Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation

Dealing with this company has given me nothing but migraines and stress. I called twice today to ask them for help servicing my loan and they explained to me that they did not service my loan, and directed me back to Key Bank. Key bank told me that was not the case, that they do indeed service my loan, and in one instance called Great Lakes to ask them who services the loan. The woman at Key bank told me that Great Lakes explained that AES services my loan, which turned out to be completely false. They also told me I could have a lowered monthly payment, but failed to mention I had two days before another monthly payment was due, and that I would need to have the account current before getting these reduced payments. I am now trying to figure out how to come up with $760 just so that I can start paying $270 a month in loans. This company has no idea that they are servicing my loan has contacted me ONCE about my bill being due, through e-mail, not even a phone call or bill.

Review: Request that GLHEC provide an annual statement, by mail, of interest paid on my Student Loan, regardless of the dollar amount paid. It is inconvenient to log on to their website once per year for information required for my annual tax return.Desired Settlement: An annual letter of interest paid in the preceding year, every January until the loan is paid in full.

Business

Response:

Review: Great Lakes Higher Education contacted me earlier this year, about a payment plan for defaulted student loans I have. They explicitly told me numerous times, that once a program was established and I made on times payments, that my credit history would be amended in SIX months. I was told that my past due would be wiped away and that I would be reported as on time, never late.

I paid on time, every month, and have done so for SEVEN months, as agreed. Now the story has changed. . I was recently then told that the process would take NINE months. When I pressed further, an agent told me that because Great Lakes was understaffed, often times, it takes longer than it should.

I should not have to suffer, because of incorrect information or Great Lakes' hiring practices.Desired Settlement: I want my credit report to immediately be corrected to report current, never late, which was the agreement.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted]:Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to address his concerns about his student loan that is guaranteedby Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes), andserviced by [redacted]. His concern as we understandit is that he has made seven loan payments under the authorized rehabilitationprogram and that the default claim should now be removed from his creditreporting.First, we would like to congratulate Mr. [redacted] on the ongoing rehabilitation of his defaultedloan. We have included a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s signed and dated Rehabilitation AgreementTerms and Conditions for review. Page 2,#12 of the agreement states “I understand that when my rehabilitationconcludes, the removal of the default status reported on the loans coveredunder this Agreement will be reported to the nationwide consumer reportingagencies, but that any history of delinquency will remainon my credit report.” Therefore, even though Mr. [redacted] has made seven payments towards the rehabilitation of hisloan, he is not yet entitled to have the default status removed from his credithistory until he has successfully completed the rehabilitation program. Perhaps some of the confusion is from the fact that after the sixth payment under hisagreement Mr. [redacted] meets the requirement to regain Title IV financial aideligibility, if he so requests. 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,[redacted]Great Lakes Ombudsman Office

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted]:Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to further address his concerns about his student loan that isguaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes)and serviced by [redacted]. His concern as weunderstand it is that he feels he was told that the default claim would beremoved from his credit file after he made his sixth loan payment under the authorizedrehabilitation program.Our office requested that TSI review their call logs for any and all conversationsthey may have had with Mr. [redacted] at or around the time his rehabilitation wasset up. TSI had three phone contacts with Mr. [redacted] in the past year all of which wererecorded. Our office reviewed all threeof the calls and in none of them was there a mention of the credit historybeing purged after six months. Of thethree there was one where credit reporting was discussed.During the March 12, 2015 call in which the loan rehabilitation program was outlined,the TSI Representative explained that rehabilitation lasts nine to twelvemonths. He also explained that after sixmonths TIV benefits are reinstated, which means at that time Mr. [redacted] would becomeeligible for new student loans. The TSIRepresentative went on to explain that in nine to twelve months the defaultclaim on Mr. [redacted]’s credit report would be expunged.Mr. [redacted] asked for clarification on the credit reporting and the TSIRepresentative explained that nothing could be done to remove the default claimfrom the credit reporting until Mr. [redacted] has completed the program in nine totwelve months.With that being said, Great Lakes is required by the Higher Education Act of 1965,as amended, and it’s implementing regulations to report defaulted student loanaccounts to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies until the conclusion of rehabilitation. While we realize that this was not Mr. [redacted]’s desired outcome, we do assure you thathis request was given a complete and objective review. We sincerely apologizefor the frustration he has experienced and we hope this information will behelpful to him. If you require futureassistance from our office, you can reach us between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Mondaythrough Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [redacted]. Sincerely,[redacted]Great Lakes Ombudsman Office

