Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation

Review: I have a Parent Plus student loan that was transferred to Great Lakes in July of 2013 from the U.S. Dept or Education. The agreed upon monthly payment was $272.91 - which I have consistently paid on-time. On August 24, 2015, I received an email from Great Lakes informing me that the payment would increase to $331.04. I spoke to a customer representative who told me that Great Lakes had recently reviewed my loan and determined that the payment had to increase in order to payoff off the balance within the 10 year term. The only option offered to keep my payment from increasing at this time is to change my loan to a graduated payment plan which would initially reduce my payment, but increase it significantly over the life of the loan, as well as increasing the total interest paid on the loan. When I asked what assurances I had that my payment wouldn't suddenly increase by another 20% again next year, the representative said "This is a one-time deal because we have to review the loans to make sure everything is right. Now your loan is fine."Desired Settlement: I expect Great Lakes to honor the terms and conditions I agreed to regarding the repayment of this loan; $272.91 per month. Furthermore, I think other consumers need to be made aware that Great Lakes expects to be able to change terms and conditions upon review of U.S. Dept. of Education loans. And that their internal review may be made at any time. My loan was transferred in July of 2013 and it took them two years to review the loan and notify me of changes to the agreed upon payment schedule.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your follow up on behalf of Mr. [redacted]. We appreciate the opportunity toaddress his additional concerns.Attached is a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s current payment schedule. Since Direct Loan Servicing Center(DLSS/ACS) generated the original payment schedule, not Great Lakes, we are unable to providea copy. However, the attached payment schedule does detail the interest rate and estimates thetotal amount he will pay over the life of the loan, presuming he remains on this payment schedule.Federal student loans are simple interest loans, meaning interest accrues daily based upon theoutstanding principal balance. As it states on Mr. [redacted]’s attached payment schedule, all amountsto be repaid are only estimates. On page 2, Payment of Interest, it states: “The amount of theregular payment is based upon the assumption that all payments will be made on the scheduleddue dates. The total interest payable during the repayment period, may be more or less thanprojected by this Payment Schedule, depending upon whether you pay earlier or later thanscheduled. The amount of the final payment indicated in the “Repayment Terms” section will beadjusted upward or downward to reflect the balance due based upon the dates the paymentswere actually received.”As previously advised, Mr. [redacted]’s current payment schedule will allow him to satisfy his loanwithin the repayment term required by the terms and conditions of his loan. However, as with anysimple interest rate loan, Great Lakes cannot guarantee that additional changes to his paymentamount would not be necessary in the future.We empathize with Mr. [redacted]’s dissatisfaction concerning the time frame it took to identify that thepayment schedule his loan transferred with was incorrect. We have shared this frustration with hislender, the U.S. Department of Education (ED).We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused Mr. [redacted]. Should he have any questions orconcerns regarding the information provided, he may contact our Borrower Services Departmentby phone at ###-###-####, through email at [redacted], or by mailing [redacted]

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.

I am requesting the following:

Review: In June of 2013, over the course of several calls to Great Lakes Borrower Services, and as a result of my inquiries regarding any and all loan forgiveness programs for which I might qualify, I was told of a Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), assured I had done everything necessary to be fully enrolled, and that after 120 on-time monthly payments, the federal government would forgive the remaining balance on my loans. You can't imagine my excitement, as I've been renting a single room in a guest house for the past fourteen years while teaching at a low-income, public high school, while trying to manage the burden of approximately $35,000 in outstanding student loan debt, managed by Great Lakes Borrower Services.

When I called Great Lakes this past summer, however, I was told that I was in no way enrolled in the PSLF. Greatly upset, on July 12th I wrote a letter to Great Lakes CEO, Richard George, explaining my great upset over not being enrolled in this program, despite assurances by Great Lakes representatives that not only was I enrolled, but that my previous payments would also count towards the 120 required payments before the remainder of the loan would be forgiven.

In my August 1st conversation with their [redacted], Mike [redacted], he acknowledged that their training of Customer Service representatives has indeed been lacking, as well the fact that I had indeed been mailed forms in June, 2013 to consolidation my loans (a necessary part of being enrolled in the PSLF), and that my monthly premium had increased by about $10/month (which I'd been told was also part of the process involved in my qualifying for the PSLF.

Mr. [redacted] politely informed me, however, that I would mostly likely not see reimbursement from the PSLF given my level of income. Given this new and contradictory information, I immediately used money I had set aside to finally stop renting to instead pay off my remaining student loan balance; in order to stop over $124 per month in interest payments.

My frustration with Great Lakes then became the fact that, had I known in June of 2013 I did not qualify for the PSLF, I would have paid off my remaining loan balance and not incurred about $1,612 in interest charges.

