Consumer complaint received 2024-12-10
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: SLM CORPORATION (MD)

Sallie Mae has not been upfront with customers when it comes to their options, and has been using deceiving practices to continue generating revenue. 

For 11 consecutive months, I called to ensure I was keeping my account current. I was often confused about the amount due on my account so I wanted to make sure I was paying the correct amount each month to keep them from reporting to the credit bureaus. 

On these calls, agents would offer to check to see if I was eligible for any programs to lower my monthly payment of {$530.00} per month. I would be placed on hold just to be informed nothing was there. Every month, I was led to believe that there would be payment modification options available. Various agents advised me to check back periodically, as if maybe next time there would be something. 

I discovered much later that sometime between XXXX XXXX XXXX, Sallie Mae adopted a new policy stating that all accounts were limited to two ( 2 ) program modifications over the life of the loan. None of the representatives I spoke with informed me of this policy change. It was later confirmed that back in XXXX, I was notified via email that my last program was ending. I was never told that it would be the last time I would be eligible for any programs. 

Throughout my time paying Sallie Maes exorbitant monthly amount, I explored refinancing options with other banks. I hesitated to pursue these options because Sallie Maes representatives were presenting me with options that clearly did not exist. 

Sallie Mae has done nothing to help, often sacrificing the mental health of their managers and supervisors instead of offering much needed relief to their customers. Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no relief for me as a borrower and when l I discovered the dishonest tactics, the representative advised refinancing with a different company as a final option. These predatory loans are often sold to young working class individuals and Sallie Mae not only made it even more difficult for borrowers- they trained their staff to sell false hope. I spoke with over ten different people and they all followed the same script.

Below are notes taken from the first of three calls I decided to keep record of. 

Notes from a recorded call placed on XX/XX/XXXX Customer service representative - XXXX ( spelling may not be correct ) XXXX At the time of call, I am 56 days past due with a past due amount of {$1500.00} This call was placed because of confusing information. 
The question was - how many days past due will a late payment be reported to be credit? 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) Due date is the XXXX of each month + 5 day grace period after which late fee of {$25.00} is assessed Payment scheduled on the previous call was scheduled for the XXXX of XXXX ( XXXX ) The representative is not sure who I spoke with ( XXXX ) The representative is not sure where XXXX payment date came from ( XXXX ) I ask how I can get back into program to reduce or modify payments Representative DOES NOT mention that I am not eligible for ( XXXX ) I ask to escalate the call to a manager or supervisor Call was not escalated ; that request was ignored ( XXXX ) The representative informs me that the last program I was on was called a XXXX, meaning I was only paying down interest, not the principal amount. 
Call ends after XXXX with no resolution