So Mad! Student loan related, help!

[serenetabbie]

A little over a year ago I paid off my student loan. The final payment was about $35, and I was so happy to have one more debt out of the way. Somehow, the bank screwed up paying it and paid $350 instead of $35. The student loan place sent me back my money less the amount I owed. I called them to verify that this was all ok, they said yes, and everything was alright as far as I knew.

I got one collection letter this June and called. The lady said it was an error, she would fix it and to throw the bill away. Now, over a year later, I am getting nasty collection calls saying I owe exactly the amount they repaid me! And they are saying that because I am something insane like 500 days overdue, there is a black mark on my credit and they are going to garnish my wages. I work part time! This is not their money! It was a mistake, not made by me, and I am being punished.

I could just cry. What recourse do I have? Calling the loan company is apparently not what I should be doing... that lady suggested I just pay the $300+ back. I am so broke , what on earth makes people think that everyone just has an extra few hundred $$ laying around? Besides, I already paid it off! I have the cancelled check and the statement from the loan company saying I paid it. Someone please help, I need to know what to do.

[normajean]

Maybe a letter from the bank acknowledging the error, and your statement from back then showing the total payoff due as $35.00?

[pbjmama]

Do you have any of your old paper work from the student loan company or the bank? At the very least your bank should be able to get you a copy of the check you deposited from the student loan company. It may take a few days since it is the weekend and it was so long ago.

[wife&mommy]

I had that same thing happen to me once with an electricity account. I closed out the account and actually had a credit that they owed me on the account. I kept getting a bill to pay the amount that THEY OWED ME! It made me so mad. I just had to keep going up the chain until I talked to someone who actually knew what the heck they were doing. I just don't understand this!
Seems like this is all the bank's fault and I'd go to them first.

[mightymoo]

I would put together all the paperwork you have - the last bill, any letters since then, whatever you have from the bank saying you paid the $350 on that date, and I would call the original bank and explain that there has been a problem, you have all the paperwork in hand and where can you send it. If the person says they can't help you, ask to talk to their supervisor, if you don't get anywhere that day, hang up and call back the next - how helpful people are vary greatly from one person to the next.

Another tactic you can take is call and immediately say to the person 'Do you have the authority to cancel the mistaken collections and correct my credit?' if they say they don't, ask to speak to their supervisor. Don't bother having a discussion with someone who does not have that authority to do what needs to be done.

I'd probably call the bank 10+ times with that information, I'd fax it and mail copies to every mailing address I could find with a letter attached and see what happens.

I worked on the company side of billing customer service - our agents did not work for our company, they had at least 5 levels of management before you reached someone who did - and they didn't answer phones, so there was pretty mcuh no way you could talk to an employee of the company that you were dealing with on the phone. The lowest level agents are honestly just not always the highest quality employees, they don't make much and its not a fun job to do. When I have problems, I don't assume nothing can be done until I've called a few times. I usually get what I want, this is true for banks crediting fees, for insurance agencies paying for things (one call I'll be told its not covered, the next one will give me a one time coverage authorization), tech support, etc.

[Natsuki]

You can also file a correction with your credit report to dispute the claim against you and provide paperwork that way as well. You can check your credit report for free at http://www.annualcreditreport.com because of the law that went through a few years back - you can get it for all three agencies.

[serenetabbie]

Thank you all so much for your replies.

It feels like an even bigger thing that it really is I think because finances are so tight right now and we are behind on so many things . The last lady I spoke to said that she will put in a request for "research" to be done. I got to speak to her because the first person who answered and looked at my account gasped and said "Oh man, this is a mess, I need to transfer you". I am so afraid that I will end up owing this money AGAIN somehow.

[MissLotus]

Have you called the actual student loan office yet? Because that's where I would start (I have a big student loan but haven't had this issue because, sadly, I'm not even close to paying this off)...but I would tell THEM about it first and ask them why they're reporting this as not paid!

[rsummer]

my heart goes out to you. Nothing can bring a rational, sane woman to her edge like someone biffing their finances that bad. When stuff like that (although never that bad happens) I turn into a heap.

[serenetabbie]

Ha! No one said I was rational or sane, rsummer ! I admit to crying after I got off the first phone call. And almost crying when I was talking to the supervisor. I am such a mess Thanks for your kind words

Yes, I called the loan people themselves, and not the collection agency MissLotus. The collection people are paid to be ignorant, and I just could not deal with them twice in one day. I hope they get it all straight... they have promised to call me by Thursday and let me know what in the heck is going on.
I called my Mother (of course, who else would I have called!?) and she told me to let them take me to court because it would be thrown out. Yeah, I need that hassle. Drama is really more her forte, not mine.