 21 business days for someone to review and respond to me.

Someone from Sallie Mae left a message on my home phone on June 19 asking me to call them. I called today and was again told that the documents had not been received, even though I said that I had the certified return receipt. I was asked to fax the documents in, and it would take about 7 days to review and get back with me. At this point, I am very upset with Sallie Mae because it seems to me that I'm getting a royal runaround. I can't imagine them re-purchasing the loan at the original amount and not being told that payments had been received on it, especially considering the amount of the payments. I am totally disgusted.

Sallie Mae does not do anything about how payments are processed, etc. I asked numerous friends and they feel the same way. Their Sallie Mae loans seem to stay the same and it seems like the money we all make each month is going somewhere else. If you are looking for a school loan, do not go with Sallie Mae; they are scammers and will give you a hard time. If you contract with them, you will get threatening phone calls and harassing calls + letters. I am trying to consolidate my loans and get out of Sallie Mae.

I asked if I could have a deferment; I was told no. And every time I've spoken with them, they acted like they don't have any information from previous calls. I recently spoke with them and they said if I could come up with $8k, I can be put in the program. My payments would be $300 and my interest would be super low. That's great! But you missed the part where I don't have a job(!), telling me to ask family for the money. If I have family to give me $8k, do you think I would need a loan for school?

I look at it like this. If my payment history has been great all these years, there's nothing you can do to help out. Now, my credit is getting burnt and I owe enough money to put a down payment on a house. If I knew it would be like this, I would have never gone to college. And the fact that they asked me to put myself in more debt just blows my mind. The government needs to step in and put an end to the loan sharking. It's funny how they take our money to bail out banks but we have our lives destroyed and no one to help us. And my credit card company has shown more love, just for the fact I pay on time, they were willing to work with me during this time. Shame. Any info or help will be greatly welcome.

By the provisions of Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, I am requesting that all past, current and future payments are reported by USA Funds in a reasonable time-frame of 30 days for revivification of the entries. It is understood that the failure to re-verify these items within 30 days constitutes a reason to promptly drop the information from my credit report. Pursuant to Section 611(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, please send notification that these items have been deleted. Please send an updated credit report to my address that is listed above. The provisions of section 612 state that there is no charge for this notification.

Sallie Mae keeps telling me that I still owe them for my student loan. I tried calling Allied Interstate but somehow, they see my number and it goes directly into a voicemail. I have left several messages for them to please straighten this out with Sallie Mae. No one called me back. They got my money and that's all they cared about.

I keep getting calls from Sallie Mae and I keep trying to explain to them what transpired, but they don't get it. They will argue at a brick wall. I once had a supervisor threaten me and when I asked her, "Who do you think you are?" She said, "We are Sallie Mae!" When I told her I was taping the conversation, she went berserk! They will not listen to what I have to say because they are always right - when I know for a fact that they are dead wrong. Why is America letting this giant do these things and get away with it? I hate the day I even heard the name Sallie Mae!

This was 9 days ago and I've spoken with SM approximately 7 times as follows: Call 1) The rep told me I was delinquent, so I made a payment. I asked for documentation of this payment. She refused, saying it wasn't their policy. Call 2) I requested my April 2012 payments to be redistributed to both of my loans instead of just one. The rep refused, saying that wasn't possible. Call 3) I requested again for the payments to be redistributed and SM complied, causing my accounts to come out of delinquent status. I asked for documentation and he stated it was their policy to mail this information. Call 4) I called again, spoke with an alleged supervisor who took my fax number, and read aloud a fax she would be sending, something to the effect of "Jaime was not delinquent on her accounts in 2012." She promised that it would arrive in 1-2 business days. This was a Wednesday.

Call 5) After waiting patiently for four business days, I called back, only to be told that my account was 20 days delinquent. I had made this payment already, but it hadn't posted to their system. I asked to speak with a supervisor and the call was disconnected. Suspicious. Call 6) I called back immediately and was told to hold for collections as my account was delinquent. I told the rep, forcefully, that I was not delinquent and was calling about a different issue entirely. I asked to be connected to a supervisor and again the call was disconnected. Call 7) I called back immediately, understandably livid, and explained to the rep how patient I had been waiting for them to fulfill their verbal promise. She connected me to a supervisor who told me that the original notice was in fact mailed, not faxed. So, that supervisor I spoke with during call 4 was a liar. This supervisor told me that he would submit the request for my fax and I would receive it in 1-2 days.

