Jesus Wept!

Originally posted 11/17/2006:

So, after I balance my checkbook this morning, pay some bills, and make some calculations, I figure out that I can afford to pay $50 for another deferral for my student loan. IF they pull it from my next paycheck.

SO - I call them up, and speak with a very nice lady there who is actually nice enough to call me back when I end up wandering through a dead spot whilst on the bus running errands. And I get everything squared away. It is around 10 am. I'm feeling rather accomplished - I have some time to get my shit in order, do some OT for work, and generally (hopefully) have enough time to get ammo to help them shoot themselves in the foot come January.

At 11 am, I'm on my way to the bank to get some things notarized, and my phone rings... It says "Unknown" on the caller ID... "Hmmm," I think, "it couldn't be Sallie Mae again - could it?" I answer it, and, lo and behold - IT *IS*!! They start their little intro speil, and I interrupt them right there and:

I say: "I just got off the phone about 45 minutes to an hour ago with another representative, and set up a deferral for my loan. Why are you calling me again?"

BC says: (long pause) "Uh... Um, well, we were, uh, just calling to.. uh... verify the address and phone number that we have on file for you - yeah."

ME: "I see - you mean the address and the phone number that I already verified earlier this morning? When I set up my deferral? (I rattle off the address again at breakneck speed)"

BC: "Uh - ok... Well, then - uh... Thanks." *click*

I swear - a worse way to cover up that you've called the number in error I have NEVER heard... These people must think I'm absolutely stupid.

On the up shot - I have found that if I can pull all my monthly receipts together and prove to Sallie Mae that I cannot afford to make $545 per month payments (and no, I can't make the $500 per month interest only payments, either), they will *HAVE* to provide me with a workable solution as their current monthly payments create a hardship on me.

Also - if, after 5 years, I'm still in hardship, I can go to court and see about having the loan dismissed - as long as I have faithfully attempted to make the payments and keep the loan current.

SO - first order of business is to pull all my monthly receipts together and see what I get. THEN it's off to find the paperwork I need to submit to the FCA Ombuddsman and Sallie Mae to prove that they're full of shit. OH - and I'm going to request from T-Mobile for a list of all my incoming calls so that I can prove that they HAVE been harassing me - and send those in as well...

~M