“[W]hy aren’t student loans receiving the same attention, same care and forgiveness as every other loan in America?” Student Loan Nightmare: Help Wanted | AC360
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We constantly hear the media proclaiming,”If you are having financial problems call your lender and ask for help, they will work with you”. We have called Sallie Mae numerous times and begged for help with student loans. We have ask Sallie Mae for a reasonable repayment plan, a negotiable settlement alternative, some kind of relief. All Sallie Mae will do is put the loans in forbearance and then continue to balloon the debt by compounding interest on top of interest at a fourteen percent or higher rate until there is no hope of recover, Sallie Mae stated that none of the debt is negotiable or dischargeable through bankruptcy. Sallie Mae is going to milk these loans for all they can get. Martha Holler of Sallie Mae reply is,”We don’t make the rules, but we do follow them”. Sallie Mae could care less about the fact they are turning a student’s yesterdays dreams into todays nightmares. Former Sallie Mae debt collector, Michael Zahara stated on.”Now on PBS”, “Sallie Mae debt collection agents use dubious tactics to force students into what’s called forbearance. Sallie Mae has a incentive to let loans balloon, because if the borrower can not pay the taxpayer would cover the debt and since Sallie Mae allows FELP loans stay suspended for years; Zahara has seen loans double in size. Sallie Mae has even put loans in forbearance without borrower permission”. Sallie Mae doesn’t care about the borrower, all they care about is their end of the month numbers. According to the Federal Education Department, in 2009 the amount of outstanding federal student loan debt is $544 billion and increasing by the day. Where is their bailout? Where is their recovery plan? Where are their options? How can it be, the big corporations, the banks, the credit card debt and all other debt in this country is negotiable or dischargeable through bankruptcy, except student loan debt. I ask you isn’t that discrimination against one class of borrower, and is it being supported by the government? Ask Martha Holler of Sallie Mae her answer is, “We don’t make the rules, but we do follow them”. Ask The Student Loan Consolidation Corporation, or The Consumer Credit Counseling Service for help and the answer is,”no help with student loans under Sallie Mae”. Please tell us where is the help we need? Sallie Mae, Sallie Mae You have taken our dream away. Uncle Sam, Uncle Sam what a sham, it is all your fault, Sallie didn’t make the rules she just follows them.
I am a retired police officer, we have rules and regs to follow, and, after my retirement, a collections supevisor for 15 years. I know what is legal and ethical, sallie mae is neither. I cosigned a loan for my son, he has many others, with Sallie Mae, due to health problems in his immediate family he had to leave school and take a job. After losing his job he has been unable to get back into school, because he is delinquent with Sallie mae and cannot get another loan to continue his schooling. I am making the payments on the loan I cosigned on, after learning it was delinquent 6 months, and have been given the cold shoulder when I have tried to speak to these people, “YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS WHEN IT COMES TO SALLIE MAE, JUST PAY”. I have received a bill from them three times now, my name and my address, showing that I owe them $13,000.00, first I was informed that it was a glitch in the system, and I should disregard it. The loan I cosigned for is $3,800.00 so obviously I questioned the notice. After the third notice of this sort, I called and the guy told me it was a total of my sons indebtedness to them, ????In my name with no mention of my son????? If this is true, and thats their explanation to me, is this not a case of third party disclosure??? I get calls numerous times daily, seven days a week, I have received a phone call shortly after 6:00am this past fall. When I have referred to the FDCPA they merely said to me that they are not governed by the act????? Are they not a creditor under every definition of the act??? Someone please tell me that this is going on in the good ole USA??? These people are unbelievable. I made arrangements on the phone with their offices, I am obviously carrying it out and they are still calling every day and demanding that I bring the account current right then and there. Is there no one out there who has sued these jerks and won???? I had agreed to bring the account current by the end of November 09 and continue on with my payments with the December 09 pmt. I called on 11/22/09 asked exactly what I needed to do to bring the account current with a due date for the next payment on 12/26/09. I was informed that I would have to pay $112.44 to achieve that goal. I made that pmt electronically at that time. I got a delinquency notice on 12/14/09 and called to discuss the matter. I was informed that their representative was mistaken and that I was going to have to pay an additional $109.00 to bring the account current. You tell me, where is the willingness to be reasonable?? Reading some of these stories on the net lead me to believe that someone needs to be held accountable somewhere, they just seem to be able to keep skating along, whose pocket are they in???
My daughter graduated from Law School 2 years ago and passed the bar. She has been unable to find work in that field in the past two years so her father and I are paying another lawyer for space in his office so she could at least take court appointed cases. Last year she made a total of $6000 mostly which had to be paid for gas to and from work and doctor’s bills. Her father and I support her and make all of her other payments. We begged to just let us make a $50.00 payment per month to show our good faith until times get better but no one will listen. They just threaten to take our house, our wages and whatever else they can. We were supposed to retire this next year but we are wondering will they take our retirement paychecks? Now our daughter is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and we are emotionally devastated also. Her credit is ruined so when she does apply for a job and a credit check is done no one wants to hire her. This is a vicious circle with no way out.
I started with an original $15,000 debt. Because I tried to pay it off, I was punished with penalties and fees. I threw thousands of dollars at them only to see them absorb it with more charges. My $15,000 original balance is now at $75,000. I’ve paid more than the original balance… and will never be allowed to pay this debt off. Thanks to our U.S. government.