Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation

Review: In early June, I wrote a check in the amount of $12,894.08 to my student loan provider GREAT LAKES HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION. This check was to pay off the outstanding balance on my student loans and zero my account (and was done because my Mortgage broker required that the debt be paid off as a condition of securing a home loan).

On June 11th, the check to Great Lakes was deposited and the funds disbursed from my [redacted] checking account. A quick verification of my account shows that the recipient on the funds was Great Lakes. On Monday July 8th I logged into my Great Lakes account to print up my balance statement for my mortgage lender, and discovered that Great Lakes had not applied the payment to my account yet and stated that I still owed them nearly $13,000. After speaking with Great Lakes, they claimed that my check was addressed incorrectly and that they no longer had the funds… They claim they had deposited the check and then forwarded the money to a third party at the Department of Education. They were unable to provide me with a contact number or any additional details of this third party at the Department of Education.

In order to satisfy my home mortgage lender, I was then forced to send Great Lakes a SECOND payment of nearly $13,000 on July 8th to pay off my student loan. (In total I have sent Great Lakes nearly $26000 in order to pay off $13,000). Great Lakes now reflects my account as zero thanks to the second payment but my initial $13,000 is unaccounted for, floating out in the world somewhere.

Great Lakes has stated that they can initiate a funds return but the process can take up to 45 business days, which is two calendar months. This is confusing because either they do have the money (in which case they can reimburse it now) or they don’t have the money.

In summary, I sent Great Lakes a large amount of money and they deposited it, the proof of which is on my [redacted] account statement. Whatever Great Lakes did with the funds after that is between Great Lakes and that third party, but Great Lakes is asking me to be held at the whim of the third party (if this third party even exists). Beyond that, and on a more personal note, it is essential that Great Lakes refund the money owed me in a timely manner as they are needed to close escrow on our home, without it we may fall out of escrow and my wife and I could lose our deposit.Desired Settlement: That Great Lakes reimburse my payment of $12,894.08 IMMEDIATELY, and not some nebulous and unspecified point in the future.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Review: In regards to your email below, the Revdex.com needs your full mailing address as well to process a complaint. If you can please provide us with this, we will add your complaint into our system. Best Regards, On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 12:55 PM, [redacted] <[redacted]> wrote:Dear Revdex.com, We are writing in regards to an on-going and unsolvable problem we are having with Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation in Madison, Wi. Since September of 2014, when we decided to pay off the entirety of [redacted]'s student loans with Great Lakes, we have found we are unable to as they have consistently refused to accept the payments we have offered to make, tried to make or do make. We are now in the situation that a bank check for the full amount of [redacted]’s loans is ready to be cashed, but Great Lakes refuses to do it. We wish to present our case and evidence, here. In September of 2014, [redacted] decided to pay off [redacted]'s student loans in their entirety. [redacted] contacted Great Lakes regarding this, but found herself soon unable to cope with the impossibility of trying to communicate with them. [redacted] thus took over all communication with Great Lakes. Part of the problem of paying was our living in Germany. Great Lakes likes payments in U.S. currency from U.S. banks. Obviously, this is a problem for us. However, we were sure that we could work something out as we sincerely wanted to pay off the debt. After about a month of being offered payment options that didn't work or having payment offers refused ([redacted] had offered every option of payment available to him as well as offering to pay for any overseas transfer fees or other bank fees that Great Lakes might incur by accepting his payment), he was finally told by Dawn on November 10: "We are now able to offer the option for borrowers with Department of Education held loans to submit one- time payments with a debit or credit card by telephone. Payments may be made using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover debit or credit cards." (Attachment 1) [redacted] had also been told something similar by [redacted] at Great Lakes on October 3. [redacted] made the necessary calls (to credit card company and bank to transfer funds) for the one-time payment via Mastercard and wrote to Great Lakes on November 18 to confirm he would be paying off [redacted]'s account via Mastercard in a few days. In that same email, he asked for a payoff balance and how long it was good for. (Attachment 2) Dawn replied (on that same day): "The payoff amount for [redacted]'s student loan is $24,044.78 if the total payoff amount is received by 11/21/14. A pay off notification well be emailed to [redacted] after the loan is paid in full." (The $24,044.78 was an error on Dawn's part. The total payoff amount was, apparently, $27,044.78.) (Attachment 2) Apart from the $3,000 error, everything seemed to be going perfectly smooth. Wrong. On November 20, we called Great Lakes to make the credit card payment. During that call, the representative we spoke to, [redacted] informed us that due to the types of loans [redacted] has, a credit card payment was not possible and that only a payment by check would do. So, why were we led to believe that a credit card payment would work? [redacted] was able to tell us, almost immediately, that the credit card would not work, so this was not difficult information to obtain by Great Lakes employees. (This is to show that the account would have been paid off on November 20, 2014, had we not been given what appears to us to be misleading information.) We told [redacted] that payment by check would be difficult as checks are uncommon in Germany, but that we would try to make this work as it seemed our only option to pay the loans off. [redacted] gave us an address where to send the check and told us to put [redacted]'s account ID number on the check. On November 21, we went to [redacted]' bank and did the funds transfer and ordered a bank check for Great Lakes. We managed to get it through the help of a U.S. bank working with two banks in Germany and also in U.S. dollars. However, due to bank computer problems, and possibly also the fact that it took three different banks to make this check, it took three weeks to get the check in the mail. The check cost about $250 to draft (1.25% of the total amount of the check). It cost about 50 Euros to send (we send FedEx as it is trusted, safe and has sign-on-delivery). The nearest FedEx location is in Hamburg, which is a two hour round trip from where we live, which takes time and gas. In total, we're looking at approximately $300 just to get that check to Great Lakes. As requested, we put the ID number on the check and mailed it on December 9 and have proof it arrived at Great Lakes on the next day, December 10. On December 16, [redacted] received an email from Great Lakes confirming that her account was paid in full. (Attachment 3) Her online account at Great Lakes also reflected the payment was “applied”. Our printouts from her online account on 12/13/2014 show “last payment received” as $27.084,45 and “last payment date” as 12/10/2014. They also show “Stafford Loans – Paid in full” and “$0.00 Total Balance”. (Attachments 4 and 5) The overpayment amount was $7.52 and “pending” as of 12/10/2014. We breathed a sigh of relief thinking this nightmare and this debt were now behind us. Wrong. On December 20 [redacted] received an email from Great Lakes stating that the payment didn’t go through. (Attachment 6) Upon checking her online account, she found the above information gone and replaced with “12/10/2014 Payment Reversal” in the amount of $27,084.45 (but her account on 12/13 showed no payment reversal for the 10th). (See attachment 7) We now wonder why Great Lakes accepted the payment in full - and put that in writing and on her online account - before they apparently even had the money. Knowing the check was a bank check (so, there