OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

Student debtor stories submitted by the 99%

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160 posts tagged usury

American Education Services: Stop the usury charges & work with us!

My name is Cassandra Coey and the lack of consumer protection currently in existence for the private student lending industry has had a terribly profound, lasting, and all encompassing effect on my life. Like so many of my peers, I was forced to take out both federal and private student loans in order to pay for college. Since I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2010 I have been unable to find gainful employment, forcing me to place my federal student loans into forbearance. Unfortunately, I am unable to do the same with my private student loans which are now held by AES. Originally my loans were through GMAC, but this company, which was a part of GMC, went bankrupt and my loans were sold to AES (where the terms of my loans were changed, and I could do nothing about it).

These changes added an additional $15,320.82 in interest because of a little thing called capitalized interest. My interest rate hovers around 5% of the principal & IS CAPITALIZED EVERY FISCAL QUARTER and then ADDED TO THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT. Meaning, 5% of both of my loans (no they will NOT combine them) is added to the principal amount every 3 months of the year, starting January 1st. After another 3 months, in June, the higher amount where a previous 5% interest rate was tacked on, gets another 5% interest added onto that amount and compounded to become the new principal amount. So every 3 months my original loan becomes a much larger black hole encompassing more and more of my life.

I am stunned & appalled by this and to add insult to injury I receive countless calls every single day demanding money and threatening legal action. If I had the payment, I would pay it, but AES refuses to work with me and is now telling me that they will sue me for the entire $42,000 borrowed. I incessantly look for full-time work, and although, I do understand what I borrowed, I just want the ability to place my private student loans in forbearance as is allowed with federal student loans.

The Big Picture here is the amount I owe AES with late fees and capitalized interest has now increased to an insane amount, originating at $42,000 and is currently $60,240.60. My credit is destroyed from my inability to make payments. And today with so many employers checking credit scores, it makes it even harder to find full-time work. However, most significantly, within the next few years I would like to marry my boyfriend and start a family but we cannot, as he would inherit my abominable credit. And if we did go ahead it would be like a fish out of water, dying with no foreseeable way out.

Please take a stand with me, asking AES to allow me to place my private student loans in forbearance so I can focus on getting full-time employment, work on rebuilding my credit, and marry the one I love. All borrowers with private student loans must have the same protection awarded to those with federal loans, have the ability to place them in forbearance and in deferment, and have access to interest based repayment.

Source change.org

I attended Xavier University of Louisiana as a Biology Pre-Med student with dreams of becoming a doctor and multiple scholarships to pay my tuition. But that did not happen. I left the comfort of my home state to attend school at the #1 Historically Black College for placing students into med school. The out of state tuition was so high that I needed additional funds to pay my tuition or I would have to go home. Now, I think that that would have been better. It was suggested by the financial aid counselors that I take out a loan to cover the rest of my tuition. Even at 18, I was weary. I had always planned on being wealthy and debt free. But I was far from home and did not have parents or family who could help me financially. I took out a loan using my mother as the co-signer with Sallie Mae at a 6.0% interest rate. Every year, I had to take out loans to cover my interest. I had to use my grandmother as a co-signer on some. The loans that I could not use a co-signer for, I had an interest rate of 9.75%! When I graduated, I was already working. My pay was not enough to cover my living expenses, so I had to take out an additional private loan. I have had trouble finding work since I graduated. I have had nothing but bouts of unemployment and low pay. It is upsetting enough to desire success and hit wall after wall. What has made things worse is me, my mother and my grandmother constantly harassed by Sallie Mae. I have paid them multiple $150 forbearance fees only to have them call 5 times/day, weekends, holidays even early mornings. They have asked for my permission to call my cell phone and I have denied it only for them to call my mother 10 minutes later. Whenever I call them to try to work out arrangements, I am forced to speak to employees who try to demean me, threaten and remind me every 5 seconds that my $50,000 debt is now $113,000! I am now about a month away from defaulting on all of my loans and the only options they present to me ( and I am currently unemployed) are to pay $1450/month or enroll in a program in which I pay $800-but have to post date checks for that month for the entire year! What is even more upsetting is that I have never even had a credit card, I have always paid for cars, insurance, etc. up front to avoid being in debt. And now, my credit is wrecked-solely because of Sallie Mae. What Sallie Mae does is despicable, disgusting and immoral. I am glad that I am a strong person and have faith that things will get better, but I know that there are many that are not as strong. I hope that change comes soon.

