Student loan vent

AHA!  I knew there had to be a story more than just the phone monkeys giving me the run-around of "it takes up to one month blah blah blah".  I just sent an e-mail to some supervisor/higher-up figure at BOA, and not only did I get a quick reponse, I got a real answer!  Apparently the guarantor has had trouble getting ahold of the school to verify the school's & my statuses.  Now why they didn't just phone me 2 weeks ago and tell me this so I could help is beyond me.  So I instantly replied with the phone, fax, and e-mail of 2 different contacts in the International Office.  Now I just have to pray that the school picks up the ball on this one and responds quickly.

I really don't see the point of the "verification", because isn't that what the school certification form is supposed to accomplish?    Banks!!!   Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I really don't see the point of the "verification", because isn't that what the school certification form is supposed to accomplish?

Seriously.    Glad you got some answers though!

Did nobody listen to what I suggested?    I was trying to help you learn from my experience, I'm glad you have it sorted though finally.

Did nobody listen to what I suggested?    I was trying to help you learn from my experience, I'm glad you have it sorted though finally.

I think this is one of those things that you have to live through before you really get what other people tell you about it.  When you have people on the phone saying that "it's processing, just wait a little bit longer" or whatever, you don't want to rock the boat and you actually trust (ha!) that these people know what they're doing.  It's only when there's just a matter of weeks left and it's down to crunch time that I'm now learning that rocking the boat is the only way to get things done!  I've read all the threads on here about student loans and comments of people that have gone before and I still never fully comprehended just how stressful and ridiculous this process can be until I was deep in the thick of it *sigh*

this probably isn't going to benefit any of us now, but this thread will probably be useful to future stafford loan applicants, so here's one tip: find out who your guarantor is.  I asked and my lender was happy to tell me, so now if things are taking way too long for my comfort I have *yet* another office I can call and pester for information!

Good idea!  I hadn't thought of that.  If this supervisor person-head at BOA e-mails me back, I'll ask her if I can know the guarantor so I can bother them directly (and make SURE they get ahold of my school, instead of relying on 3rd person info).

I just think these people fail to understand that we operate on a deadline.

pittpanther - I know, I know!  You can say "I told you so!".  But everything was going fairly well, so I figured that being a pest wasn't necessary.  Besides, I work in public service, and I KNOW what it's like to have those annoying customers!  However, I realised that this is MY business, MY custom, so I do have certain rights as a customer of the bank.  Punks

Man, I could vent all day.  So I sent the contact info to Bank of America to pass along to my guarantor.  No word there.  I sent another e-mail, asking the name of my guarantor.  My contact replied with the name, also saying that if my school wanted to contact them directly, then to have them ask her for the contact info (like she wouldn't give it to me).  So I sent a pleading e-mail to my uni, asking them to do so, so hopefully they can get on the phone directly with my guarantor and get this sh*t done.

I also sent a rather nasty, bitchy e-mail to my guarantor (now that I know who they are), detailing the process, my impatience, and the unreasonableness of the delay.  Hopefully, if I can get a contact within THEM, then I can stop running around with Bank of America, get the guarantor to verify the damned thing, and THEN hark on BoA to issue final approval.  I just wanna apply for my visa, dammit!!

I never knew loans could be such a mess.  I think it's obscene that with an American uni, it takes less than 48hrs, but mine is taking over a month!!

Just keeping you posted .

Sorry Aless, I don't want to give you another thing to look forward to, but does anyone have any info on how long it actually took to receive the paperwork?? On July 3rd I called, they told me I was approved and my paperwork was sent on the June 21st. Since I hadn't received it I requested it be sent again. Still haven't received any of it. Nor have I received the other loan that was completed on the 7th, but I understand it still isn't the 7-10 days they've quoted me for that. Did anyone else have to wait a long time for their paperwork or does it just take a REALLY long time for mail to come from Massachusetts to Baltimore??? Sheesh!

I know you can have it faxed to you.  I would request that.  If you don't have the ability to receive faxes, I'm almost positive you can get it done through places like Office Depot (just call and ask if they receive faxes, get the number, then contact the bank).  That way you know instantly that you've got the paperwork and no chance of waiting for the "mail to get lost" *cough*.

I wasn't sure if fax copies would be appropriate for the visa that's why I haven't requested it. I was hoping to get the send the originals to the consulate. Has anyone else used fax copies for their visa and have it work out okay? 

So my uni rep e-mailed and said she was contacted by my guarantor - no more excuses that they are having trouble getting ahold of my school!  To my e-mail complaint to the guarantor, I got a request to call their customer service number, since they can't tell me much over e-mail about my account.  So I guess I'll phone tomorrow and see what they have to say for themselves.  Cross your fingers they have all the necessary info & are forwarding it back to BoA!

My head spins .

My TERI loan is finally approved and scheduled for disbursement!!    Thank god for online application status checkers.  If only I had one for my Stafford loan... *sigh*  No word on the Stafford yet- I'm calling BOA and the guarantor tomorrow.

Congrats!  I received my Stafford Loan paperwork in the mail yesterday, but I'm still waiting on the TERI stuff. It's all becoming a bit more real! Yay!

Bank of America gave me a good scare this morning when I called and they told me that my Stafford loan had been REJECTED by the guarantor!!  The lady on the phone couldn't figure out why this was and so told me she would have her supervisor investigate and call me back in 48 hours    Whatever.  I wasn't willing to wait that long, so I called my guarantor directly and got some answers, thank god. 

Basically, my loan's been marked as rejected by the system because apparently their streamlined automated guarantee system chokes on school codes from foreign universities.  They now have to do everything manually, and are waiting on BOA to fax them my certification form and to get in contact with loan dude at my uni.  But the guy on the phone was very emphatic that my loan hadn't been REJECTED- he assured me that I would still get my money, and if everything was completed in a timely manner they'd push the guarantee through next week. 

Now, I've got to make sure the supervisors at BOA do things in a timely manner and get off their asses!!  So, I'm calling every day, both BOA and my guarantor, until this loan is approved.  Sometimes it feels like I'm moving things along through sheer willpower....sigh.

YESSSSSS!!!!!!

My loan's just been guaranteed!  The lady at my guarantor call-line was EXTREMELY helpful (much more so & super-friendly than BoA).  She said the loan was guaranteed this morning & the info's already been sent to the bank.  She was so nice, even asking about my time in London, etc.  She said that apparently my case is the NORM when it comes to in'tl student loans, as apparently the guarantors often have trouble getting ahold of the school.  Something tells me they really didn't try too hard until I finally personally gave them the school contact info (otherwise, why did it stagnate for a month, only to go through now, after I got them the info?), but c'est la vie.  Moral of the story?  MAKE SURE you get your school's contact info (ie, E-MAIL) to the GUARANTOR and that your school knows they need to respond to this ASAP.

Anyway, I am going to phone BoA later today (to give it some time for processing) to see how things stand on their side.  HOPEFULLY, my loan can be approved instantly since the guarantor has come through.

A HUGE sigh of relief.

(Sorry to hear about your setback, Andrea.  If your guarantor is Edfund, maybe you can talk to the same lady I did and actually get results.  You need to RIDE your school to respond to the guarantor ASAP, as this is what finally got my own loan pushed through.)