Consumer complaint received 2017-01-24
Product: Student loan — Non-federal student loan
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company: SLM CORPORATION

Complaint:
I have been dealing with XXXX XXXX ( Navient ) for years and have n't had one positive experience. Currently, I pay {$170.00} a month. I went to XXXX XXXX ( in XXXX XXXX Mi, ca n't find the listing in the bottom ) and had to stop going 3 months into graduating due to family reasons. After a few months had passed, they were having me pay that amount. I let them know right away that I could not afford this amount so they told me to do a foreberence on my account which would make it so I did n't have to pay for 3 months, but the interest rate remains but I would need to pay {$50.00} to do so. What I did n't realize, is that my interest rate flew way up and majorly high. I had to keep calling and pay {$50.00} every 3 months because I still could not afford the high payment, and they offered me nothing to help me through the struggling months. I had to resort to my co-signer and he had been paying for me for over a year. But, this is just the start of the harassment these people have put us through. They always had no issues calling me and my co-signer when my payment was coming due or when it was past due. They would always call my work and my co-signers work and his cell over and over again as we told them numerous times to not call us at our place of employment. Better yet, they would call late hours as well past XXXX. So, my point to this part of the story is, the last foreberence I paid the {$50.00} for was denied and they never told me it was. They told me the payment went through and the foreberence was accepted. The calls stopped for 3 months so I thought I was in the clear ( they gave me a confirmation number and all ) until I got a call stating that my account was 3 months past due and I oued them 3 months worth of payments and late fees! I told them I was not going to pay them a cent as it was their mistake for not letting me know and all they could say was they were sorry but there was nothing they could do, I then hung up as I was so frustrated. They called my co-signed seconds away before I could reach out to him and let him know what was going on ( because I knew they would trick him into paying ) and they did that exact thing, he paid the full amount. After all of this happened, another incident happened. It was getting harder and harder for me to pay the {$170.00} as I kept stressing to them to please lower the payment for me so I would n't be past due, still no help. I began to become part due every month. I was told that I was past due one month and owed {$340.00} ( I was told this was the late fee everytime ) so my co-signer had to pay it for me. The next month came around and I paid {$170.00}. This happened a few times over and over again until one person told me that they have n't been giving me late fees, that those payments of {$340.00} was including the next month so I was paying double! Example, for the month of XXXX I paid XXXX and XXXX and then XXXX again! It took a few months for someone to be honest with me 1 time! Recently, me and my husband had a XXXX and I left work because we ca n't afford daycare so we have one Income coming in. I spoke to 5 different people that I can no longer afford those payments and to please help me lower it to at LEAST {$100.00} ( I never said I would n't pay them, just asked to lower ) they would n't do that for me. Because of them, we are financially strained to the max as well as my co-signer ( he is no longer able to help me )! We are close to losing our house, and they do n't sympathize whatsoever. They do n't care about helping you at all, instead they have made my life extremely stressful and I think about it all the time. I told them, all I have is {$100.00}, nothing more, and they threaten that they will send me to collections ... I need my story heard, not just for me but for my family. We are physically and mentally drained because of these people.

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