I have read numerous other threads on here about how hard it was to get Sallie Mae to delete late payments from credit reports. Then I came across one that mentioned that they emailed the CEO and were successful at getting the baddies deleted after explaining that they believed that it was erroneous reporting because they believed they were in forebearance at the time. I did some searching and found a blog that shared the CEO's email address. I decided to send an email earlier this week, explained my situation, stated that I had been making payments on-time through their auto-debit feature for at least 12 months, and asked that they delete my lates out of GW so that my family and I could have a better chance of qualifying for a mortgage and getting the best possible interest rates. To my surprise, I got a read receipt stating that my email had been READ by the CEO just hours after I sent the email, and the next day, I received a call from a woman from the Consumer Advocate department!!!! She said that they received my email, they were told to review my account, she went over the details of the timeframe with me, and said that she would get back to me when they had made their decision!!! I can't believe it. I am in shock. I had tried years before to get someone from Sallie Mae to listen, but the first tier representatives, I think, are trained to say that it's their policy not to remove lates under any conditions. I can't wait to hear back from them, and I promise to update you all when I do!
Has anyone else tried emailing the CEO? Were you successful?
Starting Scores: EQ 582 TU 584 EX 615 (FICO - Lender Pulled) 1/4/2012
This is fantastic!! Please, please share the contact email with me in a PM!
I need to reach someone to address my account.
Starting Score: 576 EQ 1-12-13
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to provide you all an update. I received a follow-up call from the same CSR who called me initially and she told me that she had submitted a request to their credit reporting department to have the 90, 120, and 150 day lates from 2010 removed from my credit report! I don't want to get my hopes up too much, because she did warn me that the department she forwarded the request to has the final say, but I am just surprised that I even made it this far.
Please note that I asked them to perform an investigation on my account history because I believed that I should have still been in forbearance, which was why I did not make payments during that period of time. I don't know the details of what she found, but if it's enough for her to put in a request to delete, that's all I need to know!
I will let you all know what the outcome is. I hope all of you that I PMed Sallie Mae's CEO email info are making progress as well. If you are, please share!
I am overwhelmed by shock and happiness right now. I got a call today from the representative at SM's Customer Advocate department, and she said that they've approved my request to have the 90, 120, 150-day lates removed from my account!!!!!!
I will say that if you have baddies with SM, the only way that they will remove late payment information is if during their investigation they conclude that it was some error on their part. I asked her what she found in researching my account that led her to believe there was a service error on their part. She stated that she saw that I had set up the auto-debit feature for my account, while one of my loans was still in forebearance status. When the forbearance period ended, the auto-debit that I had setup did not get applied to the second loan. So, basically, Sallie Mae is assuming responsibility for it! She said that it also helped that both of my loans are currently set up for automatic payments and have been for some time now (over a year). 
This was definitely a tough one, but I really felt like the CSR was really trying to help me. It was a more positive experience than some of the other ones I've been through.
I'm so happy! These were lates as recent as Mar - Nov 2010, PLUS they're federal student loans, so that has DEFINITELY been hurting my score. I still have lates from 2008 that I am working with her on, because I explained to her that I was in school during that time (less than half time) - I didn't qualify for a loan deferment, but I honestly thought that I had requested a forbearance for both loans, when it was only processed for one. She was not going to research that one, but after about 30 minutes of explaining to her VERY POLITELY that it just doesn't make sense for me to apply for a forbearance due to financial hardship on one loan, and then not the other. Right? Right. So, finally she gave in and said that she would look into the 2008 files some more and see if there would be anything that she could use to present it in a way that it was another error on SM's part. I'm hopeful, but I won't get my hopes up too much. For now I am soaking up my first HUGE success and now it's just an intense urge to find out how much my FICO scores soar when the 2010 lates are removed. WOOHOO!!!!!
Esme,
Wooooohoooo!! CONGRATULATIONS! I am so very happy for you! That is outstanding. I have not yet heard from anyone, but I will be re-sending an email tonight.
Wow! Way to go!
Thanks PapasWifey!
Definitely email the CEO again. Here are the main points that I included in my email:
- Why I believed the lates were erroneous
- What steps I have taken since to ensure that I have paid on time (auto-debit for at least a year)
- Told him about myself and my family. Basically just saying that we're the young middle class, dual income, 2 kids, just trying to buy a home for our kids to grow up in and make wonderful memories
- I brought up how valuable the student loans were for me to get my bachelor's degree, and that I was enjoying my career instead of complaining that after college, my degree was useless and therefore so were the student loans. There's a lot of people who are part of the Occupy Wallstreet movement that believe this for their own circumstances.
- Ended it by stating that I nor my family believes that the government owes us anything, or that the government should give handouts to anyone who doesn't work hard, and stated that I knew he didn't have to help me, but that I was respectfully pleading with him that he did.
I hope that helps you or anyone else trying to deal with Sallie Mae! I'll keep everyone posted on the last half of it, the 2008 lates. And you do the same!!! GOOD LUCK!
Hi Esme,
I had sent another email to the CEO just prior to seeing your message. I got a call from the advocates office on Friday, telling me that they are investigating my situation. At least that's a start. Wish me some success! And thanks again.
That's AWESOME NEWS!!! Give it about a week. My rep called me 4 days after the first call to tell me that she was still investigating, but that she didn't forget about me. Then a few days later, she called back with the great news that they had approved my request to delete the lates because they found it to be their fault! Keep a good relationship with your rep, he/she is there to find anything in your account that might spin the lates on them. They really are advocates, I think. Keep me posted and good luck!