That was 3 days ago. No fax was received. So, as a result, I am in limbo with home financing, the seller on my potential house is getting impatient, my finance lady is impatient, and Sallie Mae has seriously screwed everything up. I am not surprised that there are hundreds of negative reviews for this ridiculous company. I am so thankful I only have $2,700 left to pay to them so I can get rid of their disgusting practices in a fairly timely manner. In the meantime, I'm about to call their severely incompetent customer service unit again with hopes of getting them to follow through on their promise to send this notice of my non-delinquency so that I have a place to live. Thanks for your time.

I don't know the person’s name that I spoke to today but I also spoke to a supervisor by the name of Rob **. I also told them that my son said that he is sending a payment by next week. Right now, my stress level is about 100%, trying to take care of my husband 24/7, without them calling and harassing. The call was taped so you should be able to hear them tell me about 23 days, which is not even 1 payment past due. I was yelling during the call so it should be easy to hear what I was saying.

I faxed this information in February 2011 and have not heard back from Sallie Mae. I have then proceeded to call the CSR line repeatedly asking to speak to their "back office" aka United States Yet, I again have never been contacted. I have been pleasant, I have been angry, I have been emotional but it gets me nowhere. I then decided I was not making any more payments until someone contacted me. I know this is risky but what really do I have to lose? I make payments and they seem to do nothing to the balance or the interest. I will never be able to pay this off. It is amazing how you attempt to make a better life by going to college and you are left with so much debt that nothing you do seems to matter.

I believe the actions of Sallie Mae are questionable. I do not understand that if a person wants to pay their loan off and are disputing $3,000 to the $27,000 amount owed what it matters. They will still be receiving the amount they gave me to attend school and more than $4,000 in interest. This is unethical and how they are continuing to get away with this is beyond my comprehension. At some point, the United States government will have to step in or the majority of the country will be in debt due to student loans which will cause a larger issue with the economy than could ever seem possible.

Sallie Mae still states there is a balance due that does jive with my current payments due, leaving me suspicious that there may be more payments not properly posted to my account. With Sallie Mae refusing to respond to my multiple written, faxed, and emailed requests, I am unable to determine how the money "owed" is being calculated or where it is directly coming from.

To add to this, Sallie Mae keeps listing my account in default, but when I call, they will not resolve the matter with me. They are berating, snide, and threatening, when I am trying to resolve the matter. I have the right to question the account. My questions should be answered without beratement, threats to call the co-signer, judgment comments, or flat out refusal to answer my questions.

At this point, I believe that Sallie Mae is deliberately trying to place the account in default because of the continued refusal to cooperate with me with regard to answering my questions about how my account is being handled. For example, I can place three calls in a row trying to settle the matter, and not one call will result in the answers to my questions. Then I follow up by written letter, fax, and email.

I paid the balance of my loan using a line of credit at my bank. The amount was taken out of my account and never applied to my Sallie Mae loan. I was advised that I would continue to accrue interest $296 a month on the account until they closed it after 30 days. After getting nowhere, I asked to speak to the manager, Roxanne, in the Customer Advocate department. Roxanne assured me the balance would be wiped out and that I would receive a letter within a few days. I will continue to keep tabs to make sure this actually happens. My advice to anyone dealing with Saliie Mae is to get out! I was able to do this pay taking out a line of credit at my bank and transferring the balance of my Sallie Mae to that. They make it impossible to pay them off. They should not be allowed to lend!

After a lot of patience and phone calls, I found a rep willing to help me. We got the problem resolved by placing the loans on two separate bills. My original two loans and my sister's on the other. My payment is $196.00 a month, and hers is $171.00. At the time, there were two account numbers; and without warning, they eliminated my sister's account number. She was making payments, and they had no clue where her money was going. So what they did to me when I made my $196.00 payment is disburse my money over the three loans, underpaying my two loans. Then they would charge late fees on three loans.

