Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

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Topic Author
Gemini
Posts: 1029
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 8:10 am

Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by Gemini »

Just did a major student loan refinance and went from Sallie Mae to DRB. DRB sends out a check to Sallie Mae and, instead of allocating it to the high interest loans, they use it for the low interest loans. Can this be remedied with a phone call? Or am I essentially stuck since Sallie Mae already used the money towards the low interest loans?
Erwin007
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:29 am
Location: Intermountain West

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by Erwin007 »

Wow what a disaster. I am just about to try and refinance some of my high interest rate (6.8%) student loans with DRB. One of the entries in their FAQ says you can refinance a portion of your loans. In my case I have two years consolidated at 2.875 and 4.75% that I plan on paying off as slowly as possible until I've paid off those higher interest rate loans. I don't obviously plan to refinance those loans, so a correct allocation is essential to me.

It seems that Sallie Mae screwed up as I'm assuming DRB told them which loans the money was supposed to be for. Let us know what happens if you don't mind.
Natsdoc
Posts: 104
Joined: Sun Jun 15, 2014 8:53 pm

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by Natsdoc »

When I send extra payments to Sallie Mae I send instructions on allocation specifying how the payments should be applied. They will not do it over the phone, and will tell you to send written instructions. I was sending in written instructions with my check, but at least one was lost (and applied to another persons account!) Now I send payments from online banking bill pay and use the "email us" feature - select "Payment Questions" category and "Special Instructions for my payment" I then indicate the amount(s) to allocate to each loan. In my experience they have back dated it to the day the payment was credited to the account, and it is MUCH more reliable than sending in written instructions on paper. Hope that is helpful!
Erwin007
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:29 am
Location: Intermountain West

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by Erwin007 »

Bumping this to see if anyone has had a similar experience, and what the outcome was. I tried to refinance about 2/3 of my student loans (those at 6.8%, and not the ones at 2.875% or 4.75%) and Cornerstone Loans applied the nearly $150k check equally across all loans. That's not such a great deal when the variable rate loan is at 2.63%.

I've already called the loan servicer, and DRB, about this, but just curious if anyone has had any success at getting this misapplication reversed. I was under the impression that the bank sending the check specified which loans it was to be applied to, but apparently they do not. Would have been nice for them to tell me that since they make me go to the trouble of finding out loan numbers for the loans I want refinanced. I had already told Cornerstone Loans that I was going to refinance only the higher interest rate loans, but didn't call again when the check got sent.

Thanks for any help/advice.
anonymous8
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:44 pm

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by anonymous8 »

I just had a similar experience when refinancing one of my Wells Fargo loans (WF applied the check across both the high and low interest rates instead of solely to the high interest rate one). I called immediately and they had no problem reallocating the funds to the correct loan.
Topic Author
Gemini
Posts: 1029
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 8:10 am

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by Gemini »

Wanted to provide an update.

I followed Natsdoc advice and sent a message via the salliemae.com website. I sent the message on a Sunday night and the loans were allocated correctly by Monday evening.

I also tried calling before and the person on the phone was clueless about the whole thing.

Hope this helps.
JKahnDVM
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:47 pm

Re: Sallie Mae to DRB refinance - wrong allocation

Post by JKahnDVM »

Erwin007 wrote:Bumping this to see if anyone has had a similar experience, and what the outcome was. I tried to refinance about 2/3 of my student loans (those at 6.8%, and not the ones at 2.875% or 4.75%) and Cornerstone Loans applied the nearly $150k check equally across all loans. That's not such a great deal when the variable rate loan is at 2.63%.

I've already called the loan servicer, and DRB, about this, but just curious if anyone has had any success at getting this misapplication reversed. I was under the impression that the bank sending the check specified which loans it was to be applied to, but apparently they do not. Would have been nice for them to tell me that since they make me go to the trouble of finding out loan numbers for the loans I want refinanced. I had already told Cornerstone Loans that I was going to refinance only the higher interest rate loans, but didn't call again when the check got sent.

Thanks for any help/advice.
When you singed the agreement with your refinancer it should have been very specific as to what loans they would be refinancing. In part, the rate you received from the refinancer is based on the rate and payments of the loans you did not refinance with them. I suspect DRB, or whomever you refinanced with, sent the funds appropriately and your original lender mishandled them. You should try to take it up with your refinancer as they shouldn't be happy about it either. Whenever we send a check in for an additional loan payment we distinctly write on the check "apply to principal of loan XXXXX". Learned this the hard way twice. Once with student loans an once with a payment meant for a shortage in a home escrow account that they applied to the principal instead :oops: . I've noticed financers love to apply payments to the wrong place. It's harder for them to get away with it when you clearly write your intentions on the actual check.
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