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If you have any federal students loans, you will more likely be on the way to Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation (simply Great Lakes after this). It is a student loan servicing corporation which the US Government uses to deal with student loan servicing. In comparison with other massive types of student loan servicing agencies, Great Lakes is considered one of the most reliable student loan servicer. The best indicator to come up with that idea is that there are very few numbers of lawsuits against Great Lakes about student loans. On the other hand, there were some problems with Great Lakes Student Loans which would be better to be knowledgeable about them. To be prepared for any unpleasant cases and have the idea of a solution, it is better to be aware of possible problems that may occur during the partnership with Great Lakes Student Loans.
In the further paragraph, we will provide you with in-detail information about Great Lakes Student Loans. Especially we will guide you on what problem have occurred with these loans, what kind of student loan services they provide, and how to the benefit of Great Lakes. Otherwise, if you have other special request or you need help for dealing with Great Lakes Student Loans, you may call Student Loan Resolved Helpline.
Great Lakes is the largest student loan servicer in the whole United States. It is a private-owned corporation which was established in 1967. Since its quality service and work, it is the largest and the most reliable student loan servicer. According to public reports of 2017, the Great Lakes serviced for more than 7.5 million debt holders and dealt with federal student loans which worth more than $224.4 billion (which is 8,5 billion in private and consumer loans). Even though, in 2017, the Great Lakes merged with another giant student loan servicer – Nelnet, the corporation announced that it would operate under its name. The HQ of Great Lakes is located in Wisconsin, but there several branches in different states of America such as Indiana, Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Connecticut. There is more than 2000 employee in the corporation currently.
No matter what type of student loan you have, you are going to need to make payments via the online portal of Great Lake. There is an option for payments method on Great Lakes Student Loans, so you can change your payment to autopilot mode which will take the required amount of money from your bank account each month. Through making payment via autopilot, you can save a considerable amount of money on the interest of your Direct loan.
There is also a significant distinguishing characteristic between the payment structure of Great Lakes and standard federal loan collection. Thus, for standard federal loans, you are required to make payments in adjustment a 10-year plan with a fixed amount for each month. However, the service allows you to choose an alternative repayment plan which reflects your financial situation in the most convenient way. So you do not feel the burden of repayments on Great Lakes Student Loans.
It worth to note that changing the repayment plan will considerably affect your income due to the tax requirements. That is why it would be better idea talking to your Great Lakes Student Loans specialists.
As we mentioned earlier, Great Lakes is considered one of the best Student Loan Servicing in the United States. According to the survey held by the US Department of Education in 2001, the borrowers chose the Great Lakes No 1 student loan servicer. But it does not mean Great Lakes Student Loan Servicing is so close to being perfect. Even though Great Lakes has a better reputation for its work among the competitors, still there are many lawsuits and complaints against Great Lake. For example, even though the BBB rating agency has given rate A+ for Great Lakes, you can find a massive number of negative reviews and complaints against Great Lakes on the official website.
Right now, while writing this, more than 80% of reviews about Great lakes loan servicer on the Better Business Bureau rating agency’s website is negative. When we take an in-depth look at the historical background of Great Lakes, we can see numerous problems such as lawsuits, complaints related to student loans.
There is no doubt that Great Lakes is an organization which has strong corporate values. However, it does not guarantee that they may not make a mistake or they could not have incompetent employees. When human labor matters, there is always unpleasant cases, and Great Lakes is not an exception to this.
One of the primary lawsuit action against Great Lakes was the class action alleged by law firms such as Axley Brynelson, Wachs, Gingras, and Cate. They accused Great Lakes of violating the articles of FCRA (abbreviated as Act of Fair Credit Reporting).
Another example of lawsuits against Great Lakes was the case filed by one of the student loan borrowers- Amanda Ross. She accused the Great Lakes of qualifying for PSLF program. Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created in 2007 when George W.Bush was president. This program intended for the borrowers who work for public service and have already paid their loans regularly at least 10 years Amanda Lawson had an interesting story, so when she completed her doctoral degree, she checked for being eligible for PSLF for her student loan debt with $100000. Great Lakes Student Loans specialist told her that she was qualified. However, after four years when she applied for forgiveness, she was told a negative response about eligibility. She filed a lawsuit against Great Lakes for giving her fake information about qualifying for the student loan forgiveness.
As we mentioned earlier, Great Lakes is considered one of the best Student Loan Servicing in the United States. According to the survey held by the US Department of Education in 2001, the borrowers chose the Great Lakes No 1 student loan servicer. But it does not mean Great Lakes Student Loan Servicing is so close to being perfect. Even though Great Lakes has a better reputation for its work among the competitors, still there are many lawsuits and complaints against Great Lake. For example, even though the BBB rating agency has given rate A+ for Great Lakes, you can find a massive number of negative reviews and complaints against Great Lakes on the official website.
