-Complaint#1: Bait and switch with Loan consolidations.
-Complaint#2: Loan payment pipeline inadequacies.
-Complaint#3: Forbearance practices.
-Complaint#4: Customer Service (including Customer Service Supervisors).

I recently graduated college and could not find a job other than part time work. I am not some wet behind the ears teen. I am a 33 year old Army combat veteran. I am a responsible borrower. Never before had I ever felt like I made a wrong decision (like borrowing money to pay for my education) as I do now by “working” with Sallie Mae.
- 1) I had been waiting for SM to restart their loan consolidation program. When my loans were two months from being due, I called the Customer service to inquire about Loan Consolidation. The lady told me to “call in another month, and they should be ready to go”.
I called back, and the operator told me she didn’t have any info regarding Loan Consolidations. “Try back later.”
I spoke to another recently and she said”I had a meeting with some higher ups, and they said we should start loan consolidations again by the end of the year.”
I do not believe a lonely operator has the stature to have a meeting with higher ups. I do believe Sallie Mae has the habit of delaying the borrower long enough that the borrower will go into collection.
- 2) This is not the first time that I found out there was missing steps or information regarding trying to catch up with my loans. It seems the operators are leaving information out, only to leave me standing around thinking I am squared away while my loans are going into collections. SM is inconsistent and misleading. If not misleading, then the correct word is incompetent.
- 3) My grace period for loan repayments came up. I was now a month due and I had to request forbearance for my private loans while I look for an institution that will consolidate my loans. I paid the 150 dollar forbearance fee which isn’t my complaint.
I get an email stating that my loan is two months delinquent now. The customer service collection department contacted me. I find out that one loan was not accepted for forbearance because “I could not apply for it over the phone, since the loan was through Sallie Mae, but the bank was a different bank”. I asked why I wasn’t told that during the forbearance process. I then asked if they could contact the bank, just to tell them that I was going to fill out the paperwork and get it to them as fast as I can. The operator stated he can’t do anything about it; I needed to send the paperwork on time. I informed the operator that did not receive the paperwork. He said it should get to me in a few days. I am already declared delinquent on that loan.
Thanks for the help.
- 4) When I asked to speak to a supervisor, the operator denied my request until I would explain to him why I wanted to speak to supervisor. I requested the operators ID number (ID# 59587. 1-877-809-8533 ext.59587) and had to hang up and call back to speak to a new operator. Same results occurred AGAIN! I finally explained to the lady that I would rather not complain about an employee to another employee, I would rather speak to a supervisor. I spoke with a collections supervisor Mark (ID#732) after a mild waiting period. I could tell he was already aware of what was going on by his tone. After attempting to get his assistance in resolving the delinquent loan, I was again told that I needed to send in the form to the bank. I get that.
All I needed was someone from Sallie Mae, who in my opinion screwed this up in the first place; by not informing me that one loan wasn’t going to be covered unless I sent in some paperwork, to contact the institution on my behalf- as a sign of good faith, that I was doing everything I could to get on good standing with them.
Mark then gets angry at me and said “Look, you are the one that borrowed money from us to pay for your school”!
I am not a child. I do not need a paper pusher to demean me. It is unacceptable to even approach a borrower with that kind of attitude. It is unprofessional.
I did call him a dickhead. I informed him that I was doing everything to repay my loans.
Mark threatened me by stating that he will deny my forbearance requests for speaking to him that way. Since when does a dickhead supervisor have the right to screw with someone’s finances over a personal problem? My next question is why it is Sallie Mae policy to allow their employees to determine if forbearance will go through or not, depending on what kind of day they are having?
My conversations with the operators “may be recorded and monitored”…so there should not be any doubt to my complaints.
--------M. From California.------------------
(Here are the higher ups contact info).
Eric D. Reicin
Sallie Mae, Inc. Office of the General Counsel
12061 Bluemont Way Reston, VA 20190
[email protected]
703-984-5528

Anne Milem
Sallie Mae, Inc. Office of the General Counsel
12061 Bluemont Way Reston, VA 20190
(703) 984-5933
[email protected]

Sallie Mae CEO Albert Lord
[email protected]