Consumer complaint received 2017-02-28
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't get flexible payment options
Company: Texas Guaranteed (WI)

My spouse and I had student loans that we decided to consolidate with XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX for a total of appx. {$27000.00} at 9 % interest. Over the years working through forbearance and deferment because of our decision to raise a family, we ended up making about {$20000.00} in payments, before the monthly payment reached a point we could no longer afford and the loan went into default. So now that we have consolidated with a private lender, we have lost all benefits of ant type of consolidation or refinance opportunities, especially when the government drastically dropped the consolidation loan interest rate cap. We were stuck with what we had. After default, the loan was assigned to Texas Guaranteed, who immediately added a {$15000.00} collection charge and the monthly payment went up even more. After a period of time, we ended up going through a rehabilitation program and after 9 months, the loan was sold to XXXX. Our rehabilitation payments were {$200.00} per month and our understanding of the program is that prior to being sold we would have the ability to review the new terms to see if they were affordable as we could not afford much more than the {$200.00} per month a that time. Well, the XXXX payments came out to be {$650.00} per month, and of course we ended up defaulting again. The loan is again sent to XXXX for collection and they tack on another {$18000.00} in collection charges. Now with interest still continuing to accrue at {$750.00} per month, our only payment option is a $ XXXX monthly payment which is not possible even with all my children out of high school. Even if we paid something like {$400.00} per month, it would be useless as it would not get us out of default and would still be less than just the interest and would do us no good in the long run. We also could reach a settlement with a {$91000.00} lump sum payment. If we were able to make the $ XXXX monthly payments for 30 years, along with what we have already paid towards this loan, the total paid would be appx. {$340000.00} on a {$27000.00} loan. That seems really fair! And that 's not even the end. Now out taxes are scheduled to be offset, even though I have {$500.00} per month garnished on my paycheck for other debts, plus there is a potential my home could be foreclosed on due to some past due property taxes. In addition most of my refund is because of my children 's education credits, which I am only claiming because they are still considered dependents in XX/XX/XXXX. Funny I had no benefit of government programs after I consolidated with XXXX, but now I can be on a government program that harms me and my family. If this was another other government debt, there would be plenty of options, even more settlement options. I understand that I need to pay my debt and am in a better position to be on a reasonable payment plan now, but not {$870.00} per month for 30 years. Why ca n't I pay something like {$450.00} per month for 10 years and be done with this. I would end up paying triple the original loan amount over all the years, which should be a reasonable solution for everyone. XXXX will state that they offered lower payment plans previously, but it was never anything that we could reasonably pay. Even if my wages were garnished, it would still be for less than the monthly interest, so what happens when the balance gets to {$150000.00} or {$200000.00} or higher? Then if I was n't to be on a monthly payment plan, it 's {$1500.00} per month. And maybe XXXX is just getting their direction from the Department of Education. Then shame on both of them!!