Consumer complaint received 2016-10-28
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Received bad information about my loan
Company: GREAT LAKES (VT)

I am currently out of work due to a XXXX and am trying to find ways to manage my debt. I decided to consolidate my loans through Great Lakes to lower my interest rate and also get my loans into a federal program in hopes of one day taking advantage of the service loan repayment program. On XXXX XXXX I received my XXXX Consolidation Summary from Great Lakes. The summary states my new interest rate would be 6.5 %, this was a weighted interest rate from all XXXX of my loans, however my loans through XXXX were at a much lower rate. Therefore, I sent them an email inquiring about leaving out my XXXX loans because I was getting a 3.75 % interest rate with them. They responded saying they did n't see a loan with that interest rate. I later found out that it is listed as 4.75 % through XXXX and the 1 % decrease is an incentive that XXXX offers for paying on time three years in a row. When I learned of this I contacted Great Lakes on XXXX via phone and spoke with someone regarding this interest rate and if they would honor this reduced interest rate. I was told to have XXXX send them the information and they would look it over. I then specifically asked if I should cancel this consolidation application until we got this information figured out. I was told that we had enough time, until the XXXX of XXXX. I then said, " Okay, because if the reduced interest rate is not honored I plan on leaving my XXXX loans out of the consolidation ''. I contacted XXXX the same day XXXX and they said they would send them documentation of my 3.75 % interest rate. I received a letter from XXXX two days later with what I believed to be a copy of the letter they sent Great Lakes. I then received an email on XXXX at XXXX am stating my loans had been consolidated through Great Lakes. I looked to see if they had reduced my interest rate and they had not. I had never signed anything or been made aware that they were going through with my consolidation. I called XXXX XXXX at XXXX and spoke with a gentleman who told me there was nothing they could do at this point and that it was not their responsibility to get in touch with me. I was very emotional. Not only are my student loans a huge financial burden, but now they had become a much larger one and I felt like I was tricked into this. With XXXX I felt I could trust them and they had my best interest in mind, and so far my experience with Great Lakes I feel taken advantage of and there " was nothing they could do about it ''. From there I contacted a supervisor by the name of XXXX at Great Lakes at XXXX and was told they had never received anything from XXXX and that because I never said to go ahead and cancel the application that there was nothing they could do about it. I stated that I was told I had enough time for them to review the updated information from XXXX and provide me with a new loan summary or make me aware that they would not honor the lower interest rate. I believed that I would have another opportunity to look over my consolidation before they went ahead and finalized. Again, I never signed anything. I told her my next step was to contact the Attorney General 's office for the State of Vermont. She said she would contact her manager and see if there was anyway to cancel the consolidation and she would email me, but that she believed there was nothing they could do. I then contacted XXXX and was made aware that they had sent me the only letter instead of Great Lakes and they apologized for any misunderstanding and were very helpful. I then contacted the Attorney generals office who referred me to the Dept of Financial Regulations who has referred me to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. At this point I am extremely frustrated that this could happen and hope it can be resolved, a 3.75 % increase is nothing I would sign up for.