Consumer

Response:

Review: I went to ECPI, I had a loan there.I left the school, so now I had to pay the loanthis company contacted me and gave me my amountso on 2/11/2014 I made a payment in the amount of 2853.80still today on 2/20/2014 they claim they haven't gotten my money and I will still have to pay accrued interest.this is not right, I made my payment to pay it off on time, the weather and holidays where I live messed up the mail system, my check is made for 2/11/2014 when they get it they will see this, I am not liable to have to pay more money because I mailed it on time for the date they told me and it wasn't due until 2/27/2014 for that amount....so why do they keep adding interest on something already paid.ALSO. I spoke with someone on the phone about this issue and about them being legit, I am concerned about my money and making sure they aren't a scammer, they have on their website they are affiliated with the Revdex.com, but the lady on the phone says they have no record of this company, so something needs to be done because if you go to the about us on their website, www.mygreatlakes.org and scroll to the bottom, it pops up with the Revdex.com, this is against the law im pretty sure they can get in troubleim in a mess and something needs to be done to assure me they accept my money and they are legit.Desired Settlement: for my account to be paid in full like they told me it would beand for the Revdex.com to know about them having their logo.

Consumer

Response:

On Wed, Feb 26, 2014 at 1:47 PM, [redacted] wrote:

this company finally paid off my account. Thanks for your help!

Great Lakes Higher Education Corp. (GL) is one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. They make is nearly impossible to pay on the higher interest loans. I make my regular scheduled monthly payment and then always make an extra payment on top of that, at the exact same time, on the same day. I have to call or email GL and tell them exactly how I want my payment applied. They never make it easy, the list of answers I have received are as follows:
You have called too early, we can't do anything until the payment posts, sorry!
This payment will be applied towards interest first (I just made my regular payment, THAT should have taken care of the interest!)
They simply email me some formula they use. (I could care less about your formula, this is an EXTRA payment!)
They say it will be applied as I requested and then never do
They typically take TWO WEEKS to process the payment the way it was requested (if at all!). It is my extra payment so I should be able to tell it where to go. I am the customer, it is my money! At times they never process it as requested and I have to keep hounding them.
They also do not give out loan numbers or "ticket numbers" as they like to call them so I am stuck giving them interest rates and loan amounts. Very inefficient. When I asked for the ticket numbers for easy reference they told me they were not permitted to give them to me. This is the worst company if you are trying to be smart and pay loans off early. They will make your life hell.

Review: I am writing in regards to federal student loans I received through the Department of Education in 2007 (I attended college for undergraduate and graduate programs from Fall 2007 through Spring 2013). Apparently, some of these loans were sold over to Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. I, however, had no knowledge of this until early December 2014 when I received a collection letter from [redacted] stating they were contacting me on behalf of Great Lakes in regards to defaulted loans which were owed to them. I had never received any form of communication to my knowledge from Great Lakes over the entire period they claim they were managing my account; no information regarding the fact that they were managing my loans, no billing statements, no account information, and nothing to alert me to the fact my loans were about to default. On 01/5/2015 during my first attempt to contact Great Lakes, a customer service representative from Great Lakes confirmed they did have a valid telephone number with which they could have reached me. They stated they had sent a letter to my old parent's address in 2007 (current at the time) however I (my family included) never received that document. They stated they sent "interest" updates via my father's email address as was listed on my loan information at the start of entering school, however he had never received any of these either. All my contact information had been consistently updated via my university records, and no other loan companies had any difficulty contacting me. Furthermore and I can demonstrate that all other student loans to my name have been in good standing/paid off early, since I had knowledge of them.