I then placed another phone call to customer service to track down her money and find out why I was being charged late fees. They said they would look into it and that I would hear from them shortly. The rep did call me back. She set up the account into two separate bills and told me to put my account number on my check with a -1 at the end of it and my sister was to put a -2 at the end of her account. The rep also gave me a phone number, so I could talk to her directly.

My payments were placed as they should for a while, then they started up again with spreading the payments out again The phone calls started up again. I called the rep who helped me, and the person who answered asked me how I got the number that I called. I asked for the person who helped me, and they would not let me talk to her and promptly hung up on me.

The very next day, I got a phone call from a rep from their Wisconsin call center, and I told the lady I was being harassed by her company. She got hostile with me and told me that I was not being harassed and that I needed to just pay my bills. I told her I wanted to speak to her supervisor and was hung up on. I tried to get on the website to file a complaint and was blocked out of it.

After making a few phone calls again, I was able to talk to a rep to get things straightened out again. I was assured that it was going to be taken care of and a change was made to my account number to reflect where the payments were to go. I got a letter from them which said they reviewed my account and the payments were applied back to where they needed to be.

This month's statement reflected something much different. I was able to go the the website and found out that even though my payments have never been late, I have been charged late fees every month since October. My payment is not due till the 28th of each month, and I make my payment on the 19th of each month. This company is like a revolving door. Just when you think things are ok, they come right back at you. I wish there was a way to file charges against their practices. I am so sick of the phone calls and the harassment. They have destroyed my once solid credit rating, which is now a very low score.

I simply can't seem to get things through their head. This company is so dumb. I can't get things through their heads if they're offshore. Something has to be done. I asked a simple question that they should have been able to answer.

I called again, and they can't see anything wrong with my application. So they send the processing center an email to reprocess. The 4th person actually was proactive and got her supervisor to make sure it was taken care of, and processing went through. This year, again! I fax my application off on January 26. I got an email stating I didn't send a signed 1040 with my application, though I sent the e-signature page because I file taxes online.

I called on 3/14/12, and the rep was nice and said she will send a priority email stating the e-signature page was included in the fax I sent. I called back on 3/29/12 to check status. She said the application was approved, and they haven't posted my payment plan yet and will send an email to have the website updated to show my new payment plan.

Two days later, I received another email which said they can't process the application because I didn't sign my 1040. Once again, I called on 4/2/12; and I got the most incompetent person I have ever encountered. I told her the scenario of what has happened, and after I was done, she said, "So you are going to be late on a payment and need to make payment arrangements?" No! I then have to repeat the phrase Income-Based Repayment three times, because she has no idea what it even is. I have to explain to her what an e-signature is because she repeats to me that I didn't sign my 1040. She has no idea what I am even talking about, as she must not have used a computer ever.

So after trying to educate her on Sallie Mae paperwork and lowering payment options her company has offered me, she said she would send an email to have my application reprocessed, which is essentially what the other two reps have already done. I asked her if there was any way at all she can contact the processing center and tell them which page the e-signature page is, so it won't be looked over again; and she said, "No, we can't talk to them, except through email."

Once again, I am shaking in my boots, because if I have to pay a huge loan payment, I won't be able to make my bills for the month because of their lack of competence or ability to provide any sort of customer service beyond sending an email and talking to me in their recorded voices. I am now going to fax in another copy of my IBR application with a different form besides my 1040 to see if they will process it correctly a different way. If I am going to have to go through this for the next 30 years, I am going to go crazy.

Now on top of this, last Saturday, our daughter received an automated "do not reply" email from Sallie Mae stating that she is several months in default on the loan and that she needed to immediately make up the missing months of payments as well as pay a large late fee. None of this makes any sense. They take her money to use a month at a time without giving her account any credit. Also, during which time the money is not available to her or us. Then they turn around, practically force her to default, by requesting an outrageous sum. On top of everything, charge her for being late. And of course, she can never get a hold of anybody at Sallie Mae and no one will talk to us since we are not, thank God, cosigners and therefore, not legal parties to the loan. Has anybody had a similar situation and is there anything we can do about it?

Her whole experience with Sallie Mae has been a nightmare and being overseas only makes it worse. She didn't expect SM to accept British currency, but they wouldn't accept a check in American dollars from a branch of Citibank in London. She has literally spent hours on the phone just waiting to talk to someone. But we really question the legality of their latest stunt.