Westwood College/Sallie Mae Alta College The Nightmare Continues Internet
My Westwood horror story continues. 6 months ago I applied for and received a student loan consolidation by the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. I received notice from the US Department of Education and Sallie Mae that they were taking over my loans. I have been making payments all this time and the collection calls had finally stopped. Yesterday, I received a call from a
Loan Guarantor (NCS Collections) for Sallie Mae stating that I have defaulted on a Sallie Mae private loan and that I need to pay or they will go after me and my wife since she co-signed. I explained to the kind gentleman as best as I could that all of my loans through Sallie Mae were FASFA and not private. He explained to me that my wife co-signed and she is just as responsible for this loan as I am. If I fail to resolve this matter today, they will go after my wife and I and have our wages garnished. After arguing with the gentleman, his manager, Jeffrey Smith, came on the phone and this is what I was told.
Sallie Mae took out a private loan on my behalf and that my spouse was made the co-signer as she is on the reference page of my FASFA . I asked how can a lender take out loans on my behalf and make my wife a co-signer without actually signing anything. He stated it is in the original loans docs page 17 and that they can do that. He offered me two options, pay up what is in default, $1,200 and start making regular payments or I can pay half of what I currently owe and mark it as being paid and then asked my for my bank routing number or credit card number to help me. I asked him to call me back so I can discuss with my wife.
How can a lender take out loans on your behalf and make a family member a co-signer without having anyone sign any loan documents. I called the US Dept of Ed who currently services my student loans and they also thought this sounded extremely bizarre. I have asked for legal representation and I am waiting for the attorney call back but this is blatant fraud in anyones book.
I am past my wits end with Westwood College and Sallie Mae. Higher education my a$$, when will this ever end?