is no way it was stopped for insufficient funds), that Great Lakes stated they had received the payment in full/account balance was zero, and that Great Lakes has a propensity to make mistakes, [redacted] wrote to them on December 21 stating this must be a mistake and asking them to fix the problem. On December 22, LeNell wrote back stating: “We've requested further research on your account and will contact you as soon as this has been completed”. We didn’t hear from Great Lakes again regarding this research, but [redacted] did receive two emails reminding her that she had a payment past due. On January 11, [redacted] contacted them again. He was ignored. Finally, on January 15, he wrote again asking for an explanation of the treatment he and [redacted] were receiving. He informed Great Lakes that if he did not receive a clear response within two business days, that he would hire an attorney to pursue the matter. Dawn quickly wrote back stating that the payment had been withdrawn by [redacted]’ bank and to contact them for more information (which begs the question: why did they wait over three weeks to tell us this?). [redacted] contacted his bank. He found out that the check “has been stopped for OFAC INTERDICT sanctions, pending verification of the beneficiary”. Over the course of the next couple months, he found out little else about the check or why exactly it had been stopped or when it would be released. [redacted] did, however, keep Great Lakes informed of what was happening along the way. In one case, [redacted]' bank needed information for the check-release process from Great Lakes, which Dawn helpfully provided on January 22. (We can provide a printout, if necessary, but some of the information provided by Dawn appears confidential to Great Lakes and we are not sure we should attach it?) Finally, on March 2, notice was received from [redacted]' bank that the check had been released by end of February and was ready for Great Lakes to re-cash. (Attachment 8) He immediately notified Great Lakes (on March 3). He received a response from [redacted] (on March 3) which did not acknowledge that the check was released and available to them. Further, not knowing what she was talking about in the email, he wrote back (on March 4) and re-explained the situation, asking if they had the money and, if not, what they were doing to receive the funds. He received a response from [redacted] (on March 4) stating they had no record of a recently received payment and she completely ignored the question about Great Lakes attempts to receive the funds. (Attachment 9) [redacted] contacted his bank to see if the check had actually been cashed by Great Lakes. A week later, his bank responded that, no, they hadn't cashed the check. On March 19, he wrote to Great Lakes one final time about the situation. [redacted] responded the same day that: “We attempted to cash the payment that you sent, and were unsuccessful. In the event of insufficient funds, Great Lakes attempts a second withdrawal before the rejection is noted. In all other unsuccessful payments, Great Lakes does not attempt to pull the funds again. If you wish for the payment to be cashed and applied to [redacted]'s account, you will need to resend or resubmit the payment.” (Attachment 10) This entire situation has become absurd and impossible. We were never once made aware of the supposed fact that they would not try to re-cash the check (reminiscent of our being led to believe paying the loans off by credit card was going to work…). Why did Dawn provide us with the information needed for the check-release if Great Lakes had no intention of ever re-cashing that check, for example? Why didn't [redacted] or [redacted] tell us what [redacted] did? Nothing is adding up here, except the fact that, since November, when we tried to make the credit card payment, the account has accumulated about $175 in interest. Every time Great Lakes withholds information from us or gives us what we firmly believe to be misleading information they are costing us time and money. As for sending another payment, getting a check in Germany is not easy or inexpensive, which we have clearly demonstrated above. And if Great Lakes refuses to re-cash our perfectly good check (and figuring that any other check we send will likely be stopped by the U.S. banks once more for a check of OFAC sanctions), why should we even bother paying another $300 dollars for another check that will likely be stopped and, thus, Great Lakes will not re-cash when it's released. As an aside, they are sending [redacted] several letters asking for payments and about how missed payments can lead to troubles getting housing, a car, a job, and can damage her credit. We don't appreciate [redacted]'s credit and basic needs being threatened for being late on payments when Great Lakes are the ones refusing to accept the payments offered or made to her account. We hope we are making it very clear the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which Great Lakes is severely failing us. We hope we are making it very clear how terrible we are being treated by Great Lakes when all we are trying to do is pay them over $27,000 to clear up [redacted]'s debt. We hope we are making it very clear just how unbelievable it is that anyone would refuse an honest payment of over $27,000 for any reason. We hope we are making it very clear how Great Lakes is impossible to communicate or work with and is disrupting our lives to a high degree for seven months and possibly ruining [redacted]'s credit and future prospects to attain basic needs. NO ONE deserves to be treated like this. No one. Particularly when they are literally throwing money at a company to try to pay off a debt. What we hope to achieve here: - we want Great Lakes to accept the check we've already sent for $27.084,45 as they initially stated they would. - we also expect to have that $27.084,45 payment bring [redacted]'s account balance to $0.00 as was originally put into writing by Great Lakes both in email form and on [redacted]'s online account. As exemplified above with the credit card payment, had we not apparently been misled, the loans would have been paid off on November 20, 2014, instead of our being run in circles trying to find an alternate form of payment while the account continued to build interest.- we want the paid-in-full status of the entirety of the loans [redacted] has with Great Lakes put in writing on paper and mailed to [redacted]'s address in Germany. - we then expect Great Lakes to cease all contact with us until the end of time. We thank you very much for taking the time to read our complaint and any assistance you may be able to give us. Very sincerely,[redacted] & [redacted]Desired Settlement: Please see complaint