I then wrote a third letter to CEO Richard George, dated September 10, and received a letter dated October 10 from [redacted], formally denying my request for reimbursement, with the explanation: "Given that you were provided with all the necessary information to determine your loan's ineligibility for the PSLF program, your request for reimbursement of $1,612 has been denied."

In addition to further contacting my United States Senator's office, as I believe Great Lakes has failed to meet their fiduciary obligations in managing federally subsidized student loans (while profiting from interest charges thereon), I continue to seek restitution; in the hopes that other low-income public high school teachers do not incur the unnecessary interest charges I unnecessarily incurred as a direct result of Great Lakes Borrower Services negligence.Desired Settlement: A check for $1,612, reimbursement for the thirteen months I unnecessarily accrued interest on my Great Lakes managed government loans.

Business

Response:

November 6, 2014

Review: It is my belief that Great Lakes Higher Education and Performant Recovery Inc are committing fraud as pertains to federal student loans and Direct Loan Consolidation.

I made $5,000 in payments to them in 2014.

They refuse to provide me documentation of where the payments were applied or debt verification after requested in certified letter in May.

They are refusing to accept a payoff check from [redacted] for Direct Loan Consolidation that I am federally entitled to.

They lied to Ombudsman, stating this issue was resolved (that my loans were consolidated and that I could continue paying thru [redacted] instead of Great Lakes or Performant Recovery).

Then [redacted] said payoff funds were refused and returned to them, showing us that Great Lakes and Performant have no plans to resolve this debt to them or accept my payoff for my loans.

I truly believe they will not provide this information to me of where my $5,000 went, what my true balances are for, and accept payoff because they are frauding under the federal guidelines and do not want to get caught.

I want Great Lakes or Performant Recovery to just accept the payoff funds from [redacted] so I can wash my hands of both of these crooked, deceitful companies.

Or please take me to court so I can ask the judge where my $5,000 in 2014 went and why they won't accept payoff of my loans and denying me federal rights to consolidation.Desired Settlement: I want Great Lakes or Performant Recovery to just accept the payoff funds and loan verification paperwork from [redacted] so I can wash my hands of both of these crooked, deceitful companies.

Or please take me to court so I can ask the judge where my $5,000 in 2014 went and why they won't accept payoff of my loans and denying me federal rights to consolidation.

I had to quit my job to care for my disabled newborn son. My car was recently totaled. I have NO assets, NO income, and 4 dependents to care for.

PLEASE help me to resolve this - these people are causing undue stress for us when I took action to resolve my debt with them and paid over $5,000 to them this year!

Business

Response:

October 28, 2014

Review: Type School Original Amount Date This date is the loan's first disbursement date.

FFEL Subsidized Stafford PRATT INSTITUTE $7,880.00 01/20/2006

FFEL Unsubsidized Stafford PRATT INSTITUTE $10,160.00 01/20/2006

I took a loan in 2006 with Great Lakes, I made payments, the loan was - specifically adding extra payment for the principle balance. The loan was transferred in May/June/July 2013 to American Education Service (AES). The balance is $18178.89.

Payment history is not available online. When I set up to have payments made through my bank (credit union), company does not appear in listing. The last email they sent was a notice from Sandy hurricane and then I received a brief letter about transfer to AES.Desired Settlement: I need full disclosure of the payments made, how they were applied and why, after 6 years the balance has not reduced.

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 the principal balance of her account at

the time the loan was transferred.

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 value our customer feedback.

When Ms. [redacted] entered repayment in November 2008, she had $1,672.10 of

outstanding accrued interest that capitalized (meaning added to her principal balance)

which increased her principal balance to $19,712.10. She has also suspended monthly

payments on her loans, with forbearance, for a total of 31 months since that date. During

a forbearance period, interest continues to accrue and any unpaid interest is capitalized

when the forbearance ends. This had caused an additional $1,279.50 to be added to Ms.

[redacted]’s principal balance.

A payment history has been emailed to Ms. [redacted] for her to review. The payment history

reflects her original loan disbursements, capitalized interest and any payments that she

made while her loans were serviced by Great Lakes.

Ms. [redacted] should contact AES at ###-###-#### with any additional questions or

concerns she may have about the repayment of her loan.

Sincerely,

Review: I received student loans from Great Lakes, and was under the impression that these loans were consolidated with the other loans I had taken out. Unfortunately they were not consolidated, and the loans went into default. After a representative called me and threatened to garnish my wages, I agreed to participate in a rehabilitation program. I was told that after I completed the program, the collections would be deleted from my credit report. This has not happened. They still show as paid collections, but this is not what I agreed to.Desired Settlement: I would like these collections to be completely removed from my credit report from all 3 bureaus.

