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March 2012 Moms
Very Frustrated...NBR
So I was put on bed rest almost 2 weeks ago, which means I am out of work, at home without pay. Now DH and I would have been fine with me being out of work (unpaid) when our LO came with savings etc, but not for these extra few months.
I was given some advice from people, including to defer or forebear my student loans because I am not working and literally cannot pay them right now. I just called them and 1. had to wait almost 20 minutes to get a real person, 2. Couldn't understand what the person was saying 3. Was fed a ton of BS about my loans and how they are and that I would have to pay for forebear them, paying a fee every 3 months...isn't that the point is that I am calling to not pay them and I know for a right that I can do this? Well, then the person tried to explain it to me and had no idea what they were talking about, couldn't answer my questions and even told me to just look it up on the website instead. Seriously? As it was, I could hardly understand anything that she was saying and I got emotional and eventually told her I would have my DH call and hung up...
Sorry for venting, but it is hard to be told to "not stress" about things when nothing is going right right now.
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Re: Very Frustrated...NBR
Me (32) DH (30)
A Wordy Blog
Baby Evangeline is here!
Ok, so what they are saying is since you will be in forebearance rather than deferment if you pay every three months the interest on the loans you will not accrue additional principle on the loan amount because the interest will captialize. You do not, however, have to pay the interest if you really cannot afford to do so. They cannot make you.
Are these private lender loans (like citibank etc) or are these FASA federal loans (unsubsized or subsized stafford loans)?
Who are your loans with BTW? a large lender like Sallie Mae or a small bank?
Typically the information is more easily accessable on the website for the larger lenders rather than by phone, you can even apply for your forbearance via the internet and completely electronically (you have to provide proof of income/lack of income) so just be prepared to have all your documents available when you do it.
It is Sallie Mae. I was looking for some more information and to see if I could do it now and have it processed sooner than later. I don't think the person really knew what to do because she had to put me on hold to check to see what I was talking about. I am going to have DH look at it online with me when he gets home to see what we need to do.
Yeah, I also have my loans with Sallie Mae and the deferment/forbearance process is pretty straight forward once you find it on the website. I would definitely go the electronic route rather than having them send you the forms through the mail. Honestly once it's submitted it shouldn't take them more than a few weeks to process. I had my loans in forbearance ages and ages ago but I didn't think the process was that time consuming once I had all my paperwork together.
When you log into your account on the Sallie Mae website (since I assume you have one)- go into "Change your payment" and then you will see "apply for deferment" and "apply for forbearance" I would definitely suggest a deferment if you qualify (which you may for an economic hardship deferment- all the applications are right there, you can't miss them).
Good luck.
Sallie Mae is the worst!!! I have had more trouble with them than with any of my student loans. If you chose to forbear you have the option to pay interest during the forbearance period or not, as a PP said. When you call Sallie Mae back...do not give any info to the first person you talk to. Just ask for a manager. They will bully you and ask for your account number saying they need to figure out the nature of the problem first. Don't do it! Just ask again for a manger and again until you get one. The people who answer the phones are hard to understand and never give you the same story. I have found the mangers to be much more knowledgeable. to forebear all you need is a simple paper they can mail, email, or you can print offline. You just have to fill it out and fax or mail it.
Even if you DH is listed on the account as someone they can speak with...I would suggest you call back yourself. It is easier than fighting with them to read the file to see other authorized users on the account.
Good luck!! You aren't alone in the Sallie Mae fight!