Business

Response:

Review: Great Lakes purchased my student loans from the US Department of Education (US Direct Loans) and assured me they would honor the previous payoff agreement from US Direct Loans. I am a public school teacher and was on the "Public Service" loan forgiveness program, which stated that if I made on-time payments for 10 years the rest of the unpaid student loans would be forgiven. I am still a school teacher, and have made on-time payments for 3 of the 10 years. I spoke with Great Lakes in October 2013 and the customer service rep told me that even though I got married and filed taxes jointly that my payment might go up by $100 per month, but that I would still be eligible for the "Public Service Loan forgiveness" program. I just got off the phone with Great Lakes (manager [redacted]) who told me that they will not honor that, and she could find no record of that conversation. My choices are to have my monthly payment go up anywhere between $400 to $1,300 more than what I was paying and that there is no way (no matter what monthly payment I make) to stay in the "Public Service" payoff plan.Desired Settlement: I would like to be on the "Public Service" payoff plan that I initially signed up for. Which means that my student loan payments will be forgiven after 7 more years of on-time payments.

Business

Response:

November 3, 2014

Review: this agency contacted my mother who is 84 yr old, a widow saying it was needing to get ahold of her granddaughter as it was urgent.

They never identified themselves as to who they are nor what they wanted but claimed they were a contact person for my daughter, which they were not.

They claim my daughter used her as a contact number, but as far as we know she was never listed as a contact number for anything.

Regardless, they led my mother to believe there was some type of emergency never identifying who they were as a company, the person she was talking to or what it was about. My mother being elderly and not completely medically sound was immediately upset and gave them everything they wanted which was stupid, they already have the information.

No, they did not try and collect money, it sounded like a phishing expedition scaring a disabled elderly woman to pieces and not representing the truth.Desired Settlement: They NEVER contact my mother again and this be put on their records of their fraudulent-appearing actions and tactics.

Business

Response:

Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her request which is to no longer contact her mother.To begin, we believe it is important to provide information about Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. (Great Lakes) so that Ms. [redacted] and her mother are aware of the reason we contacted her mother.At Great Lakes, we primarily service federal student loans for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). When a student is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), so that they may receive federal financial aid, they are required to provide at least two references. ED requires them to provide these references for the sole purpose of being somebody who has the ability to update the student’s demographic information, such as the address or phone number, if the information they originally provided on the application ever becomes invalid.Unfortunately, if the student’s demographic information is no longer valid; their references are contacted in an effort to obtain current contact information. A significant point to note is that the agreement signed by a student to take a federal student loan, the Master Promissory Note, states that the student is required to keep their contact information updated if it ever changes from what they originally provided.Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’s inquiry, we reviewed our records for the telephone number she referenced, ###-###-####. Our records indicated that this number was on our system as the contact number for Ms. Phyllis Smith, who is listed as a reference for one of our customers. However, to ensure that Ms. [redacted]’s mother is no longer contacted, we have placed the previously referenced number on our “do not call” list. Moving forward, Ms. [redacted]’s mother should no longer receive any telephone calls from Great Lakes.I apologize for any frustration Ms. [redacted] experienced and hope the information provided alleviates her concern.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]I know for a fact this is untrue and the so-called demographics had not changed on that student at that time not to mention their tactics were abyssmal at best. I know their shady tactics because I have dealt with them myself and know how they scare the living daylights out of people, obfuscate, and not give full disclosure. I also know by dealing with these people they feel they can use most any tactic to obtain what they say they don't already have.

My complaint has to do with how payments are being applied to student loans and misinformation given to me by representatives. I have been trying to pay my loan off ahead of schedule. I have called almost monthly to make sure my extra payments are being applied to my higher interest rate. Every time, I am assured that the system automatically applies the money to the highest interest rate and every payment I make is misapplied. The representatives have been great about fixing the errors but it seems to me that there is a major misrepresentation of how payments are being applied here. I am on top of things and have been getting my money moved around correctly but how many people are being duped by this organization into overpaying interest?

The statements are very vague and unless you really do some digging, you cannot see which balance is being reduced.

This business is a student loan servicer with a website that does not make it clear what borrower's rates, payments, principals, or terms are. I have waited for upwards of an hour on hold multiple times to try to speak with a representative, with no luck.

The fact that this company withholds information from students is all the more galling because most (perhaps all) of its customers never elected to do business with it. I can only assume that the various entities which originated my loan repackaged it and sold it to Great Lakes without my consent. That is all well and good, but when a customer experience is this one-sided and abusive, then such an assignment is grossly unfair to those who simply want to borrow money for their education.

Review: In October, 2012, I entered into a Rehabilitation Program with Great Lakes Collection Agency, NCO to bring my FFEL Loan out of default. I made the required 9 payments at which time my loan was to be taken out of default, the default removed from all National Reporting Agencies and all Off-sets removed from my Social Security Payments and Federal Income Tax Refunds. In June, 2013, I received a letter from Great Lakes dated June 7th, 2013 congratulating me on completion of the program. I also received a letter setting forth the amount of the monthly payments I was to make thereafter. When I contacted Great Lakes to inform them I could not afford the payment they set, I was told that they had reversed the Rehabilitation and sent it back into default and sent it to [redacted] for collection. I made several calls to Great Lakes who refused to give me an explanation as to why the completed program was reversed and referred me to Performant. I made 7 calls to [redacted], who was handling my account at Performant, left messages and no return calls were made. I finally managed to reach Mr. [redacted], who also could not tell me why the loan was back in default, and stated that his records showed a completed Rehabilitation Program. He then referred me to his Supervisor and gave me her telephone number. I've made numerous calls and left messages and to date, have not been able to reach her. I am now receiving letters from Performant advising me that my loan is in default and threatening to off-set my Social Security and Federal Income Tax Refund. I have faithfully completed the Rehabilitation program and feel I am entitled to know how they can just reverse this and send it back into default.Desired Settlement: I want an explanation as to why my loan was sent back into default after I successfully completed the Rehabilitation Program which they acknowledged via their letter of Congratulation. I want my loan taken out of default and wish to speak with someone at Great Lakes to negotiate a monthly payment that I can afford.