Business

Response:

Revdex.com of Wisconsin

Complaint ID: [redacted]

Great Lakes ID: [redacted]

Dear

Mr. [redacted]:

Thank

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

the opportunity to address her concerns about her student loan that was guaranteed

by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Her concern,

as we understand it, is regarding the current credit reporting by Great Lakes.

Great

Lakes is required by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and it’s

implementing regulations to report defaulted student loan accounts to the

nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

Great Lakes reports on a monthly basis to the nationwide consumer

reporting agencies including TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, and Innovis.

Although

Ms. [redacted] expressed interest in an authorized loan rehabilitation plan, the

loan was paid in full prior to completing the rehabilitation program via the

William D. Ford Federal Direct Consolidation Program on March 18, 2011.

After

an account is paid in full Great Lakes sends a final report to the consumer

reporting agencies indicating the status as a zero balance paid collection

account. Any previously reported delinquencies will

remain on Ms. [redacted]’s credit report for not more than seven years from the

delinquency date that led to the default, which was July 15, 2008. This means that the adverse credit reporting

that occurred because of the default will drop from Ms. [redacted]’s credit

history next month.

If

Ms. [redacted]’s intent was to dispute what was reported, her concerns did not

specify what is/was being disputed or the basis for her dispute. Therefore, if Ms. [redacted] wishes Great Lakes to

further investigate her dispute, she must explain to us in writing what she’s disputing

and why.

If

Ms. [redacted] has any further questions, she may contact an Collection Support Service

Representative by calling ###-###-#### between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:15

P.M. Central Standard Time or by writing to the address listed below.

Collection

Support Customer Service Representative

Great

Lakes Higher Education Corporation

2401

International Lane

Madison

WI 53704

We

sincerely apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced with the credit

reporting process and hope this information will be helpful to her. 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,

Joe

J[redacted]

Great

Lakes Ombudsman Office

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.

Review: collected a payment from checking account after payment was already made within the past week and payment was not due. did not post payment in payment history on the account. 7 years of payments on a $4522 loan with current balance of $3282 due to added fees and interest.Desired Settlement: Loan forgiveness.

Business

Response:

Review: Upon my loan rehabilitation for my defaulted student loan, any notes about the loan being previously in default or assigned to government should have been erased from my credit profile. I've called to have the error corrected, but they have not fixed it. I finished my loan rehabilitation in September 2013.Desired Settlement: Change current reporting to the credit bureaus erasing any notification of default of my student loan

Business

Response:

March 12, 2014

Review: I was not notified until March 7th, 2014 that my student loans had been transferred from [redacted] - to Great Lakes, with payment due and autopay set up with [redacted] for withdrawal on February 19th, 2014. [redacted] notified me that my autopay would be automatically transferred to Great Lakes. An autopayment of 106. 84 was withdrawn from my account on 2/24 by [redacted]. However, I did not receive notice until 3/7 that my loans had been transferred and what's more, this payment has not been applied to my account with Great Lakes. Furthermore Great Lakes has my autopay information, incorrectly identifies the due date of my payments (still notes me in grace period), and did not make sure that my payment from [redacted] on the 19th was applied to my account with them.Desired Settlement: I demand that this payment of 106.84 be adjusted in conjunction with [redacted] and reflected on my Great Lakes account and I would like an explanation as to why I was not notified PRIOR to the transfer.

Consumer

Response:

On Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 10:30 AM, [redacted] wrote:

Thank you. Please close this complaint.

I recently refinanced many of my high interest student loans that I had with Great Lakes with a private bank. Because each of my high interest loans had a specific token number to identify the loan, I needed to request paperwork that listed the token number and balances of the loans that I wanted to refinance. After originally being told that I should receive this letter in 3-5 business days and not receiving it after the 5th day, I called again. This time, I was told that it takes 7-10 business days. After not receiving this letter after 10 business days, I called ONCE AGAIN only to be told that the request was never put into the computer. 3 weeks had past, and then I finally received my one sheet of paper that listed my token numbers and balances. This was only the beginning. My private bank that I refinanced these high interest loans with sent Great Lakes a check for each Token Number with the remaining balance on that loan. Well, almost every payment was processed incorrectly. All of my loans with a high interest rate should have paid off. This was not the case. There were multiple "overpayments" on specific loans and loans that were also not paid off that should have been. When I called to get this straightened out, I was told that the overpayments would be processed to the loans that were supposed to have been paid off and that I needed to wait an additional 7-10 days. So I did. Once again, day 10 arrived and the payments were still not processed correctly. I called Great Lakes, asking to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor had told me because there were "overpayments" on my account, the amount of "overpayments" was sent back to my private bank instead of applied to the remaining balances of my high interest rate. The supervisor told me to call my private bank to inform them that they should be receiving a check. Upon calling my private bank, they became furious that the payments were not applied correctly, because they had exact copies of the checks that they had given to Great Lakes with the Token number of the loan listed on the check. Not once did Great Lakes apologize for processing the checks wrong. Meanwhile, the interest is building on my loans that should have been paid off. Although the supervisor stated that I will most likely be able to get the checks backdated, I'm highly suspicious and I know I will be calling 3-4 times before the issue is resolved. Now Great Lakes is currently in the process of sending my "overpayments" back to my private bank. You would assume that this takes about 2 weeks at most. Incorrect. It will take 45 days for Great Lakes to send my "overpayment" back to my private bank. Meanwhile, like I stated, my account is still building interest on loans that should have been paid off. I'm in the waiting game with this terrible loan provided. I'm still confused as to why these are considered "overpayments" when my high interest loans were still not all paid off. Instead of sending the check back to my private bank, they should have been reapplied to the remaining balance , which is what my private bank suggested to Great Lakes. But now, I'm waiting 45 days for my private bank to receive a check from Great Lakes, only for my private bank to send the payment right back to Great Lakes. Let's hope they can apply it right this next time.

