Sallie Mae Reviews

I have been told it was sent to the student by check, then I was told it was wired to the bank, then I was told it was sent to me. Now, I am being told that it was sent to the bank via check and they are not able to provide me with a check number so that Wells Fargo can track it. Sallie Mae is not providing adequate customer service and their international offices don't have a clue what it means to provide customer service. I have spent numerous hours on the phone trying to get answers which have not been answered. I am stressed every time I get off the phone with them because I can understand how it is possible for them not to have access to this information.

Three weeks later, a Sallie Mae representative called me to tell me I was three weeks delinquent on my January bill. I explained to this man that I did submit payment more than once and did not know it failed to go through the second time since their website said I paid it. Somehow, neither payment got processed. The man I spoke to allowed me to pay for my bill via phone and removed the late fees, and also informed me what my February bill would cost.

I just paid my bill for this month on time and it was about $100 higher than what I was told it'd be. Another lie on their part, aside from the website. I do not appreciate being lied to about my bills, especially since my mother is my cosigner and I don't want collection agencies breathing down her neck because Sallie Mae is incompetent. If Sallie Mae can't be bothered to get their payment methods to work, I assume that means they must not want to be repaid too badly. Trust me, I would have no complaints about not needing to repay $74000+ in loans. It's too bad more people don't seek legal action against Sallie Mae for their very frequent mistakes. I have a feeling they'd learn to do things properly right quick if they had a bunch of angry former students suing them left and right.

My advice? Don't use Sallie Mae if you're looking into higher education. They charge unimaginable interest rates that end up doubling the initial loan amount (my original total from several loans was about $32,000. What I need to repay is $74,000). I'm having a hard time finding not only work in my field, but work in general. Sallie Mae's inability to make their online payment methods work puts me at risk for late fees and whatever caused my monthly payment to go up. This is going to make my savings dry up a lot faster.

I called Sallie Mae, was put on hold for over 3 hours, juggled from rep to rep, and then finally a rude, careless person told me that she didn't care if I could pay or not and then hung up the phone. I had to have my wife co-sign, Sallie Mae destroyed both our credit which we worked hard to keep good. Finally, Sallie Mae put me in a repayment program with a 8.75% interest. The loan amount is $35000 and by the end of the 30 year repayment plan, I will have paid $245000. In the 5 years, I have paid these legit crooks about $30000, and only $900 went toward the principle. I wish that these thieves would at least reduce their interest rates and offer a fixed rate to students with private loans.

Sallie Mae ruined our credit. My wife and I were unable to purchase a car or a house which requires a good credit score. We are emotionally drained from this experience and disappointed that such a big corporation (Sallie Mae) is allowed to take advantage of misinformed students, knowing that they have no other option. I strongly believe that the image that Sallie Mae represents is negatively impacting prospective students' desire to acquire a higher education.

By 2007, they were telling me there was nothing they could do to reduce my monthly payment. They always find some sort of way to allow me to pay the $150 payment, which now only lasts 1-3 months, sometimes only a month, and it doesn't even cover all your loan amounts! They harass my 92 year old great uncle who is my co-signer who has a weak heart. My mom is now trying to see if she can make arrangements to have them contact her for my great-uncle's loan so they stop harassing him with worry. They keep saying the best they can do is lower my monthly private loan payment to $700 (my mother would handle 100 of this for my great-uncle's loan). Over the past year, I have been making payments on the federal loans (138 a month), which is still difficult for me.

Which brings me to my next point: I have to pay for insulin and supplies too so I can survive and pay copays to go to the doctor, I am doing the best I can. I was in a car accident 3 years ago in a used car that I bought so it's not even like its a BMW or Mercedes and can't afford the get it fixed because I am paying my bills I need to survive.

On top of that, I went on medication for anxiety because I started having panic attacks and crying every night because Sallie Mae would harass me nightly (another cost that could go toward my loans)... the icing on the cake was a supervisor harassing me about making a car payment when I owe them money! How about I stop making the payment of my car so they take it away and I can't get to work? Then how will they get paid, with peanuts? Or maybe they will just take my unemployment if the case need be because they only care about feeding their families.

Last night while in a not so depressed mood, I called to talk to someone, it was a female, and she also harassed me about making a car payment and that she knows my dynamic and that I am talking rude to her, even though she was speaking condescendingly to me (a form of rudeness). She then proceeded to say how dare I speak to her in such a way and that I needed to pay what I was responsible for because she needed to get paid. Wow. Do you know how I ended the conversation? "I read somewhere that the only thing to forgive student loan debt is death. Well perhaps you guys will start thinking about that." I mean think about it, people who are depressed and suicidal because of what Sallie Mae does to these people? Then maybe something will be done about it.

My son gave me rights to obtain any information about the loan, so that I could take care of it while he was away. I was told to put the loan in deferment, and the cost for that would be $50.00. So I did so. To make a long story short, through the hardship of my son's circumstances, I began to help out with payments and dealing with Sallie Mae directly.

My most recent experience with them was that they would take payments out of my checking account automatically, and it would eventually bring us current which should have been this past Friday. I received a phone call from my father-in-law who was a cosigner on the loan. Through the events of him receiving 10 phone calls a day to only get a recorder asking them to hold which time after time left him holding only to reach no one on the other end. Not to mention the threatening letters that he has received through the mail. This results in him calling me to let me know that the harassment has started up again and that if I could please take care of it.

I then phoned Sallie Mae, and they told me it is a generated letter that is sent out automatically and will stop once the account is current but not to worry about them since arrangements have been made. I would then call back my father-in-law who at that point was extremely worried due to the fact that he is on a low fixed income and is attending to my sickly mother-in-law.

After my last conversation with my father-in-law, I was told that the phone calls have started up again and a payment was just taken out of my account 5 days prior which should have been the final payment to bring the account current. I phoned Sallie Mae immediately and spoke to a representative who told me that I was not authorized to receive any information regarding the loan. I asked for a manager and told him how this could be, for I have been dealing with them monthly now for all most a year. He said he would not give me any info, but if I would like to make a payment, he would be happy to take it.

I insisted to speak to a manager. The manager who came to the phone was named Joe. We went back and forth for sometime. He then told me that all he could tell me was that what I was telling him was incorrect information and it was not true that the account was no longer delinquent and that the other reps who worked with me should not have given me any information and it was illegal to do so. I was frustrated and confused.

I have note after note of those I spoke to, and now, I was being told this. He then told me that if we could get my son on the phone to give authorization, he then could give me the information I needed. We phoned my son, and he gave permission. But he hung up the phone with my son, and the representative advised me the information that I received was incorrect from the other reps and that the loan was in default.

If I wanted to write him a $422.00 check, he would gladly take payment. He also mentioned that my son needed to send a fax giving me permission to receive further information about the account. I think we have had to send at least three faxes regarding the same issue through the years. Not to mention the lies, the harassment, and the complete confusion regarding this loan. If there is anyone who could help with the matter, I would be forever grateful. I did send an e-mail off to my state representative regarding this issue.

We continued making payments through out, but in May of 06, I kept getting these large amounts that they said we still owed. I was trying to talk to the Sallie Mae office and asked them to please explain these amounts they were claiming that we still owed, because after all the payments that we made, I felt something was just not right with their figures. They were so rude and nasty and would not communicate or listen to anything I was trying to explain to them. At that time I was going through a very difficult time with another matter in my life and I could not deal with it. So they told me that I would have to consolidate the loan amounts that they were claiming I still owed and that way I could put it into forbearance. So that is what I did.

Finally in Sept. of 08, I contacted them again and this time I asked the Sallie Mae employee to please send me a complete payment history on our account because I felt something was just not right. So they did. After looking at it, I noticed that several of the large payments were not on there, so I contacted them explaining to them what I thought the problem was and could they please fix it. So the man that I was talking to told me at that time, that when I provided them proof of the canceled checks that I told him about, that it would clear up my account and it would be paid off and a zero balance. I asked him if he would send me documentation showing the paid off balance which he did and I got a document from them on Oct. 6, 08 showing exactly the zero balance as he said would be done.

It is now Feb.2010, and they have now turned this into my credit score as a delinquent payment. It has ruined my credit score which has stopped me from getting a business loan. I have tried to call them and straighten it all out, but, I have gotten one person after another that lies, and tells a different story from one day to the next. It has ruined my life, ruined my business chances to get a loan so I can not further grow my business to earn a living, and caused me so much anxiety and stress that it gives me headaches constantly. I do not know what else I am supposed to do.

Today, I tried calling them on and off all day to speak to the one supervisor that I faxed over my information to showing the documents that prove my balances were cleared, and ask again if they would please remove this off my credit score after they reviewed it from last week, so I can apply for a business loan, but I was told she is out of the office until next week. So I talked to another person and told them that I do not have time to wait for them to hold me up.

It is a nightmare. It is not fair what they have been allowed to do to my credit score. It is clearly stated on the document their office sent me that my current account balance is zero. I did leave a message with the president of the company that is now in charge of this mess involving this Sallie Mae loan for my son. It is not fair what they have done, and it never should have been allowed to be put on my credit score as a delinquent account. This is not an ethically run or honest company to work with.

What this has caused me by them putting this on my credit report as a delinquent account has stopped me from getting a business loan so I can take care of my business needs now. It is going to be a tremendous loss of money because I will not be able to have the products, brochures, and money to attend a trade show to meet with all the buyers in promoting my products. It will be a huge loss.

Every day that goes by is money lost with potential buyers. It has caused me so much anxiety and stress it gives me headaches and stomach aches because of it. I worked so hard to build my business, and all I needed was a business loan, but this has prevented me from obtaining one. When I went to apply for my loan in Sept of 09, they told me it was because of this Sallie Mae account problem. Now, Sallie Mae told me that it did not go on my record until Dec of 09. That was one story from one lady, and today the story changed that it went on there in Nov. of 09. It makes you have nothing but headaches and stress. It has also caused anxiety with my personal relationships with my family because of the lies that have been told by Sallie Mae, it caused my son to be upset when I have had to ask him questions for correct information. It has all been very upsetting to go through.