Business

Response:

Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] regarding her repayment terms.

Review: a loan was taken out in 2009 the company misrepresented the fact that the interest would begin then and not when the loan was to become due in June 2012. The interest was to begin when the loan became due in June 2012 at that time over $5000 was added onto the loan.Desired Settlement: I would like the interest to be taken off of the loan so I can borrow money to pay in full

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Revdex.com of Wisconsin

Complaint ID [redacted]

Great Lakes ID [redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted]:

Thank you for contacting us on behalf of [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to

address his concern regarding to the capitalized interest on his account.

I sincerely apologize to Mr. [redacted] for the frustration he experienced during his

communications with Great Lakes. We take pride in providing exceptional customer service, and

we appreciate the opportunity to learn of new ways we can improve. We value our customer

feedback and use it to provide additional feedback and training for our staff.

Parent PLUS loans are taken out by the parent for the student and begin to accrue interest the

day the loan is disbursed. The parent is eligible to defer payments while the student is in school;

however, they are still responsible for the accruing interest during this time. The information

regarding interest is outlined in Mr. [redacted]’s Promissory Note, which we have mailed Mr.

[redacted] a copy of along with the Borrowers Rights and Responsibilities for his review.

Our records indicate we spoke with Mr. [redacted] on August 31, 2009 after his first loan was

disbursed. At that time, he requested that the Parent PLUS Student Enrollment deferment be

applied to his account and was advised of his estimated monthly interest and options for making

payments. Therefore, we are unable to remove the capitalized interest from Mr. [redacted]’s

account as he has requested.

I again apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] experienced. Moving forward, I am confident

that Great Lakes will be able to meet all of his future customer service expectations. Mr.

[redacted] should feel comfortable to contact our Borrower Services Department at

with any additional questions or concerns regarding the repayment of his loan.

Sincerely,

Review: My name is [redacted]. I have a Student Loan through [redacted] and backed by Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. Over the years and also In Dec 2014 I spoke with [redacted] regarding the face that my mail doesn't always come to the address on file. And notified then this is the only address and correspondence needs to go to my email address. I also got a call in Dec 2014 from Great Lakes about the student loan that was due. They told me that they would send out a Mandatory Forbearance via email. I confirmed the email as [redacted]. They told me that they had an email address of [redacted]. I informed them that this was incorrect, as I have done in the past, and to change it to the Gmail address. Great lakes stated they did do that and would send out the corrected form via email. On Jan 9th, 2015, I talked to Great lakes and they stated that they haven’t received the form. I told them that I hadn't gotten the form either. SO Great Lakes verified my email address and it was still the wrong Email. Great Lakes still had the AOL.com address on file and would update it to the Gmail address and send it out which may take some time. With that in mind, Great Lakes would do a 30 day verbal authorization over the phone confirming my financial situation and that I authorize them to do that. So I did that recorded conversation with Great Lakes. I didn’t receive the phone call for 30 days.

On Feb 6th, 2015, I got another call from Great Lakes. They stated that I was 102 days past due and that they haven’t received my forms. I again told them that I haven’t received them. They then confirmed my email address and they confirmed that they had the wrong email and the AOL.com email on file and it was never changed. I asked them about reporting to my credit. They said it was reported and that I would have to call [redacted] to get it corrected. I then proceeded to call [redacted] and get it corrected. [redacted] informed me that they don’t have access to Great Lakes information and that I would have to conference [redacted], Myself, and Great lakes to make sure I wasn't lying. So I did a conference call with the three of us. Great Lakes, confirmed that I did do a verbal phone auth on Jan 9th, they Great Lakes did send the documents to the wrong email address, and that I did have contact with them. [redacted] rep did hear all of this from Great lakes rep she stated. However, [redacted] rep told me that there was still nothing that they could do since Great Lakes didn’t report to them that contact was being made and the errors that Great Lakes had made weren’t documented because they do not share information. So Great lakes Rep transferred me to their supervisor. The Great Lakes supervisor confirmed everything but said she couldn't see a verbal phone auth. I was just told by the Great Lakes rep minutes before that it was there.

