Saturday, November 19, 2011

Loan saga.

I FILED AWAY my Repaying Student Loans file yesterday because I have been APPROVED for not making any payments out of our non-income for the next six months.  VICTOIRE!

But.  So you can't apply for repayment assistance until you have signed your loan consolidation form, but even though I went online and changed our address last summer WELL before we moved, they still sent the loan consolidation form to Victoria.  When I phoned in September to see where it was, I changed my address again with the girl on the phone, and they re-sent the form.

To Victoria again.

I phoned a few weeks later to see where it was, and changed my address AGAIN, and then phoned back two days later to make sure it had been sent to the right address.  MEANWHILE.  I filled out the application form for repayment assistance, wrote the required letter explaining how I live on no income, and FAXED these things in along with a void cheque.

The void cheque is important, because the application was first and the void cheque was last and the letter was IN THE MIDDLE, but when I phoned a few days later to check on the status of my application (I became an extremely diligent phoner) they were all, We just need a letter explaining how you live on no income.  And I was like, DUDES I SENT IT.  And I can see losing the tail end of something or the first page of something but you think the stuff in the middle is safe.

Anywert, I faxed it off again, received my loan consolidation form, mailed that PRIORITY because by now it was late October and my repayment period began in November, and tracked it.  I sent it on a Monday, CanadaPost marked it as having arrived on the Wednesday, I phoned in on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to see if it had arrived.

On Friday she was still telling me that a form takes two business days to make it into my file, and that even though almost three full business days had elapsed, I should phone back on Monday.  Monday arrived, NO FORM!  So I talked to a supervisor and he gave me a fax number and I faxed in the duplicate copy I had been sent for my files, waited two days, and phoned in again.

FOR THE FIRST TIME I talked to a gal who is like, No, neither of your forms are here, and that is weird.  Damn right it's weird.  Because I MAILED one and FAXED one and STOP LOSING MY STUFF THIS IS IMPORTANT.  My payments are $700/month, and (needless to say) without an income I cannot make them.

So the helpful gal acquired me a new supervisor who was like, This has been happening to a few people.  But here, fax it to THIS fax number RIGHT NOW, and I will go STAND BY THE MACHINE and when it comes through I will mark it as received in your file, and then forward it on to the appropriate parties.

So I DID and the next day I phoned in and ALL THE PARTS OF MY APPLICATION WERE THERE.  I did a hooting dance and sat down to wait the five business days for it to process, which expired YESTERDAY at which point I received a letter informing me that I will not have to make any payments until April, at which point I can feel free to perform the whole song and dance again.

I will take it, and gladly.

5 comments:

Brittney said...

You're having a baby and you have no income? wth

Rhiannon said...

ahhhh, been there and done that my dear! Several times! Nice to know good old Canada Student loans is still a lackluster and useless agency.
Mine is even a titch more complicated because half way through my 6 years at school they changed how they did loans so I now have two sets of loans, and one won't acknowledge the other exists. Convenient for them and not so much for me!

I am starting to wish you the best of luck for April in advance.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I both work really hard and we come home exhausted. It's so strange to hear about people out there who just don't work.

Sharon Creech said...

Unrelated to this : your note on my blog re: 'puppehs' made me laff. . .

Selena Manchester said...

My daughter Bernadette is going to college soon, and I hope she gets a student loan that is trusted and dependable. I guess, when it comes down to it, you have to be persistent and diligent at all times to get what you want in a loan.