I have been on the phone with them for three months. I received a copy of the cashed check from the state of Florida and faxed it to Sallie Mae. They still have not credited my account the $895.00. Now they are going to send me to collections although I am actually ahead of my payment schedule. I need someone to help me get my payment where it needs to be. Again, Sallie Mae cashed the check and I sent them a copy of the cashed check, but they still refuse to credit my account. I am a teacher and do not have the funds to hire an attorney.

The Department of Education allowed me to put my loan in deferment. Sallie Mae, on the other hand, talked to me like I was dirt on a welcome mat. Then tried to charge me a fee (almost equal that of the payment) for forbearance. If I had that much money, I would have just made a payment! To make a long story short, it's been 6 months, they won't allow me to defer the loan, the forbearance fee has changed (still more than I can pay), and they called Monday and said my loan will be in default Friday. If they had told me before I got this loan that I could never qualify for deferment, I would've never gotten it. Please avoid Sallie Mae. They're quick to hand out a loan, but will not work with you when it's time for repayment. My credit will be forever ruined.

I have tried to make deals but the money they want, I can't touch. I am going to be 65 and I am unemployed for a year now, no money in bank. I do have pension which gives me enough to pay my mortgage. My son Scot has been black marked by Sallie Mae so it is hard to get a job. My family just received a final notice that they want payments by end of month or they want full balance immediately plus 25% more will be added. There is no way out, we will never see daylight.

My sister's loans, which I've been on top of and arguing about as well, have had similar issues in that all of her loans are in deferment except for the loan in which our mother co-signed and has been making payments on. It has been nearly a year and every two or three months, we get calls indicating that no payments have been made. Payments are made regularly but as it turns out, the one loan my mother co-signed for, Sallie Mae has been posting my mother's money to all of the other accounts my sister possesses except the only one that is currently not in deferment. So my mother has been paying on her financial obligation but Sallie Mae has been taking her money and applying to accounts that she has no responsibility for.

I/We have spent countless hours speaking to dozens and dozens of customer service reps who claim to be able to resolve the issues but the issues keep returning. I would love to start a class action lawsuit if anyone else is having similar issues as these. I find it hard to believe that they aren't taking advantage of others in similar ways. They are eating, costing us additional late fees, credit reporting, interest on balances that have not had payments reported. I believe all of the hours and headaches due to their negligence ought to be compensated! It is a constant battle with Sallie Mae, this is just one occurrence, others have also been noted.

When I got the loans to pay for college tuition and board, I thought that like federal loans, Sallie Mae would be income sensitive. Now, they tell me that I don't make enough money to be put on a plan and if I don't pay, they will report me to creditors and send me into default. I told them that I could afford to pay $50 a month. She said that it was too little and that I will still go into default.

When deferment costs $50 a loan and only last for three months, these loans aren't eligible for forbearance and nobody else can buy these loans, and I can't even file for bankruptcy to help me with these loans. I feel like the only options are to let them destroy credit and ruin my life or hire a lawyer to fight for me.

Somebody please help. I want to pay off the loans but I just can't afford it. I just wish the money wouldn't go to Sallie Mae. They are awful. I crawl further into debt. What is a $22,000 could end up paying over $40,000. I can't buy a new car, rent a new apartment, or even file for another loan. I can't afford health insurance but I need it after having a panic attack in September. I'm afraid the stress that Sallie Mae creates by calling everyday and threatening to ruin my credit will send me into more panic attacks leading to secondary discords like ulcers.

We've also complained on BBB a few times. But we came to find that the guy that runs Sallie Mae is actually getting complaints about Sallie Mae removed. He states that he trains all his employees personally and all these complaints are false. About a month after having our daughter, he started to get harassing phone calls from them. I told him to tell Sallie Mae, we had a 2-month old to worry about as well, after they told him that they threatened him that if he did not pay something bad was going to happen to our daughter. The nerve of a company to threaten a 2-month old child! My child. We live with his mother (my husband I mean) due to the fact that we don't have the means to move out on our own yet. So she got him to consolidate his loans. So he got a letter from Sallie Mae stating that his loans were paid in full by Direct loans.

But now, Sallie Mae is harassing him again saying they never sent him a letter and that if he does not pay $12,500 soon, they are taking us to court. This caused my husband a severe panic attack. I don't know what to do anymore, they just won't stop. They still even harass my mother and she has paid off Sallie Mae 5 years ago for her college.

Both sides assured me I could set up whatever convenient payment plan, whatever I could afford. The assignments were all posted via Message Boards. Of my 4 classes, they all had a final group project. In every class some group members dropped out. I could not reach two of my instructors or they never returned my calls and emails. The two that responded decided to have me do the full project! Four full group projects in 3 weeks! I could not finish the final projects. I failed and was removed from the college.

It was less than three months after I was removed that Sallie Mae sent bills and called me up to 10x a day. I told them that I did not have a job and could not pay my loans. The first bill was for the books. Then the rest was for over $13k, the first semester!

Realistically, there is no way a student should be allowed to get a loan for over $100,000. Sallie Mae is really making it impossible for me to survive because I will not be able to afford paying them anymore, which in turn will ruin my credit that I may need. I have always had good credit and for one lender to be this strict/non-negotiable will cause several of us to not pay at all.

But the calls keep coming. I told them several times, if I could pay and help out my son, I would. If I have the money, I would hire an attorney to help me with this, but I don't. I have told them this several times, but the calls keep coming. What do I do now?

After the repeated circle of calling in order to get information of the amount of my payment, I began sending in monthly payments of $90.00 a month and told them to figure out who I could talk to in order to get the information I needed. I increased my payment to $130 a month with still no contact from them.

On December 31,2009, I received notice from the Treasury Department that I am in default of my loan, and they are going to take a percentage of my deceased husband's social security from me, because I refused to pay my debt. I have copies of all emails I sent them and all payments I have been making from my account. And I even have a copy of the payments Sallie Mae recorded as paid on my loan.

Someone please tell me how I am in default when no one from Sallie Mae contacts you but you continue making payments. What options do I have to stop them from lying and ripping me off? I am at the point that I will just tell social security to stop making payments to me, as I do not feel Sallie Mae has the right to take money when they are receiving payments monthly already.

They then call almost monthly from the collections department. When you ask for a supervisor, someone gets on the phone, in this case it was a man calling himself Joe. When I asked for a last name, he said it was ** and when I asked him to review the long history on the computer, he began to get abusive and I hung up. I cannot deal with these guys any longer. It is amazing they can operate a financial institution this way. Please help.

For three months, they called and sent out mailings to friends and family, saying that they had no information for me; but they were calling me multiple times a day and talking to me the whole time. They even called me on my pre-paid cell phone, despite my requests for them to remove that number. The worse part, the letters that they sent out had my correct mailing address on them, and ended up in the hands of my ex--who used that information to find me and try to kill me.

And when I complained to Sallie Mae about what happened, the representative told me that if I had just gotten a job and paid my bills, that wouldn't have happened. I eventually had the opportunity to clean a woman's house and barn for the deferment fee, which lasted only a few months. Now they are calling again, and can't understand why I can't find work, or pay over $500.00 a month. I'm willing to do anything for work, and they can't even do what they are paid to do. If I were able to add up all the time I spent on the phone dealing with their poor excuse for representatives, I probably would have lost several weeks of my life. Time that would have been better spent searching for a job, advancing my skills, or spending time with my special needs child.

They took so long because they lost info, stated there was missing info and miscommunication from every representative that works there. But that can be continued later. Her loan was for $18,000 because Sallie Mae took so long and her school issued a late fee, so we had to take more money. Oh how joyous they are. Well a few days ago, my sister received a statement asking her to pay $171.44 a month while she is in school. They changed the agreement during the process. No wonder why they prolonged everything. I called Sallie Mae (because I was the gracious sister to co-sign) and complained how come they have some nerve to charge money during school. I can't pay it because I give Sallie Mae enough money. My parents can't because who can nowadays?

All they could tell me was the Smart Option Loan was the only loan option they had. I asked what happened to the Signature Loan they had and not having to pay until 6 months after graduation. They conveniently do not offer it anymore. Such a large company and multimillion dollar company and such great service. Not. No one ever knows what they are doing and most are not from America. I don't begrudge people for working, but when you can't understand someone and they are not trained, it makes it real hard to get things accomplished. I have been told I was given wrong information, but only was told that same information days earlier.

This company is a disgrace and a poor representation for America and the people that work there. My sister's loan is $33,000 after being paid back. How is anyone supposed to survive after college? Apparently with Sallie Mae, it's not possible and with a poor economy, it doesn't make it any easier. Someone needs to look deep into this company and find out why they can charge the high interest rates and charge the payments they do. I'd rather stimulate the economy by buying a house, but that won't happen. I'm 25 years old and student loan poor. I think that these private loan companies are abusing people and blinding them. I'm paying Sallie Mae my mortgage. A $60,000 loan for me has become $120,000+.

I hope that if you read this, to never use this company ever. They have no couth, are not customer service friendly and they don't care if you suffer with any other bills or just scrape to get buy. They want their money and that's it. Too much money is the problem.

A customer rep was supposed to mail me out papers on 12-17-09. I never received them, so I called on 12-22-09, but my payment was due on 12-27-09. I did not receive the paper work until 12-25-09. Plus, I called the 888 number on 12-26-09; the customer care center was closed. The automotive service stated that my payment was late and it had assessed late fees! My payment was not due until 12-27-09. Plus, they stated that the current payment of $897 was due immediately to bring account current.

This is retaliatory practice because I filed a complaint before. I'm unable to use debit card to make payments. Must I give checking or savings account information? If I use the automotive service, a $14.95 fee is charged? Customer rep can take your payment over the phone for a $14.95 charge? If I make a payment online, the only account I can use is my savings or checking? Plus, I am disputing Sallie Mae on the number of payments that I made in early 2000 and something.

Why are they charging me interest on money that was sent back? Payments that were paid off suddenly reappeared. Sallie Mae never settled my dispute of false reporting to the credit bureau. I was unemployed and submitted paper work and someone neglected to do their jobs. They found the error, but never corrected it!

