Sallie Mae harrassment, and it's not even our loan!

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mindymandy

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I am writing on behalf of my parents, who are at their wit's end trying to deal with this. My sister is a very irresponsible person and has basically cut all ties with the family. We haven't seen her in over a year, we have no idea where she lives, and the only contact number we have is her cell phone (that my father still pays for!), but she never calls back. My parents contacted the police to try to find her, but they would not cooperate because she is over 18 and so apparently she has the right to do whatever she wants with her life.

Anyway, she owes approximately $25,000 in student loans with Sallie Mae, which she tried to consolidate with my parents as cosigners a few years ago. My parents did NOT cosign, which is a good thing because she ended up dropping out of school, stating that she had no intention of paying the loans back because she didn't graduate... so why should Sallie Mae get any money? Obviously she needs to pay the loans back but I can't imagine her having the funds to do so since she dropped out of school and is terrible with finances.

Anyway, Sallie Mae calls my parents almost every day asking to speak with my sister. My parents have repeatedly told them that my sister no longer lives with them and that they do not have her address or contact information. They have asked Sallie Mae to stop calling to no avail. Are my parents required to pay back the loan even though they did not cosign and the loan was consolidated when my sister was 21? Is there any way to stop the calls? And what can happen to my sister if she continues to hide from Sallie Mae? It's not like they can find her...

I appreciate any advice I can get, and I'm sorry for such a long post!
 
Are you sure they did not cosign on the original loan, before it was consolidated? If no, they do not have to pay Sallie Mae anything and need to report them to the Attoney General and file a report with the FTC https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 On this page, http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm click on the The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act [PDF] for a brochure explaining your rights.
 
Thanks for your reply. While my parents claim that they did not cosign, there's always the chance that my dad cosigned without telling my mom since he's a bit of a pushover. He also stated that he would rather just pay off her debt than let her get in trouble, even if it means dipping into his retirement (which sucks because I paid off my >$50,000 of debt and bought my own car, whereas kid sister got a brand new mustang for her 16th and may get all her loans paid off by the parents... oh, and of course the fact that it's a BAD idea to touch retirement funds!)

Anyway back to the issue, Sallie Mae claims that they are not violating any laws because they are simply trying to locate my sister and the law says that they are allowed to call more than once if they feel that incorrect information was given the first time, or if they believe that something changed since last time and now we know of her whereabouts. They were not rude or threatening in any of their phone calls and did not call at inconvenient times, it's just the fact that they're even calling after being asked not to which upsets me and my parents, and kinda reopens sore wounds.

I'm still wondering what Sallie Mae can really do to recover the debt or get "justice" though, since my sister isn't planning on paying anything back. They can't send her to jail, they can't garnish her wages because according to her blog she doesn't plan on working as long as her boyfriend supports her, she doesn't have any assets... the threat of having bad credit isn't likely to motivate her to pay up as she has always mocked people who live "conventional" lives with a family, house, car, job, etc. I am at the end of my rope and embarrassed about the situation
 
If they are calling everyday they are violating the intent of the law. File a complaint. Write them a letter telling them that you consider the daily calls harassment and demand that they stop. That you do not know where the person lives, she does not live at this residence so stop calling this residence. Send the letter return receipt. If they keep on calling, keep on filing complaints and hire a lawyer if you need to to send a cease and desist letter. Tell your dad not to pay.
 
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