Remember the guy who lost his job due to threatening phone calls from Sallie Mae? He found a new job but he still can’t really afford his student loan payment. Unfortunately, the advice Consumerist readers gave him last time didn’t work. He was not able to consolidate with ed.gov. He writes with an update:
The FDSL just sent me a loan cancellation letter. They have decided that they will only take federal loans now to consolidate and Sallie Mae is primarily a private lender, and that is what they report my loan as. What the difference between a federal guaranteed loan and what they consider a federal loan through a private company is beyond me.
The advice given to me to try ed.gov was unfortunately wrong, or somehow I didn’t say the right keywords when I applied so I was denied, even from the government. Or, as is to be expected, many still think that Sallie Mae is somehow a federal loan and I was given advice according to that assumption.
Anyone else have any ideas? We’re really worried about this guy. —MEGHANN MARCO
I Don’t Know What I’m Going To Do Now [Sallie Mae Is Indeed Ruining My Life!]
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Try Nelnet; I consolidated my federal loans through them and they’ve been wonderful. You can see if you’re eligible for private consolidation through them here.
If you’re not able to find anyone else to consolidate through, you really might want to consider seeing a debt counselor. I’m so sorry for all that you’ve been through!
PS-
BOOOOO TaxChick. You’re MEAN.
“I also tried posting the following message on your website J*
Have you thought about contacting your guaranty agency? When a student loan is processed through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (which is the program you went through), a guaranty agency will oversee the life of the loan. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the claim is then sent to the guarantor. All guaranty agencies work with borrowers to avoid default or, at the very least, give advice on what the borrower should do. It is probably the best place for advice without getting yelled at by the lender or being ignored by the government. They also work with the Department of Education’s Ombudsman Office if you should choose to file a complaint.
Try looking on your copy of the Master Promissory Note to see who the guarantor is. If you don’t know, try contacting you financial office from school which should provide you the information. In reading the previous post from users, it appears that your guarantor is likely to be Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) or you may be more familiar with the American Education Services (AES), which is a division of PHEAA that handles these situations. Try http://www.youcandealwithit.com/cant_pay_student_loan/inde…
Lets get some misconcepts out f the way here 1st.
“First off, if you tell Sallie Mae that you cannot accept phone calls at work, they must stop all communication with you while you are working. If they don’t contact a lawyer immediately.”
This is not true. SAllie Mae trying to collect their debt is of the 1st party. The laws only apply to 3rd party debt collection agencies. I am not saying that I condone thir practice of what they are doing, it is not illegal.
“Second, contact a credit counselor. Technically, they don’t work for you, they work for the lender, but once you are in with them, creditors are supposed to stop contacting you. They will also be able to do something about the payment amounts. If they are reputable, they might even be able to help you remove the inflammatory remarks on your credit bureau.”
This is also false, a creditor does not have a contract with the conselor, and no they do not work for the lender, they are a 3rd party that the debtor brings in to help them with the lender. The lender does not have to work with them. Ultimately the responsibilty of the debt is the debtor and a credit does not have to work with anyone else. In the lenders best interest to get the loans paid off they should do what they can to get the debt satisfied.
Don’t think I agree with collection practices, Just we need to know the truth and the laws. They are sometimes misguided.
If this loan is not federally backed, i don’t see a reason why the debtor can’t file banko.
You could always go back to school part time and get the loans deferred because you’re in school (I don’t know if it applies to private loans but with Federal loans you can put your loans in deferment while you’re in school) and continue to send payments while the loans are deferred to get the amount of debt down. They have to stop collection efforts if the loans are deferred.
I have some questions about two parts of this:
How have I avoided EVER having my credit checked on application for employment in the 10 different places I’ve worked/applied? Is this a specific industry thing? I’m on the creative end of things.
I also don’t get the multiple loans thing. I had 10 Direct Loans consolidated to Sallie Mae into 1 loan, mostly because I couldn’t take the paperwork and multiple checks. Why did they make this guy do 5 loans?
All this talk about fines and lenders paying schools or states – what about ME? How do I get back the overpayment -I- have made? After all, its MY MONEY!! Also, there is supposed to be a “class action” suit on borrowers’ behalf EXCEPT…Where do I sign on to get my money back? Nobody has contacted ME and Sallie Mae certainly isnt posting anything about any of this on their web site or sending out e-mail or paper mail notices. If all these “concerned” groups are going to invoke my name (aka “borrower”) and use MY situation to launch lawsuits, then surely I should get a cut of the money -I- overpaid!!