This is another housing crisis. Sallie Mae has used every excuse not to offer me a loan forgiveness. I worked at a charter school as a teacher and principal. I work as a mental health worker. I was from a low income household yet my interest rates were outrageous.

Meanwhile, my son's loan shows delinquent, they have assessed a late fee and they bumped the interest rate by 1/4%. My son made his first 3 monthly interest payments as agreed on time, but because of their pathetic customer service procedures, they cannot get this fixed and live up to their end of the agreement. I know that I am not the only person having this experience with Sallie Mae. It blows my mind that they are allowed to get away with their practices and make people's lives miserable. I pride myself with my credit rating and have instilled good credit practices for my children. Usually, after 1 or 2 calls about clearing up issues with companies is all that is required, but not with Sallie Mae.

I have placed at least 10 calls. They all agree that Sallie Mae made a mistake by changing the agreement; that my son kept his end of the agreement; made his interest payments; and made them on time. But because of their incompetence, he shows delinquent and is getting charged fees and bumping his interest rate. It has turned out to be a horrible nightmare. I can't believe that a company continues to operate like this in this country. I know there are a lot of deadbeats out there that will blame loan companies when the problem is probably themselves, but that is not my case. Somebody out there needs to help the honest people in dealing with corrupt and unethical companies like Sallie Mae.

Today, I received a letter from them via UPS saying that if I don't pay, I'll go in default and whatnot if I don't give them more money. I've been reading stories of fellow students who attended the same school and people who have borrowed from this company and it's an absolute disgrace that they aren't out of business. They should be sued for what they're doing not only to myself, a minority, but also people who have no money. That's their business is to prey on the weak economic class so they would own them like slaves. The money we work so hard for going to them without having to break a sweat or worry about where our next meal will be coming from. These people are out to do one thing and it's destroying our lives. The ignorant people, who are employed by them, don't care about the suffering we go through on a daily basis trying to make ends meet. I talked to the supervisor who is pompous and rude and told him that my money feeds his family and he just shrugged it all off and flat out didn't care.

I had to hang up on him, because I was tired of hearing the garbage that was coming out of his mouth. So much so that I had to curse him out and it's not the only time it's happened with these people at Sallie Mae. They're so ignorant that they think that the fifty times they call a week isn't harassment. Under legal channels, it is harassment. I've kept all their mailings as proof and I'm sure there are many people like me who are doing so as well in hopes of legal action against them. This company just makes me so upset, so much so that when I'm happy and they call, I get all riled up and angry. I'm losing my peace of mind because they will not stop doing this to me or other people. This is wrong. This company is without a doubt evil. They have to be stopped.

I used to work telephone customer service and we always lived by the maxim, one call resolution. These guys are really bad, and you can tell the company doesn't care about training. I spoke to at least 50-75 reps and each one was about as helpful as a rock. It's like they take classes to be unhelpful. And when you do find someone helpful (twice for me), the next time you call back, it's like calling for the first time. My wife just called 5 minutes ago, and said all I have to do is approve a plan setup, yet when I call back, they change the plan and say they don't know what I'm talking about.

They say the conversations are recorded for customer service purposes. I'd like to get my hands on a few of those tapes and take these guys to court. I know I borrowed the money for education, and I plan on paying it back, but these guys are shylocks to the fullest extent. Anyone reading this, don't go through Sallie Mae if you can avoid it. They are strictly a for-profit company and will destroy your life if you have trouble making payments!

When I got a real person, I was told that I now had 2 late payments and it wouldn't cover it even though the second payment was because they didn't send the paperwork. A few other people there told me different things regarding a forbearance, and none were the same. I finally had enough and called their corporate number. I was going for the CEO but I couldn't find his number, lol. Here is Corporate's number in VA - (703) 810-3000. He transferred me to the Customer Advocate, which is based in the USA and only four people work in that department. I was helped quickly and now my loans are all set to February 2010. Here is the customer advocate number - 8885454199.

I will only be calling those 2 numbers from now on. I cannot stand them and their scare tactics. They do not care about their customers, and do not want to help. This is not the first problem I have had with them. Money has been applied to wrong loans, payments haven't gone through. They call nonstop even after a payment has been made. No one should use this company unless of course you want to die early of stress. I still don't know why my 30,000-dollar loan won't be paid off till 2021 and it will be the cost of a Porsche when it's done. I asked for the loan agreement and 5 requests and 2 years later, there is nothing.

I called at the end of September and spoke to a young man who told me not to worry. He said a supervisor would call me to set up my monthly payments and to make my account current. I did receive a call from a supervisor threatening me. Of course, I called back and explained that I had spoken to someone and they told me everything was okay, that the emails I received were system-generated. They then told me that I needed to pay something for the month of October. I did that, and they told me everything was okay.

I received an email in Nov. telling me two of my student loans were going to default! I called again! By this time, I had spoken to several (6 or 7) supervisors. This was when I was referred to Joe **. He got on the phone telling me I only paid $20 in August and that was why my loans were going to default. I asked him to send me a copy of the statement and then he magically found the real amount I paid. Mr. ** and I have battled it out. He let me know that Sallie Mae doesn't have to send me any kind of bill in the mail. He told me I borrowed the money and I have to pay it back.

Well, of course, I know that. So I then asked how much my monthly payments would be and he told me he didn't know; they would vary. Okay, so then I asked, "How in the heck am I supposed to know when and how much to pay if you don't?" Oh, it has been an awful and painful experience!

I consolidated the private loans some time ago and was assured my grandmother would no longer be cosigner. The reverse happened, now she is listed as a cosigner on all of my loans (at least that's the reason they give for harassing her). I am in school and repeatedly send in the paperwork for in school deferment only to have them “lose it”. The form is unavailable on their website by the way. I had to be transferred to India in order to have it emailed to me.

If I am a few days late, my grandmother gets nasty phone calls where they tell her that I don't have the right to move away without paying my debts and that they don't know how to contact me. This is a lie as I am constantly calling them on the deferment issue and verifying my address and contact number every time. They even have additional contact numbers for me in the states to call before they call my grandmother. They are picking on an elderly lady because they know they can upset her and get to me. Why, I don't know? I'm doing the best I can and they have failed me every single time. When I called to complain about this issue, the representative hung up on me.

Consequences: emotional stress and harassment to my grandmother, unnecessary accruing interest while I should be in school deferred. God knows what interest related to the rate switch. Unfair late charges due to misapplied payments, financial hardship from having to maintain payments while paying for my new education (out of pocket this time!).

While researching this, I found that back in March 2009 I sent $500.00 in, and only $62.50 was applied to the only loan I have with them. The checks only have my name on them and not my son's. They said that they applied the money on my son's other accounts. How can they take my money and put it on someone else’s account? They wouldn't let me see his account until I got permission, but they can put my money on his account without my permission? They have my money, and I am still getting charged interest on the loan when they have $737.50 of mine that hasn't been applied to my account; back in March, $436.50; and in August, $300.00. All together for the first loan of $17,000.00 at 3.25%, I have sent in $3,036.02, and they say we still owe $16,304.92.

I have called and complained about the money that they have cashed from my checking account and have not applied to my account. They even asked for a copy of the cancelled check (front and back). This tells me that they don't have the check. Someone at Sallie Mae cashed the check for it to show up on my checking account. They have been giving me the runaround all this time. Today, they sent an e-mail with the account information and told me all I have to do is simply log on to the account and I could see this. That's how I found out about the March payment of $500.00 with only $62.50 being applied to my account. For August payment, they still don't show that they ever received it, but my bank activity shows that they cashed in on 8-11-09. Banks like this one gives others a bad name. Can anyone help me with this?

Because of this situation, I can't further my education. I'm afraid my income tax will be taken and my wage garnished. I live paycheck to paycheck and I can't get a second job due to the bad economy. I am single and can't afford to live. I am constantly stressed out with this situation which has no resolution. I can only afford $50 per month. I need help.

After receiving all these calls, I spoke to customer service and explained what was going on. I told her that I will talk to the school and try to get this fixed and that it could be a mistake and to please stop calling until I go to the school. The lady said, "Sir, this not your school's problem. This is your problem. Are you going to take care of this?” Oh, that's right! People who don’t know Sallie Mae, Sallie Mae has a customer service line where they can be nice with you and they have a collection line where they call, put you on hold, ask you questions, and then treat you like CACA. I couldn’t agree more with these people complaining about this company. Our economy is tough and monsters like Sallie Mae are not making it easy. Unfortunately, this is a major issue and the government needs to get involved because this is one of the big factors why our economy is the way it is. I bet if I told my four friends about Sallie Mae’s behavior, they will step back and not go to school. Not very smart, right!? But I, like a good friend, feel like I have to say it and advise them.

Anyways, after feeling like I am the only one in the world dealing with this huge monster, I did some homework. It seems like 80 percent of the people who have loans through Sallie Mae are unhappy, disgruntled and harassed. I am taking a stand not only for myself, but for everyone who has, and is currently having problems with Sallie Mae. I have started to piece together a book with not only my accounts and hardships with Sallie Mae, but that of many others. My goal is to educate the public on what they do to people so that our youth will choose to go through other loan providers. It's stressful enough finding jobs in this economy. Sallie Mae will drive a normal person insane.

Please feel free to email your stories to me. You can choose to make up a fake name, use your real name, or not give me a name at all.

They went on to tell me that no application was received and no forbearance had been processed. The rep then went on to tell me to simply fax the application yet again and everything would be taken care of. On Oct. 20, after still hearing no response, I called Sallie Mae yet again. Now I am yet again shocked to be told my forbearance was denied because now, my payment from Oct. 5th was past due!

After I explained that I was on worker's comp and was going to have back surgery and really needed the forbearance, the rep told me to fax a written letter stating my situation and copies of all the fax confirmations from previous faxes for consideration, and wait yet again! There was still no response from Sallie Mae so I called on Oct. 20th. I spoke with someone else who said he would email the forbearance department (since no one could talk to the forbearance dept. directly) to take a second look at my forbearance because according to this rep, I have 10 days grace and had until Oct. 15 to be officially "past due" and I faxed the second forbearance application on Oct. 14th. He said to give them a week to process so I waited yet again.