I was lead to believe all along that information was being shared. Neither Company ([redacted] or Great lakes) told me to contact the other to update. I feel that the late days reporting on my credit shouldn't be there because it wasn't my fault. [redacted] told me they will not do anything because it’s not their fault/error and Great Lakes said they can’t do anything because [redacted] has to change it that Great Lakes can’t.Desired Settlement: Correct my credit report as this wasn't my fault.

Business

Response:

Complaint ID: [redacted]

Great Lakes ID: [redacted]

Dear

Mr. [redacted]:

Thank

you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the

opportunity to address his concerns about his student loan that is guaranteed

by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and serviced

by Affiliated

Computer Services Incorporated Education

Services ([redacted]). His concern as we

understand it is regarding the information that is reported to the Credit

Reporting Agencies.

While

we understand Mr. [redacted]’s frustration, in this case consumer credit reporting

does not fall under the purview Great Lakes. Credit Reporting is the sole responsibility of

the student loan servicer [redacted].

We

feel Mr. [redacted] should contact [redacted] to see if they would be willing to make an

exception with regard to their reporting of his student loan. They may be

contacted at:

Ph.

###-###-####

We

sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced and we hope

this information will be helpful to him.

If you require future assistance from our office, you can reach us

between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email

at [redacted].

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I have contacted the ombudsman office, sent a letter to [redacted], the minnesota atorneys office, and the US education office. It's to my dissapointment and unknowingly, that when you talk to one entity, that they do not share information with the other. The state attorney generals office is taking this matter seriously as it's a problem with education loans and will be contacting [redacted] and Great Lakes on my behalf to get this resolved. I do understand the actual reporting is not done by Great Lakes. [redacted] must take action to correct their systems and have a little more compassion other than taking the position of "not their problem or fault". Thank you.

Regards,

Review: On September 13, 2013, I mailed a check to Great Lakes for $7,038.18, the full pay-off balance on my student loan, #[redacted]. The check was cashed on September 27, 2013. After dozens of attempts via phone and emails, I still have yet to receive credit for my pay-off of this loan. In order to keep my credit in good standing, I have continued to make the required monthly payments on this loan of $99.23 every month, which includes paying for interest I should otherwise not be paying if my check would've been credited to my loan when it was cashed by Great Lakes. For reference, #[redacted], was the check number for the check I sent, which Great Lakes cashed.Desired Settlement: For my loan balance to be paid in full, which the check I sent and was cashed was for. As well as reimbursement for the interest I have had to continue to pay due to the fact my loan has not been credited the amount it should have in September 2013.

Business

Response:

May 19, 2014

Review: I had student loans serviced by them. My loans were recently consolidated. Before my loans were consildated and trasnfered I made payments of $105.00 and $5.00. Both amounts were taken out of my checking account on 8/12/13 via electronic transfer. Neither was ever credited to my account before the transfer happened. They have ignored multiple requests to fix thisDesired Settlement: The $110.00 refunded to me that they've fraudulently kept.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Revdex.com of Wisconsin

Complaint ID [redacted]

Great Lakes ID [redacted]

Dear Mr. [redacted]:

Thank you for contacting us on behalf of [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to

address his concerns in regard to his payments totaling $110 that were withdrawn from his bank

account on August 9, 2013, after his loans were paid in full through consolidation.

I sincerely apologize to Mr. [redacted] for the frustration he experienced during communications

with Great Lakes. We take pride in providing exceptional customer service, and we appreciate

the opportunity to learn of new ways we can improve. We value our customer feedback and use

it to provide additional feedback and training for our staff.

We have attempted to contact Mr. [redacted] to advise him that his payments are being forward

to [redacted]; the servicer of his newly consolidated

loan.

I again apologize to Mr. [redacted] for the frustration he experienced and any inconvenience this

has caused. Mr. [redacted] should feel comfortable to contact our Borrower Services

Department at ###-###-#### with any additional questions or concerns he may have.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Be advised however, that if the payment(s) do not post within the 7-10 days I will have no choice but to refile the complaint and/or pursue legal action.

I submitted several requests in writing to change my loan payment amount and withdrawal date. Great Lakes refused to change my loan payment amount. Their website is difficult to use (as compared to other similar sites, like IRS.gov, banking sites, etc.). I also sent an email specifically requesting to NOT receive phone calls, noting that I prefer email contact, and they called me later that week.

