popflier

They are private loans. At this point they are welcome to sue. I don't have anything of value and cannot work due to a permanent disability that I received from an injury at work after I obtained the loans. I'd happily give them back my degree since I won't be able to use it due to my injury. Unfortunately, SM are now beginning to harass my family members who are not co-signers on my loans. SM are lying to my family in saying that they "cannot get ahold of me," which is not true. I talk to them once a week and tell them my situation and each time I speak to them they say that they have notated my account, but the calls will continue. I tell them fine. But calling my family members is not okay. This is NOT their issue and should not be involved. I am also not okay with SM telling me that I am "lying" about my other private loans being put into forbearance WITHOUT having to pay a fee. SM insisted that all private loans companies charge a fee for the loans to be put into forbearance. I told them they were wrong and even offered to do a 3-way call to my other private loan company so they could verify that I did not pay for my loans to go into forbearance with them. They refused to do the 3-way call with me. I am tired of both myself and my family being harassed. There is nothing that I can do as I am unemployed, not eligible for unemployment, in the middle of a daunting process with filing ss disability, and don't even have $20 to my name. Friends and family are providing food and a place to stay. So really what options do I have?

I have defaulted student loans with Sallie Mae. They are defaulted because I am unemployed, not eligible for unemployment because of a chronic condition as a result of an injury that I obtained AFTER I obtained my student loans, and I cannot afford their $100 fee to put loans into forbearance because I don't even have $20 to my name. I'm trying to get SS disability, but it's a huge process and I'm still in the middle of it. Additionally, my injury falls under workers comp so I'm having to deal with that and am receiving no money from them either. Friends and family are helping with the food and a place to stay. Now that you know the background I have a question. My two loans with SallieMae are private loans that were obtained WITHOUT a co-signer. My mom and cousin were listed on my application as references. Sallie Mae is now calling both of family members saying that they cannot get ahold of me, which is total BS because I talk to them once a week and tell them the same thing over and over and over again. When I talk to them they tell me they have notated my account and that the calls will continue. I tell them fine and I'll talk to them next week. It's my understanding that calling family members to collect on a debt when they are NOT a co-signer on a loan is illegal. Can someone tell me if this is the case? I have another window open that is ready to file a complaint with the Colorado Attorney Generals office, but before I file the complaint I want to be sure that I understand the law correctly. Thanks in advance for any info!

Sallie Mae has asked me similar questions. Things like, "how are you able to live?", "can a friend or family member make your payments for you?" , "how much money do you have in your bank accounts?", "how do you eat?", etc, etc.... I could go on and on. I've looked into this as well because I certainly didn't/don't appreciate the questions and wanted to know if they could actually ask me these questions. From what I have found they can ask these questions as long as they are not using profane language or being abusive. There doesn't seem to be laws limiting what questions they can ask. Check your state laws on debt collection practices as they may have passed something that covers that, but I know in my state, Colorado, they haven't passed anything. Here's the federal guidelines that debt collectors must follow: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is federal law that regulates the activities of those who collect debts from others. Many states have adopted similar laws regulating the practices of debt collectors. A debt collector: * May contact you by mail, in person, by telephone or by telegram during "convenient hours" (commonly between 8 AM and 9 PM); * May not contact you at work if the collector knows or has reason to know that the employer forbids employees from being contacted by debt collectors at the workplace; * May not contact you if you are represented by a lawyer (the debt collector must then contact your attorney); * May not continue to contact you after you have sent him/her a letter telling him/her not to contact you (however, s/he may contact you to tell you that some specific action is going to be taken); * May not contact you after you send him/her a letter by mail within 30 days of the first contact that you dispute all or part of the debt (however, s/he may begin collection activities again if s/he sends you proof of the debt); * Must within five days of the first contact send you a written notice stating the name of the creditor you owe money to, the amount of money you owe, what to do if you believe you do not owe the money, and the name of the original creditor if different from the current creditor (because the debt was sold or assigned to someone other than the original creditor); * May not threaten violence against you or your property, use obscene or profane language, repeatedly telephone you to annoy or harass you, make you accept collect telephone calls or pay for telegrams, or use false or misleading information in an effort to collect the "debt." If a debt collector violates the law, you can write a letter concerning the activity to the nearest office of the Federal Trade Commission. You can file a federal or state lawsuit against the debt collector for violation of the law, although there is usually a 1-year "statute of limitations." That means you have to file the lawsuit within 1 year of the violation to recover the actual damages that you've suffered. You can also recover up to a $1,000 in an individual lawsuit or $5,000 in a class-action lawsuit for each violation, plus attorney fees and costs.

I know it's long, but PLEASE the background is necessary I really need some help! I am looking for some advice on how to deal with SallieMae. (I really wish I knew beforehand what bastards they were before I signed loans through them for school.) Here's my situation. I have several school loans. All of my government subsidized and unsubsized loans I was able to consolidate through Direct Loan before the big July 2007 date where lower interest rates were locked in. However there was one small loan of $4,000 that didn't make it in which I have been paying the monthly payments on. It's only like $60/month. My schooling was very expensive so in addition to the $45,000 I owe Direct Loan I also owe ACS $22,000 and TWO separate loans through SallieMae for roughly $25,000 per loan. My plan was always once I graduated to consolidate my private loans with either ACS, SallieMae, or another lender. Unfortunately the economy took a dive and no one I contacted was willing to consolidate ANY private loans. None of my loans have co-signers. I HAD stellar credit and a great job. I graduated in May 2008 and was laid off from my job on August 31st, 2008. 6 months after my graduation date I still didn't have a job and in my state, Colorado, I was only eligible for a TINY amount unemployment. I also didn't make the cutoff date of government aid by ONE day where 65% of your cobra was subsidized by the government, additional unemployment money was offered, etc... (In order to be eligible you had to have been laid off on September 1st.) I had to maintain my health insurance because of an injury I had that required ongoing care so I ended up using all of my savings to pay Cobra for 6 months. During that time I also paid SallieMae their "required fee" of $50 PER LOAN for 3 months of forbearance. I was able to get on another insurance plan after Cobra ran out, but in June 2009 I required surgery. Since June 2009 I have been unable to work due to chronic pain and my inability to sit for more than 3 minutes. (The BA that was so expensive requires me to sit at a computer for 10 - 12 hours per day.) Because I can't work I cannot collect unemployment and social security disability has been a nightmare to try and get. I do some freelance graphic/web design work at home as I can lay down on my bed and work, but that only brings in about $700 a month in total before taxes. SallieMae calls me at least 12 times a day (literally!) I quit answering their calls because I end up repeating myself over and over again. They tell me that the calls will continue unless I pay. Of course I know that, but I don't have the money to pay them. SallieMae refuses to consolidate the two loans I have with them to a more manageable payment. (currently it's $475 in total.) If you add in the other student loans I have my payments would be close to $1200/month just in student loans. Every time I do talk with SallieMae they ask me the same questions, "you're past do, we need to arrangement to make a payment today?, when will you have a job?, how are you able to live?, who's paying for your food and rent?, can your friends or family make your payments for you?, can your cousin or mother make your payments?, etc, etc...." It's always the same questions and I always tell them the same thing. I can't find a job, am not eligible for unemployment, friends and family are helping to cover food and rent and no they cannot make my payments, and NO I cannot afford your ridiculous $50 per loan fee for 3 months forbearance. I've looked up the laws both in my state and for the federal government. The sheer number of their calls are harassment, but I feel that some of the questions also border along those lines. I've filed a complaint with the attorney general of Colorado and the FCC and I've told SallieMae to notate my account that I wish to only be contacted by mail and to stop calling me and that I will call them when I have a job. I know I need to also put that in writing an am looking to send a certified letter to them this week. When I do get a job I still will probably only make $40/year to start in my field and at that salary I still won't be able to pay my $1200/month student loan payments. Should I send a letter to SallieMae telling them to stop calls and that I will contact them once I have a job? When I get a job should I just let SallieMae garnish 15% of my wages since I can't afford their monthly payments? What other options do I have? Help please!