When I contacted Performant , representative [redacted] informed me she was unable to do anything about Great Lakes' lack of communication with me or any grievance I had with that company. From December 29-31st I quickly worked with [redacted] to start the federal student loan rehabilitation program once [redacted] informed me that simply paying off the full amount on that date would not resolve the defaulted loans on my credit report. However my account will then continue to accumulate interest over the necessary 9 months required to be completed by the program and my credit score will continue to suffer over that duration.

On January 5th I attempted to contact Great Lakes directly. The first representative told me she could not even look at my account since it was no longer managed by them, and nothing could be done. Her supervisor was able to access some information and enlighten me of when they overtook my loans and when they presumably attempted to contact me. When I explained the situation to him and then offered to pay the loan in full and requested for defaulted loan/late payments to be removed from my credit report he told me it was not possible (since they had contracted my account to Performant) and stated I would have to speak with Performant regarding the matter.

I assert that Great Lakes did not sufficiently bill me nor attempt to contact me (despite having a valid phone number) which is the reason why my loans defaulted and were referred to Performant. Neither company states they can resolve this issue for me, and both state I need to contact the other. For your reference, the Revdex.com website has a similar complaint submitted 09/22/14 against Great Lakes which was able to be resolved in a similar manner.Desired Settlement: I would gladly pay the loan balance of $3,761.86 (one time full payment) as stated on the letter received from Performant on December 10th, 2014 on the condition that no further interest, penalty, or recovery fees are issued in my name by either company and that my defaulted loans/late payments are removed from my credit report pending this payment.

Business

Response:

Thank you for contacting us on

behalf of Ms. [redacted], and for providing us the

opportunity to assist her.

They changed my due date without contacting me. When I called they said they did contact me. They changed it to another date which was also not was discussed in the conversation. I am very unhappy. I have spoken with supervisors telling me it will change and for some reason they all lie and never make the change. I asked if I could change to mail only for important information like bill due date. They cannot. I asked if my social security number is on the paper statements and they can't tell me if my social would be on paper statements. They can't do a lot that's a fact.

I have phoned and emailed several times and so far have been unable to reach customer service personnel. I have a loan with these people and doing business has been impossible.

Review: I contacted Great Lakes as my student loans were showing to be 150 days past due although my checks had been getting cashed every month. I was asked to submit the proof of payment which I have done. Since that time there has been no contact from Great Lakes to advise when my account will be corrected or when this inaccuracy will be removed from my credit report as I had asked. I was given grossly inaccurate information by the [redacted], when I first called on February 18th regarding this situation. I was told that there would be resolution in 30-45 days. After waiting nearly 60 days without resolution I was given to an [redacted]. Upon further investigation I found that I should have been sent to him from the onset. Now, almost 90 days later, I still do not have an answer as to where my money is or when I can expect this to be removed from my credit report. I have proven that the payments were made and have done everything they have asked of me, including sending more payments when they can't account for my old ones, but I feel that this company has no sense of urgency to correct their mistake...a mistake that has very negatively affected my everyday life!Desired Settlement: I would like my account updated to reflect my payments have been made and a new payment schedule issued as a result of my new balance. I would like this inaccuracy removed from my credit report immediately. I would like to be reimbursed $21 for the cost of requesting my proof of payment. I would like an apology from the customer service department that provided the incorrect information on February 18th.

Business

Response:

May 22, 2014

Paid my loans off in full early. They totaled $20,000. Great Lakes was a pleasure to work with. I realize I am very luck to able to pay off my loans. At first, I used monthly payments, but then realized how stupid it was to pay interest. Although the balance was a large sum, it paid itself by not incurring interest. I was pleased that Great Lakes didn't mind either way.Their website was easy to use. Customer service was very nice to deal with. So I would recommend Great Lakes. Anyways, I AM DEBT FREE!!!