Meanwhile, I was contacted by a "Collections" rep who was rude and mean! when I tried to explain the whole mix up with the forbearance, she told me "I will mute your call, so that I can tell you no forbearance will be processed because you are past due!" After that, she would not listen to anything I had to say. Eventually after trying and trying to get a payment out of me, she told me, "I will mark you account as "refused to pay and refer to ombudsman!" Then she went on to hang upon me!

I never refused to pay, I simply wanted help with the forbearance for 3 months and no one wanted to help! Right now, I get so many collection calls that I am looking to change my phone number! So today, Oct. 29th, I called Sallie Mae for an update to the email back on the 20th, and I was told that nothing came of that email and I was told for the 2 millionth time that because I was past due, I would not get a forbearance! I thought a forbearance was for those times I cannot pay so can someone please explain to me why I have to be current to get approved?!

So today, I borrowed from my elderly father (also my co-signer) to make the payment. Now Sallie Mae is happy but I'm left here in tears with not even enough money to live on. My next payment is due on Nov. 5th and I applied for forbearance again today after making the payment! I was assured that this forbearance will be processed but I will just have to wait again! I wanted to make all this known, because I wish I would have read the posts on this site before taking out a loan with Sallie Mae! I just want others to know my story and to know, don't do any business with Sallie Mae because they are unfair and the government should put a stop to them!

As the years went by, I struggled in finding another career and doing my best to make payments. Today, I work a job I was lucky to get with this economy, have exhausted my forbearance usage, and have not been able to make payments since I make less than $20,000 yearly. However, they keep harassing me by calling my home or work wanting to collect my payment which are still not affordable. Thanks to cost of living.

I am planning to file bankruptcy even though Sallie Mae can't be discharged. But even then, I still won't be able to afford their payments, again, due to job market/cost of living. One rep from them even said, "Can't you skip rent one month?" or "Borrow from a friend to make your loan current." Oh, yes. I am going to risk being evicted. I don't think so. I can't get an additional job, friends/family can't help pay my debts. So what can I do?

I make my payments online. One month, I made my online payment, and 11 days later, I was getting calls and emails saying that I was late on the payment. I logged in to my Sallie Mae account, only to find that there was no record of this transaction and the money was not taken out of my bank account. They tried to charge me more for this, but I just paid the original amount and left it at that. I tried to get payment coupons, so I could mail my payments in. But now, for some reason, they don't want to do that. Isn't that class discrimination? Not everyone has computer access.

The lowest amount they will allow me to pay is $319.40 a month. I told them that that was (at the time I graduated) what I made in a month and also my rent payment. I asked if I could get lower payments just for six months. They would not work with me at all. They also like to send emails regarding something serious that I would like to call them about, but the emails are sent on Saturday mornings. Their offices are closed all weekend, so I have to wait until Monday to take care of it, ruining my entire weekend with worry.

The facts I have now learned are: federal loans will work with you, including income based repayments, deferments, and forbearances, but private student loans simply do not have to. Yet they are afforded the same protections that federal loans have. The banks keep the juice running and use the government and Sallie Mae as the muscle. You cannot file bankruptcy and have these discharged. Undue hardship is proven in less than 1% of cases. A landmark case involved an elderly borrower scraping by on Social Security and was fully disabled yet still did not qualify. They simply do not need to work with you! The law is on their side.

If you do not comply, they will use every tactic available walking the fine letter of the law, including scare tactics to make you pay. And in the end, if you do not pay, there is no statute of limitations on student loans and they will ruin your credit up to 7 years after the last dime they are owed. And I guarantee in under a year of non-payment/default status, they will garnish your wages (I believe it is about 160 days). The percentage varies state to state on the amount they can take between 10% and 25% of your after tax pay (so-called disposable income).

If you are already in this situation, here are a few things I did.

Keep working with Sallie Mae the best you can. Hold them at bay, go back to school (half-time) at community college, and stall. Whatever you have to do to, stay out of default as default is hard to get out of and has even less options are available. Write you state senators. Write you local state representatives. Write the Secretary of Education in Washington, D.C. Contact the **: they, in some cases, will act as intermediaries on your behalf. Join these two groups to get more info: Facebook (yes, get a Facebook account like I did just for this reason and they will keep you updated on consumer options, etc.) and the group Cancel Student Debt to Stimulate the Economy (they are 250,000 other people in the same boat as you and me!) and join the website ** for more info. And last, but definitely not the least, sign this petition so we can stop this from happening to more students. 52,000 have already signed we are 3,000 away from sending it to Pres. Obama: **.

I was misled by my student loans and my loan advisors. I was a young and naive student. I had zero knowledge of lending practices! I did not understand the difference between private loans and federal! They called them alternative loans and said don’t worry, they are still through Sallie Mae. Yet everyday those that spend thousands on credit cars at the mall can simply file bankruptcy or work out affordable payment plans. I went to get a higher education and only walked away with a huge debt that I will pay for the rest of my life! Everyone needs to work together to fix this. Sallie Mae is out of control. Sallie Mae is acting under legislation that was only recently passed back in 2005. It needs to be repealed so that we can have our consumer rights back.

Well, in the past year, I've discontinued all auto payments after one company debited my account twice instead of once, causing numerous problems with my account that took months to clear up and while making another payment to a credit card company, my information was sent to a server in the Ukraine due to a lapse in security according to the notification I received from the processing company. I'm back to checks, but my mortgage holder and Sallie Mae take 10 or more days to process payments. It's insidious and unfair and we are powerless to stop it; the consumer just can't catch a break!

Then, I caught wind of the IBR program and during an informative webinar became aware of something called the Ombudsman's office (it's a crime that this information isn't more publicized to consumers). I received a call from Sallie Mae a few days later seeking an update on my situation and informed them that I have no recourse and have tried to work with them but am getting nowhere, that I'll be reaching out to the local Ombudsman's office to get them involved in hopefully helping me deal with Sallie Mae.

At that point, it was like a switch was flipped or I used a magic word. The analyst's demeanor changed and she wanted to work with me now. She mentioned to me that I absolutely still had 2 years of forbearance available on my gov't. loans and that my private loans could be restructured down to a $70/month payment which I can afford. This was welcome news but it also greatly confused me. This didn't seem like proper business practice and I was quite furious that I had to go through so much stress and then I mention one word and everything went as it should've otherwise.

Here's the most frustrating thing. Three weeks later, my little sister who's completing her undergrad at U of Phoenix calls me stating that Sallie Mae called her stating that she's in default and that she has to start paying or she will not be able to complete school. I explained to her what happened to me above and told her to mention the Ombudsman and call me back to let me know what happened. It turns out that she was hung up on three times and finally at the end got someone, mentioned the Ombudsman's office and they started working with her. She actually wasn't in default (that was false) and had consolidated her loans. They put her loans in deferment when she started school so there was a non-issue here. She's having them send her a letter to prove all of this to hand to the school. I'm having her process a complaint with the BBB, consumer affairs and the local attorney general as well in hopes that everyone can investigate what's going on with Sallie Mae and these horrible practices.

This is quite concerning and I would hope that these agencies can hold businesses accountable and ensure that they are operating in good faith.

Note that I was not able to obtain the specific records of conversations as they will not share this with me therefore cannot provide specific days or names of analysts who I worked with.

I called them and spoke to a manager and raised hell! How dare they call others now! This is affecting my work since I work from home, my peace of mind and well-being. I am afraid and embarrassed to answer my own phone. I never answer when I have company. My daughter is upset, and I have another daughter's loans coming up in 2 months and am afraid of what may happen then! I cannot sleep at night or the weekends, because they will not stop calling! I feel that I am under extreme stress and are concern for my job now. I need your help in stopping this! Please help me in where I can turn to stop this madness.Thank you.

Finally in December, I graduated and put all the loans into forbearance, this stopped the calls for about a week and then they started calling again saying I owed and was behind. Again, I would explain to them I had just paid to put them in forbearance. They would then tell me that I hadn't and I would have to fight with them. This has continued over and over since then. I pay to put them in forbearance because I'm not working and then they continue to call me 15-20 times a day saying I owe them. I'm so sick of it!

I never got the paperwork, but I did receive notices that my accounts had been sold to a collection agency. There was no contact from Sallie Mae to inform me of this. Now, I have to deal with collection agencies when I should have been able to defer my payments until I got a job! My brother is co-signer on one of the loans and I know this will affect his credit as well as my own, despite efforts to find solutions to the problem. It should be illegal for them to operate in this manner.

My complaints are nothing compared to others I have read. It’s outrageous and immoral. What America needs is a non-profit for student loans. How can we have a strong America when it’s impossible for low income people to go to college? I wrote Anne ** at Sallie Mae. I hope to hear from her. I am a 68 year old woman with very little income. My grandson managed to get through one year, but did not have the money to go on. He got laid off from his job and could not make payments. I was paying the interest in hopes things would get better for him. If I would have known we were paying almost 10% and not the 3.2% they say they charge, I would have paid off the loan sooner. I had to use money I was living off of to pay the loan in full, $4,000.00. I ended up paying over $500.00 in interest.

This action, beginning in 2001, has now in 2009 resulted in the knowingly fraudulent and mis-represented collection activities reported to existing credit bureaus such as TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. The illegal action of Sallie Mae in adjusting the terms of my established Excel loan has been openly admitted and documented by Sallie Mae, stating this was at their discretion. This unrequested action has in effect added 33% to the term length of the loan and thousands of dollars of interest payments required, all at Sallie Mae's benefit with no benefit or justification to the loan holder.

Sallie Mae is now demanding satisfaction for this 33% increase and the resulting interest payments. I have a complete time line and copies of all documentation currently in my possession from original loan documentation and promissory notes to my conversations with them in 2001/2002 to the current disputed correspondence, payment schedules, and credit reports. Additionally, MN state Attorney General's office have requested a review of the situation. Sallie Mae has been unresponsive to their request as well. It appears Sallie Mae believes it is immune to the law.

Sallie Mae calls at all times, sometimes before 8 am and after 9 pm. My parents are old and getting calls at these times alarm them, and they are worried that something has happened to family members. My son lives on his own now, and there is no reason for Sallie Mae to contact me or my parents. We have nothing to do with these loans. I am afraid that something is going to happen to my parents as a result of these calls - a fall or even a heart attack (My Dad has heart problems and these calls cause him to become very agitated.). Is there anything I can do to stop these calls?

Last night, I called their customer service number and spoke to a person who identified himself as "Stanley." I asked him about my options regarding my federal loan. His initial response was that I could lower my payment for two years and pay interest only. When I asked him what other options I had, he repeated that I could lower my payments for two years. I insisted that there had to be other options and he kept repeating the interest only option. After a few minutes of going back and forth, he finally said that I could look into IBR but he continued and said that it wouldn't be a good choice for me because I would end up paying more. It was shocking how difficult this information was to get from this "Stanley" person. If I hadn't been persistent, I would have never learned about my options. Moreover, it's not his job to discourage me from pursuing any option, whether or not it benefits Sallie Mae.

I feel lost at this point. I need help making important financial decisions and I need this help rather quickly. I've decided to apply for the interest option he described only because I don't know what else I can do. I need to spend less money so I can afford to pay rent. I feel that I have been taken for a ride by this company again, and I fear that the choice I am making may not be the best in the long run. But I have to take it since it appears to be the only one.

I have made several attempts to argue this mark with SM, and I can't get anywhere. Whenever I call, I'm transferred from department to department. I ended up at the initial department I was originally called. I have sent letters to SM in Virginia and Pennsylvania and have not received any return letters. I tried to contact the credit bureaus to have this removed. None of them will remove the 17 marks, unless they receive a certified letter from the lender.

I am only 24 years old, and now, I am required to wait 7 years until this comes off the credit report? I think not. I would like to purchase a new house in the near future. But if I can't even purchase a new car, how will I be given the credit to purchase a house?

I was forced into repayment during my 3rd year of medical school and had been paying the $150 to defer for 4 months. I have done this for 36 months and have now exhausted that program. I was then on a partial payment plan through Sallie Mae paying around $166/mo. I was able to do this, barely. When I called back to renew the payment plan, they told me that they have discontinued that program and that I was required to pay the full $850/month. I have explained to numerous individuals that I was unable to physically pay this amount. They have crunched the numbers, over and over and know how much I make and how much they are requesting.

I have still mailed in at least $100/month to pay something, but they have told me that this will do no good. They have to have a payment of at least $550 to make my account current or else I will be sent to collections. They tell me that there is nothing they can do. Today, I was told by a Sallie Mae representative that I "needed to live within my means". I became very upset with her. I proceeded to tell her the situation that I was living in. I live on a cot, in another resident's house; otherwise, I would be living and sleeping my car. All of my belongings are in storage. I am unable to find a place to live because I have 2 dogs (my children). I have lost 30 lbs from not having the money to eat.

Luckily, I can eat at one of the hospitals I work, for free, when the cafeteria is open. Otherwise, I would starve. I work over 100 hours a week. I am sleep deprived, and I live 1000 miles away from my family and friends. I have no support here. I had to leave my dogs at my parent's house because I have no place to put them here. I am unable to get a second job or "moonlight" under my training contract. I have had to move 4 times within the last year, which is not cheap. Despite all of this, I was told that I needed to come up with $1000 soon. Otherwise, I was going to collections and then, at that point, there was nothing that Sallie Mae could do for me.

Within months after submitting the final payment, I received an invoice from Sallie Mae indicating I had a balance of $448.68. I sent Sallie Mae a copy of the "Paid In Full" invoice and letter stating the loan was paid in full. Sallie Mae did not respond to the letter, only sent a payment book. Again, I sent the copy of the "Paid in Full" letter. I called and spoke to a customer service rep who indicated that a mistake had been made and to disregard the paid in full letter, that I needed to pay the balance. I continued to correspond with Sallie Mae suggesting perhaps their error was crediting the funds or balance to someone else's account. I emphasized that upon meeting with Roxanne (financial advisor) at Bryant and Stratton, the final payment commitment was met. The purpose was to leave the college without a balance because I knew I was not going to return to the school.

I do not feel responsible nor obligated for any errors on behalf of Sallie Mae or Bryant and Stratton. I paid in full what was presented on documentation and presently in possession of a congratulatory and thank you letter stating my loan was paid in full presented by Sallie Mae. If there was an error, the responsible party would appear to be primarily Sallie Mae and/or Bryant and Stratton. I was extended a letter of apology from Sallie Mae admitting their mistake and an accumulation of late fees, penalties and threatening collection letters. I too extended my apologies for the misunderstanding, but included the statement that I should not be held responsible for their errors for the alleged balance.

They are starting to send me letters stating that I have requested postponements and/or deferments that I did not request. I hope that you at Consumer Affairs can assist me in resolving this issue that has been going on since 2006. I do not owe any money to Sallie Mae nor am I delinquent or responsible for any other obligation. It would be greatly appreciated if you could get them to stop sending invoices and clear my account. It would be greatly appreciated if you could get them to stop sending invoices and clear my account.

More than a year later, I'm still getting harassing calls from Sallie Mae as well as from external collections agencies they've sold the account to. I keep sending copies of the agreement, but it never appears in my file. No one cares, and they are ugly. My credit report is getting continually hit. Talking to them is a nightmare; when I am able to speak with them, many times they hang up on me. I was at last told that there is one group within Sallie Mae who is responsible for the deal that was cut and they haven't done the due diligence to correct my file.

Sallie Mae won't follow up and make that happen. I have to call that department myself and start the fight again. Only problem is the phone number they gave me never has a human attached. It is an answering machine telling me that the lines are busy and I should call back in an hour. It then disconnects. They are trashing my credit, upsetting me daily; and I don't even owe them any money!

They called my cell phone about 8-9 times a day, and after I called them to discuss payment/deferment options, they call about 5 times a day now. It's stressful enough trying to find a job in this economy and living on your own, not to mention medical bills to pay off (no insurance either!). The representative I spoke with was rather rude as well. "So, you called to push your loans back with no money?" Um, yes. How unfair is it that my great credit and financial history is going down the craper because they make no effort to help in these hard times? I never said I wasn't paying back; I will, but how so without a job?! Where is my bailout?

The representative began to process the payment, realized he had forgotten to post date it, cancelled it, and put a post dated charge. Three hours later, when checking my account balance, I realized that the original charge was pending, causing those funds to become unavailable. After speaking to them for almost an hour and a half the following day, being bounced from representative to representative, I finally ended up with Janelle, who after investigating, found out that the original request of forbearance was fully completed but not sent down for processing. Janelle wiped the delinquent amount off my account and filed a forbearance for all of my loans (since I was now so financially far in the hole).

The bigger matter at hand was that the incorrect, cancelled transaction from the day before, was sitting in my bank as a pending transaction. I desperately needed access to that money, so I spoke to my bank, and managed to get a number Sallie Mae could call and cancel the transaction. At 3:00, I began trying to get through to someone who was willing to at least take that number, phone me and pretend to call. Once I finally got someone who was interested in helping me, the offices were closed, so he could not get the information needed to cancel the pending transaction. It is yet to be resolved!

He then began requesting more money due at a later time. I explained I was only paying the amount originally agreed upon between my self and the other rep which is also the same amount he offered me in the beginning. He then put a "manager" named Tim on (I believe that was his name.). He began demanding more money. I told him the calls had been monitored and the notes should be in, so I know how much I was offered and he could see it too. He began to get quiet and looked over the notes. He saw where I spoke with somebody before. He still began demanding more money from me.

I told him I was only paying $150 to bring them current like I was told before. He then would not accept my payment, unless I put more money with it. He began telling me about the default, and I stated to him I knew about the default because I have worked in collections of defaulted loans. I stated to him I'm paying $150 onto my loans or I would just have to deal with it in another manner. He still would not accept my money. I told him I would be filing a complaint with the BBB. He stated that I go ahead and do it. I thanked him and got off the phone.

I continued making payments, but after a couple of months, my credit still showed the account delinquent. When I checked again, I found my payments again not properly reflected. I contacted Sallie Mae again and was again told they had been improperly allocated and would be corrected. After numerous emails and phone calls, I finally discovered that Sallie Mae puts all a borrower's loans on a single account number. Of course, they don't tell you that if you are a co-signer trying to make payments. That way, when your payment arrives, they are able to allocate the payment (your money) to whatever loans are the most delinquent. Since they do this across all their student loans, it substantially improves the apparent quality of their loan portfolio. It is, of course, completely illegal to use a co-signer's payments on loans for which that co-signer has no liability or affiliation of any kind. It is quite simply, theft. They get away with it because having multiple loans on one account number virtually assures this kind of mistake. So they can misuse co-signer payments and just play dumb.

I have now been making payments on time for over six months, and Sallie Mae continues to report me as delinquent. I have challenged the status with the credit bureaus directly, but Sallie Mae just confirms the delinquency, even though the loan is not delinquent. I have made countless attempts to get someone at Sallie Mae to address this to no avail. Add to this the outrageous interest rate they charge (over 11% when the prime rate is less than 1%), and the fact that they still charge you the interest even if you pay the loan off early and you have what I can only characterize as a morally deficient, parasitic organization that this country would be better off without!

For that reason, I am soliciting any other Sallie Mae student loan co-signers with similar experiences to participate in a class action lawsuit against Sallie Mae, as well as a petition to the SEC to bring charges against Sallie Mae for misappropriation of funds. I welcome contact from other plaintiffs as well as any litigation attorneys that would be interested in getting involved. This company is preying on people that are just trying to get an education, or help someone they care about to get one. They need to be put out of business!

Consequences: Damage to otherwise perfect credit, loss of days of my time trying to sort it out. Loss of best interest rate on my recent home refinance, and resulted in my having to pay points where I have never had to do so before. This may not be a lot by itself, but given how Sallie Mae operates, and how their loan management is setup, it is a given there are lots of other co-signers out there with similar claims. Together they amount to a lot!

Prior to that, I would only receive a statement when my nephew's student loan was seriously delinquent. I wrote a letter to ask them to withdraw the negative credit reporting and they responded by saying that they were fair in reporting the payments as delinquent, regardless of whether I get a statement or not. I kept trying and in March, a young man from Sallie Mae told me that he would ensure that I received a statement in the future. I have still not received a statement from Sallie Mae. I contacted them today and they told me that it was not possible for me to receive a statement until it is severely past due.

Each person agrees that this is not fair lending practice but say that is the way it is. I have tried to resolve this issue responsibly but Sallie Mae is not accountable to anybody and refuse to work with me other than collect payments and threaten to assign my loan to the federal government for litigation against me. As I read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, this in itself is illegal. I have researched these issues and I keep coming back to the fact that Sallie Mae can do whatever they want without legal consequences.

I have read many complaints about unfair treatment from Sallie Mae, how they have ruined many students' financial lives, how they illegally give money to Vo-Techs and Career Centers to push the student loans to them, and how Congress continues to debate their unfair collection practices. They have lied to me on the phone. They have hung up on me several times. They have transferred to other departments that do not handle this type of loan. They don't care because apparently there are no consequences.

Needless to say, all my other loans (not with Sallie Mae, thank goodness) consolidated fine. What started as a $4600 loan is now $6900 (less than 2 years later) and growing. They have the interest at 9.75%, and it compounds daily at $1.80 day just in interest. By the end of each month, less than $20.00 is actually going towards this loan. They won't consider lowering the interest at all; they won't let me consolidate with my others. I don't understand why they would truly do this to someone fresh out of school and trying to make it. It makes it almost not worth going to school in the first place.

If I were dumb enough to pay out the loan on their terms, what started as a $4600 loan would be over $13,000 in the end. Unbelievable. All I can hope for is to pay them off as quick as possible. In the meantime, I still have other loans and payments to make. These folks are crooks. I don't know how they sleep at night knowing they rake people over coals day after day.

In April 2009, Sallie Mae took $236 from my checking account without verifying it with me first. I was under the impression that $10 was going to be taken out and made sure that was in the bank but definitely not $236. I called the next business day to see what had happened, and the customer service representative could not even explain to me why they took that out of my account.

After being on the phone with the representative for 30 minutes, I was told that after a year of being with Sallie Mae, my monthly payments were supposed to be raised. I assured them that I was still a full-time student and could not afford to make those payments. They then told me that they needed me to send them proof that I was still in school and that they would fix it (because apparently they had no records that I was still attending school).

In June 2008, I switched from my private college to an adult school continuing the same career which was court reporting. If they had no records of me still attending, then why didn't they realize this that summer when I transferred? It just didn't make any sense. I sent them copies of my statements showing that I had gone negative because of their failure to tell me that my payment was going to be increased, and they told me that they were going to fix it. But they never did.

So, because I went negative and because I am only getting 10 hours weekly, there was no way for me to make the next month's payment on time. I have never been late with this company, and I just couldn't understand why they were not helping me. Honestly, if I had the money and I was told in advance that my payment was going to increase and that I would have been given the reason for it, then of course I would pay it. I borrowed the money in the first place, so I'm going to pay it back.

All I wanted was for them to help, to at least give me a month advance notice that I was going to be withdrawn $236 from my checking account rather than $10. I not only had to pay insufficient fees with my bank, but I also could not afford all my other payments with credit cards and such and had late fees with them. I had to cancel my automatic payment with them so that I could catch up with my debt. And I did not pay my May payment, because I simply could not afford to do it.

I had spoke to a representative again, trying to see what they were going to do for me; and they said that they were going to lower my payments to $180 monthly. Still, that was quite difficult for me, but I agreed. I never was told anything about the money that they were going to either refund back to me or use towards my next month's payment.

Now, after trying to make my payments current with them. They have been calling nonstop, trying to get me to pay them and telling me an amount that will make me current. Then later, I found out when I logged in online to my account that it's another amount. This month, I made the appropriate payments later to find out that my fees were already send into collections. Still, I made more payments to get them out of collections and was given a different phone number to call to see if I can speak to a supervisor.

They are very unorganized and have no idea what they are doing. The customer representatives seem as if they were never even trained and don't know anything. I supposedly spoke to a "supervisor" once but can almost guarantee that it was just another representative, because they treated me very poorly and did not want to help their client in any way possible.

Sallie Mae says I will have to pay them $150 every 10 weeks to stay in deferment. This doesn't sound right. But since every time I call Sallie Mae, it is a different person, it is hard to know who is giving the correct information. Only three days ago, a Sallie Mae rep called and said I'm still in deferment because I am in school. I am having a very hard time since the credit crises and my credit rate has fallen because of stupid actions by the banks.

Sallie Mae says not only will they destroy my credit rating by reporting me as default on my student loans, but they will barrage me with phone calls. My health is my wealth at this point, and I won't be able to handle the round the clock calls. This isn't right. If they treated me as a human being, they and I would be happier. I don't want to default on my student loans, but until I am out of school and employed (I am looking for work for next year now), I can't pay them.

Is anyone watching this company? They are punishing students who might have good intentions with their badgering and not putting stuff in writing.

Their latest thing is to have a recording call you, you hit #9 as instructed, you get a message after holding for a very long time saying a representative is not available and call back during business hours Eastern Time. Well, they called me 9 at night and called me on Sunday. I have left very rude messages back to them. I have advised them I will contact the State Attorney General’s office for harassment. Why don’t they go after people that are really deadbeats and not people that pay their bills. Sure I can see if I was several weeks behind, but 2-3 days is ridiculous and they always call after I have paid. I told them I would really like to default to see what that would bring. I cannot wait till the remaining balance of $4400 is paid in full with them. It is just plain harassment and is very irritating.

They called my brother's home as well, several times per day until he had to block them totally from his phone number. Each and every time I have called them to do my part of the loan and try to resolve something, I am switched to different people until eventually they hung up on me, which has gotten so annoying I have stopped calling.

Finally, I have somebody who claims they sent me an approval letter for a forbearance, and that same day, I am called by a collection agency telling me that my account was sent to them. As of yet, I have not been able to contact Sallie Mae and get any cooperation from them--only threats of my account being past due and asking if I can make a debit payment with credit card at the time of call.

I called them again and got a different response to my question of deferring my loans till after school because I am enrolled at least half of the time. The second time, I was told that I didn't have to do anything and that the school would take care of it for me. I then got another bill. So I called, and they told me a third version, saying I had to fill a form out and fax it in and that they would mail it to me. I never received that letter and got a phone call which said my account was past due.

I then spoke to someone else (I'm in school now.), who said they would make the form available online in the next 24 hours. I printed it and faxed it on 05/20/09. (I started SS 05/19/09.) They told me that they did not receive the form until 06/02, and then I got another bill which said I owed two monthly payments since I didn't pay my previous balance and that this amount would remain on my account until paid and would accrue interest as well as more payments, because each time I enter a new term, they need my school to notify them.

This brings me to the next thing. They told me I'm only in forbearance until 06/24/09, because SS1 ends then and I would have to repay after that. I went back to school starting the following day on 06/25/09 until 07/31/09. They told me that my school had until 6/28/09 (due date of bill) to notify them that I was still in school. But they already knew it wouldn't be received until 07/02/09. He stated, "By law, you do not have to pay this loan while you are in school. However, the payment due will remain on your account until paid and we have 21 days to process your school's form". So each time I restart a term, if they do not receive their paperwork a month in advance from the school, a payment will be charged to my account each time.

The school will not send out paperwork this far in advance, because they have no knowledge if you will actually be in school in a month; things can come up--you can drop your classes, withdraw from school, anything. So basically, by the time I graduate, my first payment due will be all the payments they billed to my account each month it took them to process it. If I calculated it correctly, my first payment will be over $3,000.

They also have during that 21-day period, time to call and harass the number that they have on file (which is my cell phone); and they will call you at any time during the week no matter what day. I worked for a collection agency, and by law, we were never allowed to call someone after they told us to not call anymore and remove their phone number, after 9 o'clock which is the payee's time during the week, after 6 pm which is the payee's time on Saturday, and absolutely on Sundays. If they do call you at any of those times, you have the right to sue the ** out of them. And I advise you try to get as much money out of them as possible, at least return the favor, so to speak.

My mother also paid one of the payments and was charged $10 over the amount listed. When I asked the supervisor, he told me there was no fee and that the price was the normal monthly payment and no fees of any kind. I asked him then why she was charged extra, and he said because there was a processing fee for paying over the phone with her credit for $10. So why did you tell me there was no fee, yet you just said fee?

Another favorite thing of mine was the idiot who told me that there were only 28 days in March. Last time I checked, the only time there's only 28 days in any month, it's every four years during a leap year, which is in February!

All I wanted to do was to speak with someone who spoke fluent English and had a clear American accent, so I could understand what they were saying. I didn't sign up for this loan to get attitude from these fake telemarketers.

On May 28, I called so many times and didn't get the correct person. (The gal on the phone felt sorry for me and whispered, "Call this number (1-866-989-1879) instead and don't hang up until you get a supervisor." He hung up too?! I suspect he was not who he said he was. He told me I needed operator P-66 my collector that they did make a mistake. Why didn't he correct it? Why should I call back again to ask and answer same verification questions such as name, address, phone, etc? This is a failed system. But I sense they don't care!

I have been lied to continuously by them! They do not have my phone number (thank God), but have resorted to calling family members (not co-signers) and harassing them! When I asked to speak to a manager, the same person I just spoke to came back on the phone claiming to be someone else! Now, after I've had to file bankruptcy, and am trying desperately to get myself back on track, after I've resumed some type of payment to them, I get a letter stating that if I don't pay my loans in full, they will default! I've tried hard to work with a company to make payments who is working against me!

My wife went from making $40 to $13 per hour or $65,000 + bonus to $28,000. None of our payment can be reduced. The banks can get bailed out and let me tell you, with all the phone calls I get at home and at work, it is frustrating. They want 3 postdated checks or the full balance paid off. Ha, if I can't afford the payments, how can I pay the balance off? The next step is for Sallie Mae to garnish my paycheck or get a court order to my checking account. When that happens, I will have to give up the mortgage payment and live under a bridge like the rest of the homeless. I always wondered why people live in alleyways, parks, and under bridges. I am about to find out. Thank you, Sallie Mae and the schools you corrupted. And we thought Al Capone was a bad guy?

I called Sallie Mae to see what was going on with the forbearance. They said they never got it, maybe it was delayed, to call back, give it a week. I re-faxed, called back - "oh, give it a week." They never got it. I re-faxed 2 more times. Then I did not hear from Sallie Mae. Now, it is the end of March 09. On Sunday 8:30 am, a man called my house and said he was Sallie Mae Collection. I had no idea what he was talking about. He told me my loan was in collection, that for me to give him my social security number. I told him, "No way," - I would not give him that info - "but thank you for calling. I will call Sallie Mae on Monday." I checked online and I saw the forbearance was rejected.

On Sunday, 20 min. later, the same man called me back. I screamed at him not to ever bother me on a Sunday! I told him, "I said I will call Sallie Mae and never ever call me again," and to take my number off his list and I hung up. I called Sallie Mae on Monday. They told me that I was rejected for the forbearance. The woman was very rude. She informed me that I need to check my mail. I said that I never got anything in the mail. The woman was very, very rude. I told her that I could not repay and she went off on that I needed to repay my loan and read like a script on repaying and blamed me for not checking my email. I was in shock. What is wrong with Sallie Mae? I hung up.

Now it is April, I called Sallie Mae for help. I need help and my loan is overdue. I had to call 6 times, a total of 3 hours and was transferred 30 times (yes, I counted). I was even transferred to NYS Higher Education and the woman said she could not do a thing for me, to call Sallie Mae. The next day, I called back Sallie Mae. Over an hour later, I was told that if I fill out an automatic debit form, that would be the only way to make my account current. The man said he would email it to me. He never did.

I called Sallie Mae and got a very nasty woman who told me to just repay your loan. I tried to explain to her what the issue was. But she was so nasty. I just said, "Where can I get the paperwork online so I can fill out the correct form?" She told me, "Not online." I said, "Would you please send it to me?" She told me that I would get it in 24 hours. I asked her, "How long to automatic debit?" She told me, "2 to 3 days, it will be processed." The man prior to her told me the same thing. She told me that this was the only way.

A few hours later, the form was in my email box. I filled out the form and faxed it in 2 times to the number. I called 2 days later and got a very nice woman who said, "No, it was not received." She said to resend it to another number, that the number I sent it to was a main number, that it may take a while for it to be processed. I also told her about the Sunday call and she said that I was 63 days late with my loan and she didn't know why anyone was calling me but that once I pay, no one will call me again. I told her to make a note never to ever call me again, that email was the best way (now that I know that is how SM does business). She said there was no way she could stop the calls. The same day, I re-faxed it again, right then, 2 times. She also told me 2 to 3 days and then my account would be current.

I was in shock, again. I hung up and called back another time, maybe the man was mistaken. No, according to the woman who said the same thing as the man and if my automatic debit doesn't take by May 23rd, then I had to pay it online and that I should have filled out the paperwork online; it would have been 2 or 3 days then. I told her the paper work was not online, that the only way I could get and process the paperwork was through email and fax. I was told to fax it in was the only way. All she kept saying was, "I am sorry," - like all the other reps with the "I am sorry" script. How fake! Don't they know if you don't mean it, you don't say it?

The lady told me to check back on May 23rd and if it was not in place, I needed to pay automatic debit online from my bank and that was what I should have done in the first place. I told her that I wanted to do that but was told no, the only way to make my account current was to do the auto debit. She said "Sorry, please call back," and again, "if it is not there, you have to pay online."

What is wrong with Sallie Mae? Do they want me to go into default? It seems so. Why can they not help me? Why is it so hard for them to get it straight? How many other Sallie Mae loans are they messing up?

Currently, there is about $1,173.00 that I am paying interest on that I should not be. I am obtaining copies of my original checks from my bank for proof of this intent. I need to have this account re-adjusted and re-calculated based on contract agreement & how I sent the money in, which should bring me down $1,173.00 plus any interest that was miscalculated along with it. I have never been late or missed a payment since payments began so I am sure this is an “easy fix.” However, the contact to "Customer Service" only gives me canned answers etc. I asked what else do I need to do? Do they have special forms for future reference? But all they indicate is “send a letter along with payment,” which is not working and no news of rectifying the current problem.

In the beginning of his 2nd year, the school told him he could no longer attend classes because he needed to pay his loan, which made no sense to him because he hadn't graduated yet? With no other option, he moved back home to St. Louis without a degree, in hopes that he could return to finish it once the loan issue was resolved. This never happened. He was slapped with $600 monthly payments. He was unable to make payments because he was making minimum wage at a dead-end job. He gave up his apartment since he could no longer afford that and his car payment. He moved back in with his parents to help cushion his financial situation, but it wasn't enough. He fell behind on payments, and then soon, the harassing phone calls and letters began.

In 2007, we received a letter that California was making a class action suit against Sallie Mae and Brooks Art Institute because they had "screwed over students with loans [to be frank]". He sent his information about his loan and school records, but apparently, his situation did not apply. Last September, an unexpected pregnancy caused us to put his federal loans into a forbearance (only for 1 year). Yet still, we receive notices in the mail once a month saying we need to pay the full balance of the loan, which is now $39,000 with interest. What payments we have paid don't touch the loan itself but only the accrued interest.

Chris's credit is awful (beyond repair)! We don't know what to do. I have even taken out a personal loan to get his credit straightened out but still it's in the dumps. We are afraid we will never be able to buy a home or a car or anything. He only had 3-4 credit worthy accounts, which are in good standing, but even that doesn't help. Several times he has been declined for jobs because of his bad credit. We are at our wits’ end and feel like this debt is going to eat us alive! It just doesn't seem right. How can they charge him that much every month when he never even got a degree? And how is he supposed to get a good job? He can't even go back to school now because he can't afford to. When is something going to give?

I cannot get any loans to pay off my bills. My credit card companies have notified me that my credit score is bad so that they have to restructure my credit. My credit score is in the dumps, which in turn has made me not employable by any places of employment I applied for work. Thanks to this ungrateful, greedy snob of a company. I can't sleep anymore, I constantly worry about money all the time, and I have migraines from all of this stress. I hate Sallie Mae so much that I would be happy if it is shut down and its employees could get a taste of being rejected and harassed and, most of all, I regret going back to school so that I could better myself.

I am quickly becoming a very angry old woman who feels that once again, the giant corporation is seeking to crush her and anyone else they can - I just want an even playing field. After all, this is an unsecured debt and we are in an economic depression. I do feel that the only way to change this is through congressional action - they created this monster and need to fix it. We do need to become very vocal and persistent in demanding an equitable set of rules including a tax-free write-down of the excessive charges and high interest rates.

I am conferring with my attorney to plan how I will or will not handle this loan when I retire in the next few years. One thing I am determined to do is not let them get me down - they cannot put me in jail and I refuse to talk with those idiots in the Philippines. What an insult to me that they are using my money to pay someone in a third world country to discuss my daughters' student loans! We must fight for justice in this matter and remember that Sallie Mae is not so big that they don't have to answer to us. I believe that what these companies fear the most is the average citizen who demands they be held accountable.

To make a long story short, it took several calls to SM before I finally received a copy of an electronically signed promissory note that did have my name, SS#, address, but wrong phone number. The SM computer calls my house 3-4 times a day including weekends. I used to answer it and explained to several representatives what the situation was. They just said, "I'll make a note in your file." Since I'm not accustomed to being a victim of fraud, I foolishly thought they would do something about it - like maybe instruct me on what to do. Finally, after going round and round with a different SM representative every time I called or they called, one kind lady explained that I needed to call the Fraud Department and leave a message.

The SM Fraud Department never answers their phone. You have to leave a message. A woman from the Fraud Department called me that same day and explained what I needed to do and that I should send what info I had, which was basically the promissory note with my name on it and I also included a memo from SM that wanted my son's correct address. They had him living in Fort Wayne and none of us have ever lived in Fort Wayne. In the meantime, my son was also claiming fraud because he did not request this loan. He had to pester SM for weeks before he got a copy of yet another promissory note for the same amount, but with no co-signer listed.

On April 2, 2009 I called the Fraud Department. I waited three weeks and called back on April 21 because I still had not received a fraud packet. The second person in the Fraud Department asked me (keep in mind they record these phone conversations), "Will you assist in prosecuting?" I answered, "I can only tell you what I know for sure and that's, that I did not sign for a SM loan." She repeated the question and I repeated my answer. Isn't it true? We can only tell what we know? Today is April 25, 2009 and I still do not have that fraud packet.

I was told once the loan goes to default status my name will remain on it forever. I'm concerned that they are stalling on purpose to allow the proper time to pass and try to stick me for a $7,500 plus interest that I never received and knew absolutely nothing about. I called and left a message on Saturday, April 25, 2009 and said if I did not have a fraud packet by the end of next week I was turning the matter over to my attorney. Tonight, I Googled SM fraud problems and found an astounding amount of complaints against SM.

At times, I've even just put the check in the mail and tell them so. But they ask me to pay over the phone and cancel the check. And they always drive the conversation to a point of asking on the recorded call "So you are refusing to pay?!" I explain, "No, I am paying you, just not now because I don't have the fund in my account yet, or I just did through the mail." But they always keep coercing me for a payment, which is basically asking do something illegal and fraudulent akin to writing a bad check.

In July 2008, at a time I was unemployed, I tell the supervisor whom I'd asked for (because the caller couldn't understand "I don't have the money") that I'm unemployed, and they will be paid when I have the funds. The supervisor tells me "Well, why don't you go get a job?" Naturally, my fuse blew at that point. I lost it and advised him with creative activities using various body parts. What's next, sending someone over to break my knee caps? (At least if they came over to pay me a visit like a loan shark, I could respond with my fists or a baseball bat.) At that point, I realized the supervisors in Sallie Mae manage and lead a team with the goal of calling to coerce and harass people who are behind or unable to pay their payments.

I am angered beyond the edge of my limit. I am enslaved by Sallie Mae with no legal recourse. To have a customer service supervisor tell me to look for a job (when I was and was actually waiting for a contract to start up) was beyond infuriating. This lender is insane. That was 9 months ago. Unfortunately, my contract ended, and I am again unemployed. Even for an educated skilled web worker like me, economic conditions don't care if I have used up my forbearance. My unemployment check goes to pay Sallie Mae, not other needs. I'll have to forfeit/foreclose my home because I can't dissolve education loans through bankruptcy. I see no options and my credit is screwed either way. The constant calls encroach on my personal life, wellness, and sanity. To keep a sense of humor through this, I have to adopt a case of adult onset Tourette's syndrome (triggered by Sallie Mae).

The billings started after 6 months, and I was floored again. I would owe each month around $2,300.00. I found out by contacting them that the signature loans were high interest loans. One was 21% and the least one was 17%. That was the majority of the money I received from them. I was able to consolidate around $20,000 for a payment of $127.00 a month through a bank other than Sallie Mae. So I owe around $70,000. I contacted Sallie Mae and told them that for one, I did not even make that much in a month. So they gave me a forbearance. This kept on going on until just recently when I ran out of forbearance time. They give you 5. I still cannot afford the payments and asked several people if they could work with me and accept what I could afford.

(During the past year, my mother who lived with me and helped me with the mortgage and food committed suicide; then, I had no money left for bills or the mortgage.) My house just now went into foreclosure and I had to declare bankruptcy. I tried to talk to these people. They seem to think that money grows on trees. I went through my bills with them (car payment, rent utilities, plus my son is out of a job and I have to help him as well). I want to pay this debt, but I can only afford $100.00 a month. I tried to explain and ask how come the mortgage companies can lower the interest rates and they can't. I did not get an explanation. I was just told that is not the way they operate.

I need help. Since I moved, my phone number had changed. So they found my work number (I did not give that to them). Now, I am getting harassed at work 3 to 4 times daily. Can they do that? I am a hardworking, tax-paying citizen that has fallen down on her luck, and no one seems to care. If you can help me, I'd appreciate it. I was hoping that the bankruptcy would take that debt away and then was told it does not. These people are worse than the bill collectors were, calling me all day long at work. I am very upset and need someone on my side. Like I said, I don't want to default; but at this point, I don't really have a choice. They told me that unless I make the whole payment, they will come after me. Is this America? I feel like I live in a communist country where my rights are being taken away from me. Please help me if you can.

Did you know that when you give Sallie Mae your money they just give it right back to the President? He's gotten enough of my money to bail people out; I don't think he needs more. Sallie Mae steals money and harasses you. I have gotten calls 11 times a day. Isn't there a law about harassment calls? If I quit or lose my job, they'll take the money out of my husband’s two jobs. Never ever get a loan with Sallie Mae. What a mistake. Maybe I should have never gone to school. I work and don't see my paycheck. Sallie Mae now gets the whole thing.

On 4-13-09, I called and was told again that the letter was sent on the 7th. No request for a second letter showed in their files. I again requested a second letter be generated. On 4-14-09, I called to see if the request for a second letter was showing in their records. It wasn't. I went to their website and clicked on the contact us link and explained what was happening, and that I was very upset with their customer service. This is what I received in reply:

Thank you for your inquiry and for your business with Sallie Mae. We believe in providing quality customer service and are continually updating our procedures at all facilities to ensure this commitment is met. I am very sorry that we fell short of that goal. Thank you for bringing your experience to our attention so that we may identify ways to improve our service. We at Sallie Mae look forward to providing you with the service you deserve. According to our records, the letter was sent to you via email on April 7, 2009. You should have received the letter within 24 to 48 hours. I have resent the letter to you via email. You should receive the letter in approximately 24 to 48 hours. If we may be of further assistance, please visit our website at www.salliemae.com.

I thought it couldn't be sent via email! 15 days and counting. I could be in freaking escrow right now. Without this letter, I can't qualify for the USDA loan and have to go FHA, which means I need $5,000 to $8,000 vs $0 out of pocket with USDA. Thank you Sallie Mae for the wonderful service.

I am going to write to my senators and congressmen as well as you because I am getting nowhere. They are harassing me, saying I am past overdue yet even though I want to pay it off, they can't seem to tell me what that is. Very confusing and frustrating. The website looks like sales, sales, sales from hell. I have very good credit, but I fear they will ruin it. I will never take loans again and after the trouble with them in the beginning. They sold me this loan like a car salesman and did not let me know what it would entail, so I stopped and began paying school with my credit cards.

They are a big mess. They constantly hang up on you even when you ask a simple question. I have been hung up on twenty times or so and all I said was my name sometimes (I have never gotten the chance to get a manager or get mad at them, I wish!). I need help and so does the rest of America! Scary!

The first disbursement was never received by my school nor I. I had to cancel the rest and drop out of school due to no funds for my tuition. I only had one year left. I was so depressed for months. I am now being charged for the loan that I never had. I am now in default because I am not paying for a loan I never received. My school and I have sent many letters to Sallie Mae notifying them that we never received the check and to please do an investigation to find out where the check was sent, and to put a stop on the check. They have done nothing to help me, but ruin my life and credit.

I found out where the check was sent, but they still have not helped me. Please, I am crying out for help!

When I called to make the second payment to extend my forbearance, I asked to speak to the person and extension I had spoken with the first time, as she said I could contact her directly. I was hung up on by the first accented person after he refused to transfer me and I asked why. The second person said they do not have the capability to transfer my call, which is absurd. Heaven forbid I am allowed to discuss my loan situation with someone who may be familiar with me. I constantly get hung up on when asking questions they do not want to answer. I get told something different every time I call.

The first time I tried to get forbearance, I was told that deferments were not allowed for financial hardship. How can they expect a grad to pay $700 a month in a recession, after graduating a few months prior? How is financial hardship given the global economy not grounds for them to work with me on this? It is unbelievable. After getting two short forbearances, I am now told that I will have to make a payment of almost $800 to get 3 month forbearance, once this one ends. If I could do that, I would make a payment!

Their practices are unfair and completely irrational. They ruin people's credit as soon as they get out of school, making it impossible to move forward in life and actually become financially stable. I'm going to graduate school in a few months, but if I don't make a payment once this is up in the month span between the end of my forbearance and my school enrollment, I'll have the 20 calls a day back on my phone from collections. Trying to pay for school in cash to avoid taking more loans will surely keep me from making an $800 payment. I'm terrified about the other stories of trying to consolidate, as I will do anything to consolidate my loans with another company to avoid having to deal with their unethical business practices.

I got a forbearance and had to pay $100 just to process the paperwork. Hello?! I could have used that towards some of the payment! Once the paperwork went through, I was able to pay $186 for four months. I was laid off and had to get another one. I paid my $100 like the first time but, this time, I was told I didn't have to pay anything, which was weird, and they only gave it to me for 2 months! I also met my husband in culinary school who also has student loans. Between us, we have to pay so much money a month that there is no way we could live.

Once my husband was done with school, his child's mother hit him with child support (over $400 a month and that's based off $10 an hour) because she had the son when my husband went to school. How can just us, little people coming out of school, expect any of this when they are telling us it will be easy? And we're making only $10 an hour.

I called Sallie Mae and spoke with two different people. The first person was rude, indifferent, and sounded like a robot repeating the same thing over and over. He said they had only given me the 10-day payoff on one of my two loans. The payoff on that loan would have been around $9,000, but I had sent in enough to amazingly cover both loans. After explaining this to him, he repeated the same answer. After about 30 minutes with this individual, I asked to be transferred to his supervisor. I was connected to someone who stated his name was Steven ** (I have my doubts to his real name). At any rate, I started anew with my concerns and he stated the same thing as the first individual. I proceeded to explain how this was impossible and he stated there was no record of my calling for a 10-day payoff. In the same breath, he said that they had only given me the 10-day payoff for one of my loans.

After going around and around for another 40 minutes, he finally said there had been a processing error. I asked what this meant and he said they had put someone else's payment in my account six months ago. Only after I tried to do the right thing and pay off my loan did they catch this error - they charged me for the interest on the missing money. I can only imagine how much money they make off of these errors. I would not recommend getting a loan through them because despite wanting to do the right thing, they will eventually get every bit from you and then figure out how to squeeze out more. They have the upper hand in the process and you can write in to dispute the problem. But in the meantime, interest is accruing and it is a long process at that.

I have to say to anyone who is thinking of dealing with Sallie Mae, please think long and hard about it. These guys have special permissions because they are their own collections agency and can quite literally call you on the phone while you're talking to them (this has happened to me).

Sallie Mae gave me the option to be homeless and not be able to eat or pay them each month. They are rude and not understanding with the economy that we have today. I did not refuse to make a payment, however I cannot pay $400 a month on a loan payment. I offered to pay about $50 a month which is the most I can afford after rent, light bill, phone bill, water, gas, food, medical bills, car insurance, car maintenance, and federal loan payments, however they refused my offer and threatening to say if I do not pay the $400 a month, that it would go to collections, then I would have to go to court, and then they would begin to draft the money out of my checking account that wouldn't even have that amount in it. So then after spending an hour on the phone with a rep one day, he asked me how much all of bills were a month and said he could bring my monthly bill down to $252 for 1 year however they still do not seem to understand that I cannot afford that either.

So anyways, the rep had me set up a payment via credit card for the month of February and said they I can pay online with my credit card if needed. Now when he took my credit card payment over the phone, he did not mention a processing fee of $14.95 for using a credit card, which was not applied, however the next month when I went to go make my payment online with my credit card, online only gives you the option to make a checking or savings account payment which I do not have either. So I called in to make a credit card payment and then are told that there is a $14.95 processing fee each time I make a credit card payment, so now I can't win for losing. I have tried to meet them 1/2 way, and I still get screwed each month. I wish that I would have never taken a dime from these ** to go to school. All they want is their money in full when they want it and do not try to work with people and they monthly incomes.