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 which are as follows:
Customer service issues he states
he has experienced with two of our Borrower Services Representatives.
He has had difficulty scheduling
payments on our website, mygreatlakes.org.
He would prefer not to receive
emails the contain account information.
Issue 1: Service
Quality
Upon
receiving Mr. [redacted]’ concern, we reviewed our records and were unable to locate
the calls he referenced. Below details all conversation between Mr. [redacted]’, and
an authorized party, with our Borrower Services Department:
Date
Call Details
07/29/2011
Conversation with
Mr. [redacted] in which he advised that he was going to be a full-time student at
the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh beginning in September 2011, with an
anticipated graduation date of June 2014.
10/19/2011
Talked to Mr. [redacted]’
Mother. She was advised all available payment methods and that Auto Pay, our
automated billing system, would not begin automatically with a mailed
payment.
04/30/2013
Mr. [redacted] called and
advised that he was going back to the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh in
September 2013. Subsequently, he was advised that his account was paid ahead and
if we do not receive certified enrollment verification from his school,
allowing us to place his account into the school deferment, his next payment
would not be due until December 2013.
Unfortunately,
since we are not able to identify the events that Mr. [redacted] is referencing, we
request that he provide us the dates these conversations occurred so that we
may forward them to the appropriate parties for review.
Issue 2: Scheduling Payments:
Payments
on our website can be scheduled up to 31 days in advance. In order for payments
to be credited on the same business day they must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT,
on regular business days. Payments submitted online after 5:00 p.m., or on
weekends or holidays, are credited for the following business day. These
scenarios both assume that a payment date in the future was not selected.
(Payments withdrawn through Auto Pay are credited on the scheduled payment
date, even if that date falls on a weekend or holiday, although they may not be
processed until the following business day.)
Issue 3: Communications Preference
On
October 20, 2011, Mr. [redacted] chose his preferred method for receiving
correspondence to be electronically, or via email. Since he stated that he no
longer wants to receive emails that contain account information, it is
important for him to know that he does have the ability to change his
preferences for how he would prefer to receive correspondence from Great Lakes.
To change, he would need to select the “my profile” option at the top of his
mygreatlakes.org account, then choose “email and alerts.” Please know that only
the borrower has the ability to change their preferences.
I
hope Mr. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If he has any additional
questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone
at (800) 236-4300, through email at [redacted]
or by mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Borrower Services Department –
Contact Escalation
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Thank
you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity
to address her concern in regard to her U.S. Department of Education (ED) Consolidation
loan account.
According
to the information submitted by Ms. [redacted], her address and email address match
the information on our system. We regret the difficulties she has had accessing
her account and would be happy to assist her with accessing her account
information on mygreatlakes.org. We encourage her to contact a Borrower
Services Representative at the contact information provided below to begin the
process.
According
to ED’s records, Ms. [redacted] completed her consolidation application on June 16,
2014. We have attached a copy of it for her reference. Please note that any
identity sensitive information has been masked in order to protect her privacy.
Unfortunately, after reviewing her consolidation application, we were unable to
determine why she was incapable of accessing her account in our system. The
demographic information provided on her consolidation application, such as her
address, phone number, and email address, is the information we updated our
system with when we started servicing her Consolidation loan.
At
the present time, Ms. [redacted]’s account is past due 284 days in the amount of
$1,053.20. Her current monthly payment is $105.32. If she needs, it is
important for her to know that there are repayment and assistance options
available which would allow her to lower or postpone her payments, as well as
options to bring her account up to date. As previously mentioned, we would be
happy to work with her not only with helping her access her account, but also
to find the option that best fits her current situation. At Great Lakes, our
goal is to assist our borrowers with meeting their loan obligation in any way
that we can.
Additionally,
if Ms. [redacted] has federal student loans serviced outside of Great Lakes, or if
she would like to review information about the loans included inside of her
consolidation, she may visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS),
ED’s central repository that houses all federal student loan information, at
their website, www.nslds.ed.gov.
I
hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided useful. If she has any
additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services
Department by phone at ###-###-####, through email at [redacted], or by
mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
[redacted] [redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Tell us why he Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Tacy [redacted] and for providing us the additional opportunity to address her concerns regarding her student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it, is that she feels she did not miss any payments to cause collection fees to be added and that the fees are not reasonable. She’s also questioning the current loan balance. We are pleased to report that Great Lakes has agreed to reinstate the no-fee repayment agreement Ms. [redacted] had established with our Default Collections Department on March 6, 2017, provided she continues to meet the requirements of the agreement going forward. It appears Ms. [redacted] has recently been submitting her payments around the 20th of each month. The original agreement was setup with a billing date for the 13th and thus her next payment would be due on February 13th. Ms. [redacted] will need to make her scheduled payment between February 8th and February 18th, and then between the 8th and the 18th of each subsequent calendar month to maintain the reestablished no-fee payment agreement. Ms. [redacted] should contact Default Collections if there is a date that will work better for her to make her payments within the agreement. Because Ms. [redacted] entered into a repayment payment arrangement within 65 days of default, the no-fee payment arrangement would continue until the loan was paid in full, or until a payment was missed or received outside five days of the due date. We encourage Ms. [redacted] to contact Great Lakes Default Collections at ###-###-####.Loan Repayment Specialists are available Monday - Friday from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Central time. In response to her concern that the collection fees are not reasonable, it is important to understand that the collection fees assessed are in accordance with the promissory note and Higher Education Act (HEA) and governing regulations, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 682.410. Collection fees as of January 1, 2018 are 15.226%. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) sets the maximum collection fee rate annually. Currently that maximum is 24.34%. Although the adjustment is being made to her account, we believe it would be helpful to provide an explanation of the present balance of her consolidation loan. However, at this time we have not completely compiled our comprehensive loan history for Ms. [redacted]’s account. Therefore, we will be providing more a full accounting of her current balance in a separate letter directly to the Ms. [redacted]. We hope that this information is helpful. If additional information is required, Ms. [redacted] can contact our office directly between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist re...
Thank
you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity
to address his concern about the balance of his loan increasing even though he
is not currently in school, or receiving financial aid to attend school.
Upon
receiving Mr. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our records which confirmed that
we are the servicer of his federal Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of
Education (ED). Additionally, our records detailed a $3500 Stafford loan disbursement
adjustment, $1,500 subsidized and $2,000 unsubsidized, that occurred May 8,
2015. This adjustment appears to be the balance increase Mr. [redacted] is referring
to. Unfortunately, Great Lakes is not privy to the reasoning as to why this disbursement amount
was changed.
As
Mr. [redacted]’s federal student loan servicer, we are responsible for providing him
information about his loans and helping him meet his loan obligations once they
are disbursed. We do not determine the amounts of the disbursements
or how they are allocated. Additionally, only a borrower’s school has the
ability to adjust the amount of a disbursement. Because of this, Mr. [redacted] will
need to contact the financial aid office or the bursar’s office at his school,
[redacted] University, to find out why his disbursement amount changed.