Right now, while writing this, more than 80% of reviews about Great lakes loan servicer on the Better Business Bureau rating agency’s website is negative. When we take an in-depth look at the historical background of Great Lakes, we can see numerous problems such as lawsuits, complaints related to student loans.
There is no doubt that Great Lakes is an organization which has strong corporate values. However, it does not guarantee that they may not make a mistake or they could not have incompetent employees. When human labor matters, there is always unpleasant cases, and Great Lakes is not an exception to this.Generally speaking, despite there are different types of the lawsuit filed against Great lakes, we can classify the overall problems and complaints in the following categories.
Problems of Auto Pay – just like it sounds, Auto Pay is simply autopilot mode of the repayment program. As I mentioned in the early part of this post, this program gives the borrowers 0.25% cut on their interest rate by taking the payments from their bank account each month, automatically. By mistaken, the Great Lake had turned off the Auto Pay program for some borrowers without notifying them. As a result, they lost their 0.25% reduction on their interest rate. A considerable number of students alleged great Lakes due to that unfortunate case.
Another interesting mistake that Great Lake had done is the loan payments that borrowers made were not applied to the right loan. Normally, when you pay more money than the required amount for the loan, the additional part should be applied to the loan at a higher rate. Unfortunately, for some borrowers, the Great Lake did not act like that. And of course, in such case, the borrowers lost a considerable amount of reduction on their interest rate.
There are some student loan forgiveness programs which require the borrowers to take Income-Driven Student Loan Repayment plan. Some borrowers accused the Great Lake of that they did not even start the process of repayment applications. Even though based on legal requirements, Great Lake was obliged to process these applications by the law, and sometimes they rejected them completely.
A significant number of significant lawsuits against Great Lake was caused by this mistake. Due to some forgiveness programs, people who are in weak financial situations could make their loan payments in accordance with the particular repayment plan. However, Great Lake mistakenly placed some borrowers on a wrong repayment plan, and of course, this considerably increased their monthly payments. Additionally, some of the lawsuits alleged that Great Lakes had changed the repayment plan of some borrowers without even notifying them.
This is one of another interesting case that Great Lake was accused of. We need to confess that there are only a few numbers of such cases which Great Lakes continued to collect even after borrower finished payments. We found some complaints claiming that some of the collections agencies working with Great Lakes kept student loan collection process ongoing after the borrowers had paid it out ultimately. No one knows how this entire process happened, but this is a strictly unlawful act (no need to mention the immoral behavior side)
Reporting Incorrect information to credit agencies- some groups of borrowers alleged Great Lakes for that they have been reporting false information to credit agencies. Great Lake sent incorrect information to credit agencies about borrowers’ loans such as delinquent payments, but in reality, these were not even the case. Such mistakes of Great Lake consequently led to a sharp decrease in credit scores of borrower’s. Unfortunately, the problem was not only that, because credit scores are considered in so many different financial-sensitive activities. It means that these borrowers could not take another credit, had problems with renting apartments, or being qualify for taking another type of loan.
How to get Great Lakes Student Loan forgiveness via Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge program?
I worth to notice that all of these activities that Great Lakes committed are entirely illegal. And if you think you have experienced any of them, do not hesitate to file a lawsuit to protect your rights. On the other hand, there are a range of student loan forgiveness programs which allow you to get your outstanding loan debts relieved if you have been defrauded or mislead by any official student loan servicer. In case of being cheated or lied by Great Lakes, the best option to get student loan forgiveness is to apply to Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge program. If you could prove your claim successfully, you also have a great chance to get some reimbursement on the amount that you have already paid on your student loans.
How to qualify for Great Lakes Student Loan forgiveness, discharge or refund?
Have you ever had student loan serviced by Great Lakes? If it is yes, then we have good news you might be interested in. The US Government has created an excellent and quite powerful student loan forgiveness program called Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge. This program allows people who have been lied, defrauded or misled by the student loan servicer to get their loan debts forgiven. Because there is a range of lawsuits and legal actions filed against Great Lakes Student Loans servicer, it worth to check your opportunity to get rid of your student loan debts. All you are going to need is prove that Great Lakes has done illegal behavior against you such as lying, fraudulent act or anything that legally restricted (or something they have not done, while legally they were obliged to do).
But there is one to remember that writing Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge application is a strictly legal process, and operated by United States of Government. Before submitting your application, you are going to need a detailed assessment of how Great Lake has financially damaged to you. If you could not find something to allege Great Lake, then it would be better not to waste time for paperwork or to deal with documents. On the other hand, if you think you have some defrauded experience by Great Lakes servicer, then there is no reason stop you sending your application today. We recommend being in a hurry to write your BDAR application. Because a massive number of people apply for Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge program, it may take a long time for the Department of Education assessing your request and approve your claim. That is why it would be better not to lose time.
