http://edworkforce.house.gov/yourstory/. SEE ALSO GRAPHIC #1 AND 4 AT http://edworkforce.house.gov/
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According to reporter Shahien Nasiripour, a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren "obtained" by The Huffington Post, dated Monday, Dec. 9th, 2013, reveals that the Department of Education has 'secretly' been aware of numerous, blatant offenses committed by Sallie Mae in the past decade regarding student loans. Even more shocking is the Dept.'s treatment of the situation: it has not and does not plan to terminate, punish or even fine Sallie Mae.
"The allegations... for the first time provide a glimpse into the extent of problems plaguing the $1 trillion federal student loan portfolio, and the apparently lackluster department response to faulty behavior by companies that interact with borrowers on its behalf and collect payments on government-backed student debt," writes Nasiripour. He goes on to report that at least 3 govt. agencies, including the FDIC, are currently investigating Sallie Mae and that Department Secretary Arne Duncan consistently denies any knowledge or participation in any of the alleged wrongdoings finally surfacing in the student loan industry. The FDIC "intends to publicly accuse the company of harming borrowers." The article states that Warren had no comment, though last week she said that the Dept. should not act like a "lapdog," when it should be protecting student loan borrowers. The Dept.'s spokesperson says the letter "speaks for itself" and Sallie Mae, of course, had no comment. The reporter goes on to say "Since 2009, the Education Department has found that Sallie Mae had defective practices when adjusting borrowers’ accounts, incorrectly calculated borrowers’ incomes who were in a federal program designed for low wage-earners, and erroneously tabulated household income for borrowers applying for a separate federal repayment plan meant for borrowers struggling with their monthly payments, the letter said." Obviously, an incorrect income means an incorrect income-based repayment plan, or worse: a full-fledged payment plan, complete with collections' boogeyman banging down the doors for a payment. My lowest student loan payment before I got on a repayment plan was $555 a month. That was on 43K, for 3 years of law school - 21 YEARS AGO. I shudder to think what kind of payments are owed with tuition costing what it does nowadays. "Over the last 10 years, according to its letter to Warren, the Education Department and its inspector general have concluded that Sallie Mae incorrectly billed the department for its services, failed to report certain fees, failed to pay other parties rightful fees, filed untimely claims when borrowers defaulted on their debts, and reported incorrect repayment terms. More broadly, the Education Department wrote, it has found 'general management and reporting deficiencies' as well as 'due diligence errors.'" That's pretty "broad," isn't it? But it seems like nothing, a pittance, alongside the 22 million dollars Sallie Mae has owed the Department since 2009, for overpayment mistakes. I have to wonder what the 'total student loan charges' on that 22 million would be; after interest, penalties, forbearance, compounding and capitalizing; followed by default and collection charges; and finally blessed by consolidation, rehabilitation and refinancing (with even further fees, fines, penalties and interest). I also wonder if Arne Duncan would give Sallie her own income-based repayment plan and what that would look like. Nah, he'll forgive her 'student loans', totalling billions by now, and won't even tell the bloody IRS about it. She'll turn around and borrow even more money, using it to prey upon her newest batch of unsuspecting student loan virgins. Then she'll sacrifice them atop the mountain of cash she makes off her latest swindle, to appease the gods of greed and avarice. Deanne Loonin, director of the National Consumer Law Center's Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, a student loan advocacy group effort, has plenty to say about the situation.You can read all about it in Nasiripour's article, and see more of the Huff Post Live, at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/education-sallie-mae_n_4428048.html. It's entirely possible that Sallie Mae won't get away, with murder, this time, as she has done for so many years now. |