I attended Xavier University of Louisiana as a Biology Pre-Med student with dreams of becoming a doctor and multiple scholarships to pay my tuition. But that did not happen. I left the comfort of my home state to attend school at the #1 Historically Black College for placing students into med school. The out of state tuition was so high that I needed additional funds to pay my tuition or I would have to go home. Now, I think that that would have been better.

It was suggested by the financial aid counselors that I take out a loan to cover the rest of my tuition. Even at 18, I was weary. I had always planned on being wealthy and debt free. But I was far from home and did not have parents or family who could help me financially. I took out a loan using my mother as the co-signer with Sallie Mae at a 6.0% interest rate. Every year, I had to take out loans to cover my interest. I had to use my grandmother as a co-signer on some. The loans that I could not use a co-signer for, I had an interest rate of 9.75%!
When I graduated, I was already working. My pay was not enough to cover my living expenses, so I had to take out an additional private loan. I have had trouble finding work since I graduated. I have had nothing but bouts of unemployment and low pay. It is upsetting enough to desire success and hit wall after wall. What has made things worse is me, my mother and my grandmother constantly harassed by Sallie Mae. I have paid them multiple $150 forbearance fees only to have them call 5 times/day, weekends, holidays even early mornings. They have asked for my permission to call my cell phone and I have denied it only for them to call my mother 10 minutes later. Whenever I call them to try to work out arrangements, I am forced to speak to employees who try to demean me, threaten and remind me every 5 seconds that my $50,000 debt is now $113,000!

I am now about a month away from defaulting on all of my loans and the only options they present to me ( and I am currently unemployed) are to pay $1450/month or enroll in a program in which I pay $800-but have to post date checks for that month for the entire year! What is even more upsetting is that I have never even had a credit card, I have always paid for cars, insurance, etc. up front to avoid being in debt. And now, my credit is wrecked-solely because of Sallie Mae.
What Sallie Mae does is despicable, disgusting and immoral. I am glad that I am a strong person and have faith that things will get better, but I know that there are many that are not as strong. I hope that change comes soon.

I have old guaranteed student loans, pre 2002 when I graduated as a non-traditional, GED, single parent student… I am sick enough to qualify for SSD, want to work as long as possible, living on below minimum wage and 57 years old. there is no way I am going to be able to pay these loans off for my PhD. I got sick from an incurable disease during the end of my PhD program, then got swept up in college downsizing for a ‘legacy building, first employer after ABD’. consolidation was denied due to bank mergers, lost paperwork aka: canceled checks. credit too bad to consolidate. I have 1 Perkins loan at the university that I got my MA from, they were not swept up in the D of Ed garnishment (15% gross income) and have put me in a position where work is few and far between. I can’t get a transcript to get a job to keep on working. I have worked up the food chain as far as appeals go, there is no place left to appeal to in the state. obviously, I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer. yes, I have applied for food stamps. we need bankrupcy protection… for me, I don’t make enough money to make the minimum payments. I did not plan to get sick and have no way out. I am getting sicker as time goes on because medicaid has been denied. unstable income, and can’t afford medical care and medications I need to stay alive, I am an adjunct who fears a transcript call from my employer because I can’t get a copy (business office hold, default). I am stuck because without the transcript I can’t get a job. non-PhD jobs turn me down as ‘overqualified and reason I will leave asap” plus credit rating is shot so can’t handle money. (name withheld as a community college adjunct for now because of transcript fear and gurtenteed firing)