Review: I saw an increase in my consolidated loan statement when I looked at My Great Lakes account after I noticed that Great Lakes did not automatically withdraw my payment from my checking account. I did not get an adequate response from the call center when I called and spoke to [redacted] on March 19, 2015 nor did I get sufficient documentation explaining an increase in my consolidation loan. All I got was an email on March 16 stating my statement was available.

I consolidated my loans with Direct Loan over 3 years ago and have paid a fixed monthly rate for years. [redacted], the call center rep told me that Direct Loan made a mistake with the consolidation and I owe more money, I find this questionable becuse he could not explain why to my satisfaction. I called again on March 23, 2015 and spoke to [redacted] who could not give me any more information than [redacted]. I called again on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 and spoke to [redacted] and she told me that every couple years loans get reviewed and it was discovered that my repayment plan would not pay off my loan in the time given. She pointed back to the March 16 email which said had a link to my payment schedule. I replied by saying that this email doesn't explain why my payments had changed.

In May 2013 I was notified that my Direct Loan was transferred to Great Lakes and from June 2013 through February 2014 my payments have been consistent. Now, I am concerned that I am being taken advantage of.Desired Settlement: I would like the consolidated loan agreement I made with Direct Loan that was then transferred to Great Lakes to be kept as it was . The point of consolidating my loan was to get my loans under control at a fixed rate. I am concerned that they might increase my monthly loan amount with the same excuse of, "we calculated it wrong."

Business

Response:

April 8, 2015

Hello, I took out a Parents PLUS loan for my son in Sept 1999 and now its time for repayment. I received a call from Great Lakes in May 2015,advising me that payment will be due and the monthly payment amount. The person on the phone said look over my finances and give them a call. I called about a week later to set up payment arrangements. The customer service agent who answered the phone was "nasty and threatening". I told her how much I was able to pay $100 a month and she said that is not enough, that I signed the paper and have to pay. I said I am willing to pay but I cannot afford the amount you are looking for. She said "we can garnish your check and take your tax return". Which is where I got angry, that I am calling to make arrangements and you are telling me you are going to garnish my check. I asked her to explain deferment which she did, but I did not understand. She asked some about forebearance and deferment. But from my answers I can defer payments. I asked her to explain again but I still did not understand because I could not get past her threatening to garnish my paycheck. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor who can better explain deferment/forebearance because I dont understand what you are saying. She told me she cannot transfer me I have to call back. I asked why she said she cant. The purpose of customer service is to help and explain. I had to call back and wait for another customer service person. By this time I was irate and started asking why you would garnish my check if I am calling to make arrangements. The person said I dont know where you got that from, lets start over. She was much nicer and able to explain deferment better. I am trying to find a way to get my student loan out of Great Lakes because I am paying daily interest and will be indebted to them for a long time. Also after calling to make arrangements and to be threatened with check garnishment and taking of my tax return by a representative who does not know how to explain herself is insulting. Great Lakes need to retrain that particular agent to respond to customers in a courteous manner.

Review: Have been waiting for over a month to receive some sort of payment schedule documentation and I keep being told different things or the time keeps being pushed back. It has put me in a bind and don't understand what is taking so long. They are working with a other organization called [redacted] and have already collect $500 from me over the last few months and I have no resolve.Desired Settlement: Need this matter resolved like yesterday. I have ready lost 2 homes waiting on this company to provide me with concrete information regarding a payment schedule.

Business

Response:

October 23, 2014

I enrolled in auto pay at the beginning of the month. And moved my due date up because of auto pay. I received an email telling me that I was successfully enrolled and this lead me to believe the information I had entered was correct. I received notification on July 9th that my payment was processed I assumed everything was processed correctly. On the 10th of July I noticed the money had not been withdrawn. I called Great Lakes and was told that everything was fine and not to worry that these things take several days. I called back today (July 16th) after I noticed my payment had not been processed still and that on my Great Lakes accounts it showed on July 9th a "payment reversal. I asked to speak to a supervisor and I was transferred to a woman (I believe her name was [redacted]) who was extremely unprofessional. She would not let me explain my situation or my concerns, instead she kept cutting me off in the middle of sentences and she told me that I screwed up and it was my own fault and I had no one else to blame but myself. I also had to tell her several times to stop yelling at me or raising her voice at me. I told her that I was unhappy with the way that Great Lakes was treating me that I was going to be moving my loans to another lender, instead of apologizing or seeing what could be done she told me that it was too bad that I couldn’t move my consolidated loan and I was stuck with them. All I wanted was for my account to not show that I was "past due" since I had made several good faith efforts to make a timely payment and the only reason it was past due was because I was under the impression that everything was set up correctly. This company is misleading and trying to get people to not make timely payments in a ploy to get more interest revenue.