Review: This institution will not remove a listing on my credit report they know to be inaccurate.

When accessing my yearly free credit report in April of 2014, I noticed a student loan was listed originating in 2011 in the amount of $444. Two of the reports showed the creditor as US Department of Education and the third listed the creditor as Great Lakes Higher Education. Since I have not attended school since 2009 and have NEVER even applied for a student loan, I knew immediately that this account was not mine. I disputed with the credit reporting agencies and wrote numerous letters to Great Lakes Higher Education at the addresses listed on my credit report. They verified the false information to the credit reporting agencies and never even bothered to respond to my letters to them. At that time, I was uneducated in what my options were to fix this situation, so I sadly did not pursue the matter.

In mid May of this year, my husband was notified that money was offset from his tax return to pay for a US Department of Education student loan. We knew immediately that it was the loan mistakenly, I hope, attributed to me. We decided to let the money go if they would remove the false information from our credit report in an effort to clear everything up quickly. I sent two letters to Great Lakes Higher Education, dated May 11, 2015 that included a screen shot from the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” page showing an offset was taken and May 18, 2015 that included the letter from the IRS showing exactly what the offset was for. I also sent a fax on April 18, 2015 which was a duplicate of the letter I sent dated the same day. At the same time, I initiated another dispute of this account with the credit reporting agencies.

I finally received a response from Great Lakes Higher Education yesterday, May 30, 2015. In this letter, they claim they cannot remove the account due to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and would refer my case to the Fraud and ID Theft Department. They also claimed that the offset from my husband’s tax return was not applied to the loan I wrote them about. I have never had a student loan. The only loan showing in my name is their false one.

They knew this account was not mine a year ago and took no efforts to even report the account as “disputed.” They also did not report the account under their true name. Then they denied the account was paid after payment was made. All are violations of the same Fair Credit Reporting Act they are using as an excuse not to delete the account.

I am sending a letter 2-Day Priority Mail on Monday, June 1, 2015 to Great Lakes Higher Education also stating these facts. The letter also demands they either remove the incorrect account from my credit report, add a comment to the listing fully admitting that they have been knowingly submitting inaccurate information at least a year, or they can send me proof that this account is mine. My letter gives them until July 1, 2015 to either do one of the three or I will begin filing complaints with all applicable Federal and State agencies. I may even have to escalate the matter further than just complaints depending on how they handle this situation.

I have come to the Revdex.com once again because y’all have been so helpful in the past and have helped me rectify many issues without further escalation. I’m hoping that wonderful assistance will help me once again.Desired Settlement: I want the inaccurate account removed from my credit reports. It is a tiny amount. It is old. It is paid. It is not mine. There is no reason for it to remain.

Business

Response:

There should be an option to pay the regular payment AND be able to apply extra payments to the principal. The is nearly fraudulent in my opinion. INSANE. I would never recommend this company. Find another company people.

Recently central Texas was struck by terrible storms and flooding. I received an e-mail from Great Lakes today (6/24/15) stating that they were aware of the devastation and offered postponed payments since I was in the effected area. This was a very cool gesture, and though I will not be taking them up on the offer, I sure appreciate amazing acts of customer service and empathy.