We
encourage Mr. [redacted] to begin his research by contacting their financial aid
office, at (407) 628-5870, to request an accounting history/ledger to determine
whether or not the amounts disbursed were accurate. The accounting
history/ledger should show all financial aid his school received on his behalf,
in addition to itemizing how those funds were used. In other words, this
document should provide details concerning all tuition and fees Mr. [redacted]’s financial
aid covered and as a result, should confirm if the amount of financial disbursed on
his behalf is accurate. Additionally, even though the campus that operated Mr.
[redacted]’s online program was recently sold, we did confirm that it did not close,
and it is currently fully operational.
In
the event that Mr. [redacted] is unable to obtain information from his school regarding
the reasoning behind his disbursement being adjusted and feels it should be
refunded, or sent back to ED, the following discharge program may be applicable
for students in his situation:
Borrower Defense to
Repayment (BDR):
The
BDR discharge program allows students to request debt relief if they believe
they were victims of fraud or other violations of state law by the school. Please
know that this program is applicable regardless of whether or not the student’s
school is currently open or closed. If Mr. [redacted] believes this discharge is
applicable to his situation and would like to discuss it in greater detail, he
may contact ED at (855) 279-6207, between 8am and 8pm ET, Monday through
Friday. He may also review information about this discharge, or begin the
application process at the following website;
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/announcements/corinthian.
At
Great Lakes, our goal is to assist our borrowers in any way that we can and I
hope that Mr. [redacted] finds the information provided useful. If he has any
additional questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services
Department by phone at (800) 236-4300, through email at [email protected], or by
mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
[redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Michelle [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to addressher concern regarding the amount of her monthly payment, which she states is currently unaffordable, onthe Private student loan we service for her lender, [redacted] ([redacted]...
[redacted]).With regards to Ms. [redacted]’ concern, we must first make note that her loan with [redacted] is a Private loan.Consequently, the terms and conditions of her loan, which detail her repayment term(s) as well as anyrepayment and assistance options available, were dictated by [redacted] and were accepted by Ms. [redacted]when she signed her specific contract, or loan agreement. In view of that, it is also important to point out thatGreat Lakes, as her loan servicer, is contractually obligated to comply with all of her loan’s terms andconditions as detailed within her specific contract.Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’ inquiry, we reviewed her account to determine if there was any way to lower hermonthly payment in accordance with her loan’s terms and conditions. Unfortunately, Ms. [redacted] had alreadyutilized the Graduated Repayment Plan (GRP), which is the only option offered by [redacted] to lower hermonthly payments. After confirming this, we contacted [redacted] and shared with them Ms. [redacted]’ situationand inquired about whether or not an exception could be made to reduce her monthly payment. Regrettably,[redacted] did not approve our request.While we empathize with Ms. [redacted]’ current situation, as a loan servicer we do not have the authority tooffer any repayment or assistance options outside of those outlined within her loan’s terms and conditions. IfMs. [redacted] would like, she may contact [redacted] directly at ###-###-#### with any additional questions orconcerns she may have regarding her repayment options.I understand that this is not the answer Ms. [redacted] was hoping for and apologize for any frustration she hasexperienced. If she has any questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] ...
Reference ID: 12-[redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Tacy [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding her student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it, is that she would like Great Lakes to withdraw all collection fees. The governing law under which Ms. [redacted]’s Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) Consolidation loan is subject to is the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and applicable U.S. Department of Education (Ed) regulations (collectively referred to as the “Act”). On February 6, 2017, Great Lakes as the guarantor paid a default claim to Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Incorporated (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. Subsequently, the servicing of her defaulted Consolidation loan was assigned to Great Lakes Default Collections. We are providing a copy of Ms. [redacted]’s FFELP Federal Consolidation Loan Application and Promissory Note (PN), and the Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement (R&R) for her review. It is important for Ms. [redacted] to understand that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements allow Great Lakes to provide requested records in any form or format readily reproducible. The promissory note copies that have been provided contain a clear, legible photocopy of Ms. [redacted]’s signature, which satisfies the FOIA requirement. Additionally, she may also access and view detailed information about her student loan through the link provided on ED’s website, studentloans.gov, for the National Student Loan Data System, ED’s central repository that houses all federal student loan information. At this time Ms. [redacted]’s options to resolve her current default are limited because changes to the federal regulations as of August 14, 2008 no longer allow borrowers to rehabilitate defaulted loans more than once. During the course of our investigation we discovered that Ms. [redacted] had already taken advantage of the default loan rehabilitation program, which allows student loan borrowers a onetime opportunity to get their loans out of default by making a pre-determined number of consecutive, voluntary, on-time monthly payments. Our investigation confirmed she resolved her January 5, 2015 default via the rehabilitation program on December 13, 2015. Regarding the collection fees that have been accessed on Ms. [redacted]’s account, we direct her to review the enclosed R&R: Point #6 “Consequences of Default” in the R&R it states: “Default is defined in detail in my Note. If I default, the entire unpaid balance and collection fees will become immediately due and payable. Failure to repay this loan according to its terms and conditions may result in any or all of the following: -Loss of federal and state income tax refunds, -Loss of other federal or state payments, -My employer withholding part of my wages to give them to my guarantor (administrative wage garnishment). -Legal action against me, -Collection charges (including attorney’s fees) being assessed against me, -Loss of my professional license, -An increase in my interest rate, -Loss of eligibility for other student aid and assistance under most federal benefit programs, -Loss of eligibility for loan deferments, and -Negative credit reports to credit bureaus.” Furthermore, Per Section 36 of the PN, “Promise to Pay” it states: I promise to pay to the order of the lender, all sums disbursed (hereafter “loan”) under the terms of this Promissory Note (hereafter “Note”) to pay off my prior loan obligations, plus interest and other charges and fees that may become due as provided in this Note. Unless I make interest payments, interest that accrues on my loan during forbearance periods and on the unsubsidized portion of my loan during deferment periods will be added, as provided under the Act, to the principal balance of the loan. If I fail to make any payments on this Note when due, I will also pay reasonable collection costs, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, court costs and other fees. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A LOAN THAT I MUST REPAY” Although Ms. [redacted] is no longer eligible for the rehabilitation program; she may be able to resolve her default through loan consolidation. Ms. [redacted] can attempt to consolidate through the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. A Direct consolidation is when ED issues a consolidation loan that pays outstanding student loans. A borrower then repays the consolidation loan directly to ED. For additional information on this program, Ms. [redacted] can call ###-###-#### or visit their website at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/ * It is important to understand that Ms. [redacted] will remain responsible for the collection fees should she decide to consolidate her loans. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance. If additional information is required, Ms. [redacted] can contact our office directly between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted] Great Lakes Higher Education Ombudsman Specialist
Revdex.com:
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.]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Benita [redacted] and for providing us the opportunityto address her concern regarding her student loan accounts with the U.S. Department ofEducation (ED). According to her inquiry, she believes that her payments have not been appliedto her Direct...
