Here’s a final vent from me on FedLoan Servicing, and what I think represents too much of the student loan lending industry.  The analogy seemed so fitting I could not help but to share it.

On Sunday, I shopped at Hannaford, a local grocery store.  There are several local Hannafords and some have great customer service, where employees are friendly and helpful, while others are totally lacking.  I went to the less friendly Hannaford this Sunday.  After doing my order, I was at the deli, the lady asked me if I said a quarter pound of cheese or half a pound.  Hannafords was busy and she seemed stressed.  I replied a quarter pound and she gave me my cheese.  Then I went to pick up some strawberries, which were on sale for 2/$4.00.  As I was going to the checkout, I purchased some Nesquik mix, which my children love.  I asked the cashier to check the price before I bought it.  I learned it was only 25c so I asked the cashier if there was more on the shelf for me to buy.  In an apathetic manner, he replied, “Whatever is left is on the shelf is what is there.”  Instead of sending someone else to pick up some more for me, as is customary, he quickly proceeded to complete my order.  After I purchased that order, I immediately walked to where the Nesquik was with all my now-purchased goods in my cart and bought some extra Nesquik, which constituted another order.  As I was driving home, I noticed that I was charged 2/$7 for the strawberries (instead of 2/$4), was given a half pound of cheese (which cost me an extra $2), and I only got the Nesquik because I adamantly sought it out instead of getting any help from anyone at this Hannaford.  Now, this was only a $4.75 loss and because I was on my way home, it would have cost me extra gas and unhappy children to return to the store and argue out $4.75.  It wasn’t worth it for me.  And I haven’t really returned to argue this point. 

The customer service experience at this particular Hannaford parallels all my experiences with FedLoan Servicing.  Poor customer service.  Miscommunication.  Apathy.  Too busy to care.  However, I lost $100s of dollars due to FedLoan not counting some of my payments towards PSLF, and I would have lost $1,000s of dollars for the same reason if I had not adamantly pursued a different mistake that Direct Loans (my previous servicer) had made.  Thankfully I did and “won” as a result of my Ombudsman case, but most would not. 

The bottom line from me sharing this anecdote is we have to be our own advocates with our student loan servicers.  Maybe some people at FedLoan truly do care, and I have talked with a few who were pleasant, but this has been the exception and not the norm.  We need to keep all the paperwork, we need to communicate in writing with our lenders (if not ignored), and we need to stay on top of every detail.  Or we could get screwed. 

Thanks, Heather, for offering a great forum and for giving people such as myself an opportunity to vent, share experiences/insights, and for your great advocacy for those with student loans.  I’ll always enjoy reading this forum and your blog.