Review: I have tried to call Great Lakes multiple times since receiving an email dated January 4. The wait times have been over 1 hour estimated each time. As I work a full time job during business hours with multiple conference calls throughout a day, I cannot accommodate this wait time. The email of Jan 4 stated I no longer qualify for income-based student loan payments; however, I have no documentation (post or email) requesting my income information. This information was supplied to The Department of Education at least twice earlier in the year before my loan balance was transferred to Great Lakes. Upon being transferred, I received inconsistent post and emails about my statement. With the Department of Education, I received a detailed statement every single month without fail so I saw the interest accrued, the total balance, and the payment owed for that month. The wait times to speak to a representative prior to Great Lakes was also acceptable so that a telephone call to resolve an issue took no longer than 15 minutes.Desired Settlement: I am requesting a billing adjustment so that I pay an income-based rate on my student loans. I am also requesting to receive consistent, detailed, monthly statements by post as I received before prior to the acquisition of my loan by Great Lakes. I can provide a statement of my income along with the final pay stub for the year of 2013 that includes the aggregate of my income for the year along with taxes paid. I also request to speak to a representative to confirm that this information is received and my payments adjusted accordingly. Lastly, I want to receive requests for proof of income to be sent by post and email in a timely manner as my chief complaint is the poor communication from this company. Ultimately, I would prefer to go back to The Dept of Education to pay back my loan, but I realize this is unlikely to be a possibility.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted]:

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

address her concerns surrounding the communication of her account information and the

expiration of her Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan.

I apologize that Ms. [redacted] is dissatisfied with our communications. We do offer monthly

payment reminders via US Mail or email. These are currently being sent to Ms. [redacted] each

month via email. We do not send recurring detailed account statements although this

information may be obtained anytime either directly on our website or by contacting our office.

To download a statement on our website after logging in, she would need to select “Student

Loan Obligation Statement” from the “Account Information” drop down menu at the top of the

page.

We have had an influx in call volume over the past week that is resulting in longer than normal

hold times. While we expect this influx to continue for a brief period, I would like to assure Ms.

[redacted] that this is not standard and our typical hold times are no longer than 2-3 minutes.

IBR plans must be renewed on an annual basis. We sent Ms. [redacted] an IBR renewal packet on

October 1, 2013 via US Mail, a copy is enclosed for her convenience. In order to reapply for

IBR, Ms. [redacted] may either complete the paper application within the renewal packet or she

may apply electronically on the U.S. Department of Education’s website, studentloans.gov. If

Ms. [redacted] chooses to apply online, her most recent tax return information will be automatically

imported to her application. Should she choose to complete a paper application, a copy of her

most recent tax return will need to be included when she returns her application.

Ms. [redacted]’s current IBR payment will expire on February 2, 2013 at which time her payment

will increase. It is currently taking approximately 25 days for the processing of IBR applications

however we would be happy to work with Ms. [redacted] to suspend her payments during the

application process, if needed.

I again apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced and I hope that Great Lakes

will be able to meet her future customer service expectations. She should feel to contact our

Borrower Services Department at ###-###-#### or by email at [email protected]

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

Sincerely,

Review: My payment was not applied as I expected.

On 17 September 2013, I called to make the payment over the phone with specific instructions to clear the subsidized loan from my account. I verbally asked "Is the currently listed amount of $262.93 the amount I must pay to clear the subsidized loan?' to which the agent responded yes, that is the amount remaining on the loan. HOWEVER, after the payment was completed, it was applied to interest and then to the UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN. I had specifically called so that it would be applied to the SUBSIDIZED LOAN. Now, this may sound silly or foolish, but that extra loan is taking "minimum payments" every month away from the UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN, or the one with the larger interest rate that you want to pay off faster. I called to have it reversed, to which the agent attempted to persuade me to put the value against the unsubsidized loan before finally transferring me to a senior supervisor who also tried to persuade me to not do it and put the value against the UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN. I reassured him I wanted to clear the subsidized loan. The amount was reversed, only to discover after all was said and done I was left with a balance of $0.42 on the subsidized loan. I called again on 1 Oct 2013 not to complain about this, but to make ANOTHER PAYMENT of $150.00, with the subsidized loan to be CLEARED COMPLETELY. $0.01 cent was applied to the subsidized loan while the rest went to the unsubsidized loan. To put in perspective who this company is dealing with, I have never defaulted on a payment. I have never missed a payment, as I have auto pay set up with this company. IN FACT, since my loans entered repayment in 12/2012, I am about $1,500.00 USD AHEAD OF SCHEDULE IN MY LOAN. This company's business practices are a joke. If I had a choice, I would take my loans elsewhere. They are only in it for themselves and the money for servicing the loan. I can understand once seeing as I called late in the evening (7pm eastern time) but the second time I called well before 3pm eastern time, and the second time is unacceptable. The fact that I was told what to pay before authorizing ANY CHARGE and it DID NOT SATISFY what I WAS TOLD IT WOULD DO (pay off the loan), and then paid AGAIN WELL IN ADVANCE ON MY ACCOUNT to correct THEIR ERROR and they STILL DID NOT do what I wanted shows this company has no customer service skills whatsoever. This isn't the only thing this company has done. All communication, including the fact that I could pay interest on my loan, was communicated electronically. Every other service provider sends communication in the mail AND electronically unless you opt out of paper mail. This lead to me wracking up interest because no information on how to pay the interest was communicated, such as payment coupons or a mailing address, or what to pay. Just that "no payment was due at this time". They wanted to ensure they got interest revenue and I am tired of their business practices.Desired Settlement: I want the billing charges to be applied CORRECTLY, I want a formal, written apology MAILED TO MY RESIDENCE (no electronic apology through message boards, Revdex.com, or e-mail to my private account), and I want THE OPTION AND ABILITY, FACILITATED BY GREAT LAKES, to take my loan elsewhere to a lender of my choice, chosen from a list of available lenders provided by Great Lakes, starting January 2014.

