Friday, February 2nd, 2007...7:37 am
Ted Kennedy Sullies Sallie Mae’s Rep?
Apparently Thomas Fitzpatrick is under the delusional impression that Families and students across America view Sallie Mae as a bastion of hope and a helper of the underdog. He sees Sallie Mae as a helper and a company which gives students a helping hand. This delusion has led him to cry out against Senator Ted Kennedy’s calls for reform and changes in the student loan industry. And seriously why would an industry that gets paid even when students default, hires strong arm collections agents, holds your federal loans hostage, and is being investigated for improper realtions with student financial aid offices need any kind of reform?
Recently Ted Kennedy has began a call for reform in the student loan industry and is pushing for schools to steer students to direct loans which unfortunately for Sallie Mae don’t go towards paying their 3 million dollar CEO salary. Ted Kennedy’s plan is summed up below.
The Massachusetts Democrat — an old liberal lion brought back to committee leadership power in November’s elections — wants to reward colleges for steering more students to direct government loans instead of the government-guaranteed loans that furnish handsome profits for Sallie Mae and the banks.
This no-goodnick is trying to hurt Sallie Mae a company which would never put itself or money or Universities before students. How dare he do this, in fact it seems that he has drawn the attention of Salle Mae CEO Thomas Fitzpatrick.
“Unfortunately, Sen. Kennedy has attempted to smear the integrity of Sallie Mae, the student loan industry, and the financial aid professionals. I’m certainly personally disappointed in his baseless and insulting attacks,” said the Sallie Mae CEO, according to a teleconference transcript.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. hopefully it will favor the students and the millions of college graduates who are currently working as indentured servants for Sallie Mae.
In other news, I should have my own open letter to Thomas Fitzpatrick up next week. Please feel free to share your opinions on this story, Sallie Mae, and student loans in the comments.
8 Comments
February 18th, 2007 at 2:49 am
We have a daughter who owes money. Sallie Mae has been anything but professional. They threaten, call at all times of the day, and are just plain rude. They threaten over your credit rating. They are crooks. When the government pays them money to recover the lost accounts, then they rebuy those accounts and use unprofessional tactics to get double on a loan. I would never advise a student to go the Sallie Mae route and the employees working there, feel the same way.
February 18th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Dale,
Thanks for stopping by, couldn’t agree more with your comments. You should check out the Fair Debt Collection Practices
You can also find more information about dealing with debt collectors at the consumerist.com, specifically; on this page
Good luck
February 21st, 2007 at 3:19 pm
This isn’t a comment about Sen. Kennedy and Sallie Mae, but a plea for help with Sallie Mae’s lack of professionalism and ability to process a loan. You’d think an organization whose sole business is loans would be able to handle one little loan but alas - NO.
I am at wits end trying to straighten out a problem with my son’s loan- from May 2006!
Between incompetence on the end of both the school and Sallie Mae- I have no idea where to go to straighten out the mess or get anyone who is willing to help.
We have forwarded (faxed) information, that they say they don’t have, no less than six times.
Even when I manage to get a helpful knowledgable employee at Sallie Mae, I can’t call them back when it all goes wrong again. I am left at the mercy of anyone who happens to answer the phone.
It’s scarey to have to re-fax personal information over and over only to be told they don’t have it. ???
Does anyone have any idea who I can go to in an attempt to save my son’s future credit? Not to mention our peace of mind?
Any ideas?
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Paula,
Sorry to hear about this problem.
My only thoughts so far are to contact your BBB, state rep, Thomas Fitzpatrick(Sallie Mae CEO), and the FSA Ombudsman Home Page. If I get any resolution I will share how it went and what I did to get it fixed.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:50 am
I am currently dealing with the relentlessness of Sallie Mae, much to my frustration. When you tell them you can’t afford payments, and request forbearances, they ask you for more money. Ummm, I thought that was the point of a FORBEARANCE. Just a couple of weeks ago, they threatened me with wage garnishment, and like a fool, I made a payment to get them out of my hair (over $400), which put me in a slight crunch financially.
The way Sallie Mae treats its customers is deplorable, and I have yet to hear any kind words about the company. They call any time of day, usually early in the morning (I guess they don’t think people sleep). When I thought my loan was consolidated by another company (XPress Loan Servicing, who is MUCH more understanding and professional), Sallie Mae turns right around and tells me that the loans were NOT consolidated, and they never received any word of it. Why the whistle hasn’t been blown on their practices is beyond me. Sallie Mae does nothing but bully the customers, and leave us feeling helpless. There is no way in Hell this can be legal, or can it?
April 8th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Paula,
I’d contact Senator Kennedy about Sallie Mae. It is on the legislative agenda to make changes in college loans. I haven’t contacted Kennedy, but I plan to. I’m wondering if the 400 dollars the chap paid them, went for interest or capitol. If at least part went to capitol, I would be happy, but I’m betting that it didn’t, and that you are owing more and more to Sallie Mae.
I’m wondering, too, if it is possible to find out if Sallie Mae has already turned yours, any of the above, over to the government and received a reimbursment for your loan. In that case, all the unprofessional badgering is over “gravy” - money that goes beyond what has already been paid-off.
It sounds like now is the time to let Kennedy know your predicaments. Attorney’s are filing charges over some banks that loan to Ivy League students. It is my guess that Sallie Mae loans to ordinary Americans, who simply cannot afford to pay the loans off.
All loans, to me, should have sundown policy that, after 20 years, they will be paid off. But the problem is, that SM (Sado Machism) forces you to start paying after 6 months after graduation, regardless if you have a job or not.
Also, … plans should be made such that students who are working for the poor and lower-incomed, should have their loans decreased by half, under the above guide-lines.
I put an article about Sallie Mae on opednews.com. You can find it by going to “archives” and then go down and find my name down there and click on the articles. I also have a lot of diary thoughts as well, and you have to click on “dairies” to see them. I truly believe that Sallie Mae is a company that uses fraudulent methods on lending to students.
We are paying our daughter’s right now. I do NOT like to be threatened and when I am threated over the telephone, I don’t get mad, I get even. So, I am still working on this nonsense.
For instance, there should be way that the borrower should be notified when their account has been turned back to the government and paid off by the government. If that has been done, … then there should absolutely be no (NO) threats from Sallie Mae.
Hang in there and let’s see what we can get done on this.
Dale
February 1st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I want to point out it took me 17 years to pay off my debt and recieved numorous threats from this unhelpful mob. My original school loan was sold to them without my knowledge at that time. Anyway I just found out today that my loan was paid off 2 mths ago without a letter or some form of notice from them. I called them since I knew I was close to the end and tried to access my account on their website only to get an error message saying that login in is no longer valid. so I called their 1-800 number and got some guy from who said that I will be getting a refund for the last 2 mths. nice i said but what about the promissory note that states my loan is truly paid off. he said i had to wait 45 days after my loan was paid off. I was like what?? my loan was paid off 2 mths ago and your holding my over payment that i didnt know i over paid. he then got really rude with me. I guess anyone whose chooses to go with the “ma bell” of school loans will get screwed. I say this since I know I wont see a dime of interest from the money I overpaid and they “forgot” or should I really say neglected to tell me about.
Thanks Sallie Mae ( or should I say MR POTTER) for the 17 years of no understanding.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Has anyone ever heard and talked to someone who has actually paid off a Sallie Mae school loan? And received the debt dischargement letter (or whatever it is called)? I have a $26K student loan with SM, and so far 2 years of repayment and no problems, but I feel like I am sitting on a ticking time bomb.
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