Review: Hello, My name Is [redacted] I am writing to ask for your help in this major situation I have came about. In 2004 Great Lakes was my student loan company. In 2011 they took my loan and sold it to [redacted] - [redacted]. I have been making payments since Oct 2004 originally to Great Lakes then in 2011 to [redacted]. As I begin to pay [redacted] I took a notice that my payment history did not look right there are a lot of payments missing from 2006 2007. I therefore decided to call Great Lakes and ask questions. The first rep I talk to was [redacted] I spoke to him on Feb 14, 2014... [redacted] proceeded to tell me to give him some of the money order numbers and when I did he informed me that it appeared that my money was placed on someone else's account I asked him how can I get this corrected his reply was you will have too get copies of the money orders. I thought okay I can do that not realizing the money orders were going to cost $15.00 a piece for each an estimate of $240.00... Moreover, I called Great Lakes back to ask if there was another inexpensive way they could look into this situation. I placed another call Feb 17,2014 spoke to a rep [redacted] he told me to write a letter list all the money order numbers the company would then enter the numbers in the system to see what will come back. [redacted] gave me an example of someone who thought they made a payment to Great Lakes yet the payment the person thought they made to Great Lakes was actually their car insurance. I wrote a letter to Great Lakes asking them to research the money orders that I paid to them when they were my student loan provider. In response Great Lakes sent me a letter stating they have sent a payment history over to [redacted] - [redacted] yet no where in the letter do they speak of any money orders in question. I am asking for the Revdex.com to asked them to research all payments that I have listed I can fax a copy to you (Revdex.com) if you can give me a fax number.Desired Settlement: The desire I have please research the money orders in question. I am asking that if I have to resort to getting copies of all money orders at $15.00 a piece can Great Lakes reimburse me for doing this?

Business

Response:

Review: I have two student loans that was opened through GLHEC and were immediately placed in forbearance in 2012 upon graduation. However, I have a number of late payments that are showing up on my credit report from these loans. These late payments occurred unbeknownst to me. I was completely unaware and was never educated that the student loans came out of deferment/forbearance status. My loans are still in forbearance until May 2016.Desired Settlement: I am asking, as a good will gesture, that these late payments please be removed from all three credit bureaus. I know a lot of borrowers have struggled immensely at making timely payments and settling on fair repayment agreements with lenders over the last few years, and I would like to think that I am in the minority of people who have taken the time and effort to straighten my situation out with little to no help from anyone but myself. Hopefully my efforts will be rewarded and you can see fit to remove these late payments from the three credit reports.

Business

Response:

Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her request, which is for Great Lakes to remove the delinquencies reported toward her credit files.To begin, we must first note that the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires Great Lakes report the status of all serviced student loan accounts to the nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs). Additionally, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that this information is reported accurately and objectively. Please also note that we are audited to ensure our compliance with these requirements.With this in mind, we reviewed Ms. [redacted]’s account to verify the accuracy of the information we reported toward her credit files, and to ensure no errors were made that would lead to, or result in, inaccurate delinquency reporting (such as misapplication of payments). This review confirmed that no such errors were made and that the information reported to the CRAs by Great Lakes is accurate. For this reason, even though we empathize with Ms. [redacted]’s situation, no adjustments will be made to our past credit reporting.Although we are unable to make any adjustments to the information reported toward Ms. [redacted]’s credit files, please make note that Myfico.com indicates that individuals who were delinquent in the past are able to improve their FICO score by paying their loans on time, and the longer an individual pays on time, the more their FICO score should increase.I understand that this is not the answer Ms. [redacted] was hoping for, and apologize for any frustration she has experienced. If she has any additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted], or by mailing:

Review: payoff balance applied to wrong loanDesired Settlement: payoff the correct loan without additional fees or delays

Business

Response:

Review: on April 23, 2015 I sent via my financial institution and electronic payment great lakes. The Electronic payment was reiceved on April 24, 2015. Great lakes proceeded to apply my payment 3 days later on April 27, 2015. The payment should have reflected on the date recieved. They asked me to provide proof from my financial institution which I did. There reply was that they recieved it on the 27th even though I sent proof that it did not and they refuse to correct this error by just replying that they already answered my question.Desired Settlement: I want them to apply the payment to April 24, 2015 and credit me any interest charges applied on that day.

Business

Response:

May 5, 2015

My Great Lakes has made my student loan experience a living hell. I graduated 3-4 years ago and when I first started to pay off the loan amount of 10k I asked for change in my payment status to where I would pay interest only for 3 years due to my income status at the time. That brought my loan payment down to around 30 dollars a month. I then started to make payments of 55 or more hopping that the excess would go to the balance but after three years I found out that the provider was placing that toward "future interest" and so my balance has not changed.
Now, my status is in repayment and the posted payment due was 77 even though I would have thought that it would be more. After a few months I checked to see what amount was being put towards the balance and was shocked. That 77 dollars that they are posting as my monthly payment that is due on a loan that is in "repayment status" is all going to interest and my new balance is now higher then when I first took out the loan. Avoid any transactions with this company, they will continually try to screw you over. If you are really in need of a student loan, go with Nelnet or Fedloan.

Review: I am a [redacted]l, and am eligible through a federal government program for student loan forgiveness. I submitted my application for loan forgiveness on May 30. Their website states:

"After your application is received, it will be reviewed for eligibility and accuracy. It may take up to six weeks for your application to be fully processed. You will receive a notification letter of the outcome."

After six weeks, I had still not received any information from Great Lakes and was still showing a balance in my account, so I called their customer service representative. At that time, they told me that processing could actually take up to 60 days and that they had forwarded the application to the Department of Education for approval and payment.

After 60 days, after no further action occurred or notification was made, I contacted customer service again. They then amended their statement that it could take up to 60 business days for the application process to be completed. They claim they are waiting on the Department of Education to take action.

After 60 business days, I emailed their customer service asking for an update on the status of the application and asking that they provide me with contact information for a representative at the Department of Education who is knowledgeable of my application and could answer my questions. This request went unfulfilled and their off-topic response then indicated that normal application processing time is up to 90 days (in conflict both with their website and their previously provided information).

I repeated my request that they either contact the Department of Education about my application and notify me of the results or put me in contact with someone at the Department of Education who could answer my questions. Both [redacted] and [redacted] the the Borrower Services Department ignored my request and sent an off-topic reply about their apparently ever-changing policies.

Ninety days have passed, and I still have not received any information about my application, and I am still accruing interest daily on my student loans.Desired Settlement: At minimum, Great Lakes needs to complete processing of my application and ensure that the the balance of my loan is forgiven.

Ideally, they would refund the over $200 of interest that has accrued in the extended time it has taken them to complete this application process.

They need to update their website to remove the misleading information, if indeed the application process takes longer than six weeks.

Their customer service representatives need to directly reply to the requests sent in by their customers instead of sending off-topic boilerplate responses. If the CSR lacks the authority to respond appropriately, then the issue needs to be elevated to someone who can respond to my requests (either to fulfill or deny them). As it stands, my requests have gone ignored.