Business

Response:

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 the application of his payments.

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.

After reviewing Mr. [redacted]’s account, our records indicate that the subsidized

balance of his loan has been paid in full. This was indicated in an email that was sent to

him on October 7, 2013.

Since interest is the cost that borrowers pay to borrow funds, our goal is to apply

payments in a way that minimizes the borrower’s interest expense. Mr. [redacted]

should keep in mind that:

- Interest accrues daily on the principal balance of his student loans.

- Mr. [redacted]’s student loan terms require that payments are applied first to any

late fees, next to accrued interest and then to the principal balance.

- If Mr. [redacted] pays more than his scheduled monthly payment amount, the

additional amount will be applied to the principal balance of the loan(s) with the

highest interest rate, provided all of the outstanding accrued interest is covered

by the monthly payment. This is beneficial to Mr. [redacted], as it minimizes the

final cost of his debt.

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

confident that Great Lakes will be able to meet all of Mr. [redacted]’s 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,

Consumer

Response:

Review: When I entered [redacted] I had went on a scholarship. Therefore I should not have the extreme amount of loans owed. I contacted [redacted] and they said I had to contact my borrowers. I have tried returning calls and get nothing but attitude and frustration. If I went to [redacted] on a scholarship then almost all or most of my loans should have been paid. I'm getting the run around. I did forbearance and still get calls and threats. I take threats seriously and don't appreciate the harassing calls and threats when by law any debt I owe should be handled via mail and mail only. I don't feel the amount is correct. It is impossible if I was on a scholarship if I had known this would be my responsibility I would have not gone to to college when I was told with a scholarship all fees would be paid for. The degree has not benefited me 2 years now and still no employment. But all I get is numerous and numerous phone calls. These loans are not my responsibility especially since I went to school on a scholarship. The amount is definitely wrong and I ask for my account to be reviewed as well as for Great Lakes to contact [redacted] to see what im stating about my student loans and scholarship is in fact true. I'm tired of the run around.Desired Settlement: I want my account adjusted to the proper amount and I want it to be acknowledged that I did submit a forbearance a way long time ago and was in fact approved. It makes no sense if I went on a scholarship and was told I would not be responsible for more then half of the loans that the amount is as high as it is.

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 his concerns in regard to his student loans that were taken out while attending [redacted].

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.

Our records confirm Ms. [redacted] completed a Master Promissory Note on December 18, 2007, and

in accordance with the terms of the Master Promissory Note a total of $39,788 was disbursed to

[redacted] on his behalf from February 2009 and August 2011.

If Mr. [redacted] feels there is a discrepancy with the amount of student loans he received while

attending [redacted], he will need to direct his concerns to the financial aid office at

[redacted]. They can provide him with an itemization of what his student loans were

used for along with information regarding scholarships he received.

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 loans.

Sincerely,

Review: I took out a parent Plus loan to pay for my daughters first year of college in 2011. Great Lakes stated that if I were to use autopay for loan payments the interest rate will be 7.6% instead of 7.9%. Great Lakes has been placing my account into suspended (Defered) status and charging me a higher interest rate (7.9%). While in suspended status autopay is supposedly no longer an option. Customer service stated payments can still be taken through electronic payment or by mail. Great Lakes is still automatically deducting payments from my account but charging me a 7.9% rate. Customer service stated the company was complying with Federal Law to put my account in suspended status while my daughter was still in school. Customer service could not give me a reference to which law applies to this issue. I never agreed with the Department of Education to defer any payments on the loan until my daughter completes school. I want to get this paid off as soon as possible.Desired Settlement: Stop putting my account into suspended status or remove the debt

Business

Response:

Review: Back in March I set up an autopay to come of out account to make my loan payments on time in the amount of $5 which was what I owed every single month. On May 26th Great Lakes attempted to take out $249.67 resulting in 3 NSF's to be charged to my account. The first time I called the young lady informed me that Great Lakes changed the payment amount and because it was an autopay it automatically pulled the new amount. The also stated that Great Lakes sent me an email about the change and it was my responsibility to check my email. After filtering through my email and not finding one piece of evidence of that, I had her send a new email from the company to my email address which ended up in my " trash folder". She then proceeded to tell me that she gets that response often from other consumers. I then requested that the autopay stop, along with the emails and post mail and telephone calls should be the only form of contact from here on out. She told me that I would have to contact my back to get the funds refunded , in which my bank informed me to contact the company back for the refund seeing it was THEIR mistake in the first place and it was under autopay. The following day Great Lakes attempted to take out another $249.67 resulting in two more NSF fees of $96. I called and got through to a "supervisor" named Shelia ([redacted]) who said she wanted me to send her proof of the fees that occurred. I emailed her three times at [email protected] with the proof. It took calling two more times just to have the email reviewed and at that time she told me " I can't give you any guarantee that a refund will be issued and my supervisor will be gone for a week." Less than an hour later she tells me her "supervisor" said that it was my responsibility to monitor my autopay and that they refuse to do a refund. The whole reason I was calling is because I WAS MONITORING it and they changed the amount due without properly informing me of the change.Desired Settlement: I just want the $96 refunded back to me without any other forms of run-around. It shouldn't take all of this to get $96 back that shouldn't have been missing in the first place. You don't email someone of a change that large when your taking money out of their account. You make a phone call or you send regular mail like every other loan company. I just want my money back and I don't want my loan transferred to a better company that knows how to properly take care of paying borrowers!

Business

Response:

June 9, 2015

Review: I had a student loans in default with GLHEC, I was able to do the rehabilitation program and get my loans back on good standings, and for some reason one of my loans with them was not in that rehabilitation program (which I assumed all would be) so then out of no where my taxes were intercepted from GLHEC, ($3554) which ends up being ok because now that loan is payed off and I dont have to worry about it. When I checked my credit report to make sure this was then taken care of on my report it was, but then with the same account number, a new account was added to my report for a different amount but same acct #. when I called and spoke with I believe susan I was told that they took my taxes and she didnt show that I owed anything else. I tried to explain this new account balance on my report ($976 balance with new balance of $1062) she just basically stated she didnt see it. So I was told I DIDNT owe anything else to GLHEC for collections yet this balance is still on my credit report. I had more than enough coming from my taxes if I owed this "extra" amount they would have been able to take that out of my taxes too!Desired Settlement: I would like this fixed on my credit report. I would like this "new account" removed from my credit report and showing that I still owe GLHEC!

Business

Response:

Complaint ID: [redacted]

Great Lakes ID: [redacted]

Dear

Mr. [redacted]:

Thank

you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted]) and for

providing us the opportunity to address her concerns about her student loan

that was guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great

Lakes). Her concern as we understand it the current credit reporting by Great

Lakes.

In

our review of the reporting of Ms. [redacted]’s account by the Credit Reporting

Agencies (CRAs) we did indeed detect a duplication being reported by

TransUnion. All other CRAs reporting were

seen to be accurate.

We

are happy to report that we are currently working with TransUnion to remedy the

inaccuracy in order for them to report the correct information. We ask that Ms. [redacted] allow two weeks for

this process to be completed. She should

see the correction the next time she checks her credit file at TransUnion in

two weeks.

We

sincerely apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced with the credit

reporting process and we hope this information will be helpful to her. 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,

Joe

J[redacted]

Great

Lakes Ombudsman Office

Review: I would like to report financial fraud conducted by Great Lakes. I do have 2 student loan accounts: Stafford Loan #[redacted] and Grad Plus loan #[redacted]. As you can see the account numbers are completely identical, but the ending is different. This something I requested in August 2014 in order the clean up the mess created by Great Lakes, and that didn't help. No matter how much I pay and when, they send me past due notices every month starting June 2014.

They created 1 account number for 2 loans, and started paying in Dec 2013. The amounts due are $50.00 and $263.00. I was using bank on-line payment system paying total of $314.00 every month, and Great Lakes would allocated this amount among two loans. Then the amounts had to be broken on principle and interest.

Since June 2014, Great Lakes stopped allocating the payments made driving my account into financial distress. Payments were applied only to one of the loans leaving another past due, and the amount applied was not allocated between principle and interest, which threw off the entire application of interest on my account.

I August 2014, I requested to split to loans and to assign two different account numbers to them, which they did. However, even that didn't help the case. They continued applying payment only to one loan blaming me of "not knowing how to pay bills through on-line banking".

