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 regarding the federal Stafford student loan
we currently service for the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which she
asserts was fraudulently obtained
Upon
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our records which confirmed that
we were the servicer of her federal Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) until its default on November 6, 2012. In order to obtain a federal
student loan, Ms. [redacted] would have had to request and receive a federal
Personal Identification Number (PIN). After receiving her PIN, Ms. [redacted] would
have then completed and signed a Master Promissory Note (MPN), which is
typically done online using her PIN to sign the document electronically. A key
point often overlooked is the fact that any document completed using a PIN, or
electronic signature, has the same legal integrity as a document bearing an ink
or “wet” signature.
ED’s
records confirm that Ms. [redacted] used her PIN to confirm her identity, agreed to
use an electronic MPN, and used her PIN to sign and complete her MPN
electronically on November 18, 2010. We have attached Ms. [redacted]’s MPN for
review, but wanted to make her aware that some identity sensitive information
(Social Security Number, Date of Birth, and Driver’s License Number) was masked
from the document in an effort to protect her privacy.
The
sole loan that was disbursed under this MPN, in the amount of $444.00, occurred
on February 8, 2011 and was sent to South University. If Ms. [redacted] is claiming
that someone illegally obtained her personal information to fraudulently obtain
this student loan, she needed to directly submit this fraud claim to Great
Lakes.
On
May 26, 2015, we received correspondence from Ms. [redacted] asserting that this
loan was fraudulently obtained. This was interpreted as being the fraud claim
she needed to submit directly to Great Lakes. Correspondingly, on May 28, 2015,
she was mailed a letter, which is attached for review, advising the steps
necessary to initiate an identity theft investigation.
This
letter details what needs to be completed and returned, with all requested
documents, for us to begin the identity theft investigation. Perhaps the most
critical document for Ms. [redacted] to return is a copy of an Identity Theft
Report, which is an official police report, signed by an officer in which Ms. [redacted]
reports her identity was fraudulently used to procure this loan. If Ms. [redacted] would
like to continue to pursue this option and has any questions or concerns about
this process, please have her contact our Borrower Services Department at the
contact information listed below.
After
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s request to adjust our prior credit reporting, we
reviewed it to determine if any errors were made that would lead to inaccurate
reporting. At the present time, we are unable to make any adjustments to the
credit reporting done as it was determined to be accurate. It is important for
Ms. [redacted] to know that in order for Great Lakes to make any adjustments to our
prior credit reporting and remove this loan from her credit files, it must be
determined that it was fraudulently procured.
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.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding the application of payments toward his Parent PLUS loan we service on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED).As a federal student loan servicer, we are...
required to abide by all federal guidelines that are set forth by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which govern all federal student loans. Additionally, we must comply with all terms and conditions that are outlined within his Master Promissory Note, or loan agreement.The aforementioned is important to note because payment application and interest accrual are both outlined within the federal guidelines. Concerning interest accrual, it is important to point out that all federal student loans are simple interest loans. This means that interest accrues daily based on a loan’s interest rate and unpaid principal balance. The calculation used to determine daily interest accrual is as follows:Unpaid Principal Balance x Interest Rate x Number of Days at that BalanceDivided by365 or 366 (Days in a Year)Given that Mr. [redacted] has one account with Great Lakes that has a fixed interest rate of 6.84%, all payments are applied first to late charges (if any), then to accrued interest, and the remainder, if any, is applied to principal.Perhaps the most significant correlation between interest accrual and payment application is that the portion of a payment that is applied to accrued interest correlates with the number of days between the last payment made and the date the next payment is made to the account. For Parent PLUS loans, please also note that interest begins to accrue the day they are disbursed.Page 2 – Complaint ID: 11510037Mr. [redacted]’s loan was disbursed, or originated, on September 30, 2015 in the amount of $6,972. His second disbursement, in the amount of $6,971, was sent to Arizona State University on behalf of his daughter, Miah [redacted] on January 2, 2016. This brought his principal balance to $13,943. Using the above calculation, at the time his first payment was made, a total of approximately $203.59 in interest had accrued. As a result, his entire February 2, 2016 payment of $200 was applied toward interest.When Mr. [redacted] made his next payment of $200 on March 1, 2016, an additional amount of approximately $72.97 in interest had accrued. By adding this amount to the $3.59 of interest that remained on his account after his first payment was applied, there would have been a total of $76.56 of interest on his account at the time the March 1, 2016 payment was made. Therefore, he should have paid a total of $76.56 in interest with his March 1, 2016 payment, which is what is reflected on his payment history. Accordingly, the remainder of his payment after interest was satisfied, which was an amount of $123.44, was applied toward his principal balance.So that Mr. [redacted] may confirm that his payments have been allocated as indicated above, we have attached his payment history. Additionally, we have reviewed all payments made toward Mr. [redacted]’s account and have confirmed that they have been applied in accordance with the federal regulations mentioned above.We hope that 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 ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] Reference ID:...
05-7264871 Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding his student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Mr. [redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he would like the rehabilitation of his loan to conclude and that he wants the default status removed from his consumer report. Firstly, we are very sorry to hear about the passing of Mr. [redacted]’s family member. Please forward our condolences. As Mr. [redacted] noted, he was paying his account in the rehabilitation program via automated payments, and these payments ceased after the January 13, 2017 payment. During the course of our investigation, we discovered Transworld Systems, Incorporated (TSI), the agency that was administering Mr. [redacted]’s loan updated to a new credit card payment processor in December of 2016. At that time, Mr. [redacted]’s credit card was denied when TSI attempted to process the December payment. On December 20, 2016 TSI spoke to him and he provided updated credit card information. During the conversation on December 20, 2016 the TSI representative took two payments from Mr. [redacted] as their payment systems were showing that he had already made seven payments. Unfortunately, TSI had failed to back off the June 3, 2016 payment from their system when it was returned as non-sufficient funds. As a result, they were erroneously counting that payment, leading them to believe that Mr. [redacted] had made seven payments rather than the six as reflected on the Great Lakes system. The December payment was not included in the count at the time and thus, the TSI representative scheduled just two additional payments for December and January, believing that would allow Mr. [redacted] to conclude his rehabilitation. Unfortunately, due to human error, the system interpreted that TSI did have payments on file for February 10, 2017 and March 10, 2017. As such no follow-up attempts occurred to recover the missing payments. Once the error was discovered in March, TSI attempted to contact the borrower in order to obtain the additional payments. TSI has reported to us their attempts to reach Mr. [redacted] were unsuccessful until they were able to make contact on April 28, 2017. At that point in time, TSI explained that due to this error he had broken his original rehabilitation agreement and that he is now required to begin the loan rehabilitation program again. Based on the information provided to us by TSI, it is Great Lakes’ feeling that the missed payments had most likely been caused by human error when the TSI Representative failed to set up the recurring payment processing system properly. Subsequently Mr. [redacted] broke his rehabilitation agreement. On May 11, 2017 Great Lakes recalled the account from TSI. As such, Great Lakes Collection Support is now servicing Mr. [redacted]’s account. In an effort to ameliorate the situation, our office is proposing that Mr. [redacted] make his ninth rehabilitation payment of at least $5 by no later than 05/31/17. Once the payment has posted to Mr. [redacted]’s account we will push the rehabilitation through. His payment history would then show that he had made the agreed upon nine voluntary payments Once that process has been completed, we can approve Mr. [redacted]’s eligibility for rehabilitation and sell it to a participating lender. At that point in time his rehabilitation would conclude. It is important to note that per the rehabilitation agreement, a borrower understands that they must continue to make voluntary monthly payments of at the least the minimum amount until their loans are sold to a participating lender. As such, we would encourage Mr. [redacted] to be sure to set up his account on automatic payments so that another situation such as this would not occur. If Mr. [redacted] is amenable to the aforementioned proposal, we encourage him to set up the $5 automatic payments and then contact Great Lakes Collection Support at ###-###-#### to finalize the rehabilitation. As Mr. [redacted] noted he is anxious to resolve the default status by rehabilitating his account. The successful rehabilitation of Mr. [redacted]’s defaulted loan(s) will result in the following: • Removal of his student loan(s) from default status • Removal of the default status from his credit bureau report Please note: 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 that Mr. [redacted] understand he will be remain responsible for a 16% rehabilitation fee should he decide to rehabilitate his loans. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance, and we apologize to Mr. [redacted] for the frustration he has experienced. 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 Education Ombudsman Specialist
Thank you for for your follow up on behalf of Mr. [redacted], and for again providing us theopportunity to address his concern pertaining to the delinquency Great Lakes reported to theCredit Reporting Agencies.Upon reviewing Mr. [redacted]’s concern, we determined that mailing him a letter directly wouldenable us to more thoroughly address his concern. We hope that he finds the informationprovided helpful.If Mr. [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower ServicesDepartment by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail tothe address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,Janet Campbell
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.
The core of my complaint is not in relation to the aforementioned process. While a terrible process, it is understandable. My issue is due to the acceptance of funds at the "w[redacted]g address." This, in my eyes, is a poor practice. For that matter, the funds were clearly able to be applied to my account, as they showed in my account, albeit with a status of "pending."
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214Dear Ms. [redacted],Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding his student loan. Mr....
[redacted]’s concern as we understand it is validation of his debt.By way of some background Mr. [redacted]’s Federal Family Education Loan Program Stafford Loan is now guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, (Great Lakes). Great Lakes assumed that responsibility from Student Loan Guaranty Foundation of Arkansas (SLGFA) on October 1, 2014. Servicing of the loan has been assigned to Great Lakes Default Collections.On August 29, 2014, SLGFA, as the guarantor at the time, paid a default claim to Ed Financial Services, which was the result of their not receiving payment(s) or a completed request for deferment or forbearance to prevent Mr. [redacted]’s loan from defaulting. Based on the terms of his signed Promissory Note, when his student loan defaulted, the balance became due and payable in full. As we alluded to, Great Lakes later took over as the guaranty agency of Mr. [redacted]’s loan as of October 1, 2014.We have included a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s Master Promissory Note and Borrower Rights and Responsibilities for review. We have included a pay history as well.The Debt Collection Act of 1982 and the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 authorize the U. S. Department of Treasury to offset any eligible Federal payments of individuals indebted to the U. S. Government. As such, Mr. [redacted]’s defaulted student loan(s) remain certified for Treasury offset until the account is paid in full or he has established and maintained repayment arrangements.Mr. [redacted] may be able to avoid future Treasury Offsets if he contacts Great Lakes, and makes and maintains satisfactory agreed-upon repayment arrangements. We urge him to contact us in order to avoid future Treasury Offsets and to discuss the repayment options available with him, including the Federal Loan Rehabilitation Program. There is specific information that we would need to discuss with him regarding the possibility of setting up this option.Mr. [redacted]’s account may be rehabilitated out of default after he enters into a Rehabilitation Agreement and voluntarily makes 9 consecutive on-time payments over a 10 month period as required. After he has made the sixth payment he may qualify for additional Title IV financial aid. The successful rehabilitation of his defaulted student loan(s) will result in the following:- Removal of his student loan(s) from default status- Removal of the default status reported by Great Lakes to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies- Eligibility for new financial aid to return to school- Eligibility for all remaining periods of deferment or forbearanceIt is important to note that on July 1, 2014, new regulations concerning Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) 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 AWG orders. Guarantors “must continue” AWG “until [a] borrower makes five qualifying monthly payments under the rehabilitation agreement” but then must suspend AWG “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)).If Mr. [redacted] feels the offset of his Federal Treasury payment may cause a hardship, he may contact Great Lakes, to request an IRS Hardship packet. The packet needs to be completed and returned with all required supporting documentation for review. There is no guarantee of a refund.Mr. [redacted] may reach a Great Lakes Collection Support representative at ###-###-####.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 [email protected]. Sincerely,[redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to address her concern regarding the balance of her Private student loan with [redacted], as she believes her loan was paid in-full through a consolidation she performedin 2007.Upon...
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s concern, we reviewed our records to verify whether or not hercurrent balance, which is $1,536.11 as of January 15, 2016, is listed accurately. Based on theinformation provided, we were able to identify that the cause of Ms. [redacted]’s concern seems tostem from her October 18, 2007 payment for $8,532.24.Since Ms. [redacted] has a Private student loan, it would not have been eligible for consolidationthrough the [redacted] Program. Therefore, the consolidation referenced by Ms.[redacted] would have likely been another type of private loan (possibly a home refinance or debtconsolidation loan). As such, we reviewed our records to see if anyone, including Ms. [redacted], hadrequested a payoff amount prior to October 18, 2007, no such record was found.Although our records did not reflect a request for a payoff amount prior to receiving Ms. [redacted]’spayment of $8,532.24, it was confirmed that the payment was received and credited to heraccount. Unfortunately, when the payment of $8, 532.24 was received on October 18, 2007, thepayment amount was not sufficient to satisfy her total balance as of that date, $9,664.99.Therefore, Ms. [redacted] had a remaining balance of $1,132.75 after her payment was applied.Concerning payment application, it is important to note that Ms. [redacted] has a simple interest loan;meaning interest accrues daily based on her unpaid principal balance. As such, when paymentsare made, they are first applied to any fees (if applicable), then to interest, and then to theprincipal balance (assuming all outstanding interest has been satisfied).We confirmed Ms. Ms. [redacted]’s October 2007 payment was applied in the aforementionedmanner. Since Ms. [redacted]’s payment was for more than what was due, after crediting it to heraccount we showed her as being paid ahead. It is important for Ms. [redacted] to know that she didnot accrue any additional interest as she referenced because the payment had been credited andher balance reduced.In addition to Ms. [redacted]’s October 2007 payment, we also reviewed her payment history and canverify that all of her payments have been applied in accordance with the terms and conditions ofher loan, which also confirms that her remaining balance is accurate. For her review, so that shemay verify this information as well, we have enclosed her payment history. Additionally, for herrecords, we have also enclosed her Promissory Note, or loan agreement. However, in order toprotect her privacy, we have masked all identity sensitive information from the document.I hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the aforementioned information helpful. If she has any questions orconcerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####,[redacted], or the address below:[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding the $600 payment that was automatically withdrawn via Auto Pay.Our records confirm that Mr. [redacted] scheduled a payment for September 3, 2015 to satisfy the remainder of...
his student loan. As with all payments, including Mr. [redacted]’s, it takes approximately 2 business days for payments to process in full. As Mr. [redacted]’s payment was submitted on a Thursday, it did not finish processing until the following Tuesday, September 8, 2015, due to Monday, September 7, 2015, being a holiday. The reason the extra $600 payment was processed is because Mr. [redacted] was enrolled in Auto Pay, our automated bill pay service, and his monthly payments were due on the 6th of every month. Because Mr. [redacted]’s payoff payment was still processing on the 6th his account was still showing a balance, which resulted in his Auto Pay withdrawing his $600 monthly payment September 6, 2015.Electronic payments for accounts with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) are processed through a clearinghouse (pay.gov) on behalf of the U.S. Treasury. When the U.S. Treasury receives a refund request for a payment that was made electronically, it normally takes approximately 4 weeks for them to process and return the payment to a borrower’s bank account electronically. However, on September 9, 2015, we requested that ED expedite the refund process for Mr. [redacted]’s $600 payment and expect him to receive his refund within 7 to 10 business days from that date.It is important for Mr. [redacted] to note that once ED sends the refund to his financial institution, they will have their own procedures for determining how quickly the refund will post to his account. We recommend that Mr. [redacted] first check with his financial institution if he does not see the refund posted to his account within two weeks.I understand that the delay in the return of Mr. [redacted]’s funds can be frustrating and hope he will accept our apology for the frustration this experience has caused. If he has any questions or concerns he may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:[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.
---If I signed up for a Graduated Repayment Plan, what intervals are the payments graduated or increased? The $121.86 that GL set for repayment for 38 months never graduated or increased. Great Lakes never communicated or sent new payment requests reflecting any such increases. At some point, that would seem to natural course for a Graduate Repayment plan to graduate or increase. Furthermore, it is unclear how long Great Lakes was going to continue only requesting $121.86 for payment and never graduating/increasing the payment. Only through consolidation of the $88 and $121.86 (which totals $209.86 and the new post-consolidation payment of $257.32 is only $48 more than what I was paying for both loans separately) did GL count ANY repayment of principal. And the math doesn't add up. In the 15 months since consolidation, over $1600+ has been repaid, despite the new consolidated payment only being $48 more per month, for a total of roughly $840 in additional payment each month). And yet, the consolidated amount is LARGER than the original amount of GL loan from 2010! Furthermore, in the consolidation of March 2014, I brought in a VSAC loan, with exact same interest rate, graduated repayment payment (initially established for only $88 per month on a $10,500 loan, which was half the amount of the exact type, terms and interest of loan to Great Lakes) and yet after the same 38 months, I had managed to pay down $1400+ on the VSAC loan. If I calculate correctly, the GL loan was 2x larger than VSAC, thus the GL payment should have been roughly 2x larger, or $176, per month, yet Great Lakes only requested $121.86, knowing that nearly 100% would be collected in interest, further delaying paying down the principal and further extending the interest money that GL would pocket. As to your comment that I should pay more, I find that offensive as I have WITHOUT FAIL paid every single payment GL has ever requested of me, never going into default, being late or taking a forebearance and yet, you still belittle me as if I have done something wrong. I am an excellent debtor and have excellent credit. The problem lies in GL shady business practices of concealing information, refusing to cooperate with customers, charging what makes GL earn the most revenue rather than what your customers should be paying as fair/just and apparently overall incompetence. If you have nothing further to add other than attacking your customers and engaging in shady communication, I believe I will escalate this issue and request a federal review.
Regards,
[redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to address his concerns about his student loan that is guaranteedby Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes), andserviced by [redacted]...
[redacted]. His concern as we understandit is that he has made seven loan payments under the authorized rehabilitationprogram and that the default claim should now be removed from his creditreporting.First, we would like to congratulate Mr. [redacted] on the ongoing rehabilitation of his defaultedloan. We have included a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s signed and dated Rehabilitation AgreementTerms and Conditions for review. Page 2,#12 of the agreement states “I understand that when my rehabilitationconcludes, the removal of the default status reported on the loans coveredunder this Agreement will be reported to the nationwide consumer reportingagencies, but that any history of delinquency will remainon my credit report.” Therefore, even though Mr. [redacted] has made seven payments towards the rehabilitation of hisloan, he is not yet entitled to have the default status removed from his credithistory until he has successfully completed the rehabilitation program. Perhaps some of the confusion is from the fact that after the sixth payment under hisagreement Mr. [redacted] meets the requirement to regain Title IV financial aideligibility, if he so requests. We sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced and we hope this information will be helpful to him. If you require future assistance from our office, you can reach us between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at###-###-####, or by email at [redacted]. Sincerely,[redacted]Great Lakes Ombudsman Office
Thank you for following up on behalf of Mr. Evan [redacted] regarding his additional concerns as hedisagrees with Great Lakes’ determination not to make any adjustments to our past creditreporting.Mr. [redacted]’s additional concerns are in the process of being reviewed by Great Lakes’ legaldepartment. Once this review is complete, we will be following up with him directly.In the meantime, if Mr. [redacted] has any questions or concerns, he may contact our BorrowerServices Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted], or bymail to:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: 11966399 Great Lakes ID: [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted] Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. David B[redacted] and...
for providing us the opportunity to address his concerns regarding his loan that had been guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and was recently paid in full via Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG). Your request has been forwarded to our office for review and response. Mr. B[redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he had multiple payments taken via AWG after the loan had been paid in full. To begin, we would like to apologize for the payments that have been inadvertently taken from Mr. B[redacted]’s paychecks via the AWG. We are happy to report that Great Lakes’ Collection Support Department has been in contact with Mr. B[redacted] and they are working directly with him toward a resolution. In fact, they report that the AWG payments are in the process of being refunded. We encourage Mr. B[redacted] to continue working with Great Lakes. We again sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. B[redacted] has experienced. And, 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 866-486-7140, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, Joe Jilek Ombudsman Specialist
Dear Ms. Juedes: Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Ochei and for providing us the opportunity to address her concerns regarding her loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). We are happy to report that our Collection Support...
Department has been in contact with Ms. Ochei and are working directly with her toward a 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 [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Parent PLUS loan in her husband’s name, Mr. [redacted]. Within her inquiry she states that this loan was discharged through...
Chapter 13 bankruptcy.Unfortunately, federal student loans, such as the Parent PLUS loan referenced above, are not automatically discharged in a bankruptcy. In order to discharge a federal student loan through a bankruptcy, a borrower would need to prove undue hardship in an adversary proceeding before the bankruptcy court.To date, Great Lakes has not received this information for Ms. [redacted]’s husband. As a result, he still bears full financial responsibility for the federal student loan disbursed in his name. However, if Ms. [redacted] has documentation indicating that her husband’s Parent PLUS loan was discharged through their bankruptcy, we ask that she provide this information to us via the email or mailing address below, or by fax to ###-###-####.I hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If she has any questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]
Stacy [redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] Great Lakes ID: 80-3355768 Dear Ms. [redacted]: Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. Stephen T. [redacted]...
and for providing us the opportunity to address his concerns regarding his loan that had been guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and was recently paid in full. Your request has been forwarded to our office for review and response. Mr. [redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he is requesting a receipt showing a zero balance and that the loans are paid in full. To begin, we would like to apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced in his attempts to receive some sort of verification of his satisfied loan balance. We are happy to report that Great Lakes’ Collection Support Department has indicated to us that the Paid in Full letter has been mailed to Mr. [redacted] as of February 13, 2017. We are also providing a Payment History, which shows a $0 balance for your review. We again sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced. And, 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 866-486-7140, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, Joe [redacted] Ombudsman Specialist
Thank you for your follow up on behalf of Ms. [redacted]. We appreciate the opportunity to address her additional concern regarding the credit reporting done toward the accounts referenced in our initial response, as she maintains the information reported is not correct.According to our records, which was confirmed by our review of the information reported toward Ms. [redacted]’s credit files, all credit reporting done toward her accounts was and is accurate. Regrettably, as we understand that she disagrees with the results of our review, we are unable to make any adjustments to the information we reported, as we are required to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Higher Education Act of 1965.In addition to Ms. [redacted]’s disputing Great Lakes’ entries on her credit report, it appears that she possibly may be disputing entries reported by another company. For this reason, we encourage her to file a dispute with any of the four nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs); Experian, TransUnion, Equifax, or Innovis. This action would be necessary not only because Great Lakes cannot remove information reported to the CRAs by another company, but also because each individual CRA determines what historical data is displayed on a borrower’s credit report.We also wanted to reiterate that if Ms. [redacted] has any new or additional bases for disputing Great Lakes’ entries on her credit report, please have her send the details of her dispute, including specifically what error(s) she believes occurred and documentation sufficient for us to investigate, via fax to ###-###-####, or by mail to the address below.Additionally, contacting the FSA Ombudsman Group may be an alternative method Ms. [redacted] may utilize in an effort to resolve her concern. They may be able to further assist her as their primary responsibility is mediating disputes involving federal student loans. Ms. [redacted] may contact them using the following information:[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]Phone ###-###-####As I understand the abovementioned determination is unfavorable to Ms. [redacted], I again want to apologize for any frustration she has experienced. If she has any additional questions or concerns regarding the information provided, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at [redacted] by email at [redacted], or by mail to:[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
Complaint ID: [redacted]
Great Lakes ID: [redacted]...
Dear
Mr. [redacted]:
Thank
you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. Albizu [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity
to address his concern regarding how he receives the monthly bill for his
Direct Loan Program (DLP) Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of Education
(ED).
Mr. [redacted]’s
DLP loan is a federal loan. As such, Great Lakes is contractually obligated to
abide by all federal guidelines set forth by his lender, ED, and the terms and
conditions of his Master Promissory Note, or loan agreement. Any communication
we have with Mr. [redacted] about a past due loan balance is our attempt to help him
resolve a difficult situation.
Please
know that if Mr. [redacted] finds that his monthly payment is not affordable,
there are numerous options available to help him manage his account. To review
his options, he may visit our website, mygreatlakes.org, or contact our
Borrower Services Department. We would be happy to work with him to find an
option that best fits his situation.
Concerning
the telephone calls Mr. [redacted] referenced, the DLP regulations require us to
contact, by mail and telephone, any borrower whose student loan account is past
due. Other laws that interfere with our ability to comply with the DLP
regulations are preempted by the DLP regulations. This means that we are not
subject to any state or federal law that would interfere with performing the
due diligence required by the DLP regulations.
We
have reviewed our records and confirmed that Mr. [redacted] received both email and
mail correspondence in addition to telephone calls. However, while we are
unable to stop all calls if Mr. [redacted]’s account is past due, we have now updated
our records so that all future monthly bills, regardless of whether or not his
account is past due, will be sent to him through the mail.
Per
Mr. [redacted]’s request, we re-evaluated our credit reporting to ensure no errors
were made that would lead to, or result in, inaccurate delinquency reporting
(such as misapplication of payments). This review confirmed that no such errors
were made. Therefore, since we have verified our credit reporting is accurate,
we are unable to make any adjustments to the data reported toward Mr. [redacted]’s
student loan.
I
understand that this may not be the answer Mr. [redacted] was hoping for; although,
I hope the update made to his account alleviates his concern. If he has any
additional questions or concerns, he 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]
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.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]As I stated before Great lakes recieved the payment on the date indicated. In the previous letter the representative admitted as such and continues to deny it. There is no need to contact Chase or IPAY technologies. Great Lakes needs to admit the error and reprocess my payment to reflect the correct date. Chase bank electronically submitted payment on April 23, 2015 and it take ONE BUSINESS DAY for it to be received. That day would be the 24th not the 27th. As stated before Great Lakes has chosen to apply payment as they decide. As the consumer we have no choice but to accept that?. I won't accept that. There is no reason to contact Great lakes for this reason as the representative lists on her letter. That was done prior to me filing a complaint. As previously stated, Great Lakes needs to reprocess the payment.
Regards,
[redacted]
I was concerned when I filed the complaint that this would be the response that I would receive. I was notified only in the most recent calls with Great Lakes that I had been reported to the credit bureau, after my credit report had been pulled for a loan. However, during the phone calls between December and April, I was told several times that it did not appear that anything had been reported and to continue to make my payments as I could. I have recently been in touch with Great Lakes and they have reset my loan to the extended loan payment plan due to my recent "good payment history". I just don't understand why they are not willing to remove the late charges from my credit report. I am asking that they at least remove the late reports to my credit for the months that I was actually making my payments. I understand they "need to report" late payments but education loans are reset all the time when individuals are going through a hardship. My husband was unemployed for several months and even though I did not meet the criteria for income does not mean that I was able to pay my bill. I used my forbearance at the time my loan was due because right after college I was unable to find a job right away. As I am in the health field, it took several months, and even when hired, I had a waiting period due to license verification and background checks. I have kept all of my accounts in good standing and I am not asking for anything that they don't do for others everyday. I was told over the phone the last time that if I had used my forbearance for this issue, they would have removed all the late credit reportings without any issue. I would like to request Great Lakes to send copies of the phone calls from December 2015 through April of 2016 to the credit bureau for review. I am now aware that it is possible that the representatives that I spoke with potentially did not know I was being reported. They were just telling me what they could see regarding my loan. Just the other day when I called, a Great Lakes representative told me that my account was in great standing and I had $0.00 past due and my next payment was in August. It was not until further explanation of the issue that she could even see what was going on. I just feel that it is not my fault that I was being misinformed and that I should suffer the consequences of my credit being ruined for the wrong information that I was provided. I am still requesting that all of the late charges be removed, but at very least please remove the 90 and 120 day charges since I was actually paying on my account at that time. I am hoping that Great Lakes will work with me on this issue. I honestly thought that they were working with me and everyone that I have spoken with over the past several months has been really nice. I think that it may be a case of miscommunication.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the correspondence she received indicating that she currently has a student loan account with Great Lakes.After receiving Ms. [redacted]’s concern, we reviewed our records...
and confirmed that the letter she referenced was sent to her in error. Ms. [redacted] may disregard the letter, as Great Lakes does not currently service a student loan account in her name. We apologize for any frustration this experience has caused her and hope the information provided resolves her concern.If Ms. [redacted] has additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-#### (please note that some calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes), by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]
June 8, 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 regarding the federal Stafford student loan
we currently service for the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which she
asserts was fraudulently obtained
Upon
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s complaint, we reviewed our records which confirmed that
we were the servicer of her federal Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) until its default on November 6, 2012. In order to obtain a federal
student loan, Ms. [redacted] would have had to request and receive a federal
Personal Identification Number (PIN). After receiving her PIN, Ms. [redacted] would
have then completed and signed a Master Promissory Note (MPN), which is
typically done online using her PIN to sign the document electronically. A key
point often overlooked is the fact that any document completed using a PIN, or
electronic signature, has the same legal integrity as a document bearing an ink
or “wet” signature.
ED’s
records confirm that Ms. [redacted] used her PIN to confirm her identity, agreed to
use an electronic MPN, and used her PIN to sign and complete her MPN
electronically on November 18, 2010. We have attached Ms. [redacted]’s MPN for
review, but wanted to make her aware that some identity sensitive information
(Social Security Number, Date of Birth, and Driver’s License Number) was masked
from the document in an effort to protect her privacy.
The
sole loan that was disbursed under this MPN, in the amount of $444.00, occurred
on February 8, 2011 and was sent to South University. If Ms. [redacted] is claiming
that someone illegally obtained her personal information to fraudulently obtain
this student loan, she needed to directly submit this fraud claim to Great
Lakes.
On
May 26, 2015, we received correspondence from Ms. [redacted] asserting that this
loan was fraudulently obtained. This was interpreted as being the fraud claim
she needed to submit directly to Great Lakes. Correspondingly, on May 28, 2015,
she was mailed a letter, which is attached for review, advising the steps
necessary to initiate an identity theft investigation.
This
letter details what needs to be completed and returned, with all requested
documents, for us to begin the identity theft investigation. Perhaps the most
critical document for Ms. [redacted] to return is a copy of an Identity Theft
Report, which is an official police report, signed by an officer in which Ms. [redacted]
reports her identity was fraudulently used to procure this loan. If Ms. [redacted] would
like to continue to pursue this option and has any questions or concerns about
this process, please have her contact our Borrower Services Department at the
contact information listed below.
After
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s request to adjust our prior credit reporting, we
reviewed it to determine if any errors were made that would lead to inaccurate
reporting. At the present time, we are unable to make any adjustments to the
credit reporting done as it was determined to be accurate. It is important for
Ms. [redacted] to know that in order for Great Lakes to make any adjustments to our
prior credit reporting and remove this loan from her credit files, it must be
determined that it was fraudulently procured.
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.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding the application of payments toward his Parent PLUS loan we service on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED).As a federal student loan servicer, we are...
required to abide by all federal guidelines that are set forth by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which govern all federal student loans. Additionally, we must comply with all terms and conditions that are outlined within his Master Promissory Note, or loan agreement.The aforementioned is important to note because payment application and interest accrual are both outlined within the federal guidelines. Concerning interest accrual, it is important to point out that all federal student loans are simple interest loans. This means that interest accrues daily based on a loan’s interest rate and unpaid principal balance. The calculation used to determine daily interest accrual is as follows:Unpaid Principal Balance x Interest Rate x Number of Days at that BalanceDivided by365 or 366 (Days in a Year)Given that Mr. [redacted] has one account with Great Lakes that has a fixed interest rate of 6.84%, all payments are applied first to late charges (if any), then to accrued interest, and the remainder, if any, is applied to principal.Perhaps the most significant correlation between interest accrual and payment application is that the portion of a payment that is applied to accrued interest correlates with the number of days between the last payment made and the date the next payment is made to the account. For Parent PLUS loans, please also note that interest begins to accrue the day they are disbursed.Page 2 – Complaint ID: 11510037Mr. [redacted]’s loan was disbursed, or originated, on September 30, 2015 in the amount of $6,972. His second disbursement, in the amount of $6,971, was sent to Arizona State University on behalf of his daughter, Miah [redacted] on January 2, 2016. This brought his principal balance to $13,943. Using the above calculation, at the time his first payment was made, a total of approximately $203.59 in interest had accrued. As a result, his entire February 2, 2016 payment of $200 was applied toward interest.When Mr. [redacted] made his next payment of $200 on March 1, 2016, an additional amount of approximately $72.97 in interest had accrued. By adding this amount to the $3.59 of interest that remained on his account after his first payment was applied, there would have been a total of $76.56 of interest on his account at the time the March 1, 2016 payment was made. Therefore, he should have paid a total of $76.56 in interest with his March 1, 2016 payment, which is what is reflected on his payment history. Accordingly, the remainder of his payment after interest was satisfied, which was an amount of $123.44, was applied toward his principal balance.So that Mr. [redacted] may confirm that his payments have been allocated as indicated above, we have attached his payment history. Additionally, we have reviewed all payments made toward Mr. [redacted]’s account and have confirmed that they have been applied in accordance with the federal regulations mentioned above.We hope that 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 ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] Reference ID:...
05-7264871 Dear Ms. [redacted], Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding his student loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). Mr. [redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he would like the rehabilitation of his loan to conclude and that he wants the default status removed from his consumer report. Firstly, we are very sorry to hear about the passing of Mr. [redacted]’s family member. Please forward our condolences. As Mr. [redacted] noted, he was paying his account in the rehabilitation program via automated payments, and these payments ceased after the January 13, 2017 payment. During the course of our investigation, we discovered Transworld Systems, Incorporated (TSI), the agency that was administering Mr. [redacted]’s loan updated to a new credit card payment processor in December of 2016. At that time, Mr. [redacted]’s credit card was denied when TSI attempted to process the December payment. On December 20, 2016 TSI spoke to him and he provided updated credit card information. During the conversation on December 20, 2016 the TSI representative took two payments from Mr. [redacted] as their payment systems were showing that he had already made seven payments. Unfortunately, TSI had failed to back off the June 3, 2016 payment from their system when it was returned as non-sufficient funds. As a result, they were erroneously counting that payment, leading them to believe that Mr. [redacted] had made seven payments rather than the six as reflected on the Great Lakes system. The December payment was not included in the count at the time and thus, the TSI representative scheduled just two additional payments for December and January, believing that would allow Mr. [redacted] to conclude his rehabilitation. Unfortunately, due to human error, the system interpreted that TSI did have payments on file for February 10, 2017 and March 10, 2017. As such no follow-up attempts occurred to recover the missing payments. Once the error was discovered in March, TSI attempted to contact the borrower in order to obtain the additional payments. TSI has reported to us their attempts to reach Mr. [redacted] were unsuccessful until they were able to make contact on April 28, 2017. At that point in time, TSI explained that due to this error he had broken his original rehabilitation agreement and that he is now required to begin the loan rehabilitation program again. Based on the information provided to us by TSI, it is Great Lakes’ feeling that the missed payments had most likely been caused by human error when the TSI Representative failed to set up the recurring payment processing system properly. Subsequently Mr. [redacted] broke his rehabilitation agreement. On May 11, 2017 Great Lakes recalled the account from TSI. As such, Great Lakes Collection Support is now servicing Mr. [redacted]’s account. In an effort to ameliorate the situation, our office is proposing that Mr. [redacted] make his ninth rehabilitation payment of at least $5 by no later than 05/31/17. Once the payment has posted to Mr. [redacted]’s account we will push the rehabilitation through. His payment history would then show that he had made the agreed upon nine voluntary payments Once that process has been completed, we can approve Mr. [redacted]’s eligibility for rehabilitation and sell it to a participating lender. At that point in time his rehabilitation would conclude. It is important to note that per the rehabilitation agreement, a borrower understands that they must continue to make voluntary monthly payments of at the least the minimum amount until their loans are sold to a participating lender. As such, we would encourage Mr. [redacted] to be sure to set up his account on automatic payments so that another situation such as this would not occur. If Mr. [redacted] is amenable to the aforementioned proposal, we encourage him to set up the $5 automatic payments and then contact Great Lakes Collection Support at ###-###-#### to finalize the rehabilitation. As Mr. [redacted] noted he is anxious to resolve the default status by rehabilitating his account. The successful rehabilitation of Mr. [redacted]’s defaulted loan(s) will result in the following: • Removal of his student loan(s) from default status • Removal of the default status from his credit bureau report Please note: 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 that Mr. [redacted] understand he will be remain responsible for a 16% rehabilitation fee should he decide to rehabilitate his loans. We again thank you for contacting us and for giving us an opportunity to be of assistance, and we apologize to Mr. [redacted] for the frustration he has experienced. 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 Education Ombudsman Specialist
Thank you for for your follow up on behalf of Mr. [redacted], and for again providing us theopportunity to address his concern pertaining to the delinquency Great Lakes reported to theCredit Reporting Agencies.Upon reviewing Mr. [redacted]’s concern, we determined that mailing him a letter directly wouldenable us to more thoroughly address his concern. We hope that he finds the informationprovided helpful.If Mr. [redacted] has any additional questions or concerns, he may contact our Borrower ServicesDepartment by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [email protected], or by mail tothe address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,Janet Campbell
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.
The core of my complaint is not in relation to the aforementioned process. While a terrible process, it is understandable. My issue is due to the acceptance of funds at the "w[redacted]g address." This, in my eyes, is a poor practice. For that matter, the funds were clearly able to be applied to my account, as they showed in my account, albeit with a status of "pending."
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214Dear Ms. [redacted],Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding his student loan. Mr....
[redacted]’s concern as we understand it is validation of his debt.By way of some background Mr. [redacted]’s Federal Family Education Loan Program Stafford Loan is now guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, (Great Lakes). Great Lakes assumed that responsibility from Student Loan Guaranty Foundation of Arkansas (SLGFA) on October 1, 2014. Servicing of the loan has been assigned to Great Lakes Default Collections.On August 29, 2014, SLGFA, as the guarantor at the time, paid a default claim to Ed Financial Services, which was the result of their not receiving payment(s) or a completed request for deferment or forbearance to prevent Mr. [redacted]’s loan from defaulting. Based on the terms of his signed Promissory Note, when his student loan defaulted, the balance became due and payable in full. As we alluded to, Great Lakes later took over as the guaranty agency of Mr. [redacted]’s loan as of October 1, 2014.We have included a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s Master Promissory Note and Borrower Rights and Responsibilities for review. We have included a pay history as well.The Debt Collection Act of 1982 and the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 authorize the U. S. Department of Treasury to offset any eligible Federal payments of individuals indebted to the U. S. Government. As such, Mr. [redacted]’s defaulted student loan(s) remain certified for Treasury offset until the account is paid in full or he has established and maintained repayment arrangements.Mr. [redacted] may be able to avoid future Treasury Offsets if he contacts Great Lakes, and makes and maintains satisfactory agreed-upon repayment arrangements. We urge him to contact us in order to avoid future Treasury Offsets and to discuss the repayment options available with him, including the Federal Loan Rehabilitation Program. There is specific information that we would need to discuss with him regarding the possibility of setting up this option.Mr. [redacted]’s account may be rehabilitated out of default after he enters into a Rehabilitation Agreement and voluntarily makes 9 consecutive on-time payments over a 10 month period as required. After he has made the sixth payment he may qualify for additional Title IV financial aid. The successful rehabilitation of his defaulted student loan(s) will result in the following:- Removal of his student loan(s) from default status- Removal of the default status reported by Great Lakes to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies- Eligibility for new financial aid to return to school- Eligibility for all remaining periods of deferment or forbearanceIt is important to note that on July 1, 2014, new regulations concerning Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) 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 AWG orders. Guarantors “must continue” AWG “until [a] borrower makes five qualifying monthly payments under the rehabilitation agreement” but then must suspend AWG “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)).If Mr. [redacted] feels the offset of his Federal Treasury payment may cause a hardship, he may contact Great Lakes, to request an IRS Hardship packet. The packet needs to be completed and returned with all required supporting documentation for review. There is no guarantee of a refund.Mr. [redacted] may reach a Great Lakes Collection Support representative at ###-###-####.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 [email protected]. Sincerely,[redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to address her concern regarding the balance of her Private student loan with [redacted], as she believes her loan was paid in-full through a consolidation she performedin 2007.Upon...
receiving Ms. [redacted]’s concern, we reviewed our records to verify whether or not hercurrent balance, which is $1,536.11 as of January 15, 2016, is listed accurately. Based on theinformation provided, we were able to identify that the cause of Ms. [redacted]’s concern seems tostem from her October 18, 2007 payment for $8,532.24.Since Ms. [redacted] has a Private student loan, it would not have been eligible for consolidationthrough the [redacted] Program. Therefore, the consolidation referenced by Ms.[redacted] would have likely been another type of private loan (possibly a home refinance or debtconsolidation loan). As such, we reviewed our records to see if anyone, including Ms. [redacted], hadrequested a payoff amount prior to October 18, 2007, no such record was found.Although our records did not reflect a request for a payoff amount prior to receiving Ms. [redacted]’spayment of $8,532.24, it was confirmed that the payment was received and credited to heraccount. Unfortunately, when the payment of $8, 532.24 was received on October 18, 2007, thepayment amount was not sufficient to satisfy her total balance as of that date, $9,664.99.Therefore, Ms. [redacted] had a remaining balance of $1,132.75 after her payment was applied.Concerning payment application, it is important to note that Ms. [redacted] has a simple interest loan;meaning interest accrues daily based on her unpaid principal balance. As such, when paymentsare made, they are first applied to any fees (if applicable), then to interest, and then to theprincipal balance (assuming all outstanding interest has been satisfied).We confirmed Ms. Ms. [redacted]’s October 2007 payment was applied in the aforementionedmanner. Since Ms. [redacted]’s payment was for more than what was due, after crediting it to heraccount we showed her as being paid ahead. It is important for Ms. [redacted] to know that she didnot accrue any additional interest as she referenced because the payment had been credited andher balance reduced.In addition to Ms. [redacted]’s October 2007 payment, we also reviewed her payment history and canverify that all of her payments have been applied in accordance with the terms and conditions ofher loan, which also confirms that her remaining balance is accurate. For her review, so that shemay verify this information as well, we have enclosed her payment history. Additionally, for herrecords, we have also enclosed her Promissory Note, or loan agreement. However, in order toprotect her privacy, we have masked all identity sensitive information from the document.I hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the aforementioned information helpful. If she has any questions orconcerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####,[redacted], or the address below:[redacted]
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address his concern regarding the $600 payment that was automatically withdrawn via Auto Pay.Our records confirm that Mr. [redacted] scheduled a payment for September 3, 2015 to satisfy the remainder of...
his student loan. As with all payments, including Mr. [redacted]’s, it takes approximately 2 business days for payments to process in full. As Mr. [redacted]’s payment was submitted on a Thursday, it did not finish processing until the following Tuesday, September 8, 2015, due to Monday, September 7, 2015, being a holiday. The reason the extra $600 payment was processed is because Mr. [redacted] was enrolled in Auto Pay, our automated bill pay service, and his monthly payments were due on the 6th of every month. Because Mr. [redacted]’s payoff payment was still processing on the 6th his account was still showing a balance, which resulted in his Auto Pay withdrawing his $600 monthly payment September 6, 2015.Electronic payments for accounts with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) are processed through a clearinghouse (pay.gov) on behalf of the U.S. Treasury. When the U.S. Treasury receives a refund request for a payment that was made electronically, it normally takes approximately 4 weeks for them to process and return the payment to a borrower’s bank account electronically. However, on September 9, 2015, we requested that ED expedite the refund process for Mr. [redacted]’s $600 payment and expect him to receive his refund within 7 to 10 business days from that date.It is important for Mr. [redacted] to note that once ED sends the refund to his financial institution, they will have their own procedures for determining how quickly the refund will post to his account. We recommend that Mr. [redacted] first check with his financial institution if he does not see the refund posted to his account within two weeks.I understand that the delay in the return of Mr. [redacted]’s funds can be frustrating and hope he will accept our apology for the frustration this experience has caused. If he has any questions or concerns he may contact our Borrower Services Department at ###-###-####, [redacted], or the address below:[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.
---If I signed up for a Graduated Repayment Plan, what intervals are the payments graduated or increased? The $121.86 that GL set for repayment for 38 months never graduated or increased. Great Lakes never communicated or sent new payment requests reflecting any such increases. At some point, that would seem to natural course for a Graduate Repayment plan to graduate or increase. Furthermore, it is unclear how long Great Lakes was going to continue only requesting $121.86 for payment and never graduating/increasing the payment. Only through consolidation of the $88 and $121.86 (which totals $209.86 and the new post-consolidation payment of $257.32 is only $48 more than what I was paying for both loans separately) did GL count ANY repayment of principal. And the math doesn't add up. In the 15 months since consolidation, over $1600+ has been repaid, despite the new consolidated payment only being $48 more per month, for a total of roughly $840 in additional payment each month). And yet, the consolidated amount is LARGER than the original amount of GL loan from 2010! Furthermore, in the consolidation of March 2014, I brought in a VSAC loan, with exact same interest rate, graduated repayment payment (initially established for only $88 per month on a $10,500 loan, which was half the amount of the exact type, terms and interest of loan to Great Lakes) and yet after the same 38 months, I had managed to pay down $1400+ on the VSAC loan. If I calculate correctly, the GL loan was 2x larger than VSAC, thus the GL payment should have been roughly 2x larger, or $176, per month, yet Great Lakes only requested $121.86, knowing that nearly 100% would be collected in interest, further delaying paying down the principal and further extending the interest money that GL would pocket. As to your comment that I should pay more, I find that offensive as I have WITHOUT FAIL paid every single payment GL has ever requested of me, never going into default, being late or taking a forebearance and yet, you still belittle me as if I have done something wrong. I am an excellent debtor and have excellent credit. The problem lies in GL shady business practices of concealing information, refusing to cooperate with customers, charging what makes GL earn the most revenue rather than what your customers should be paying as fair/just and apparently overall incompetence. If you have nothing further to add other than attacking your customers and engaging in shady communication, I believe I will escalate this issue and request a federal review.
Regards,
[redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. [redacted] and for providing us theopportunity to address his concerns about his student loan that is guaranteedby Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes), andserviced by [redacted]...
[redacted]. His concern as we understandit is that he has made seven loan payments under the authorized rehabilitationprogram and that the default claim should now be removed from his creditreporting.First, we would like to congratulate Mr. [redacted] on the ongoing rehabilitation of his defaultedloan. We have included a copy of Mr. [redacted]’s signed and dated Rehabilitation AgreementTerms and Conditions for review. Page 2,#12 of the agreement states “I understand that when my rehabilitationconcludes, the removal of the default status reported on the loans coveredunder this Agreement will be reported to the nationwide consumer reportingagencies, but that any history of delinquency will remainon my credit report.” Therefore, even though Mr. [redacted] has made seven payments towards the rehabilitation of hisloan, he is not yet entitled to have the default status removed from his credithistory until he has successfully completed the rehabilitation program. Perhaps some of the confusion is from the fact that after the sixth payment under hisagreement Mr. [redacted] meets the requirement to regain Title IV financial aideligibility, if he so requests. We sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced and we hope this information will be helpful to him. If you require future assistance from our office, you can reach us between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday at###-###-####, or by email at [redacted]. Sincerely,[redacted]Great Lakes Ombudsman Office
Thank you for following up on behalf of Mr. Evan [redacted] regarding his additional concerns as hedisagrees with Great Lakes’ determination not to make any adjustments to our past creditreporting.Mr. [redacted]’s additional concerns are in the process of being reviewed by Great Lakes’ legaldepartment. Once this review is complete, we will be following up with him directly.In the meantime, if Mr. [redacted] has any questions or concerns, he may contact our BorrowerServices Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted], or bymail to:Great Lakes[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: 11966399 Great Lakes ID: [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted] Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. David B[redacted] and...
for providing us the opportunity to address his concerns regarding his loan that had been guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and was recently paid in full via Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG). Your request has been forwarded to our office for review and response. Mr. B[redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he had multiple payments taken via AWG after the loan had been paid in full. To begin, we would like to apologize for the payments that have been inadvertently taken from Mr. B[redacted]’s paychecks via the AWG. We are happy to report that Great Lakes’ Collection Support Department has been in contact with Mr. B[redacted] and they are working directly with him toward a resolution. In fact, they report that the AWG payments are in the process of being refunded. We encourage Mr. B[redacted] to continue working with Great Lakes. We again sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. B[redacted] has experienced. And, 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 866-486-7140, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, Joe Jilek Ombudsman Specialist
Dear Ms. Juedes: Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. Ochei and for providing us the opportunity to address her concerns regarding her loan that is guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes). We are happy to report that our Collection Support...
Department has been in contact with Ms. Ochei and are working directly with her toward a 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 [email protected]. Sincerely, [redacted]Great Lakes Higher EducationOmbudsman Specialist
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Parent PLUS loan in her husband’s name, Mr. [redacted]. Within her inquiry she states that this loan was discharged through...
Chapter 13 bankruptcy.Unfortunately, federal student loans, such as the Parent PLUS loan referenced above, are not automatically discharged in a bankruptcy. In order to discharge a federal student loan through a bankruptcy, a borrower would need to prove undue hardship in an adversary proceeding before the bankruptcy court.To date, Great Lakes has not received this information for Ms. [redacted]’s husband. As a result, he still bears full financial responsibility for the federal student loan disbursed in his name. However, if Ms. [redacted] has documentation indicating that her husband’s Parent PLUS loan was discharged through their bankruptcy, we ask that she provide this information to us via the email or mailing address below, or by fax to ###-###-####.I hope that Ms. [redacted] finds the information provided helpful. If she has any questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-####, by email at [redacted], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]
Stacy [redacted] Lead Trade Practice Consultant Revdex.com of Wisconsin 10101 W Greenfield Ave #125 Milwaukee WI 53214 Complaint ID: [redacted] Great Lakes ID: 80-3355768 Dear Ms. [redacted]: Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Mr. Stephen T. [redacted]...
and for providing us the opportunity to address his concerns regarding his loan that had been guaranteed by Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation (Great Lakes) and was recently paid in full. Your request has been forwarded to our office for review and response. Mr. [redacted]’s concern as we understand it is that he is requesting a receipt showing a zero balance and that the loans are paid in full. To begin, we would like to apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced in his attempts to receive some sort of verification of his satisfied loan balance. We are happy to report that Great Lakes’ Collection Support Department has indicated to us that the Paid in Full letter has been mailed to Mr. [redacted] as of February 13, 2017. We are also providing a Payment History, which shows a $0 balance for your review. We again sincerely apologize for the frustration Mr. [redacted] has experienced. And, 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 866-486-7140, or by email at [redacted] Sincerely, Joe [redacted] Ombudsman Specialist
Thank you for your follow up on behalf of Ms. [redacted]. We appreciate the opportunity to address her additional concern regarding the credit reporting done toward the accounts referenced in our initial response, as she maintains the information reported is not correct.According to our records, which was confirmed by our review of the information reported toward Ms. [redacted]’s credit files, all credit reporting done toward her accounts was and is accurate. Regrettably, as we understand that she disagrees with the results of our review, we are unable to make any adjustments to the information we reported, as we are required to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Higher Education Act of 1965.In addition to Ms. [redacted]’s disputing Great Lakes’ entries on her credit report, it appears that she possibly may be disputing entries reported by another company. For this reason, we encourage her to file a dispute with any of the four nationwide Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs); Experian, TransUnion, Equifax, or Innovis. This action would be necessary not only because Great Lakes cannot remove information reported to the CRAs by another company, but also because each individual CRA determines what historical data is displayed on a borrower’s credit report.We also wanted to reiterate that if Ms. [redacted] has any new or additional bases for disputing Great Lakes’ entries on her credit report, please have her send the details of her dispute, including specifically what error(s) she believes occurred and documentation sufficient for us to investigate, via fax to ###-###-####, or by mail to the address below.Additionally, contacting the FSA Ombudsman Group may be an alternative method Ms. [redacted] may utilize in an effort to resolve her concern. They may be able to further assist her as their primary responsibility is mediating disputes involving federal student loans. Ms. [redacted] may contact them using the following information:[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]Phone ###-###-####As I understand the abovementioned determination is unfavorable to Ms. [redacted], I again want to apologize for any frustration she has experienced. If she has any additional questions or concerns regarding the information provided, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at [redacted] by email at [redacted], or by mail to:[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
July 17, 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. Albizu [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity
to address his concern regarding how he receives the monthly bill for his
Direct Loan Program (DLP) Stafford loan with the U.S. Department of Education
(ED).
Mr. [redacted]’s
DLP loan is a federal loan. As such, Great Lakes is contractually obligated to
abide by all federal guidelines set forth by his lender, ED, and the terms and
conditions of his Master Promissory Note, or loan agreement. Any communication
we have with Mr. [redacted] about a past due loan balance is our attempt to help him
resolve a difficult situation.
Please
know that if Mr. [redacted] finds that his monthly payment is not affordable,
there are numerous options available to help him manage his account. To review
his options, he may visit our website, mygreatlakes.org, or contact our
Borrower Services Department. We would be happy to work with him to find an
option that best fits his situation.
Concerning
the telephone calls Mr. [redacted] referenced, the DLP regulations require us to
contact, by mail and telephone, any borrower whose student loan account is past
due. Other laws that interfere with our ability to comply with the DLP
regulations are preempted by the DLP regulations. This means that we are not
subject to any state or federal law that would interfere with performing the
due diligence required by the DLP regulations.
We
have reviewed our records and confirmed that Mr. [redacted] received both email and
mail correspondence in addition to telephone calls. However, while we are
unable to stop all calls if Mr. [redacted]’s account is past due, we have now updated
our records so that all future monthly bills, regardless of whether or not his
account is past due, will be sent to him through the mail.
Per
Mr. [redacted]’s request, we re-evaluated our credit reporting to ensure no errors
were made that would lead to, or result in, inaccurate delinquency reporting
(such as misapplication of payments). This review confirmed that no such errors
were made. Therefore, since we have verified our credit reporting is accurate,
we are unable to make any adjustments to the data reported toward Mr. [redacted]’s
student loan.
I
understand that this may not be the answer Mr. [redacted] was hoping for; although,
I hope the update made to his account alleviates his concern. If he has any
additional questions or concerns, he 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]
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.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]As I stated before Great lakes recieved the payment on the date indicated. In the previous letter the representative admitted as such and continues to deny it. There is no need to contact Chase or IPAY technologies. Great Lakes needs to admit the error and reprocess my payment to reflect the correct date. Chase bank electronically submitted payment on April 23, 2015 and it take ONE BUSINESS DAY for it to be received. That day would be the 24th not the 27th. As stated before Great Lakes has chosen to apply payment as they decide. As the consumer we have no choice but to accept that?. I won't accept that. There is no reason to contact Great lakes for this reason as the representative lists on her letter. That was done prior to me filing a complaint. As previously stated, Great Lakes needs to reprocess the payment.
Regards,
[redacted]
I was concerned when I filed the complaint that this would be the response that I would receive. I was notified only in the most recent calls with Great Lakes that I had been reported to the credit bureau, after my credit report had been pulled for a loan. However, during the phone calls between December and April, I was told several times that it did not appear that anything had been reported and to continue to make my payments as I could. I have recently been in touch with Great Lakes and they have reset my loan to the extended loan payment plan due to my recent "good payment history". I just don't understand why they are not willing to remove the late charges from my credit report. I am asking that they at least remove the late reports to my credit for the months that I was actually making my payments. I understand they "need to report" late payments but education loans are reset all the time when individuals are going through a hardship. My husband was unemployed for several months and even though I did not meet the criteria for income does not mean that I was able to pay my bill. I used my forbearance at the time my loan was due because right after college I was unable to find a job right away. As I am in the health field, it took several months, and even when hired, I had a waiting period due to license verification and background checks. I have kept all of my accounts in good standing and I am not asking for anything that they don't do for others everyday. I was told over the phone the last time that if I had used my forbearance for this issue, they would have removed all the late credit reportings without any issue. I would like to request Great Lakes to send copies of the phone calls from December 2015 through April of 2016 to the credit bureau for review. I am now aware that it is possible that the representatives that I spoke with potentially did not know I was being reported. They were just telling me what they could see regarding my loan. Just the other day when I called, a Great Lakes representative told me that my account was in great standing and I had $0.00 past due and my next payment was in August. It was not until further explanation of the issue that she could even see what was going on. I just feel that it is not my fault that I was being misinformed and that I should suffer the consequences of my credit being ruined for the wrong information that I was provided. I am still requesting that all of the late charges be removed, but at very least please remove the 90 and 120 day charges since I was actually paying on my account at that time. I am hoping that Great Lakes will work with me on this issue. I honestly thought that they were working with me and everyone that I have spoken with over the past several months has been really nice. I think that it may be a case of miscommunication.
Thank you for contacting us on behalf of Ms. [redacted] and for providing us the opportunity to address her concern regarding the correspondence she received indicating that she currently has a student loan account with Great Lakes.After receiving Ms. [redacted]’s concern, we reviewed our records...
and confirmed that the letter she referenced was sent to her in error. Ms. [redacted] may disregard the letter, as Great Lakes does not currently service a student loan account in her name. We apologize for any frustration this experience has caused her and hope the information provided resolves her concern.If Ms. [redacted] has additional questions or concerns, she may contact our Borrower Services Department by phone at ###-###-#### (please note that some calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes), by email at [email protected], or by mail to the address below:Great LakesP.O. Box 7860Madison, WI 53707Sincerely,[redacted]