anti-prose. random matter.
bleeping student loan assholes...
Published on November 18, 2004 By crimson In Blogging
I HATE dealing with 'customer service representatives', even though I am considered one myself. (Well, here they call us 'relationship consultants' but that's just a fancy name for someone who has to answer someone else's questions/rants.)

For weeks now, I've been trying to get the 411 on the whole details of my student loan. Not to bore anyone with the details, but I've got 4 of them, so they say, all because of a change in policy created in the glorious year of 2001. What this means is that I have to speak with 4 different loan service centres every time that I have a question. No wonder people flee the country after graduation, hiding behind an alternate identity. You'd think that there was some way to consolidate all loans into one large acct, but hell no... that would be like convenient.

I could go on and on about this, but the end result is, I'm not entirely sure where a figure totalling over 10,000 dollars is coming from and I really need an answer now. If it was a hundred dollars, I'd give in and pay the money rather than try to navigate the call centre switchboard, but 10 grand is a figure that I can't easily dismiss. I've been on the phone for more than 2 hours now, and I've just hit DANGER:CONTENTS MAY EXPLODE status. I don't know whether I should call it a day and go for an afternoon pint, or dial another 1800 number and give out my acct details for the (no shit) 27th time today. I've been transferred more than 5 times, have had my call dropped 3 times, and have hit dead ends on menu paths twice. And I've been cussing up a storm.

I have had it. I'm going to take a few deep, calming breaths and hope for the best. I swear that I'm not going to take it out on a total stranger, but I thought technology was supposed to be useful. If my call does not get resolved after this next phone call, I am going to have to do something.... as if I could, in this situation.


Comments
on Nov 18, 2004
wow that sounds like a pain in the butt.....I'm pulling for you--let us know how it turns out.
on Nov 18, 2004
they can be consolidated, ask any one of your loan holders to help you do it, and they will (probably) bend over backwards to help you do it just so that they are the ones to get your future interest payments. And once that's done, you can handle them all online and avoid the phone.

That's what I did.
on Nov 18, 2004
I am going to have to do something.... as if I could, in this situation

Try screaming really loud Doubt it will help, but it might make you feel better. Or if you do it while on the phone, might intimidate whoever is on the other end of the line
And I'll second xtine's idea about getting them consolidated, while it might take a bunch of phone calls to manage, at least you'd only have the one place to worry about afterwards.