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December 13, 2006
They should be thanking me
I paid off my last grad school student loans yesterday. Like many people, this is a big deal for me. For those of us with big student loans, it’s probably the biggest purchase we’ll make in our lives aside from a home. I know loan vendors like Unipac and SallieMae are as pleased to be rid of me as I am of them, but the exit experience from both has been about as crappy as possible.
I’d paid off a different smaller set of loans with Unipac Nelnet about a year ago, and I was amazed that they sent me no letter of confirmation that the loans were fully paid, thanks very much, not even an email (I ended up phoning them to make sure), and that they’d simply closed my account on their website. Just a “login failed” to tell me something’s changed. There’s no way to look at my payment history, confirm my payoff date, or do anything at all.
So yesterday, I was pleased that at least Sallie Mae’s site didn’t instantly treat me like I’d never existed and close my account, though they now seem to think I owe them -$1.05 (keep it, guys!). But how’s this for a congratulatory message?
Luckily, the main account view is more helpful; this is a detail page for a payment plan that’s no more. I’m not looking for a gold-foiled certificate suitable for framing, but I’ve been a steady customer for more than a decade with these companies, would it be so hard to help me enjoy the moment a little bit here?
Posted by Andrew at December 13, 2006 09:55 AM
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Comments
congrats! i can only imagine how glorious that day will be, but frankly, i expect balloons!
Posted by: anne at December 14, 2006 04:01 AM