• ask the consumerists

    Help! Is Anyone Still Giving Out Private Student Loans!?

    Reader Michael has some questions about how the credit crunch is affecting private student loans. Is anyone still lending? More »

    1:45 PM on Mon Oct 27 2008
    By Meg Marco
    9,998 views, 62 comments

  • equifax

    Equifax Double-Reports Student Loan, Still Hasn't Corrected It 12 Attempts Later

    "David" can't get Equifax to correct his credit report. Since 2006, he's been trying to get them to remove a misreported student loan, and they've repeatedly ignored him or said it's not their fault. Because of this, David's credit report says he owes a total of $56,910 in student loans, instead of the accurate $28,455.
    So what exactly is the problem? After 12 online (and phone) disputes to Equifax and 14 calls (and faxes) to the Direct Loan Servicing Center, each party seems to blame the other.
    More »

    9:46 PM on Thu Sep 25 2008
    By Chris Walters
    6,528 views, 45 comments

    Most discussed Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: Isn't it the case that if you send them a certified letter, they have to prove within 30 days that more »

  • wells fargo

    Wells Fargo Forces You To Pay Off Loans Costliest Way Possible

    According to reader Caleb, Wells Fargo seems to have recently crippled their loan repayment system in a way that makes it impossible for borrowers to pay off loans the way they want to. That is, unless you prefer to let your highest-interest loans ride for as long as possible while you pay off your lower-interest loans... More »

    2:43 PM on Tue Aug 26 2008
    By Ben Popken
    9,780 views, 53 comments

    Most discussed womynist: My student loans are similar. The larger of my 2 loans has a smaller payment; the smaller loan has a more »

  • student loans

    Citi Announces One Of Its 'Bold Steps': Stricter Rules On Student Loans

    Two readers have forwarded us a second email sent out by Citibank today, but it's not another vaguely worded PR blast from the CEO. Instead, this one announces that Citibank is adopting the zero-tolerance approach to late payments favored by the credit card industry—miss a payment due date and you'll lose any interest rate discount(s) you currently enjoy. More »

    5:33 PM on Wed May 14 2008
    By Chris Walters
    5,091 views, 53 comments

    Latest by EltonDampyre: Unfortunately this isn't a new policy and it is used by most you heard me most student lenders in the industry. more »

  • sallie mae

    Sallie Mae's 100+ Point FICO Drop Error Getting Fixed

    Sallie Mae has publicly apologized for a coding error, potentially affecting around 1 million customers, that caused some consumers credit scores to drop over 100 points, and some consumers report that their dinged scores are already back up. If your score is not back to normal and you are in the middle of a transaction where your good credit is at stake, Sallie Mae said it will provide a credit reference letter. You can also call Sallie Mae customer service at 1-888-2-sallie. Sallie has pledged that the fix is in, but consumers can still take matters into their own hands by pulling their free credit report from annualcreditreport.com and disputing the incorrect information with Experian. Note, it's against Federal law for creditors to report false information to credit bureaus, and consumers can sue violators up to $1,000.

    PREVIOUSLY: FICO Scores Drop Over 100 Points After Sallie Mae Recode, Potentially Millions Affected

    (Photo: Getty)

    12:45 PM on Wed May 14 2008
    By Ben Popken
    1,593 views, 7 comments

    Latest by elle.m: This happened to my husband and his score has since returned to normal. However, we get our credit score more »

  • credit crunch

    Bank of America To Stop Making Private Student Loans

    Bank of America, the nation's largest bank and one of our largest student lenders, today announced that it would stop making private student loans and instead "do more lending under a federally guaranteed program," says the Wall Street Journal. More »

    7:32 AM on Fri Apr 18 2008
    By Meg Marco
    2,793 views, 40 comments

  • complaints

    Sallie Mae Has No Idea Where Your $1500 Is

    Heidi writes:
    I recently completed a 3 year enlistment with the US Army, and one of my benefits was the student loan repayment program. The Army paid off my student loans, 1/3 of the loan per year for three years, making payments directly to my lender, the infamous Sallie Mae. The first two payments were a month or two later than the Army said they would be, but still, free money, and I made the small in-between payments to keep the account current.

    Then I finished my enlistment, was honorably discharged, and waited for the last payment to come in. It was 4 months late and when it got there (mid-December), it looked like it was $1500 MORE than what was left owed on my account. I called the Army and they confirmed that they had payed the correct amount they owed me, taking interest into account. The overpayment belongs to me. Yay, more free money!
    More »

    8:03 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
    By Ben Popken
    8,417 views, 40 comments

    Latest by eat-purple: I spoke to a SM CSR yesterday, and the first person I spoke to only was able to answer one more »

  • reminders

    Students And Parents, It's Time To Fill Out Your FAFSA

    Tax time is also FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) time for students and their parents. While the federal due date is June 30th, in some states, the FAFSA is due even before your taxes, so make sure to remember this important piece of paperwork. More »

    10:51 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
    By Meg Marco
    2,155 views, 29 comments

    Latest by Laurney: I work in financial aid (like some of the above commenters) and I want to point out that you are more »

  • debt

    Getting Back On Your Feet When You Have Lots Of Bad Student Loan Debt

    Reader Jennifer sent the following letter to a few lawyers looking for some help with SallieMae. They told her that there was nothing she could do and to negotiate with the lender and to start making payments: More »

    4:16 PM on Fri Mar 21 2008
    By Meg Marco
    8,161 views, 85 comments

  • student loans

    Launch An ACS EECB

    Here are email addresses you can use to launch an EECB (executive email carpet bomb) against ACS, a student lending company that's a subsidiary of PNC bank.

    kevin.lightfoot@acs-inc.com, lynn.blodgett@acs-inc.com, tom.burlin@acs-inc.com , kevin.kyser@acs-inc.com, ann.vezina@acs-inc.com, tom.blodgett@acs-inc.com, john.rexford@acs-inc.com, john.brophy@acs-inc.com, lora.villarreal@acs-inc.com

    Here's how to launch an executive email carpet bomb.

    10:09 AM on Tue Jan 22 2008
    By Ben Popken
    1,126 views, 7 comments