Sallie Mae - Abusive Debt Collection Tactics

[RissGuffey]

I have a question about how to deal with a credit problem. When I was in college, my University dealt entirely through Sallie Mae and I now have significant debt with them. During the last six month I have had significant problems with them. First, I made a payment by phone like in August. In September I decided to go into forbearance because I was getting married and I knew I would be in financial squeeze, also my husband got fired. I found out shortly after that my payment that I made on the phone (that the Sallie Mae rep told me the amount of) was $2.99 short of what Sallie Mae thought I should pay so they counted me as 47 days late and shortened my forbearance by two months. When I offered to pay the $2.99 they told me that I was out of luck and it was my fault even though I paid what the phone rep said. I then ended talking up the ladder to a manager in Indiana. She told me that she would try to deal with stuff (including consolidating my and my husband's loans) and then give me a call back. She never called me back and after calling and leaving messages daily for a month I found that she got a promotion. I then talked to her successor who said she would look into it and call me back. Three weeks later I hadn't heard back from her and I had called her at least a dozen times. I then found she had a "family emergency" and no one bothered to call me. Now I am over a month late, they told me to send a complaint fax (they have lost over three faxes that I have sent them already, btw) and they told me that they would stop calling until then. However they have called me at least six times every day and my grandparents at least two times every day. I just want to know what kind of action I can take against them, how I can make them stop calling all the time, what other companies I can try to get to take over my loans...etc. They are extremely rude and bullys on the phone. They have told me that I should skip my rent and car payments, they have also told me that I should go next door to my random neighbor's house and beg for money, and they have told me that even though I already sometimes work 60 hour weeks that I can obviously afford to work more. They are extremely demoralizing, and I am at my wits end. Please give me some advice... Thank you!

[JamesRinker45]

I understand your question and have seen this situation occur many times. Your question is really two fold 1) you want to find out how to stop creditor harassment or what actions to take 2) you want a referral to a debt consolidation company that can help you handle the debt, correct. Let me start by saying there are many laws that regulate the debt collection industry. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits much of the behavior you are describing to me and can be used to your advantage. Sending a cease and desist order will often put an end to the phone calls, but if you do owe the debt; there is little you can do to stop them from trying to collect or litigate.

Here is some info on your rights: http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/debt_collection_laws.htm.

If you would like some help with a cease and desist order, you can download one for free here using this free cease and desist letter template:http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/Letters/Letter16.htm. If the harassment continues after this formal notification, you have the right to pursue legal action against them. There are many consumer protection attorneys that will work for nothing unless you win, call around and see what you come up with.

Now, regarding the debt…. This answer can be really long, but I think I’ll make it simple. If the student loan is Federally subsidized, very few companies are able to work with it. If you don’t pay, they usually garnish wages and tax returns until it’s paid. If it’s not Federally subsidized you can probably enroll with a debt consolidation company. I do not have a scope of what other debts you may have or really any information about your finances so it’s almost impossible to refer you to the right debt company.