Comments on: Resolving Complaints with Navient or Sallie Mae

By: Kay Lawson

Kay Lawson — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 22:00:41 +0000

In reply to Michael P. Lux, Esq.. I knew I got a loan but was not aware it was a private student when it was taken out

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:14:05 +0000

Hi Kay,

I’m not sure I follow. Were you unaware of this loan? Do you suspect that it isn’t your debt or that someone took it out in your name? Or did you know about the loan, and you think they changed the terms of it on you?

By: Kay Lawson

Kay Lawson — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 04:08:11 +0000

I was never told about my private student loans with Navient until recently . I never received a disclosure statement from them about this.

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 14:51:59 +0000

In reply to Denise Audy. Generally speaking, there are two options to get lower monthly payments and/or lower interest rates on private loans. The first option is to work with the current lender to find a plan that works. It sounds like you have already tried this route. The second option is to refinance the loans with another lender. In a refinance, a new lender will pay off the old Navient loans and create a new loan with new repayment terms. The problem with this option is that it is based mainly on income and credit score. The borrowers struggling the most often have a hard time refinancing. However, with a cosigner, it increases the odds of an approval. But there are risks to cosigning that you should think about before doing it.

By: Denise Audy

Denise Audy — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 19:06:00 +0000

My son’s private loan payment has gone from $1300 a month to $1700 a month in less than 5 months. We have paid 145,000 in the past 10 years and only 30,000 has been applied to principal.
the amount owed now is actually higher than when he graduated.

His Father and I have paid all bills for the past 10 years.
We are not listed as co-signers since at the time he was entering college we did not have the credit to be co-signers. One co-signer has passed. Another is no longer a friend due to some missed payments in the past that they were hounded for and the other is my sister who is over 70 and is now on a limited income.

Navient is not offering any solution that would help to create lower payments. We have offered to be co-signers on a consolidated loan. They tell us we cannot do this because we were not on the original loans.

My son and his wife are expecting their first child, his father and I are both over 60 and we are all stressing about what to do.

We do not want to default as this will negatively affect the original co-signers.

We are desperately looking for suggestions and help. We do not want to default we just need lower payments.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 20:54:42 +0000

I have a late fee with my FFELP loans at Navient. When making a payment online, the total balance due shows the IDR amount, plus “unpaid fees” with a due date. These “unpaid fees” never seem to go away, and it has resulted in me paying more than the agreed upon IDR amount each month. I got clarification from Navient that payments are not applied to late/unpaid fees until unpaid interest is paid first, which accrues each month. But they make it seem like part of the total amount due is going toward satisfying these unpaid fees when, in fact, it does not. Extremely misleading. I feel like I’ve been getting tricked into paying more than I needed.

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 14:26:26 +0000

In reply to James Scott. I'm not sure I follow what you are saying. Is Navient reporting information that is inaccurate? If so, they should absolutely correct it. I do have one other theory. Sometimes, paying off a loan in full will temporarily lower your credit score.

By: James Scott

James Scott — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 02:20:45 +0000

Just want to understand if it is legal for Navient to report to the credit bureaus an increase in my student loan balances after they show that I have no payment due till 11/04/22? I ask because between August and September I payed off 3 of loans with them after which the website showed that my next payment was due on 11/04/22. I received a notice that there has been a decrease in my credit score. Upon investigating, I found that between September and the 19 of October, Navient added interest on my active loans and reported this to the credit bureaus while I am under the impression that I am in good standing/current with my account. This action caused my credit score to decrease 30+ points. Just want to understand if this is fair or legal practice.

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 17:03:38 +0000

In reply to Brian Ivey.

Brian, that sounds awful. You might want to consider escalating things. You can file complaints with the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to address this issue. You might even want to reach out to your elected representatives. This article breaks down some of that strategy: https://studentloansherpa.com/help-my-federal-loan-servicer-wont-do-its-job/

By: Brian Ivey

Brian Ivey — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 16:56:23 +0000

I made 6 payments to Sallie Mae via money order. I still have the 6 receipts. Amscot can still provide front and back of money orders. I put my SSN in the memo of each money order. Sallie Mae lost my 6 payments because they switched to Navient and I was never notified. They put my $40,000 stafford loan into default, charged me 25% penalty, sent it to collections where i paid an additional $11,000 in fees to them, and garnished my wages 25%. Once I rehabilitated my default, Sallie Mae found my 6 payments, acknowledged they lost them, told me I am SOL about the $30,000 in penalties as there is nothing they can do, then they mailed me a check for the total of my 6 payments. I was never 270 days late which put me into default. Sallie Mae told me to call Navient. Navient told me to call Sallie Mae. I called the obudsman and they told me neither Sallie Mae, nor Navient had any record of my 6 lost payments, or of writing me a check for the total of the 6 payments, which I cashed. I have 100% paper trail, and they refuse to credit my student loans for the $30,000 they cost me for their error, which they also need to credit me with the interest I paid for that additional $30,000 over the years. Sallie Mae, Navient, and the Obudsman have all failed me and I have a bank paper trail. It should be a slam dunk to prove their negligence. I started paying on these stafford loans in 2002. It has been 20 years.