Business

Response:

September 12, 2014

Review: Great Lakes Higher Education posted on my Experian, Equifax and Transunion credit report that my loan is in deferment and that MY PAYMENTS START IN MAY 2016. YOU CANNOT REPORT FUTURE PAYMENTS ON A CREDIT REPORT ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS DATE IS NOT EVEN ACCURATE! REMOVE THIS OR GET SUED! THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ACT TO POST THIS ON ANYONE'S CREDIT REPORT TO SAY WHEN PAYMENTS WILL BEGIN. GET THIS OFF MY CREDIT REPORT NOW! THIS IS AGAINST CONSUMER RIGHTS AND I KNOW BECAUSE I WORKED IN COLLECTIONS BEFORE.Desired Settlement: REMOVE THIS FROM MY CREDIT REPORT PAYMENTS START MAY 2016 FROM ALL 3 CREDIT BUREAUS. THIS IS ILLEGAL.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Revdex.com of Wisconsin

10101 W Greenfield Ave #125

Milwaukee WI 53214

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 her concerns in regard to credit reporting.

I sincerely apologize to Ms. [redacted] for the frustration she experienced during communications

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

our customer feedback.

.

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires Great Lakes to report to the national

credit bureaus the status of all serviced accounts. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that

we report all information accurately and objectively. We communicate monthly with Trans Union,

Experian, Innovis and Equifax beginning at the time we started servicing an account. We’ll

continue reporting until an account is paid in full or no longer serviced by Great Lakes.

I again apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] experienced. Ms. [redacted] should feel comfortable

to contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-#### with any additional questions or

concerns regarding the repayment of her loan.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Bradley [redacted], Complaint Supervisor

Revdex.com of Wisconsin

10101 W Greenfield Ave #125

Milwaukee WI 53214

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 her concerns in regard to credit reporting.

I again apologize to Ms. [redacted] for the frustration she has experienced during

communications with Great Lakes.

Ms. [redacted]’ account is being reported in accordance with the reporting requirements.

Unfortunately we are unable to provide any additional information.

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

###-###-#### with any additional questions or concerns regarding the repayment of

her loans.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

Review: This company took over my students loans at some point without my knowledge. My previous student loan administration company approved my and my doctor's application to have all my loans forgiven based on being diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) on 7/11/07. Great Lakes is sending numerous me incorrect bills indicating I am in default when I have never been. Great Lakes is trying to ruin my credit by listing debts on my credit report that I do not owe them.Desired Settlement: I want Great Lakes to reinstate my Student Loan Forgiveness; stop sending me bills; and take their negative reports off of my credit report.

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 her concerns in regard to her Great Lakes serviced loans and

eligibility for the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge.

I sincerely apologize to Ms. [redacted] for the frustration she experienced during her

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 reviewed Ms. [redacted]’s previous servicing history and have determined that her

loans under account [redacted] were granted a conditional discharge on September 25,

2008. To qualify for a final discharge of her loans, due to total and permanent disability,

Ms. [redacted] would have needed to meet the following eligibility requirements during a 3-

year conditional discharge period that began on her conditional discharge period begin

date:

- Ms. [redacted]’s annual income must not exceed the poverty guideline amount for a

family of two in her state of residence (regardless of the actual family size); and

- Ms. [redacted] must not receive a new loan under the Federal Family Education Loan

(FFEL) Program, the Federal Perkins Loan Program, or the William D. Ford

Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program.

When Ms. [redacted] received a new FFEL Program loan disbursement on November 19,

2009, she became ineligible for the TPD discharge. Her claim was recalled and the

discharge payment was reversed on March 12, 2010. She would have been notified that

the loans were re-instated at that time. Our records show since then, Ms. [redacted]

continues to receive new loans, with the most recent loan disbursed on September 9,

2013.

Ms. [redacted] may qualify for TPD discharge in the future. If she has additional questions or

concerns regarding TPD discharge, she may contact Nelnet, Department of Education’s

servicer for TPD, at ###-###-####, between 7am – 7pm Central, 7 days a week. She

should keep in mind, however, that if she takes out new loans within three years after

her loans have been discharged, those discharged loans will be reinstated again.