I have old guaranteed student loans, pre 2002 when I graduated as a non-traditional, GED, single parent student…
I am sick enough to qualify for SSD, want to work as long as possible, living on below minimum wage and 57 years old. there is no way I am going to be able to pay these loans off for my PhD. I got sick from an incurable disease during the end of my PhD program, then got swept up in college downsizing for a ‘legacy building, first employer after ABD’.
consolidation was denied due to bank mergers, lost paperwork aka: canceled checks. credit too bad to consolidate.
I have 1 Perkins loan at the university that I got my MA from, they were not swept up in the D of Ed garnishment (15% gross income) and have put me in a position where work is few and far between. I can’t get a transcript to get a job to keep on working. I have worked up the food chain as far as appeals go, there is no place left to appeal to in the state. obviously, I don’t have the money to hire a lawyer. yes, I have applied for food stamps.
we need bankrupcy protection… for me, I don’t make enough money to make the minimum payments. I did not plan to get sick and have no way out. I am getting sicker as time goes on because medicaid has been denied. unstable income, and can’t afford medical care and medications I need to stay alive,
I am an adjunct who fears a transcript call from my employer because I can’t get a copy (business office hold, default). I am stuck because without the transcript I can’t get a job. non-PhD jobs turn me down as ‘overqualified and reason I will leave asap” plus credit rating is shot so can’t handle money.
(name withheld as a community college adjunct for now because of transcript fear and gurtenteed firing)

Sallie Mae changed my status between semesters and capitalized my interest

While in school for 4 straight years Sallie Mae changed my status between semesters and capitalized my interest making a $60k loan balloon to $100k. Saying that my “status” changed. It didn’t I was in school and it should have been an in school deferment. That is on my private loans. That’s criminal.

Classic Sallie Mae Negotiations

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Options Sallie Mae has given me in order to pay my loan:

1. Borrow from friends and family - $60,000 + 18 percent interest by the way.

2. Take out another private loan and use it to pay the current private loan.

3. Fill out a bunch of applications for credit cards, and pay the loan with those. (My credit score is below 500 due to Sallie Mae - so I either can’t get a credit card / or can get me one with an interest rate of 35 percent or higher)

4. Intentionally hurt myself or fill out a false accident claim so I can cash in on a settlement. (This is an honest to god suggestion from a Sallie Mae employee.)

5. Don’t pay my rent or buy groceries for the month. But pay my phone so Sallie Mae can continue to call me ten times a day.

6. Sell my car, all my personal possessions, and clothing so I can bring my account current and at least get just a small fraction the interest out of the way.

7. Quit college now and take up two or three jobs. Yes, Sallie Mae asked me to do the right thing and give up.

8. Ask neighbors, people I don’t know around me, if they would be willing to pitch in and help me out. Other wise Sallie Mae would call them and do it for me.

9. Garnish my wages. My wages are student loans.

10. Call me ten times a day. As if in between hours I’m some how going to magically have sixty thousand dollars.

11. Got to love the forbearance fee. In all honesty I’m still paying considering my interest is compounding during the times the forbearance is in “effect.”

Al lord, seriously? I get it. Who doesn’t want a nice yacht, a mansion and their own personal golf course. But what is that going to mean ten years from now when you need a doctor, and there aren’t any because you pissed on all of them? What about science breakthroughs? Your yacht isn’t going to build itself. How are you going to purchase the latest high tech car or gadget when America’s engineers are all stuck working retail? Pilots. Whose going to fly you in your private jet to your favorite vacation spots around the world? YOU? There are only a small handful of people like you out there right now, Al Lord. You could do so many great things with your money and your choosing not to. The American people don’t want to be filthy rich, they just want their shot. America possesses a vast range of diverse and talented people that could change the world as we know it. Al Lord, your not one of them. Its a travesty that some one that has nothing to offer gets to make the decisions.