Consumer complaint received 2018-11-28
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (VA)

I have never needed a cosigner for any purchase or credit cards. 

I borrowed thru Sallie Mae to supplement my Federal loans ; scholarships and grants. I did not need a cosigner to obtain these loans. 

During school, my interest rate was reasonable ( approx 5 % ). During school I maintained a high/excellent credit score, paying all bills on time and in full without help and without a cosigner. 

When I graduated in XX/XX/XXXX, Sallie Mae immediately increased my interest rate from +/-5 % to 11 % ( eleven percent ). This increased my expected monthly payment to XXXX. I was working full time as an XXXX, making about XXXX and I could not afford the payment. I immediately called in to ask for help with the payment and to avoid negative credit impact. 

I called I'm and spoke to a front line customer service agent who offered one ( 1 ) option. The option was that I add a cosigner to my account. The agent offered no escalation and did not indicate that I had ANY option outside of adding a cosigner to my account. 

I trusted the advice because I had no reason to believe that the agent was giving me poor advice. I had no reason to believe that I should escalate the call to a manager or higher level, better trained employee to ensure that the advice was good. 

That said, I added my Mom to my private student loan account. Note that, my Federal loans worked with me so I did not have to make ANY adjustments to my Federal loans. 

After I added my cosigner, to this private loan, my interest rate dropped but only to 8 %. This did make payments more reasonable. I did use some forebearance but I began paying my monthly payment and I maintained a strong, on time payment history. 

I was unemployed in XX/XX/XXXX for a few months and I used all of my forebearance during this period of unemployment. At the time, my cosigner was also unemployed and I was able to FORCE my way into a reduced interest rates an that helped me to obtain a very low payment for a long period of time. Yo get access to the reduced interest rate program, I had to email random Sallie Mae employees begging for help. I found email addresses of Sallie Mae marketing employees and I begged them to help me. These employees guided me to the Office of the Customer Advocate. 
The call center employees did not offer ANY information to me about this program. I had to desperately search for Sallie Mae staff bto get this information. 

After I retrurned to work full-time in XX/XX/XXXX, I was able to pay and my interest rate slowly stepped up to 5 %. I was able to pay on time even at the 5 % rate. Because of my on time payment history, I had the option to remove my cosigner, however I was afraid to because I did not want my interest rate to explode and make my payment amount double or triple. I have asked for a guarantee that my interest rate would remain stable and employees at Navient ( Sallie Mae ) will not confirm that my interest rate will be affordable. 

I am currently unemployed ( since XX/XX/XXXX ) and my cosigner is unemployed but collecting Social Security. I called Navient ( Sallie Mae ) to  see if my monthly payment of XXXX could be temporarily reduced or modified so I am able to make payments while I search for work and while I have no income. 

Because I have a cosigner, Navient ( Sallie Mae ) is refusing to make any changes to or modifications to my balance due. 

My cosigner is collecting Social Security and while on paper this appears to be accessible, fluid income, it is not at all an option. I am financially independent and my cosigner was added to my account ONLY to bring my interest rate under control. I added my cosigner BECAUSE Sallie Mae ( Navient ) told me to add a cosigner and this was presented to me as my only option ( as stated above, upon graduation ). 

My concern is that there are tons of other barriers in this same situation. 

I am concerned that other borrowers obtained " advice '' from poorly trained front line customer service staff who do not understand ( or care to understand ) the ramifications of their financial advice. I am concerned that other Borrowers are unable to speak to professional management staff who should be trained to give good, objective advice to borrowers who experience predatory interest rates upon graduation. 

I am concerned that other borrowers need help like me, and like me have to FORCE their way past the front line customer service agent to get in touch with a responsible employee who has better information or access to additional information that can provide a solution to a loan related problem. 

I am not at all hopeful that submitting a complaint will provide ANY releif for my situation, but I do believe that the fact that there are NO consequences for dipensing poor advice to Borrowed is absolutely perpetuating and facilitating the flagrantly negligent conduct that I have witnessed from front line customer service agents. The front line agent typically does not have to care and is not required to give ALL available options to the borrower. The bare minimum is provided. The bare minimum is absolutely WHY I am in a contract with a cosigner. I did NOT get objective good financial advice from tthis group.