Consumer complaint received 2023-12-05 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem lowering your monthly payments
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: KY

Complaint narrative:
My mom and I have repeatedly spoken to Sallie Mae about our options for repaying the loans and/or lowering the monthly amount because {$2000.00} per month is not affordable. Sallie Mae would not give us any information, just that we have options. They would not tell us the options until we both spoke to them about each of our financial situations ( my mom co-signed the loans for school ). After giving my financial information to the man over the phone, I believe his name may have been XXXX, he literally told me that there's no way I could make those payments and that I can't even afford my current living situation without adding the school loans into the mix. He made me tell him every detail of what I pay for bills, utilities, my tiny little car that can't even fit my entire family in it to be able to go anywhere really together, my rent, groceries, etc. After all of that and reviewing what he could see on my credit report, he told me I am in the negtives every month, after I had already explained that to him. The lady, possibly XXXX, is who my mom spoke to and she had her do the same thing. They ended up lowering the monthly payment to almost {$900.00} a month. The lady my mom spoke to told my mom that even {$900.00} per month is not affordable for both of us put together because of our financial situations due to the rise in cost of living and unforseen medical expenses for both of us. XX/XX/XXXX is the last I spoke to them around XXXX. I'm not sure of the date my mom called for the last time soon after I called but not the same day. We both have been calling and begging for options since XXXX. The most they did for me was defer my loans for XXXX months. They are horrible to try to get answers out of. They initially refused to give me any information without my mom on the phone with me because they wanted both of our income and money situation information, which I had to explain to them, 1. I don't live in the same state as my mother and we work opposite schedules and 2. I'm not that close with my mother to be allowing her to hear my personal financial information. The man told me that is not a normal situation and was quite rude to me about my financial situation like I needed that on top of being stressed about trying to pay {$2000.00} and already worried about how I'd pay my other bills to survive considering one of my paychecks isn't even {$2000.00} per month. It would take me a paycheck and then almost half of another paycheck per month just to pay them. And neither one of us have tried to get out of paying the loans. We have just been begging for months for a lower payment that is actually feasible between the two of us. I mean my rent alone for an apartment that is not at all large or luxurious on the outskirts of town in not a superb place but not a horrible place is almost {$1300.00} alone which doesn't even include utilities of any kind. Then add everything else that I have to pay. Of course my financial situation is bad. I can barely afford to feed the household of XXXX ( including XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) with help from my partner. My partner makes way less money than I do and is in the same boat I am with bills just not private loans who won't work with her. Oh yea, the reduced payment plan to around {$900.00} a month is only valid for XXXX years then we have to somehow come up with {$2000.00} a month for the next 10 years and with horrible interest. The loans will out live us both.

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