They say you never know who your real friends are until adversity hits. Judging by the Change.org campaign I started recently, I’ve got about 65,000 of them. That’s the number of people who’ve signed my petition calling on Sallie Mae to stop charging a fee for a deferment of student loan payments, known as a forbearance.
You see, I’m a recent graduate with private student loans who’s been unable to find full-time work. Sallie Mae told me that in order to place my loans in forbearance (and avoid defaulting outright), I would have to pay $50 fee per loan for each three month block — for me, that’s $150! I can barely afford to feed myself, much less $150! This fee isn’t assessed to any of the federal loans Sallie Mae services — it’s just for gouging private loan customers down on their luck.
That’s a big reason I started my campaign, and no surprise, Sallie Mae doesn’t agree. A spokeswoman told the Chronicle of Higher Education that the unemployment penalty is simply “a good-faith deposit that acknowledges the importance of and commitment to resuming payments in the future.”
Sallie Mae’s characterization of this onerous fee as a “good-faith deposit” is unbelievable! When I pay a deposit on my apartment, I get my money back at the end of the lease. If this were a “deposit” borrowers would either get their fees back at the end of the forbearance or the money would be applied to the loan’s balance. Neither of these is true.
During the forbearance period, Sallie Mae continues to add interest to the loans — in my case, more than $1,000 every three months I can’t find work. This fee is about one thing — padding Sallie Mae’s profits — and for them to pretend otherwise is galling.
Please stand with me against these predatory practices: if you haven’t already done so, take a minute to sign my petition. And please share this message with as many people as you can. Thank you so much!
-Stef
