OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

I borrowed a total of $22,500 for law school. Law was not my first choice but I got a scholarship for part of the tuition. I got 7,500 each year for 3 years from 1990 to 1993.

By 2005 I had paid $44,860 to Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae says I still owe $62,400. I don’t know how this is possible. Or legal.

When I graduated in 1993, I believed I had 2 years grace period to repay my loan. I was told the loan was in forbearance and would stay the same.

However, in 1996, when I consolidated I was told that 9% interest, compounded quarterly, had been accruing since 1993, so my $22,500 turned into $42,600. I had no choice but to consolidate and start paying. School loans cannot be refinanced.

I have paid from 1996 to 2005. I became ill in 2005 and forbore the loan. I believed it was almost paid off and also I paid the interest for much of the time it was in forbearance.

But now in 2012 the paperwork shows I owe over $62,000. I am sick about this. I don’t believe I owe this. The loan was not supposed to accrue interest between 1993 and 1996—this is what I was told by the lenders when I took the loans.

I tried to talk to someone about this in December of 2011, but the customer service rep, located in the Philippines, was unhelpful except to tell me to pay $100 and that I could continue paying $100 a month.

When I went online to pay the $100 for January 2012, I saw, for the first time, my entire payment records. This is when I found I paid $44,860. (I did not realize it was that much).

Even though I have tried over the years to talk to someone about this loan, I get nowhere. Correspondence is also disregarded.

Is there anything I can do? Aside from pleading undue hardship in a bankruptcy filing?

Thank you,

Laura Odonnell