Consolidation account. Additionally, as of October 20, 2016, Ms. [redacted] believesher payment received on September 28, 2016 is short $58.05.Since Ms. [redacted]’ concern pertains to payment application, we wanted to begin by providinginformation about how payments are applied toward federal student loans. As with all federalloans, her loans are simple interest loans; meaning interest accrues daily based on the interestrates and principal balances of her loans. When a payment is applied, the federal guidelinesrequire loan servicers, such as Great Lakes, to apply regular monthly payments first to any latecharges (if applicable), then to accrued interest, and then the remainder, if any, is prorated andapplied to the principal balance of the loans within the account. If a payment is larger than theregular monthly payment, the overpayment is applied to the principal balance of the loan with thehighest interest rate (assuming all outstanding accrued interest is paid).After reviewing Ms. [redacted]’ accounts, it appears that all requests she has made for herpayments to be redirected have been processed, with her most recent request being completedon October 20, 2016. For her review, so she may confirm that all payments she has made havebeen applied to her accounts as she intended, we have enclosed copy of her payment history, aswell as detailed payment histories for each specific loan within her accounts.Since Ms. [redacted] is requesting her extra payments be applied toward the portion of her DirectConsolidation Loan with the smaller balance, please note that she does have the ability to updateher payment application preference through our website, mygreatlakes.org (MGL). Through herMGL account, she may submit that her preference is to apply all extra payments made towardthat specific portion of her Consolidation Loan, which is under loan token 014. If she is interestedin this option and has questions about submitting her extra payment preference through ourwebsite, we encourage her to contact us using the information below. It is also important to point out that Ms. [redacted]’ accounts are currently in an in-school deferment,effective August 22, 2016 through July 28, 2018. The deferment was placed on her accountbased on the most recent enrollment information certified by her school, [redacted]. The reason this is important to note is because she mentioned that her accountswere paid ahead of the payment schedules that were previously on file. Now that her accounts arein deferment, her previous payment schedules are no longer active, as she is not required tomake payments during periods of deferment. However, being in deferment does not prevent herfrom making payments toward her accounts, which would be to her benefit because interest doesnot accrue on subsidized portions of her loans while in deferment.Additionally, as Ms. [redacted] mentioned that she believes some of the payments she has madewere not applied to her accounts, we encourage her to review the attached payment histories toconfirm that all payments she has previously made have been applied. After reviewing herpayment histories, if she finds any payments that have been withdrawn from her bank accountthat are not accounted for within her payment histories, we ask that she provide us withdocumentation of these payments, such as a bank statement or a front and back copy of thecashed check, so we may research and attempt to locate the missing payments. Thisdocumentation may be sent to us via the email or mailing address below, or faxed to [redacted]
[redacted]. We ask that Ms. [redacted] include her Great Lakes ID ([redacted]) on any documentationto ensure it is routed to her account.We hope you find the information provided helpful in resolving Ms. [redacted]’ concerns andapologize for any frustration she has experienced. If she has any further questions or concernsshe may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-#### (Please notethat some calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes), by email at[redacted], or by mail to the address below:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the application of payments toward her student loans. To be more specific, she is making payments in excess of her normal monthly payment amounts and wants to ensure they...
are being applied toward the principal balances with the highest interest rates.To begin, we would like to thank Ms. [redacted] for detailing her experiences with Great Lakes. We strive to provide excellent customer service and genuinely appreciate this type of detailed feedback, as it gives us the opportunity to improve the level of service we provide our customers. On a related note, we are pleased to advise that we are in the process of implementing a new feature, which should be available within the next month, to improve the quality of our customer’s experience while making payments through our website. Once available, when a borrower makes an extra payment (a payment in excess of their regular monthly payment), they will have the ability to select and apply the extra amount toward specific loans within their account. Hopefully this feature will prevent similar issues from transpiring in the future.As Ms. [redacted] stated, her servicing history reflects that she would like her extra payments to be applied toward the highest interest rate loans. With that in mind, we would like to notify Ms. [redacted] that moving forward any extra payments she makes will automatically be reapplied as she indicated, assuming any outstanding interest is satisfied. It will no longer be necessary for her to contact us to make these requests. Additionally, so that she is aware, we will complete the necessary adjustments to reapply any extra payments she makes within two business days of her payment posting to her account. Please also note that if an adjustment is made, the payment will be shown as pending within her payment history; however, once it has been reapplied it will be retroactively posted to her account as of the date it was originally applied.I apologize for any frustration Ms. [redacted] experienced and hope the information provided alleviates her concern. If she has additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]
Thank you for your additional follow up on behalf of Ms. [redacted].The following table details the information provided to Ms. [redacted] on the attached Graduated Repayment Plan (GRP) payment schedule from December 5, 2010 for her loan under lender number [redacted]:Ms. [redacted]’s payment amount on loan [redacted] did not increase from $121.86 because her loan was paid in-full by her consolidation loan on March 13, 2014, just prior to the payment being scheduled to increase to $335.06.We apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced. Unfortunately, Great Lakes has provided all information regarding payment allocation and the payment schedules in place for Ms. [redacted]. As previously mentioned, Great Lakes is required to apply payments according to the federal regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and have confirmed that all payments and payment plans on file were in accordance with the federal regulations and her requests.If Ms. [redacted] remains dissatisfied with the information provided, she may contact ED’s Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s office. Their contact information is as follows:U.S. Department of Education[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]Ms. [redacted] may also contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, through email at [redacted], or by mailing:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
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 concern. Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it,
is regarding a call her mother received on June 16, 2015 from Great Lakes who
was attempting to obtain a valid mailing address.
After
reviewing our records it appears that Ms. [redacted]’s concern was addressed
directly during a phone conversation she had with a Great Lakes’ Representative
on June 17, 2015.
If
Ms. [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns she would like addressed, she may contact our Borrower Services
Department by calling ###-###-####, emailing [redacted], or
by mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of [redacted] M. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern. Ms. [redacted]’s...
concern as we understand it is her uncertainty as to her loan status. We are happy to report that the loan servicer Performant Recovery, Incorporated, (Performant) has been in contact with Ms. [redacted] and they are working directly with her toward a resolution. In fact, they report that the loan rehabilitation Ms. [redacted] has agreed to will be retroactive to October 28, 2015, in order to take advantage of previous payments she has made. This will resolve the default status that is currently on her account. As Ms. [redacted] has requested, we have included her payment history for review. We encourage Ms. [redacted] to continue working with Performant towards a positive resolution. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance. If additional information is required, please by all means, contact us. You can reach our office between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding Great Lakes’ credit reporting toward his student loan account with the U.S. Department of Education (ED).According to his inquiry, he should not have been reported as...