Ms. [redacted]’s loans under lender number [redacted] and [redacted] were transferred to us to be

serviced on May 13, 2012. In accordance with Ms. [redacted]’s Promissory Note, lenders can

sell or transfer loans at any time without notifying the borrower first. Our records show

that Ms. [redacted] was sent a welcome letter for account [redacted] on May 23, 2013 and a

welcome letter was sent for account [redacted] on May 25, 2013.

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires Great Lakes to report to the

national credit bureaus the status of all serviced accounts. The Fair Credit Reporting Act

requires that we report all information accurately and objectively. We communicate

monthly with Trans Union, Experian, Innovis and Equifax beginning at the time we

started servicing an account. We’ll continue reporting until an account is paid in full or no

longer serviced by Great Lakes.

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

confident that Great Lakes will be able to meet all of her future customer service

expectations. Ms. [redacted] should feel comfortable to contact our Borrower Services

Department at ###-###-#### with any additional questions or concerns regarding the

repayment of her loan.

Sincerely,

I switched jobs in June 2015, resulting in a 50% decrease in my earnings. I submitted an application to Great Lakes for an income-based repayment plan. The application was submitted 3 months ago, and as of 10/28/15, the process is still ongoing. I have submitted all information they have asked for. They are hung up because my husband works solely off commission as a commercial real estate agent. He doesn't have a guaranteed or steady income like I do. I have explained that every time I have called to no avail. Each time I send them documentation of what they are asking for, I hear nothing. I have contacted Great Lakes at least 7 times via phone throughout this process. I never receive emails letting me know one of my documents was rejected or why. Most recently, I received the same form email for the third time asking for a letter from my husband's company stating his average monthly income. I had already submitted that, so I assumed the email had gone out prior to their receiving of my documentation. WRONG. The agent I spoke with told me it was "rejected due to not being signed and dated properly." I understand that as a loan company, Great Lakes must adhere to government regulations, but NOT ONCE was I contacted by Great Lakes explaining that our documents were rejected and WHY they were rejected, even though they contained all the information they asked me for...they just weren't presented in the way they wanted. Each agent I speak to gives me conflicting information and when I asked to speak with a supervisor, all she could say was she was sorry and "would record my complaints for their customer experience." My forbearance ends at the end of October 2015, and I was also told that would be extended so the rather large payments I was making would not automatically start again since I was enrolled in auto-pay. That didn't happen. As of now, I have the same payments due in November 2015 as I did when I was making twice as much money. I am just appalled at the amount of disconnect between this company and the consumer, especially with the sensitive nature of this business. My husband and I both have wasted hours out of our days at work dealing with this company and I have yet to have someone reach out to me and offer to help resolve this quickly. So take note, people. Set aside at least 3 months to get an income-based repayment plan approved. And you better pray you both have regular paying jobs and don't work solely off commission. I can't imagine we are their first clients they've dealt with that are in this situation. I work in a customer relations department for a very large, national company. I know what great customer service looks like and this certainly has NOT been it. Try spending more time educating your agents because 95% of the ones I have talked to sound like they are reading a script off a computer and when I explain to them our commission-based situation, it's like hearing a foreign language to them. On my most recent call, I had one of the agents tell me he was going to send me a form I needed to fill out. I asked him what form and why I needed to fill it out. He was trying to get me to fill out the income-based repayment plan application and start the process all over again. Completely clueless. Needless to say, I cannot wait to pay off these student loans and be done with this company forever.

Review: I recently applied for an income based repayment plan with Great Lakes. I faxed in the paperwork in once, I did receive a fax confirmation page. I called in and was told by the customer service representative that they had not received it. I re faxed the paperwork and called back on several days later and was told that they had now received both faxes but didn't have the signature page. I asked for an email so I could scan the signature page and email it. I called several days later and was told that now I was missing a separate page that needed to get faxed in.

I have faxed and emailed the paperwork asked of me three times now and it appears that they do no want to process my application.Desired Settlement: I would like my application to be processed and to have my loan serviced by another company.

Business

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