Consumer complaint received 2025-08-06 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services — Billing dispute for services
Company: SLM CORPORATION
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
Below is my story/letter that I sent to Sallie Mae that happened in XXXX of XXXX. 
Meanwhile, this was during Covid and I kept paying the loans and did not take advantage of putting the loans on hold. I have never ever been late on any payment. 
Because of the misinformation that was given, my credit score dropped XXXX points. 
XX/XX/XXXX To whom this may concern, I am the co-borrower for my child. Three years ago, when Covid came about, I was current on paying all the loans for my child. Last XXXX I had to put the loans on a forbearance as my hours at work were cut. I have been trying to pay what I can, but over {$800.00} per month for a single mom is very difficult. My child had XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, with his XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I had called on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, to see if there was any help I can receive so my credit report does not get hit with the late payments. The gentleman I spoke with said there was nothing that can be done and I would have to pay the full $ XXXX for it to not hit my credit report. He also stated that he still sees that he is in school, at XXXX, when he graduated from there in XXXX of XXXX. I said there is no way I can afford $ XXXX to pay by XX/XX/XXXX as it stated in my email. He told me I have until XX/XX/XXXX to pay. I was informed that I could pay by credit card online. Well, the next day I went to cash in some of my childs bonds and paid XXXX each towards 3 of the loans, which equals {$390.00}. I have since been trying to figure out a way to pay the balance of the late loans. I went online on Sunday XX/XX/XXXX to make a payment using a credit card, and I tried calling. I called Monday, XX/XX/XXXX to make a payment and talk about it hitting my credit and I was informed it hit on XX/XX/XXXX since I did not pay. I was also informed by the representative on XX/XX/XXXX to write a letter to Sallie Mae and they will take off the negative impact on my credit reports. Unfortunately, XX/XX/XXXX was a Sunday and Sallie Mae was closed and there is no way to make a payment online using a credit card. I paid {$600.00} on Monday XX/XX/XXXX towards the loans. Please, I am trying my hardest to catch up with the loans and pay what I can, if I have any extra funds. Unfortunately, XXXX was a rough month. I would like to have the late payment disputed and removed from my credit report as Sallie Mae was closed on XX/XX/XXXX and there is no way to pay by credit card on the Sallie Mae site. If there was a way to pay using a credit card online, payment wouldve been made Sunday morning, but you must call and speak with a representative to pay by credit card. 
I hope you can decide to remove the delinquency mark from my credit report as I am in hardship and still paying down the loans. 

Of course they denied my dispute. 

I sent in another dispute the end of XX/XX/XXXX. Please see below : Subject : Request for Removal of Inaccurate Late Payments Due to Servicer Error To Whom It XXXX Concern, I am writing to formally request a correction to the late payments reported on my Sallie Mae XXXX XXXX account for loan numbers, which appear on my credit report dated XX/XX/XXXX. According to the report, there are XXXX late payments listed for that month. I believe these were reported in error due to misinformation provided by a Sallie Mae representative and therefore should not be held against me. 
These late payments resulted from incorrect guidance I received during a phone call with Sallie Mae customer service in early XX/XX/XXXX. At that time still within the challenges of the XXXX period I reached out to discuss my repayment options. I was informed that my loans were not eligible for any deferment or forbearance programs. During that same call, I was explicitly told that I could make a payment using a credit card via the online payment portal. 
Based on this guidance, I attempted to submit a payment online on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX. However, I quickly discovered that XXXX XXXX online system does not accept credit card payments only bank transfers unless processed over the phone. Because it was a Sunday, your customer service lines were closed, and I was unable to resolve the issue or make a payment through the alternate method in time. 
I acted in good faith and made every effort to follow the instructions provided by your representative. I had no intention of missing a payment and took immediate steps to fulfill my obligations. The inability to make the payment was the direct result of inaccurate information provided by your staff not negligence or oversight on my part. 
As such, I respectfully request that Sallie Mae review my account and the circumstances surrounding this issue and take the following actions : XXXX. XXXX a thorough investigation into the communication and servicing errors related to my account in XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX. Submit a goodwill adjustment to the credit reporting agencies to remove the reported late payments from my credit file. 
XXXX. Provide written confirmation of the results of your review and any updates made to my credit report. 
Enclosed are supporting documents that XXXX assist in your review, including the letter sent multiple times from XX/XX/XXXX. 
In accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), I am requesting that this inaccurate information be corrected or removed from my credit file. The late payments were a direct result of a representatives error, not my negligence. 
Please complete the investigation within the XXXX period allowed under the FCRA and XXXX me written confirmation of your findings. If this information can not be verified as accurate, I request that it be deleted from my credit report. 
I have always been committed to maintaining my sons student loan account in good standing, and I sincerely hope that Sallie Mae will consider this request in light of the circumstances. Thank you for your time, attention, and understanding. 

Again, I was denied and they state they are correct. If that was the case I would not have tried to make the payment on XX/XX/XXXX, but would have made the payment on XX/XX/XXXX. Where then I would have realized you can not make payments via credit card on their portal and would have called.

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