Consumer complaint received 2020-09-14 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Don't agree with the fees charged
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Each year I am in school, Sallie Mae tries to collect on my private student loans with them during the summer or winter weeks when school is not in session, despite my Spring and Fall semester enrollment being reported in Clearing House. I do not have this same issue with my Federal student loans. This month I received an email stating I owed XXXX separate amounts ( which later Sallie Mae confirmed to be late fees ) despite being in school currently. Below is a description of this most recent issue. 

In the summer I received an email notifying me my Sallie Mae loan payments were due. I called Sallie Mae and they said they couldn't see that I was in clearinghouse for fall registration so I would need to fill out a deferment form with my school. I filled out the form my school gave me and uploaded it to Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae told me it was the incorrect form. I used Sallie Mae 's form and took it to my school 's XXXX XXXX XXXX University XXXX Registrar office and they filled it out. I uploaded it to Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae 's website has no way to confirm it was uploaded and when I called to confirm they said they didn't see it so I repeated this process 3 times. Finally Sallie Mae said they received in months later ( in late XXXX XXXX and that my loans would be deferred for the fall because I am in school. On XX/XX/XXXX I received the email below : " From : Sallie Mae XXXX Sent : Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  Subject : Upcoming Payment Reminder SalllieMae THIS IS NOT A BILL. 

Dear XXXX XXXX, Your Current Amount Due Date is approaching. If you've already made any required payment ( s ), then no action is required.

The Current Amount Due for the loan ( s ) listed below, is due by XX/XX/XXXX XXXX in the amount of XXXX. * XXXX in the amount of XXXX. * We encourage you to enroll in our automatic debit program at SallieMae.com. It's the easiest, most convenient way to make your payments. You could also receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on your eligible loan ( s ). ** For more information, visit us online at SallieMae.com. You can also call us at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Monday - Thursday XXXX XXXX. to XXXX XXXX., Friday XXXX XXXX. to XXXX XXXX, and Saturday XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX. ET. 

Thank you for letting us help to make your dream of education a reality, Sallie Mae Customer Care *The amount ( s ) listed above reflects the Current Amount Due as of the date of this email. 

**Borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae XXXX The rate reduction benefit applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or  Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month and may therefore be suspended during a forbearance or deferment period. While auto debit is available for the XXXX loan program, the rate reduction benefit does not apply. 

Please do not respond to this automated message as this email address is not monitored.

Make sure Sallie Mae reaches your inbox by adding XXXX as a contact. Learn how here. 

Privacy | Terms of use XXXX Sallie Mae Bank. All rights reserved. Sallie Mae is a registered service mark of Sallie Mae Bank. '' I called Sallie Mae on XX/XX/XXXX and was told that those charges were late fees that I incurred when I did not make a payment on my loans this summer, while going through that whole deferment/Clearing House confirmation process explained earlier in my response here. I asked how they could charge me late fees when I already established I shouldn't have been forced to make a payment this summer because I am still in school. They said to call back in 5 days and see if the late fees have been removed. This process of me calling about an issue and Sallie Mae saying they made a note and to call back in x days is exactly what it was like this summer trying to resolve my issue. Sallie Mae is predatory and does this constantly. The stress and time off from work it takes on a student to call them and upload documents repeatedly just to then be charged fees later is discriminatory and causes unfair hardships. My federal loans do not do this or have these issues. It's not right and the consumer financial protection bureau should do something to help people impacted by Sallie Mae 's predatory processes because there are millions of people like me who are struggling to interact with this company even though they are complying by Sallie Mae 's loan terms entirely. They find new ways to charge unnecessary fees or delay the processing time period for students submitting documentation. I am not asking for my student loans to be forgiven or trying to dance around rules or regulations regarding repayment -- I am simply asking for this company to be forced to follow the very guidelines they set in their loan repayment terms I signed. It's not right.

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