Generation Debt

Thanks for keeping us informed. I wonder if any in our group has a direct connection to Michael Moore? It seems as if we need someone of his caliber to bring our issue into the spotlight.

I love when Sallie emails me offers for life insurance and home equity loans.

By the way, I actually called a couple of these private companies and was told I can't refinance my loans through them. Why? Get this--I OWE TOO MUCH! And the ones would refinance me demanded higher monthly payments without deferment or forbearance options.

Keith - I have no connection with Michael Moore, but I emailed him anyway. I will let everyone know if I get any response. I would certainly love it if he took this issue on.

kgotthardt - They get you coming and going, don't they?

This hit home with me. My husband keeps asking me why I don't do more "research" on this issue since Sallie Mae keeps sending me information I MUST be eligible for refinancing my consolidation loan, right? I want to pull our my hair as I tell him over and over again there is nothing we can do to help our situation ... and trust me, I've tried!

Funny thing...I got the same letter from the PCFS company and I called them. Before I called them though, I noticed that there was a backside to the letter which had a "prescreen and opt-out notice." So after reading that I realized just what it had said, "FFEL (Federal Family Education Loan) Consolidation program is required." Then I also read that if I don't "meet the requirements" that the offer is not guaranteed. So I knew going into making the call that it wasn't necessarily guaranteed money. After speaking with a nice lady at the company she explained to me that the interest depended on the amounts of my loans and the interest rates that I already had. This sounded sort of wierd, well after calling another consolidation company they confirmed the information. I guess every students situation is different. Before doing the consolidation with PCFS for the free money I checked out a couple of the other offers that I got for $3000 dollars and so on in a check form. I found out that they are rebate checks and that I will just be paying those back or that I won't get a reduction in my interest rate if I decide to take that money. Plus I found out that I won't even get the rebate check because if they don't finish the consolidation with the next two weeks (before October 1, 2007) the government won't allow a reduction anymore or even allow companies to give out rebate checks. So I would've consolidated for what I would've thought would be $3000 and it would've turned out to be nothing. Needless to say, I called PCFS and consolidated with them. They were really informative and very helpful, plus they turned out to be a service department who don't actually make money off of my interest rate, they just get a flat fee for processing applications. I'm with Xpress Loan Services now for my loan servicing because they actually take over the consolidation when it's complete and it's been a lot better of an experience than what I had before with Sallie Mae and Nelnet. You guys might want to check the facts on your statements on this site, unfortunately they're not entirely accurate. It would also help to scan the back side of the letter next time so that you get the prescreen and opt-out notice. The fine print is always something that I would recommend reading before thinking that you're getting something for nothing. Just think about how many consolidation letters you get on a daily basis and just throw away, atleast PCFS came up with a new creative way to get you to call. Plus they aren't the company that calls you up on a daily basis harassing you, they'll even tell you that they don't have your phone number. Well thanks for the good laugh on here guys. I've spent my $300 Mastercard giftcard on some books for my next degree and I plan to consolidate with PCFS when I'm done with this program and get another $300 giftcard.

Ryan -

That's great that you had a good experience with PCFS. Do note, though, that your situation is different than mine and that of the other commenters, as you are still in school. Students can reconsolidate based on the interest rates of their current loans combined with the interest rate offered. Graduates who have already consolidated and are not continuing in school cannot.

If you'll read this post closely, you'll notice that: 1) this was my own personal experience, not necessarily a research piece on lenders (we are a blog site, after all), 2) unlike you, I was not eligable for consolidation because I had previously consolidated (which is, in fact, the point of this website - to call attention to the fact that people who consolidate can't refinance or reconsolidate without borrowing more), and 3) I did read the fine print, as well as calling some of the lenders making offer, and I know I'm not going to get something for nothing.

This post was meant as a lighthearted, throw-up-your-hands sort of blog post for those who are in similar situations (i.e., most of our readers).