I haven't ranted about student loans for at least fifteen minutes, so here goes

[Orrex]

:rant:

I'm currently in default on my loan because my extravagant lifestyle of jet-setting and hob-knobbing leaves me no loose cash for such trifles as the repayment of student loans.

Well, no. In fact I'm the sole source of income for a family of four, and every payday is a terrifying thrill-ride of budgetary agility so complex and intricate that it makes DNA look like nothing more than a string of three-letter words by comparison.

Last year my lender notified me that I had to start paying $340 per month to get myself out of default.

"I can't afford to give you $340 per month," I said.

"No problem," said the lender. "In that case we'll just take it from you."

So here it is ten months (and $3400) later, and I've been working for the past two months to be shifted from the "default" category to "rehabilitated," the latter of which would allow me to consolidate my loans and thereafter defer them for a little longer in hope of achieving greater financial stability in the meantime.

In mid August I was notified that the auto-debit from my checking account would be suspended for one month if I sent in a certain letter. I did so, and two additional payments have been debited since that time.

When I called today, I got a smart-mouthed asshole on the phone who was argumentative and frankly unwilling to give me any useful information. No fewer than ten times (and, yes, I counted them) he said "I don't know what else to tell you," as if he'd told me anything at all by that time.

I asked to speak with his manager, and he told me that supervisors don't take direct calls. He could notify a supervisor of my request, and the supervisor would decide whether or not my request merits further contact.

What the fuck? I'm not some deadbeat sitting on a million-dollar nest egg and thumbing my nose at Sallie Mae! I'm employed full time and busting my ass just to keep a roof over my family's head and food on the table.

If Hell hasn't opened a new circle just for these predatory assholes, then there is truly no justice in the universe.

[Orrex]

1. One other thing

When the smart-mouthed asshole answered the phone, he opened with "I see that the outstanding balance on your loan is $25,000. Are you calling to pay this amount today?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked. "Please tell me what, in our history together, suggests to you that anything in my circumstances would empower me to call and deliver a $25,000 payment out of the blue. The whole god damn reason I'm even talking to you is because your convenient monthly debit is driving me inexorably toward ruin. So, yes, let me reach into my vast trust fund and hand you a check for $25,000. Why didn't I think of that before?"

Actually, I didn't say that. But I did laugh out loud when he asked me. It's tantamount to a funeral director answering the phone with "Tranquil Rest funeral home; how may we assist you in your undertaking?"

[ThomCat]

2. I was paying $600 every month

when they decided that they wanted $1,000 per month and wouldn't take no for an answer.

I pared back my budget to bare bones and started paying them $1,000 per month, and then they called me and told me they wanted $1,400 per month.
:wtf:

By that point, my health issues were getting expensive and there was no way I could keep paying even $600 per month. I had to consolidate my loans (and take an 18% penalty) in order to lower my monthly payments.

Student loans are a total scam designed to keep you poor for the rest of your life so that the banks can make even more money.

[Orrex]

3. That totally sucks!

It galls me that they can just assign huge penalties and up your monthly rate more or less at their whim. Sure, credit card companies do similar shit, but at least then you can (in the worst case) declare bankruptcy.

And it infuriates me when they claim that such and such a form will take 90 days to process. 90 days? My job entails the processing of dozens of invoices each month totaling billions of dollars, which I have to reconcile to the penny, and these need to be turned around in fifteen days or less. You can't tell me that the review performed by Sallie Mae or wherever actually requires three months to complete!

[catmandu57]

4. How can they just take it from you?

I'm confused on this, can't you call the bank and tell them not to debit your account without your express approval.
That's what I'd do, if you don't care what happens to your credit rating I'd tell them to kiss my happy ass, and either get the bank to stop debiting my account or close that one out.
If you get caller id then you can ignore the collectors, what are they going to do shave your head and send you to Iraq?
Besides that all the fucking naysayers that have came on this board are doing their level best to convince everyone that we are about to start a nuclear war, and if we are then fuck the collectors, fuck credit rating, fuck it all, tell them to eat shit and die because dead eye is going to destroy the world anyway and you have better things to do with 340.00 dollars like taking care of your family.

[Orrex]

5. If only that were possible!

Thanks to the power of the mighty student loan industry, these companies are authorized to yank the money directly out of your paycheck.

Granted, this is no doubt covered somewhere in the intricate contract that preceded my acquisition of these loans in the first place, but for Christ's sake, a little flexibility wouldn't hurt. As I mentioned, I'm not running around with bags of loose cash--I have actual, inescapable bills to pay and mouths to feed.

Thank you for your sympathy and for listening to me vent!