If you don’t know how to apply for Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge program, please do not hesitate to call Student Loan Resolved Helpline. Our CFA experts and legal officers will guide you on everything you are going to need. If we take into consideration that applying for Borrower’s Defense against Repayment Discharge program and getting your application is a very complicated process, it worth to rely on only professionals. At least it would be better to consult with them before submitting your BDAR application.
How could you benefit of Great Lakes student loan servicing?
Despite the fact that Great Lakes has very strict mistakes which could be considered as severe illegal actions, and it deserves to be criticized, but let us look at the bright side. Great Lakes provide a comprehensive list of services, resources, and support for student loan borrowers. In this part, we are going to give detailed information about how could you take the benefits of Great Lakes services. Great Lakes offers service and support for borrowers in the following directions:
Assist you in applying for various student loan repayment plan
If you have taken federal loan via Great Lakes servicing, then you are going to have several repayment options. The first option is the standard repayment plan which consists of 10-year payments with a fixed amount for each month. If you do not choose the particular repayment plan, your Great Lakes Student loan will automatically be applied on the standard repayment plan.
Income-driven repayment – is another option for payment on your loan debts. The income-based repayment plan is adjusted for your disposable income. Additionally, it allows you to extend your repayment period to up to 25 years. If you can keep making your payments consistently during that time, at the end of the payment term, the remaining amount of our debt will be forgiven. Income-driven repayment plan has own subcategories such as Pay As You Earn, Revised Pay As You Earn, Income-based Repayment, and Income-Contingent Repayment. To learn more about repayment options, you can take a quick look at Student Loan Resolved website.
Extended Repayment Plan- allows you to extend your repayment period up to 25 years. Plus, through Extended Repayment Plan, you will pay a lower monthly amount for your Great Lakes Student Loan debts.
Graduated Repayment Plan – if you think your income is going to increase in the future, this plan is the most convenient for you. It is because, Graduated Repayment Plan allows you to lower your monthly payment, but it will increase your payments after 10 years period.
There is one important thing to keep in mind that these repayment options are intended for only federal loans. If you have private loans, unfortunately, you are not going to be eligible for these repayment alternatives. However, if that is the case, it would be better to take a look at refinancing student loans. It will give you a chance to change repayment conditions no matter what type of loan you have.
It worth to note that, changing the repayment plan has a considerable impact on your income. According to the tax legislation, you are going to pay a new tax rate in accordance with your income after changed repayment plan. That is why you are going to need to consult with a tax specialist before deciding to shift your repayment plan. In this case, Student Loan Resolved specialist could help you to make a wise choice.
Typically, student loans are required to be paid only at least six months after you graduate school. It is called a grace period. But some loan owners start considering the interest from the date that loan is taken. As a result, at the end of your grace period, you are obliged to repay considerably more amount than what you initially took.
Great Leaks allows you to make a payment for any amount while you are studying at school. So you don’t have to face extended loan balance at the end of your grace term.
One of the great resources that Great Lakes provides is offering repayment planner tools. Great Lakes has stable and excellent online portal provided with effective and useful tools. These tools help you to calculate and determine your estimated prediction with your debts such as
Repayment options and resources such as information on standard repayment and income-driven repayment programs.
Getting access to payment schedules, payment history, billing statements, loan obligation statements and tax documents.
Forbearance and deferment information for people who find it difficult to make their payments.
Closed school discharge assistance, which can assist the borrower students whose school closed while they are attending
After logging into your Great Lakes Student Loan account, you can insert the loan amount and interest rate. Repayment planner tools will show how much monthly payment and how much interest you are going to pay on your student loans debts. You will find it quite helpful in order to determine how the different repayment option will reflect your financial situation in the best and convenient way.
As you know Great Lakes Student Loan servicing deals with millions of borrowers, that is why it is quite normal that their helpline may get stuck. But Great Lakes has Facebook and Twitter pages which are 24/7 active, you can get respond any time about any question. If you need private conversation, you may call their helpline (phone number 1-800-236-4300, mail – borrowerservices@glhec.org)
By taking all said into consideration, we can sum up that Great Lakes Student Loans servicer remains as one of the best student loan servicer in the USA, even though they have committed some kinds of illegal acts. Currently, Great Lakes offers a wide range of services that you can take the benefit.
However, if you think Great Lakes has done some illegal act to you, you can use that case to wipe out your student loan through BDAR program. Our professional CFA experts and legal advisors at Student Loan Resolve could help you in that way. If you need any information related with Great Lakes Student Loans experience, or if you would help with your student loans, please do not hesitate to call our helpline. It would be a great pleasure for us to assist you in getting full student loan forgiveness and making you debt-free.