Review: I CONSOLIDATED ALL OF MY STUDENT LOANS WITH GREAT LAKES AND COMPLETED AN APPLICATION WHERE MY STUDENTS LOAN PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN PUT OFF DUE TO HARDSHIP, HOWEVER GREAT LAKES LACKED TO ADD THEIR OWN LOANS TO THE CONSOLIDATION. ALL OF THE ACCOUNT#S WERE PROVIDED AND THEY ARE THE INSTITUTION WHO CONSOLIDATED MY LOANS AND LACKED TO ADD THEIR OWN EXISTING LOANS FOR WHICH THEY ARE NOW REPORTING ME TO THE CREDIT AND REFUSING TO REMOVE THIS FROM MY CREDIT AND STATING IT'S PAST DUE.Desired Settlement: I WOULD LIKE THIS ISSUE TO BE CORRECTED. FOR THIS TO BE REMOVED FROM MY CREDIT AS THE CONSOLIDATION WAS DONE DIRECTLY THROUGH THEM AND THEY SHOULD HAVE ADDED THEIR OWN LOANS TO THIS CONSOLIDATION WITHOUT A PROBLEM.

Business

Response:

Review: A couple years ago, I applied to be in deferment (before my student loan went into default). The deferment was approved by Great Lakes and apparently my student loan secretly went into default in 2013. From the time I have had the loan it has gone from [redacted] to Great Lakes back to [redacted] and then back to Great Lakes; I call today and the representative stated that my loan was never in deferment and that this is the first time that Great Lakes has handled my account. If they go back and look at the documentation in my file, I have dealt with the company since day 1. To be honest, I can't keep track of who to even pay.Desired Settlement: All I am asking for is to pull my account OUT of default and allow me to start making payments and keep my account in one place. Also wanting them to be a little bit more respectful. That is ALL I am asking for.

Business

Response:

Complaint ID: [redacted]

Great Lakes ID: [redacted]

Dear

Mr. [redacted]:

Thank

you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the

opportunity to address his concerns about his student loan that is guaranteed

by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). His concern

as we understand it is regarding the validity of the default status of his

Stafford Loan.

By

way of some background, on December 9, 2013, Great Lakes, as the guarantor,

paid a default claim to the servicer of the loan, Student Loan Marketing

Association ([redacted]). This was the

result of their not receiving payment(s) or a completed request for deferment

or forbearance to prevent Mr. [redacted]’s loan from defaulting. Based on the terms of his signed Promissory

Note, when his student loan defaulted, the balance became due and payable in

full. At that time the loan was

referred to Great Lakes Default Collections for servicing.

Before

the loan defaulted [redacted] had referred Mr. [redacted]’s account to Great Lakes

Repayment Solutions for collection assistance.

The Great Lakes Repayment Solutions Area discussed options to resolve

the delinquency with Mr. [redacted] on October 16, 2013. An Unemployment Deferment Form was sent to

Mr. [redacted] on that date. Unfortunately, the

completed request for deferment was not received to avert the default.

Although

Mr. [redacted]’s loan(s) are in default, he is able to resolve the default status

by rehabilitating his account. A

borrower may rehabilitate a defaulted loan by making a pre-determined number of

consecutive, voluntary, on-time monthly payments. The rehabilitation payments must be

reasonable and affordable, but should be sufficient to satisfy the outstanding

balance on the loan within a 10 year repayment period. The successful rehabilitation of Mr. [redacted]’s

defaulted loan(s) will result in the following:

• Removal of his student loan(s) from

default status

• Removal of the default status from his

credit bureau report/delinquencies reported prior to default will not be

impacted.

• Eligibility for new financial aid to

return to school

• Eligibility for all remaining periods

of deferment or forbearance

Mr.

[redacted] may find out more on the rehabilitation process by contacting his

account representative at ###-###-####.

We

sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr.

[redacted] has experienced with the default process and we hope this

information will be helpful to him. If

you require future assistance from our office, you can reach us between 8:00 am

and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at

[redacted].

Sincerely,

Great

Lakes Ombudsman Office