delinquent to the nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) because his account should have been under the Unemployment Deferment and no payments should have been due.To begin, we must first note that the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires Great Lakes to report the status of all serviced student loan accounts to the 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 Mr. [redacted]’s account to verify the accuracy of the information we reported toward his credit files, and to ensure no errors were made that lead to, or resulted in, inaccurate delinquency reporting (such as misapplication of payments). According to our records, Mr. [redacted] contacted us on August 19, 2013 and requested an Unemployment Deferment application be emailed to him. This application was subsequently sent to the email address we have on file, [redacted]@aol.com, which is also the email address he provided in this inquiry, at 2:47pm CT. Upon sending the Unemployment Deferment application, a temporary hold, in the form of a document related forbearance, was placed on his account for 60 days to postpone his payments and allow him time to complete and return the application.Our review further revealed that Mr. [redacted]’s Unemployment Deferment application was not received by Great Lakes during the 60 day document related forbearance, which resulted in a new payment schedule being generated on October 19, 2013. The new payment schedule confirmed payments of $55.59 per month became due starting December 2, 2013. His account then remained in repayment until the next time he contacted us, August 24, 2015, the date he requested a discretionary forbearance to bring his account current.Unfortunately, no payments were received while he was in repayment, which caused his account to go past due by more than 320 days. Due to the past due status of his account, it was reported to the CRAs as delinquent from March of 2014 through July of 2015.In addition to the aforementioned points, we also confirmed that all of the information we reported to the CRAs, on behalf of Mr. [redacted], was accurate. Regrettably, for the reasons mentioned above, even though we empathize with Mr. [redacted]’s situation, we are unable to make any adjustments to our past credit reporting.Nevertheless, we wanted to share with Mr. [redacted] an important point listed on Myfico.com, which 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.We understand that this is not the answer Mr. [redacted] was hoping for and apologize for any frustration he has experienced. If he has any questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great Lakes
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 concern in regard to the credit reporting done
by Great Lakes toward her previously serviced student loan accounts.
The
Higher Education Act of 1965 requires that 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. We are audited to ensure
our compliance with these requirements.
Upon
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s request for an adjustment to the data that we credit
reported on her student loan accounts, we re-evaluated to ensure no errors were
made that would lead to, or result in, inaccurate delinquency reporting (such
as misapplication of payments). Our review of her credit reporting history confirmed
that our reporting was accurate and objective, as required, and that no such
errors were made.
To
summarize the credit reporting done on Ms. [redacted]’s accounts, her
delinquencies, listed by account, were last reported as follows:
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as
closed/transferred in January 2011. Delinquencies reported in March
through December 2010 are accurate.
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as paid in-full in September
2014. Delinquencies reported in May through July 2014 are accurate.
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as open and currently being
serviced by Great Lakes. We last reported this account as current and in
forbearance through August 21, 2015. Delinquencies reported in January and
February 2015 are accurate.
It is important for Ms. [redacted] to know
that the CRAs monitor this historical data and determine when it should be
purged from her credit files. For her
convenience, we have included a list of the CRAs. Their customer service staff
may be able to discuss when the historical data on her credit files would be
scheduled to be purged.
Regrettably,
because the credit reporting done on Ms. [redacted]’s accounts is accurate, we
are unable to make any adjustments to it. Moving forward, if Ms.
[redacted] is ever in need of repayment
assistance in the future, we recommend that she proactively seek assistance
options from us, as this could prevent future adverse credit reporting. Additionally,
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 may not be the answer Ms. [redacted] was hoping for and
apologize for any frustration this experience has caused her. If she has any additional questions or
concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by
phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted],
or by mail to:
[redacted]
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.
Revdex.com:
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 understand that I am in default, however, I did not miss any payments, nor were they delinquent, I was reprimanded with collection fees as my payment was early. They also state that part od the agreement was " I will also pay reasonable collection costs". There is nothing reasonable about collection fees totaling over $6,000. My student loan started at $35,000 and even with applied payments it is now over $51,000. They are making it impossible for this debt to be paid off.
Regards,
Tacy [redacted]
Revdex.com:
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.
A reduction of my payment is NOT what I asked for. The $96 of NSF fees caused by a poor job of communication by their company is what I asking be returned to me. Emails are not certified mail. I did NOT receive any communication on that change. I want my money refunded back to me and for my account to be transferred to a better company.
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity toaddress her concern about the length of time it is taking to process the payments she made tosatisfy the remaining balance of her Parent PLUS loan.Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our...
records which confirmed that we previouslyserviced two loans that she had an obligation toward. The first was a federal Parent PLUS loanwith T.H.E. Loan Program USB Trustee, in which she was the sole borrower, and a DiscoverFinancial Services (Discover) Private loan, a portion of which she consigned for Mr. Brandon[redacted].According to our records, Ms. [redacted]’s obligation to both of the aforementioned accounts has beenmet. For Ms. [redacted]’s review, we have attached the payment histories for both accounts so that shemay confirm this information and have a copy of each for her records. As detailed on the attacheddocumentation, her Parent PLUS loan was satisfied on April 25, 2009, and the portion of theDiscover Private loan she cosigned was paid in-full January 8, 2015. Since her Discover Privateloan was the account most recently satisfied, we have also included a paid in-full confirmationletter in hopes of alleviating her concern, as she indicated she has yet to receive this letter.Unfortunately, as both accounts related to Ms. [redacted] are satisfied, we were unable to identify theremaining balances or misapplied payments she referenced in her complaint. For this reason, sothat we may fully address the concerns Ms. [redacted] referenced, we ask her to please contact ususing the information provided below, which will assist us with identifying the accounts shereferenced having difficulties with.Please know that at Great Lakes, our goal is to assist our borrowers in any way that we can and Ihope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If she has any additional questions orconcerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####,through email at [redacted], or by mailing:[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. Mark [redacted]
and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding a payment
made on his behalf by the U.S. Military to satisfy the remaining balance of his
Consolidation loan that we service for the U.S. Department of...
Education
(ED). To thoroughly address Mr. [redacted]’s concern, we emailed
him a letter on August 9, 2016. Unfortunately, our records, including the
document he referenced provided from his previous servicer, [redacted], do not indicate that a payment was made in May
2013 by the U.S. Military to pay his account in-full, rather the transaction
referenced was a balance transfer. We hope that Mr. [redacted] finds the more detailed
information being provided helpful. If he has any questions or concerns, we ask
that he contact our Escalation Team directly by phone at ###-###-####, or by
email at [redacted]
Revdex.com:
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.
For student Loans, they are to be reported accurately. The Revdex.com can close the case as not resolved, yes the loan is in forbearance, but they have opened 15 accounts within the three credit agencies which is what the actual dispute is had they looked. I am very aware of the contact of the credit agencies because I have tried to get great lakes to remove them for over 10 years since it has been reporting since 1998 incorrectly. I have hired a team of lawyers to fix their errors on my credit report which I will then sue them for the cost of them to remove it.
Thank you,
[redacted]
July 8, 2015
[redacted]
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 which are as follows:
Customer service issues he states
he has experienced with two of our Borrower Services Representatives.
He has had difficulty scheduling
payments on our website, mygreatlakes.org.
He would prefer not to receive
emails the contain account information.
Issue 1: Service
Quality
Upon
receiving Mr. [redacted]’ concern, we reviewed our records and were unable to locate
the calls he referenced. Below details all conversation between Mr. [redacted]’, and
an authorized party, with our Borrower Services Department:
Date
Call Details
07/29/2011
Conversation with
Mr. [redacted] in which he advised that he was going to be a full-time student at
the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh beginning in September 2011, with an
anticipated graduation date of June 2014.
10/19/2011
Talked to Mr. [redacted]’
Mother. She was advised all available payment methods and that Auto Pay, our
automated billing system, would not begin automatically with a mailed
payment.
04/30/2013
Mr. [redacted] called and
advised that he was going back to the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh in
September 2013. Subsequently, he was advised that his account was paid ahead and
if we do not receive certified enrollment verification from his school,
allowing us to place his account into the school deferment, his next payment
would not be due until December 2013.
Unfortunately,
since we are not able to identify the events that Mr. [redacted] is referencing, we
request that he provide us the dates these conversations occurred so that we
may forward them to the appropriate parties for review.
Issue 2: Scheduling Payments:
Payments
on our website can be scheduled up to 31 days in advance. In order for payments
to be credited on the same business day they must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CT,
on regular business days. Payments submitted online after 5:00 p.m., or on
weekends or holidays, are credited for the following business day. These
scenarios both assume that a payment date in the future was not selected.
(Payments withdrawn through Auto Pay are credited on the scheduled payment
date, even if that date falls on a weekend or holiday, although they may not be
processed until the following business day.)
Issue 3: Communications Preference
On
October 20, 2011, Mr. [redacted] chose his preferred method for receiving
correspondence to be electronically, or via email. Since he stated that he no
longer wants to receive emails that contain account information, it is
important for him to know that he does have the ability to change his
preferences for how he would prefer to receive correspondence from Great Lakes.
To change, he would need to select the “my profile” option at the top of his
mygreatlakes.org account, then choose “email and alerts.” Please know that only
the borrower has the ability to change their preferences.
I
hope Mr. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If he has any additional
questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone
at (800) 236-4300, through email at [redacted]
or by mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Borrower Services Department –
Contact Escalation
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
July 2, 2015
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] [redacted]
[redacted] [redacted]
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 concern in regard to her U.S. Department of Education (ED) Consolidation
loan account.
According
to the information submitted by Ms. [redacted], her address and email address match
the information on our system. We regret the difficulties she has had accessing
her account and would be happy to assist her with accessing her account
information on mygreatlakes.org. We encourage her to contact a Borrower
Services Representative at the contact information provided below to begin the
process.
According
to ED’s records, Ms. [redacted] completed her consolidation application on June 16,
2014. We have attached a copy of it for her reference. Please note that any
identity sensitive information has been masked in order to protect her privacy.
Unfortunately, after reviewing her consolidation application, we were unable to
determine why she was incapable of accessing her account in our system. The
demographic information provided on her consolidation application, such as her
address, phone number, and email address, is the information we updated our
system with when we started servicing her Consolidation loan.
At
the present time, Ms. [redacted]’s account is past due 284 days in the amount of
$1,053.20. Her current monthly payment is $105.32. If she needs, it is
important for her to know that there are repayment and assistance options
available which would allow her to lower or postpone her payments, as well as
options to bring her account up to date. As previously mentioned, we would be
happy to work with her not only with helping her access her account, but also
to find the option that best fits her current situation. At Great Lakes, our
goal is to assist our borrowers with meeting their loan obligation in any way
that we can.
Additionally,
if Ms. [redacted] has federal student loans serviced outside of Great Lakes, or if
she would like to review information about the loans included inside of her
consolidation, she may visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS),
ED’s central repository that houses all federal student loan information, at
their website, www.nslds.ed.gov.
I
hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided useful. If she has any
additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services
Department by phone at ###-###-####, through email at [redacted], or by
mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
[redacted] [redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Tell us why he Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Tacy [redacted] and for providing us the additional opportunity to address her concerns regarding her student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it, is that she feels she did not miss any payments to cause collection fees to be added and that the fees are not reasonable. She’s also questioning the current loan balance. We are pleased to report that Great Lakes has agreed to reinstate the no-fee repayment agreement Ms. [redacted] had established with our Default Collections Department on March 6, 2017, provided she continues to meet the requirements of the agreement going forward. It appears Ms. [redacted] has recently been submitting her payments around the 20th of each month. The original agreement was setup with a billing date for the 13th and thus her next payment would be due on February 13th. Ms. [redacted] will need to make her scheduled payment between February 8th and February 18th, and then between the 8th and the 18th of each subsequent calendar month to maintain the reestablished no-fee payment agreement. Ms. [redacted] should contact Default Collections if there is a date that will work better for her to make her payments within the agreement. Because Ms. [redacted] entered into a repayment payment arrangement within 65 days of default, the no-fee payment arrangement would continue until the loan was paid in full, or until a payment was missed or received outside five days of the due date. We encourage Ms. [redacted] to contact Great Lakes Default Collections at ###-###-####.Loan Repayment Specialists are available Monday - Friday from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Central time. In response to her concern that the collection fees are not reasonable, it is important to understand that the collection fees assessed are in accordance with the promissory note and Higher Education Act (HEA) and governing regulations, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 682.410. Collection fees as of January 1, 2018 are 15.226%. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) sets the maximum collection fee rate annually. Currently that maximum is 24.34%. Although the adjustment is being made to her account, we believe it would be helpful to provide an explanation of the present balance of her consolidation loan. However, at this time we have not completely compiled our comprehensive loan history for Ms. [redacted]’s account. Therefore, we will be providing more a full accounting of her current balance in a separate letter directly to the Ms. [redacted]. We hope that this information is helpful. If additional information is required, Ms. [redacted] can contact our office directly between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist re...
June 23, 2015
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] [redacted]
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 concern about the balance of his loan increasing even though he
is not currently in school, or receiving financial aid to attend school.
Upon
receiving Mr. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our records which confirmed that
we are the servicer of his federal Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of
Education (ED). Additionally, our records detailed a $3500 Stafford loan disbursement
adjustment, $1,500 subsidized and $2,000 unsubsidized, that occurred May 8,
2015. This adjustment appears to be the balance increase Mr. [redacted] is referring
to. Unfortunately, Great Lakes is not privy to the reasoning as to why this disbursement amount
was changed.
As
Mr. [redacted]’s federal student loan servicer, we are responsible for providing him
information about his loans and helping him meet his loan obligations once they
are disbursed. We do not determine the amounts of the disbursements
or how they are allocated. Additionally, only a borrower’s school has the
ability to adjust the amount of a disbursement. Because of this, Mr. [redacted] will
need to contact the financial aid office or the bursar’s office at his school,
[redacted] University, to find out why his disbursement amount changed.
We
encourage Mr. [redacted] to begin his research by contacting their financial aid
office, at (407) 628-5870, to request an accounting history/ledger to determine
whether or not the amounts disbursed were accurate. The accounting
history/ledger should show all financial aid his school received on his behalf,
in addition to itemizing how those funds were used. In other words, this
document should provide details concerning all tuition and fees Mr. [redacted]’s financial
aid covered and as a result, should confirm if the amount of financial disbursed on
his behalf is accurate. Additionally, even though the campus that operated Mr.
[redacted]’s online program was recently sold, we did confirm that it did not close,
and it is currently fully operational.
In
the event that Mr. [redacted] is unable to obtain information from his school regarding
the reasoning behind his disbursement being adjusted and feels it should be
refunded, or sent back to ED, the following discharge program may be applicable
for students in his situation:
Borrower Defense to
Repayment (BDR):
The
BDR discharge program allows students to request debt relief if they believe
they were victims of fraud or other violations of state law by the school. Please
know that this program is applicable regardless of whether or not the student’s
school is currently open or closed. If Mr. [redacted] believes this discharge is
applicable to his situation and would like to discuss it in greater detail, he
may contact ED at (855) 279-6207, between 8am and 8pm ET, Monday through
Friday. He may also review information about this discharge, or begin the
application process at the following website;
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/announcements/corinthian.
At
Great Lakes, our goal is to assist our borrowers in any way that we can and I
hope that Mr. [redacted] finds the information provided useful. If he has any
additional questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services
Department by phone at (800) 236-4300, through email at [email protected], or by
mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
[redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Michelle [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to addressher concern regarding the amount of her monthly payment, which she states is currently unaffordable, onthe Private student loan we service for her lender, [redacted] ([redacted]...
[redacted]).With regards to Ms. [redacted]’ concern, we must first make note that her loan with [redacted] is a Private loan.Consequently, the terms and conditions of her loan, which detail her repayment term(s) as well as anyrepayment and assistance options available, were dictated by [redacted] and were accepted by Ms. [redacted]when she signed her specific contract, or loan agreement. In view of that, it is also important to point out thatGreat Lakes, as her loan servicer, is contractually obligated to comply with all of her loan’s terms andconditions as detailed within her specific contract.Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’ inquiry, we reviewed her account to determine if there was any way to lower hermonthly payment in accordance with her loan’s terms and conditions. Unfortunately, Ms. [redacted] had alreadyutilized the Graduated Repayment Plan (GRP), which is the only option offered by [redacted] to lower hermonthly payments. After confirming this, we contacted [redacted] and shared with them Ms. [redacted]’ situationand inquired about whether or not an exception could be made to reduce her monthly payment. Regrettably,[redacted] did not approve our request.While we empathize with Ms. [redacted]’ current situation, as a loan servicer we do not have the authority tooffer any repayment or assistance options outside of those outlined within her loan’s terms and conditions. IfMs. [redacted] would like, she may contact [redacted] directly at ###-###-#### with any additional questions orconcerns she may have regarding her repayment options.I understand that this is not the answer Ms. [redacted] was hoping for and apologize for any frustration she hasexperienced. If she has any questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] ...
Reference ID: 12-[redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Tacy [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding her student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it, is that she would like Great Lakes to withdraw all collection fees. The governing law under which Ms. [redacted]’s Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) Consolidation loan is subject to is the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and applicable U.S. Department of Education (Ed) regulations (collectively referred to as the “Act”). On February 6, 2017, Great Lakes as the guarantor paid a default claim to Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Incorporated (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. Subsequently, the servicing of her defaulted Consolidation loan was assigned to Great Lakes Default Collections. We are providing a copy of Ms. [redacted]’s FFELP Federal Consolidation Loan Application and Promissory Note (PN), and the Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities Statement (R&R) for her review. It is important for Ms. [redacted] to understand that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirements allow Great Lakes to provide requested records in any form or format readily reproducible. The promissory note copies that have been provided contain a clear, legible photocopy of Ms. [redacted]’s signature, which satisfies the FOIA requirement. Additionally, she may also access and view detailed information about her student loan through the link provided on ED’s website, studentloans.gov, for the National Student Loan Data System, ED’s central repository that houses all federal student loan information. At this time Ms. [redacted]’s options to resolve her current default are limited because changes to the federal regulations as of August 14, 2008 no longer allow borrowers to rehabilitate defaulted loans more than once. During the course of our investigation we discovered that Ms. [redacted] had already taken advantage of the default loan rehabilitation program, which allows student loan borrowers a onetime opportunity to get their loans out of default by making a pre-determined number of consecutive, voluntary, on-time monthly payments. Our investigation confirmed she resolved her January 5, 2015 default via the rehabilitation program on December 13, 2015. Regarding the collection fees that have been accessed on Ms. [redacted]’s account, we direct her to review the enclosed R&R: Point #6 “Consequences of Default” in the R&R it states: “Default is defined in detail in my Note. If I default, the entire unpaid balance and collection fees will become immediately due and payable. Failure to repay this loan according to its terms and conditions may result in any or all of the following: -Loss of federal and state income tax refunds, -Loss of other federal or state payments, -My employer withholding part of my wages to give them to my guarantor (administrative wage garnishment). -Legal action against me, -Collection charges (including attorney’s fees) being assessed against me, -Loss of my professional license, -An increase in my interest rate, -Loss of eligibility for other student aid and assistance under most federal benefit programs, -Loss of eligibility for loan deferments, and -Negative credit reports to credit bureaus.” Furthermore, Per Section 36 of the PN, “Promise to Pay” it states: I promise to pay to the order of the lender, all sums disbursed (hereafter “loan”) under the terms of this Promissory Note (hereafter “Note”) to pay off my prior loan obligations, plus interest and other charges and fees that may become due as provided in this Note. Unless I make interest payments, interest that accrues on my loan during forbearance periods and on the unsubsidized portion of my loan during deferment periods will be added, as provided under the Act, to the principal balance of the loan. If I fail to make any payments on this Note when due, I will also pay reasonable collection costs, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, court costs and other fees. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A LOAN THAT I MUST REPAY” Although Ms. [redacted] is no longer eligible for the rehabilitation program; she may be able to resolve her default through loan consolidation. Ms. [redacted] can attempt to consolidate through the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. A Direct consolidation is when ED issues a consolidation loan that pays outstanding student loans. A borrower then repays the consolidation loan directly to ED. For additional information on this program, Ms. [redacted] can call ###-###-#### or visit their website at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/ * It is important to understand that Ms. [redacted] will remain responsible for the collection fees should she decide to consolidate her loans. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance. If additional information is required, Ms. [redacted] can contact our office directly between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted] Great Lakes Higher Education Ombudsman Specialist
Revdex.com:
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.]
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Benita [redacted] and for providing us the opportunityto address her concern regarding her student loan accounts with the U.S. Department ofEducation (ED). According to her inquiry, she believes that her payments have not been appliedto her Direct...
Consolidation account. Additionally, as of October 20, 2016, Ms. [redacted] believesher payment received on September 28, 2016 is short $58.05.Since Ms. [redacted]’ concern pertains to payment application, we wanted to begin by providinginformation about how payments are applied toward federal student loans. As with all federalloans, her loans are simple interest loans; meaning interest accrues daily based on the interestrates and principal balances of her loans. When a payment is applied, the federal guidelinesrequire loan servicers, such as Great Lakes, to apply regular monthly payments first to any latecharges (if applicable), then to accrued interest, and then the remainder, if any, is prorated andapplied to the principal balance of the loans within the account. If a payment is larger than theregular monthly payment, the overpayment is applied to the principal balance of the loan with thehighest interest rate (assuming all outstanding accrued interest is paid).After reviewing Ms. [redacted]’ accounts, it appears that all requests she has made for herpayments to be redirected have been processed, with her most recent request being completedon October 20, 2016. For her review, so she may confirm that all payments she has made havebeen applied to her accounts as she intended, we have enclosed copy of her payment history, aswell as detailed payment histories for each specific loan within her accounts.Since Ms. [redacted] is requesting her extra payments be applied toward the portion of her DirectConsolidation Loan with the smaller balance, please note that she does have the ability to updateher payment application preference through our website, mygreatlakes.org (MGL). Through herMGL account, she may submit that her preference is to apply all extra payments made towardthat specific portion of her Consolidation Loan, which is under loan token 014. If she is interestedin this option and has questions about submitting her extra payment preference through ourwebsite, we encourage her to contact us using the information below. It is also important to point out that Ms. [redacted]’ accounts are currently in an in-school deferment,effective August 22, 2016 through July 28, 2018. The deferment was placed on her accountbased on the most recent enrollment information certified by her school, [redacted]. The reason this is important to note is because she mentioned that her accountswere paid ahead of the payment schedules that were previously on file. Now that her accounts arein deferment, her previous payment schedules are no longer active, as she is not required tomake payments during periods of deferment. However, being in deferment does not prevent herfrom making payments toward her accounts, which would be to her benefit because interest doesnot accrue on subsidized portions of her loans while in deferment.Additionally, as Ms. [redacted] mentioned that she believes some of the payments she has madewere not applied to her accounts, we encourage her to review the attached payment histories toconfirm that all payments she has previously made have been applied. After reviewing herpayment histories, if she finds any payments that have been withdrawn from her bank accountthat are not accounted for within her payment histories, we ask that she provide us withdocumentation of these payments, such as a bank statement or a front and back copy of thecashed check, so we may research and attempt to locate the missing payments. Thisdocumentation may be sent to us via the email or mailing address below, or faxed to [redacted]
[redacted]. We ask that Ms. [redacted] include her Great Lakes ID ([redacted]) on any documentationto ensure it is routed to her account.We hope you find the information provided helpful in resolving Ms. [redacted]’ concerns andapologize for any frustration she has experienced. If she has any further questions or concernsshe may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-#### (Please notethat some calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes), by email at[redacted], or by mail to the address below:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the application of payments toward her student loans. To be more specific, she is making payments in excess of her normal monthly payment amounts and wants to ensure they...
are being applied toward the principal balances with the highest interest rates.To begin, we would like to thank Ms. [redacted] for detailing her experiences with Great Lakes. We strive to provide excellent customer service and genuinely appreciate this type of detailed feedback, as it gives us the opportunity to improve the level of service we provide our customers. On a related note, we are pleased to advise that we are in the process of implementing a new feature, which should be available within the next month, to improve the quality of our customer’s experience while making payments through our website. Once available, when a borrower makes an extra payment (a payment in excess of their regular monthly payment), they will have the ability to select and apply the extra amount toward specific loans within their account. Hopefully this feature will prevent similar issues from transpiring in the future.As Ms. [redacted] stated, her servicing history reflects that she would like her extra payments to be applied toward the highest interest rate loans. With that in mind, we would like to notify Ms. [redacted] that moving forward any extra payments she makes will automatically be reapplied as she indicated, assuming any outstanding interest is satisfied. It will no longer be necessary for her to contact us to make these requests. Additionally, so that she is aware, we will complete the necessary adjustments to reapply any extra payments she makes within two business days of her payment posting to her account. Please also note that if an adjustment is made, the payment will be shown as pending within her payment history; however, once it has been reapplied it will be retroactively posted to her account as of the date it was originally applied.I apologize for any frustration Ms. [redacted] experienced and hope the information provided alleviates her concern. If she has additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]
Thank you for your additional follow up on behalf of Ms. [redacted].The following table details the information provided to Ms. [redacted] on the attached Graduated Repayment Plan (GRP) payment schedule from December 5, 2010 for her loan under lender number [redacted]:Ms. [redacted]’s payment amount on loan [redacted] did not increase from $121.86 because her loan was paid in-full by her consolidation loan on March 13, 2014, just prior to the payment being scheduled to increase to $335.06.We apologize for the frustration Ms. [redacted] has experienced. Unfortunately, Great Lakes has provided all information regarding payment allocation and the payment schedules in place for Ms. [redacted]. As previously mentioned, Great Lakes is required to apply payments according to the federal regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and have confirmed that all payments and payment plans on file were in accordance with the federal regulations and her requests.If Ms. [redacted] remains dissatisfied with the information provided, she may contact ED’s Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s office. Their contact information is as follows:U.S. Department of Education[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]Ms. [redacted] may also contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, through email at [redacted], or by mailing:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
June 19, 2015
[redacted]
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 concern. Ms. [redacted]’s concern, as we understand it,
is regarding a call her mother received on June 16, 2015 from Great Lakes who
was attempting to obtain a valid mailing address.
After
reviewing our records it appears that Ms. [redacted]’s concern was addressed
directly during a phone conversation she had with a Great Lakes’ Representative
on June 17, 2015.
If
Ms. [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns she would like addressed, she may contact our Borrower Services
Department by calling ###-###-####, emailing [redacted], or
by mailing:
Great Lakes
[redacted]
Sincerely,
Aimee S[redacted]
Great
Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of [redacted] M. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern. Ms. [redacted]’s...
concern as we understand it is her uncertainty as to her loan status. We are happy to report that the loan servicer Performant Recovery, Incorporated, (Performant) has been in contact with Ms. [redacted] and they are working directly with her toward a resolution. In fact, they report that the loan rehabilitation Ms. [redacted] has agreed to will be retroactive to October 28, 2015, in order to take advantage of previous payments she has made. This will resolve the default status that is currently on her account. As Ms. [redacted] has requested, we have included her payment history for review. We encourage Ms. [redacted] to continue working with Performant towards a positive resolution. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance. If additional information is required, please by all means, contact us. You can reach our office between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at ###-###-####, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding Great Lakes’ credit reporting toward his student loan account with the U.S. Department of Education (ED).According to his inquiry, he should not have been reported as...
delinquent to the nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) because his account should have been under the Unemployment Deferment and no payments should have been due.To begin, we must first note that the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires Great Lakes to report the status of all serviced student loan accounts to the 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 Mr. [redacted]’s account to verify the accuracy of the information we reported toward his credit files, and to ensure no errors were made that lead to, or resulted in, inaccurate delinquency reporting (such as misapplication of payments). According to our records, Mr. [redacted] contacted us on August 19, 2013 and requested an Unemployment Deferment application be emailed to him. This application was subsequently sent to the email address we have on file, [redacted]@aol.com, which is also the email address he provided in this inquiry, at 2:47pm CT. Upon sending the Unemployment Deferment application, a temporary hold, in the form of a document related forbearance, was placed on his account for 60 days to postpone his payments and allow him time to complete and return the application.Our review further revealed that Mr. [redacted]’s Unemployment Deferment application was not received by Great Lakes during the 60 day document related forbearance, which resulted in a new payment schedule being generated on October 19, 2013. The new payment schedule confirmed payments of $55.59 per month became due starting December 2, 2013. His account then remained in repayment until the next time he contacted us, August 24, 2015, the date he requested a discretionary forbearance to bring his account current.Unfortunately, no payments were received while he was in repayment, which caused his account to go past due by more than 320 days. Due to the past due status of his account, it was reported to the CRAs as delinquent from March of 2014 through July of 2015.In addition to the aforementioned points, we also confirmed that all of the information we reported to the CRAs, on behalf of Mr. [redacted], was accurate. Regrettably, for the reasons mentioned above, even though we empathize with Mr. [redacted]’s situation, we are unable to make any adjustments to our past credit reporting.Nevertheless, we wanted to share with Mr. [redacted] an important point listed on Myfico.com, which 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.We understand that this is not the answer Mr. [redacted] was hoping for and apologize for any frustration he has experienced. If he has any questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great Lakes
June 2, 2015
[redacted]
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 concern in regard to the credit reporting done
by Great Lakes toward her previously serviced student loan accounts.
The
Higher Education Act of 1965 requires that 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. We are audited to ensure
our compliance with these requirements.
Upon
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s request for an adjustment to the data that we credit
reported on her student loan accounts, we re-evaluated to ensure no errors were
made that would lead to, or result in, inaccurate delinquency reporting (such
as misapplication of payments). Our review of her credit reporting history confirmed
that our reporting was accurate and objective, as required, and that no such
errors were made.
To
summarize the credit reporting done on Ms. [redacted]’s accounts, her
delinquencies, listed by account, were last reported as follows:
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as
closed/transferred in January 2011. Delinquencies reported in March
through December 2010 are accurate.
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as paid in-full in September
2014. Delinquencies reported in May through July 2014 are accurate.
Account ending in [redacted]: Reported as open and currently being
serviced by Great Lakes. We last reported this account as current and in
forbearance through August 21, 2015. Delinquencies reported in January and
February 2015 are accurate.
It is important for Ms. [redacted] to know
that the CRAs monitor this historical data and determine when it should be
purged from her credit files. For her
convenience, we have included a list of the CRAs. Their customer service staff
may be able to discuss when the historical data on her credit files would be
scheduled to be purged.
[redacted]:
Phone: ###-###-####
Website: [redacted]
Mail: [redacted]:
Phone: ###-###-####
Website: [redacted]
Mail: [redacted]
Equifax:
Phone: ###-###-####
Website: [redacted]
Mail: [redacted]
Regrettably,
because the credit reporting done on Ms. [redacted]’s accounts is accurate, we
are unable to make any adjustments to it. Moving forward, if Ms.
[redacted] is ever in need of repayment
assistance in the future, we recommend that she proactively seek assistance
options from us, as this could prevent future adverse credit reporting. Additionally,
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 may not be the answer Ms. [redacted] was hoping for and
apologize for any frustration this experience has caused her. If she has any additional questions or
concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by
phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted],
or by mail to:
[redacted]
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.
Revdex.com:
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 understand that I am in default, however, I did not miss any payments, nor were they delinquent, I was reprimanded with collection fees as my payment was early. They also state that part od the agreement was " I will also pay reasonable collection costs". There is nothing reasonable about collection fees totaling over $6,000. My student loan started at $35,000 and even with applied payments it is now over $51,000. They are making it impossible for this debt to be paid off.
Regards,
Tacy [redacted]
Revdex.com:
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.
A reduction of my payment is NOT what I asked for. The $96 of NSF fees caused by a poor job of communication by their company is what I asking be returned to me. Emails are not certified mail. I did NOT receive any communication on that change. I want my money refunded back to me and for my account to be transferred to a better company.
Regards,
[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity toaddress her concern about the length of time it is taking to process the payments she made tosatisfy the remaining balance of her Parent PLUS loan.Upon receiving Ms. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our...
records which confirmed that we previouslyserviced two loans that she had an obligation toward. The first was a federal Parent PLUS loanwith T.H.E. Loan Program USB Trustee, in which she was the sole borrower, and a DiscoverFinancial Services (Discover) Private loan, a portion of which she consigned for Mr. Brandon[redacted].According to our records, Ms. [redacted]’s obligation to both of the aforementioned accounts has beenmet. For Ms. [redacted]’s review, we have attached the payment histories for both accounts so that shemay confirm this information and have a copy of each for her records. As detailed on the attacheddocumentation, her Parent PLUS loan was satisfied on April 25, 2009, and the portion of theDiscover Private loan she cosigned was paid in-full January 8, 2015. Since her Discover Privateloan was the account most recently satisfied, we have also included a paid in-full confirmationletter in hopes of alleviating her concern, as she indicated she has yet to receive this letter.Unfortunately, as both accounts related to Ms. [redacted] are satisfied, we were unable to identify theremaining balances or misapplied payments she referenced in her complaint. For this reason, sothat we may fully address the concerns Ms. [redacted] referenced, we ask her to please contact ususing the information provided below, which will assist us with identifying the accounts shereferenced having difficulties with.Please know that at Great Lakes, our goal is to assist our borrowers in any way that we can and Ihope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If she has any additional questions orconcerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####,through email at [redacted], or by mailing:[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. Mark [redacted]
and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding a payment
made on his behalf by the U.S. Military to satisfy the remaining balance of his
Consolidation loan that we service for the U.S. Department of...
Education
(ED). To thoroughly address Mr. [redacted]’s concern, we emailed
him a letter on August 9, 2016. Unfortunately, our records, including the
document he referenced provided from his previous servicer, [redacted], do not indicate that a payment was made in May
2013 by the U.S. Military to pay his account in-full, rather the transaction
referenced was a balance transfer. We hope that Mr. [redacted] finds the more detailed
information being provided helpful. If he has any questions or concerns, we ask
that he contact our Escalation Team directly by phone at ###-###-####, or by
email at [redacted]
Revdex.com:
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.
For student Loans, they are to be reported accurately. The Revdex.com can close the case as not resolved, yes the loan is in forbearance, but they have opened 15 accounts within the three credit agencies which is what the actual dispute is had they looked. I am very aware of the contact of the credit agencies because I have tried to get great lakes to remove them for over 10 years since it has been reporting since 1998 incorrectly. I have hired a team of lawyers to fix their errors on my credit report which I will then sue them for the cost of them to remove it.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Please see the attached letter.