Consumer complaint received 2018-01-26
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: IL
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
RE : XXXX XXXX XXXX Loan I am writing to share with your office the completely disgusting manner in which I was treated while contacting your office to request a forbearance. It should be noted that I was granted a forbearance inXX/XX/XXXXand was advised to recontract Sallie Mae to request additional months of same. I did as instructed and contacted SallieMae via phone in early XXXX, after an approximate 7-9 minute hold, the representative returned to the line to state that I had contacted SallieMae " too early '' to request the deferment. I was at a loss as to how on earth one could ever attempt to handle a financial matter could ever occur " too early. '' It should be noted that I made the two XXXX good faith payments prior to speaking to XXXX and her manager. On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted SallieMae via phone once again in an attempt to obtain loan forbearance. I had the unfortunate displeasure to speaking with XXXX ( # XXXX. ) I explained to XXXX my reason for calling. XXXX explained that she must ask me some questions before processing the deferment. I agreed to this and she proceeded to ask me two questions. She asked me was I working and the name of my employer. I provided the information to her and she then proceeded to ask me my title. I provided my title ( XXXX XXXX ) and she then asked me could my cosigner assist with payments. I explained to her that my cosigner was my mother whom I presently reside with sans rent. I also explained to her that my mother paid a significant portion of my living expenses and would not be able to make the loan payments. XXXX then requested that I hold the line for a moment. It should be noted that XXXX did NOT ask me for my salary, etc. The only information she asked about concerning my employment was my title, and the name of my company. 

I agreed and waited on hold for approximately six minutes. I then heard XXXX speaking but it sounded as though she were not speaking directly into her telephonic device. It seemed as though XXXX had inadvertently taken the call off hold and was unaware that I could hear her every word. I heard XXXX and a male conversing about me. XXXX was essentially relaying portions of our conversation to this gentleman. While this is harmless enough, she was relaying this conversation in a mocking fashion complete with her personal commentary/opinions relative same. She stated to the gentleman that " She says she lives with her mom and she don't pay no rent, and her mom pays her car insurance. '' " She then went on to say " Then what do you pay if your mom pays everything. '' At that time, the male she was speaking with, presumably her manager verbalized his agreement. She stated " She's claims that she called in last month and we wouldn't give her a deferment. '' It should be noted that she did not attempt to research, validate or invalidate this information. I am at a loss as to why her manager did not instruct her to verify this information since she was so skeptical. She went on to lie and state " She don't even got a XXXX dollars. '' This is the point where XXXX 's conversation went from disrespectful and contemptuous to fraudulent. XXXX never asked me about making any payments and I certainly did not express to her that I " don't got a XXXX dollars. '' I am sure you are aware that your representatives document the verbal exchanges between themselves and customers in the customer 's account, this exchange means that XXXX likely noted my account fraudulently as well. 

XXXX eventually returned to the line seeming to have gotten a bit more contemptuous after speaking to her coworker about me. Her tone was bolder, and her attitude much closer to being disrespectful. She very quickly informed me that it was unlikely that my " Forb '' would be approved as I was working as an XXXX  and had income. She also stated that she had discussed the issue with her manager. She made reference to her manager being a male. I presume this is the gentleman that she was speaking to about me. I immediately asked for his name and ID number. She stated with a significant contemptuous attitude that she was trying to get me back on track with my payments. I listened to her convoluted spiel which consisted of her claiming that since I am working I should be able to make my payments. I am certain that she unilaterally reached this conclusion based on her opinion rather than he facts which she failed to gather. I once again requested the name and number of her manager. She provided me with a first name and stated that she did not know his last name or ID number. She stated that she would let me speak to him so as to obtain that information for myself. This is yet another example of her abhorred customer service. The manager was just right there engaging in disparaging comments about me, how on earth did obtaining his name require me to be placed on yet another hold. 

After about a two-minute hold, a gentleman addressed me and introduced himself as XXXX. I requested his last name and ID number to which he responded " XXXX XXXX. '' I thanked him for this information and terminated the call. As stated numerous times, XXXX never asked me about my salary, expenses etc. I am at a loss as to how an account representative charged with gather information concerning financial matters could fail to ask about such relevant information. The most obvious conclusion would be that XXXX simply chooses to ignore SallieMae protocol and instead based the level of assistance she provided on her mood and disposition. It is entirely possible that her oversight was due to her rush to speak negatively about her customers while she places them on excessive holds. To that end, I am at a loss as to how her manager did not correct her. While front line employees can fail to properly complete tasks, their immediate supervisors are charged with ensuring that the front line employees perform their jobs satisfactorily. This manager failed to do that as evidenced by their conversation. Not only did he fail to remind her that she was speaking negatively about a customer ( he had no way of knowing that she was making up the conversation ), he too failed to ask about income vs expenses etc. 

I am at a loss as to how on earth these two individuals would be allowed to behave in this manner. Aside from the fact that their behavior was disrespectful, rude, and ignorant. XXXX made fraudulent statements to her manager. I never stated to her that I was unable to make a XXXX payment. She also failed to inquire about income, expenses and how they would impact my ability to repay. 

In light of the above, I am requesting that someone from your office contact me concerning this matter. Specifically I would like to know what information these two associates placed in my account as I absolutely heard XXXX make untrue statements and declarations that I never made. I implore you to review the recording related to this call. This call occurred on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX at approximately XXXX from phone number XXXX. I look forward to your response. 





XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation