Consumer complaint received 2021-03-24
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: OH
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
I took out private loans with Sallie Mae is the summer of XXXX in order to begin school at XXXX University. After having successfully graduated with a XXXX GPA and collecting many athletic awards, I began to make my payments six months after graduation in XXXX of XXXX. I have been making on time payments for twelve consecutive months as directed in order to release my cosigner in hopes of adjusting my monthly payments at the end of this tedious process. I submitted my Cosigner Release Form the XXXX of XXXX in XXXX. After submitting this document, I was told by company representatives that the approval process could take up to 30 days, although it typically only takes 10 days. My next payment came due half way through the following month. I inquired about my release form before submitted my payment and was told that in order for them to continue processing my release form, I would need to make the payment. I was slightly frustrated but complained and, once again, submit my payment on time. I called several times through the month of XXXX to see if my document had been approved because this company does not reach out unless they are reminding you of the payment they want from you. In XXXX, I was told once again that I had to pay my monthly bill in order to move forward. This payment has been a monthly amount of over {$1000.00} which I have been working over XXXX hours a week to uphold. After the XXXX payment, I quit paying because I felt I was stuck in a revolving door. This company has called both me and my cosigner numerous times a day in regards to collecting thousands of dollars. After speaking with collection agents for hours on end, they have no interest in customer service. I was told they had to have my account caught up entirely to be able to speak with another department or that they could defer my loans. The catch is that I can not say both me and my cosigner can not pay the bill because they will defer it and surely destroy my credit. There is no type of COVID-19 relief or forgiveness offered from this company either. I explained that releasing my cosigner was my top priority and that a deferment would make it impossible for them to release the individual. This representative could only present me with two options. Both of those options were oriented to getting their money at that very moment and, consequently, trapping my cosigner and I in an endless loop of financial abuse. 

The past four months have been a flurry of endless phone calls, emails, and letters sent to both me and my cosigner. This business has repeatedly tried to trap me in a situation of never ending payments that are beyond what I should be paying at this point. They are doing their absolute best to trap both my co-signer and I. When I voice these issues, I am giving the generic resolutions that I could, and have, simply found on the internet. There is seemingly no understanding or recognition of the economic repercussions of COVID-19 as they are trying to portray they repayment options they had in place years ago as COVID-19 relief. These forms of relief are a few options they sent me in the mail are the same ones they told me over the phone : simply paying even more for three months, deferring your loans, or paying as much as one can in the next few months. All of these trap both you and your co-signer. I paid my debt for 12 full months and was told 3 months after filing my my co-signer release form that I was supposedly late on a payment in XXXX. I have had numerous phone calls with different representatives in that XXXX month period and that was the first time I was notified of any late payment. Now they expect me to pay over a grand each month for yet another year. I feel the business has a complete disregard to COVID-19, their customers, as well as their own employees who have taken out loans with them. My case worker, XXXX XXXX, continuously presents me with the same options rather than understanding the mistakes on the part of this lender. The fact that an employee who was taking my case for a week in XXXX said to me that she regrets taking a loan out with this company speaks worlds of their character and what they truly value. It is also clear through the endless pages of complaints on this company. A simple letter in the mail restating the completely unhelpful answers will not be considered a solution.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation