If I am being too vague, please let me know...

I graduated from college just over a year ago, and, like most grads, had a tough time finding a job afterward. I notified Sallie Mae to get my loans consolidated & deferred after I graduated, and after I couldn't land a decent job a few months after, I called to apply for a forbearance. Now, it seems that my loans were never deferred as I am recieving numerous calls from CAs, and when I pulled my CR last week, I noticed that all these loans appear as 180+ days LATE!!! It seems that SM was sending all the paperwork I needed to fill to complete the defer/forbearance process to an old address, even after I updated them w/ my new addy. To add insult to injury, the CA people now tell me that I can magically forbear my loans over the phone... which would've prevented this debacle in the first place! I need to know what options(if any) I have in this horrible situation; how can I get these negatives off my report? A goodwill letter since it was a mistake on their part?

Please help...

anyone there?

If you search here, you'll find lots of discussion about goodwill. Basically they don't seem to work. You might want to search on the term "goodwill" and read some of the past threads.

What does work? Begging? I feel jipped b/c it's not my fault their reps are deaf in one ear and have short term memory... I'm paying for their mistakes.

It's a trial & error sort of thing. Do a search here and see if you can find something that works with SM. I can't give you any direction in that regard.

tnx for your replies, I'll do more research to see if I come up w/ anything, and will post my progress here.

I don'w want to give you false hope, but I have definitely read that some have had luck w/Sallie Mae & goodwill letters...my loans were with another company & I could not get lates removed, no matter what...regardless, it is worth a shot using a goodwill letter.

Thanx, I too feel that it is worth a shot, I'm collecting my thoughts to put this letter together... sure would be great to have a little help, though!

I'm almost afraid to write this because I'm afraid that you'll take it the wrong way. But you are asking for help, here's my 2 cents...

I understand that you are upset that Sallie Mae sent your info. to the wrong address and that they did not tell you that you could have applied for the forebearance over the phone (also online, FYI) but that doesn't necesarily make it their fault. Bottom line is that you are responsible for making sure that payment is made or that the forebearance/deferment is complete. I say this not because I think it makes you a bad person, but because I think if you write to them and tell them that this is their fault, they are not going to feel a great deal of kindness towards you.

I am certainly not an expert, but if I were to right a goodwill letter, I would stress that I had made mistakes, I didn't understand the system, but now I get it and it has made me a better person, more responsible, more apt to be aggressive in making sure that accounts are up to date, not relying on erroneous info. but do the necesary research myself, etc, etc...

Trust me, student loans gave me a quick, painful lesson in life. But a lesson that has served me well. Never believe a single thing you hear. Make sure it's in writting. Until you see that letter, in your hand, in fresh crisp ink...

"Dear Mr/Ms New Grad,
Your loan is in forebearance, the next payment will be due in 6 months...."

Well, nothing else means diddly-squat.

And this is a lesson that will serve you well in life. If your credit is on the line, you must make sure that you have the correct papers in hand, that they have received the correct papers from you and you even have to make sure that they have correctly processed your papers.

In a perfect world, Sallie Mae phone operators and data processors would be flawless. But pointing out Sallie Mae's inadequacies to Sallie Mae is unlikely to garner any sympathy. I would stress your own learning experience and how you're a much more responsible capable person now, etc.

I wish you the best of luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Thank you, and you're probably right, flaming them would most likely not garner any positive results. It is not my intention to blast them in a letter, I just want to point out how this breakdown in communication is negatively affecting my life. As I stated earlier, I was in economic hardship; I had a job, but it paid barely enough to take care of shelter/food. Somehow they never got the message. Great point on getting everything in writing; I electronically signed for this forebearance though, in fear of the same ugly process repeating. I hope that it's ok, I haven't recieved any paperwork from SM since. Thanks also for the tips on writing the letter! Would anyone else care to share some tips?

- 5th

Lynn, thank you. I'm glad that I called and got this straightened out. I did what's called a "retroactive forebearance". I wonder if this will remove the lates on my CR... hopefully after a few months of good payments.

In my opinion, retroactive forebearances arent worth the paper they are written on. Lates on your CR are only removed if it was a servicer error, and most times that is next to impossible to prove. Forebearances are ok if they are going forward in time, but using them up retroactively is a waste!

Meaning?

Forebearances are generally granted when a borrower has used up deferment priveleges. It is used to delay or reduce payments. Interest contintues to accrue during this period, even on subsidized loans. My point is using forebearance retroactively really does nothing. Making a payment stops the due diligence clock. It takes 270 days of non payment to default...it you make a payment on day 269 your clock is reset to zero. The lates appear on your CR. Using a retro forebearance does the same and the lates continue to appear. Simply making any payment will reset the clock.

gotcha.

I've heard many ppl talk about rehabilitating student loans on this forum, and after searching through numerous threads I can't seem to find any useful information on how I can get started. Can some1 point me to a good thread? Thanks!

Rehabs only apply to loans that are in default and I think your loans have not hit that point yet, right??

When in default, a borrower can make 12 on time monthly payments and then apply to have the default status removed.

I had some luck with Regions bank and Sallie Mae both reporting incorrectly when it truly was a mistake.

Regions reported a loan I never actually accepted. I never signed the papers, the school never received the money. They had reported 120 days late by the time I got to see my credit report, and they changed those months to "OK" and then marked the tradeline "account transferred or sold". It probably isn't helping my credit except that it's not truly "negative" and is adding some age.

Sallie Mae reported on me after not getting notice from my school I was enrolled for a semester. They fixed that without a problem.

No luck so far on requesting removal of lates when a retroactive foreberance was given though. Wrote one "goodwill" letter and no response. The latest showing is a 120 day late and it's almost two years old now. I'm not happy but I can wait it out...

Thanks again Lynn!

Who is currently holding your loan??? Are you in collections?? If you are still with Sallie Mae, you cant be in default. You said you were granted a retro forebearance.... forebearances are not granted for loans in default.

Private loans are not eligible for rehab.

I think loans have to be 270 days past due to be considered in default.

When the guy at SM said your loans would be brought current, he didn't say that it would erase all the negs on your credit did he? It IS current, but at the time you were late. They don't go back and retroactively change your reports, at least not based on what I've seen.

Thanks for all your help!

I don't think you can rehab if you're in forebearance. And if you're retroactively in forebearance .. that's gonna reset your date, I believe.

Again, if you are directly dealing with and making your payments to Sallie Mae, you are NOT in default. You have to 270 days deliquent plus the claim has to be actually paid by the guarantey agency. If you were really in default, no forbearance could have been granted. Also there is no such thing as being "current" with a defaulted loan.

*sigh* I guess I'm boned, then...

They should have a class on Student loans, lol

I tried a goodwill letter to SM and never even got a reply.
The lates occured in Nov 2001, so I've still got a ways to go. It's my last baddie.
Any chance for a Christmas present? Does that old myth still hold any water? (creditors less likely to verify during the employee-short Christmas holidays?

Depends on who you ask. And what you're trying to get rid of!

Well, they're 90 day lates from 2001. I think we've had this discussion before, but SM also has this wonderful policy of splitting up TL's into several, so it makes those 90 day lates look like ten different TL's with 90 day lates.
We probably differ on opinion on this, but I think it's grossly unfair and unethical for SM to do this. We have other revolving debt, such as a HELOC, that has one address, one bill, and they dont report a seperate TL every time you draw from it....
But, I digress, it's long ago been closed out (consolidated in 2003), so I would think they wouldnt even have my records anymore....
At this point, I would be happy if SM agreed to do just one reporting, and coalesce the other 9 TL's into one.

Thanks, TXquiltgirl, for your reply.

It's not "splitting up" the TL - it's a completely separate disbursement from the lender everytime a new quarter/semester starts. It's NOT revolving debt either. You have ten TLs for a reason - you might want to read up here to find out why.

And they DO have your records - this is not a credit card. Student loan records are seldom purged - we're talking every 20 yrs or so.

Looks like I'm gonna have to edu-mi-cate meself then.
What's interesting is that I did one of those "what have I got to lose/desperation" calls to SM the other day. The CSR, after getting booted around to several extensions, assured me that there was no activity showing on my SM account after 1995. Yet the baddie activity was in 2001. Maybe if I can get a printout from SM showing that, and my credit report, SM might handle it.

Thanks TQG