Consumer complaint received 2017-05-31
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: MA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
I decided to reach out to Sallie Mae after 18 months of on time repayment to discuss restructuring my payment plan after hitting a time of financial hardship. After doing some research online, I had found that many people had issues with their customer service being rude, unknowledgeable, and inconsistent with their answers across different representatives. While my interactions were pleasant, I found the later two certainly true. I first spoke with a customer service representative onXX/XX/XXXXat XXXX. <P/>The first woman I spoke to after discussing my desire to restructure my loans through their interest rate reduction or loan term extension plans ( not advertised on their site at all, read about elsewhere ) was not very helpful to say the least. When I first mentioned my graduation date XX/XX/XXXXshe told me I would have had to apply for rate reduction by XX/XX/XXXX and that service was no longer offered ( again this information is nowhere on their site ). She then asked me if I understood Sallie Mae was a private lender, which certainly attests to their non-transparency if that 's something they have to regularly clarify to callers. She essentially told me there were no options for my particular loans, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. <P/>The supervisor was slightly nicer, and gave me completely different answers to my questions. She asked if I was aware of their deferment options, which I was ( not at all mentioned by the first representative who said there were no options for me ). When I mentioned I was interested in rate reduction or loan term extension she mentioned that I would have to be delinquent 5 days for my loans and that somebody would call me to discuss repayment options at that point. <P/>
This advice seemed contrary to what was posted on their site ( See attached image for screenshot ) : If you are having trouble making payments, call us at XXXX ( XXXX ). We 're committed to working with you to help you get back on track. You may also visit our payment difficulties page on salliemae.com. <P/>The fact that I called that number and was immediately told their was nothing they could do really shows they are not true to their own policy, especially when contrary information was offered by a supervisor. <P/>Another concerning aspect of this discussion was a complete turnaround of information I received from the supervisor. My interest rates have increased 4 times in the last twelve months including immediately after I applied for and was denied a cosigner release. Because this information is not directly available on their site, I asked if credit score affected my interest rates. At first she said yes, then I mentioned the increase immediately after my cosigner release application ( which to me seemed like a punitive measure ). <P/>After I mentioned that she said my credit score in fact did not reflect that and it was actually tied to current LIBOR rates, which I could check online. The general feeling I got from this call was that Sallie Mae 's customer service 's top priority is to get callers off the line while offering no or next to no assistance, all the while omitting or giving completely false information to move this process along. <P/>I apologize for the length of this complaint and I tried to make it as straight to the point as possible rather than writing an editorial, but you can surely see where my frustration comes in. Had I not done the preliminaryresearch on how others have dealt with this company, I may have given up after my first discussion when I was told there was nothing they could do. This is frustrating because despite the fact I may get nowhere with my efforts, other individuals who take this company at their word and appearance of honesty may be discouraged much quicker.
<P/>My main concern here is that I was told I would need to be in delinquency to discuss repayment restructuring. While I am an individual with a high amount of student and credit card debt, I have never missed monthly payments and I pride myself on that. Being told by a member of a company I 'm doing business with to violate a contractural agreement does not seem like good business practice, especially when they advertise themselves as willing to help and discuss these options.

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