So in October 2014, I changed my payment option again, and I started paying through the Great Lakes website. Ob Oct 20, 2014 one loan was showing as overpaid (the loan with $50.00 minimum payment) and the other loan had a regular payment due. I paid $300.00 to the loan with minimum payment of $263.00 hoping it would fix all the problems. The only thing I received back from Great Lakes is "Account Past Due as of October 27, 2014". So please explain to me how my acocunts could be ever past due is I paid $314.00 every month since Dec 2014 and $300.00 in October 2014 to bring the difference in balance. I can only be be off by $3.00 if you account for all the payments made. I do have a proof of payments through my banking account. I can provide copies of all the withdrwals by Great Lakes.Desired Settlement: I want the A/R of Great Lakes to bring all the payments on my acocunts as those should be. Every single payment I made should be allocated first between two loans and then between principle and interest on related account. I want Great Lakes to recalculate all the interest amount since April 2014 if that is how far they have to go back. I want to receive adjusted statements for all months starting May 2014 (that is when the first error was made). I want Great Lakes to show that none of my loans have Past Due amounts. If my requirements will not be satisfied by November 27, 2014, I will pass this case to State attrorney.

Business

Response:

November 18, 2014

Review: In August of 2015, I received a letter saying I owe on a defaulted loan from great lakes higher education. I had a defaulted loan from this company over 10 yrs ago, and they have been offsetting my Federal refund check and garnishing my wages from my employer for over 10 yrs. I received my Federal refund check for the first time in 2015, so I figured I was done paying for the defaulted loan. When I received this last letter saying I defaulted again, I couldn't believe it. I have not taken out another loan and they continue to garnish my employee wages. I wrote this company a letter for proof of this recent loan in September of this year, and they never responded.Desired Settlement: I want proof of this recent loan, and I want the wage garnishment to stop. I believe they owe me a refund at this point.

Business

Response:

Dear

Mr. [redacted]:Thank

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

the opportunity to address her concerns

about her student loan account that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher

Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and serviced by [redacted]

Systems, [redacted]). Her

concerns as we understand them are regarding the fact that she still has a loan

balance and that her loan is currently in [redacted]

([redacted]).By

way of some background, on September, 18 2000, Great Lakes, as the guarantor,

paid a default claim to the servicer of the loan, Great Lakes Educational Loan

Services, [redacted] (GLELSI). This

was the result of their not receiving payment(s), or a completed request for

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

Note, when her student loan defaulted, the balance became due and payable in full. The loan has since been referred to [redacted] for

servicing.The

offset of Ms. [redacted]’s tax returns is in accordance with Federal Laws. The Debt Collection Act of 1982, and the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1995, authorizes the U.S. Department of the

Treasury to offset eligible Federal payments of individuals who are indebted to

the U.S. Government.Although

Ms. [redacted] has had involuntary payments through [redacted] and via the U.S. Treasury

Offset Program (TOP), these payments have not been enough to satisfy the

debt. We have enclosed a copy of her

most recent pay history with the current balance for your review. Since

we have referred Ms. [redacted]’s loan to [redacted], she will need to work with them to

explore her various repayment options and enter into an authorized loan

rehabilitation program. We encourage Ms.

[redacted] to contact [redacted] at ###-###-#### to inquire on the steps she needs to take

in order to successfully rehabilitate her loans. It

is in Ms. [redacted]’s best interest to work with [redacted] to resolve the default status

by rehabilitating her account. A

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

consecutive, voluntary, on-time monthly payments. These voluntary payments are

to be made in addition to the involuntary [redacted] payments per the current

regulations. (*see below) After five

voluntary payments in addition to the garnishment, the [redacted] can conclude. 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 Ms. [redacted]’s defaulted loan(s) will

result in the following:• Removal of her student loan(s) from

default status• Removal of the default status from

her 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*It

is important to note that on July 1, 2014, new regulations concerning

[redacted]) for defaulted borrowers went into effect

( 34 CFR § 682.410(b)(9)). The regulations contain special requirements for

borrowers who enter rehabilitation agreements while subject to [redacted] orders.

Guarantors “must continue” [redacted] “until [a] borrower makes five qualifying

monthly payments under the rehabilitation agreement” but then must suspend [redacted]

“when the agency receives a borrower’s fifth qualifying payment under a loan

rehabilitation agreement, unless otherwise directed by the borrower” (34 CFR §§

682.405(a)(3)(i), 682.410(b)(9)(V)).Again,

for Ms. [redacted] to find out more about the rehabilitation process we strongly

urge her to contact [redacted] at ###-###-####.We

sincerely apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced and hope this

information will be helpful to her. 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, Joe [redacted]Great Lakes Ombudsman Office

Consumer

Response: