Wachovia is lucky they're on the other side of the ocean so I can't KILL THEM.

[Kyla]

I am so fucking pissed off at these morons.

First, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, which means that by US standards, I have pretty much no money. Fortunately for me, I thus get to have a deferment on my student loans. Unfortunately for me, it's held by these unbelievably stupid people at Wachovia.

1. Back...oh, last year, in April or May or so, I sent off my request for my loan deferment, along with my little letter from the Peace Corps. Lalala. Maybe six weeks later, I checked my account on the internet and it said that my loan obligation was filled. I am happy.

2. In December, I find out from my dad that my loan is really, really, really late. This was discovered when the Wachovia morons called his best friend (who I used as a reference on my loans back a zillion years ago when I was in college), looking for me. Why they couldn't just call my parents, who have the same phone number and live in the same house as they did way back then, I don't know. Not to mention, you know us employees of the US government, we're real hard to find.

3. I email Wachovia. They tell me I had a loan with them, but it was sold in 2002. They don't know why I'm emailing them.

4. I swear at the monitor a lot. The other people in the internet club look at me like I'm crazy.

5. I exchange fifteen emails with the dipshits at Wachovia, trying to get them to tell me where the fuck my loan is, cause if they don't have it, they must have sold it. Finally, I give in and spend my hard-earned leva and call them. Ten minutes later, they admit that they do know who I am and yes, they do have my loan. Apparently, my original request never arrived. Why my account on their webpage seems to indicate that my payment obligation has been filled remains a mystery. The CSR promises to mail a form to my parents, who will forward it to me.

6. In January, I receive this form. I fill it out, fax it off to Wachovia, and I am happy that my dealings with these dumbasses have come to an end.

7. Today. I got a package from my parents (thanks, mom & dad!), including a brand new letter from my buddies at Wachovia. It says that they can't apply my deferment request because my loan didn't disperse before 1993.

WTF? Of course it didn't disperse before 1993. I was in high school in 1993. What does 1993 have to do with anything?

So, I stomped on down here to the phone center in my village and called them again (4.48 leva that I'll never see again). It turns out that I shouldn't have sent them Form A (which is for people whose loans predate 1993), I should have sent them Form B. OH OF COURSE. How could I have possibly been so stupid as to send them the fucking form they mailed me? I should have known immediately that if they sent me a form, it's automatically the wrong one! Prior experience should have told me that!

At this rate I'll probably get my deferment in place at about when I have to go back to the US. Of course, I want to go to grad school then, which means, yes, another deferment. AWESOME.

[Charlie Tan]

I feel your anger, it's strong and with the right instruments, it could certainly become a club hit.

Seriously - when dealing with these kind of people, it's best to take pre-emptive meassures: meditation, valium. The simple fact is - you cannot win. You have to play by their rules, which will change from each time you talk to them.

Why is the PC in bulgaria?

[Kyla]

Why is the PC in bulgaria?

Cause it could use the help. Same as for any country, I guess.

About half of us are English teachers (including myself). The Bulgarian government wants its children to learn English, but unfortunately not many Bulgarians speak English, to teach it. Plus, those that do can usually get a better-paying job than that of public school teacher (salary: the Bulgarian equivalent of 100 euro a month).

The rest work with kids or community development. Bulgaria managed to wrangle its way into the EU, but living standards here are significantly lower than what you probably think of when you think "EU". The average salary here is about US$200 a month, unemployment is high, life is hard.

That said, Bulgaria, along with Romania, is one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries that the Peace Corps operates in, something I am grateful every morning when I take a nice hot shower.

[Charlie Tan]

Thanks for the answer. I was surprised, since Bulgaria joined at the new year and the EU has some rules of compliance. I guess they think letting them join will speed up the process and maybe keep them out of the potential squeeze Putin is putting on a lot of former allies.

[Kyla]

I was surprised, since Bulgaria joined at the new year and the EU has some rules of compliance. I guess they think letting them join will speed up the process and maybe keep them out of the potential squeeze Putin is putting on a lot of former allies.

This is somewhat of a hijack, but it's my thread so, whatever. IMO, Bulgaria and Romania were allowed into the EU because the EU had previously told them they could join in 2007 and right now they don't want to look like they're trying to avoid letting in any new members.

[Miller]

Seriously - when dealing with these kind of people, it's best to take pre-emptive meassures:

Dust off and nuke them from orbit?

[August West]

I feel your pain, I had to deal with a lot of the same crap when I got my deferment for being in the military. No opportunity they can create for hassles and paperwork is overlooked.

I know you said you have no money, but let me offer some unsolicited advice. If you can put ANY money toward your loans while you are in 'deferred' status, do it! All of the money goes directly against the principal . I didn't find this out until I only had a year left on active duty, and I wish I would have known about it sooner.

[gigi]

Hopefully they can be counted on to apply the payments correctly. :eek:

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

I know you said you have no money, but let me offer some unsolicited advice. If you can put ANY money toward your loans while you are in 'deferred' status, do it! All of the money goes directly against the principal . I didn't find this out until I only had a year left on active duty, and I wish I would have known about it sooner.What difference does it make to pay down the principal when the interest keeps compounding over just making a normal payment? Unless these are federally subsidized loans, deferrment just defers payments, not interest.

[Miss Woodhouse]

forbarance allows you to not pay but continues acruing intrest. Deferment defers payment and intrest.

I've had student loans for eight years. been there, done that, got the stack of letters. btw, if you ever want to get more student loans, I strongly suggest consolidating with the US government rather than a bank after you get out. Surprisingly, they screw up less and are more understanding when things like job loss, car accidents, and babies get in the way of payments.

good luck with the idiots.

[gigi]

What difference does it make to pay down the principal when the interest keeps compounding over just making a normal payment? Unless these are federally subsidized loans, deferrment just defers payments, not interest.
There's less principal for it to compound against? Or you're saying they're going to collect the total pre-calculated principal plus interest no matter what?

[Lute Skywatcher]

Be glad Wachovia isn't screwing around with your accounts. My SO ended up ~$600 in the hole due to them repeatedly mistating her account balance online.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Be glad Wachovia isn't screwing around with your accounts. My SO ended up ~$600 in the hole due to them repeatedly mistating her account balance online.
Their online system has really been sucking since the last upgrade. And what's up with their Billpay now? I used to be able to post a payment up to a day or so before the due date; now it has to be at least five days. And, despite their promises, I still can't download data into Quicken past 11 PM.

Have I mentioned the time that the brilliant dipshits at Wachovia placed $14,000 of my mom's money into my savings account? They were counter deposits, so both times Mom was able to specify the exact account (her savings account) for the deposit...and yet it ended up with me. Except for the last name, our names are nothing alike...heck, we have different types of savings accounts (hers is some kind of money market account, mine is just a plain savings account).

[Number]

Dust off and nuke them from orbit?What are you trying to do, start another one of these (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=411819)?

Oh, and the phrase is "take off", not "dust off". "Prepare for dust off" is from one of Hicks's other lines.

[Roland Orzabal]

Kyla, I'm sending an email to your listed address. If it isn't the one you currently use, please shoot me a note at RolandOrzabal "at" gmail.com. I have some advice that may be of use, and I'm limited in what I can say here.

Anyone else posting a complaint to this thread is encouraged to do the same. :)

[Nava]

Thanks for the answer. I was surprised, since Bulgaria joined at the new year and the EU has some rules of compliance. I guess they think letting them join will speed up the process and maybe keep them out of the potential squeeze Putin is putting on a lot of former allies.

The rules of compliance don't include economic level. They do include having certain economic rules.



Having had to deal with Wachovia, Kyla, I am quite familiar with your pain.



A few weeks back I set a filter in my primary email account to send anything from paypal to the dumpster. Why, you say. Well, you see:
last time I was in the US (2003-2004), I opened an account with them, using that email. When I left the country, I tried to change the address, but of course you can't change it to another country. Tried to close the account, couldn't.
Fast forward to three months ago. I loaded up my skype account and mistakenly did it from that paypal account. I tried to get the payment cancelled when I realized the error of my ways, but no go. So I fire paypal a message, and no answer.
Several weeks later, I started getting emails from paypal saying I owe them something like $14.53. They
* do not accept e-transfer
* do not accept paypal
* do not accept credit cards
Only money orders, personal check drawn on a US bank or cashier's check (excuse me, what century are we in? And what bank does not accept itself? I know paypal isn't exactly a bank but heck!). The fee for a cashier's check is about 3x what I owe them. I send a money order.

The emails keep coming. The Swiss post tells me the money order arrived and was paid. The emails include a line saying "if you've sent the money in, disregard this email". Every time that I've written, I get answered by a different CSR. One of the most glorious answer (to a letter where I said I'd sent a Swiss Post money order that would be paid to paypal by Western Union and asked whether WU was an "acceptable payer") was "if you sent the money from the US it should have arrived already"... uh, which part of "Swiss" and "not in the US any more" do you not understand?

Since I did send the money in and I trust the Swiss Post more than anybody in US banking, I'm disregarding the emails. Because I can.

[Lilacs]

What difference does it make to pay down the principal when the interest keeps compounding over just making a normal payment? Unless these are federally subsidized loans, deferrment just defers payments, not interest.

If you pay down your principal balance, by the time the loan goes back into repayment you can actually have a lower monthly payment and still have the same amount of time to pay the loan off in. You're also paying off the interest that is accruing (deferments only defer interest on subsidized loans, not unsubsidized) so that doesn't get tacked on at the end and become part of your principal balance.

The only thing I can suggest, Kyla, is get nasty and insist on talking to a supervisor. I used to work for a loan servicing center (not Wachovia) and I know that there's a limit to what the average floor worker can do for you paperwork wise. If I'd taken the call, I'd have flagged it for the supervisor and kept track of it to make sure everything went down correctly.

Good luck. The only good thing is it should be applied retroactively.

Edited to add: is there a number they can call you at in Bulgaria? At my old job, they would call clients who weren't in the States at your request so you didn't have to foot the bill of the phone call. (of course, Wachovia might not be so nice about it, I don't know.)

[Kyla]

Edited to add: is there a number they can call you at in Bulgaria? At my old job, they would call clients who weren't in the States at your request so you didn't have to foot the bill of the phone call. (of course, Wachovia might not be so nice about it, I don't know.)

Not as far as I know. Actually, my GSM is malfunctioning at the moment so I can't call anyone anyway. Being phoneless sucks, it turns out. Knowing these bastards, they'd probably call me at like, 4 am anyway.

This thread has taught me one thing, though - Pitting doesn't just make you feel better, sometimes it actually accomplishes stuff, if the right people read your thread. Thanks, Roland Orzabal!

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Ugh, I get phone spam from Wachovia ALL THE TIME. I hate them. When I graduated from college a few years ago, I consolidated my loans with a different company (which has been great).

Wachovia keeps calling me and leaving messages about "the application I requested from them" (never happened). Finally they actually called me when I was able to answer my phone. The guy I talked to said that it was noted on my file that I'd requested an application from another rep to consolidate my loans. Also never happened. I told the guy as much, and also mentioned that I had consolidated my loans several years ago. Hopefully I won't hear from them again.

Even if I hadn't consolidated my loans already, why would I want to use a company that was already lying to me before I even put in an application?

[Roland Orzabal]

Kyla: My pleasure. :)

badbadrubberpiggy, have you ever had any accounts with them at all? One thing that sometimes happens at banks is that, while accessing your accounts to help you with a legitimate concern, a teller or phone rep will place a note on your account stating that he or she "spoke with the customer about a loan application", even if this never actually took place. They do this in order to receive referral credit -- and the money that usually comes along with it -- if you ever do choose to take out a loan. If that's what happened here, the guy calling you isn't lying to you; he's just misinformed. The real culprit is whoever placed the note in the first place.

Obviously, it's a wrong thing to do; perhaps not so obviously, it doesn't thrill the bank either...and you're a perfect example of the reason why. Banks, generally speaking, don't want to piss off their existing customers by constantly badgering them about products for which they have no use, especially via phone, and double-especially when it involves claiming that you actually requested the calls when you know perfectly well that that's so much bullshit.

What you can do is to call Wachovia's customer service line, and ask them to remove you from their telephone solicitation list (if you haven't already). This will prevent anyone from calling you with a sales pitch in the future. You might also mention the reason for your request, and ask the representative to report the false sales note on your account. At the very least, they'll stop calling you, and who knows, you might even get an apology out of them.

[Maus Magill]

I can see thier office building from my window. Want I should head over there at lunch and kick a shin or tow?

Seriously - Walkalloverya, has got to be one of the worse banks I'd ever had to deal with. The only good legacy of my first marriage was my membership in the State Employees' Credit Union.

[Miller]

Oh, and the phrase is "take off", not "dust off". "Prepare for dust off" is from one of Hicks's other lines.

What makes you think I was quoting? I was offering my own heartfelt advice.

:D

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Kyla: My pleasure. :)

badbadrubberpiggy, have you ever had any accounts with them at all? One thing that sometimes happens at banks is that, while accessing your accounts to help you with a legitimate concern, a teller or phone rep will place a note on your account stating that he or she "spoke with the customer about a loan application", even if this never actually took place. They do this in order to receive referral credit -- and the money that usually comes along with it -- if you ever do choose to take out a loan. If that's what happened here, the guy calling you isn't lying to you; he's just misinformed. The real culprit is whoever placed the note in the first place.

Obviously, it's a wrong thing to do; perhaps not so obviously, it doesn't thrill the bank either...and you're a perfect example of the reason why. Banks, generally speaking, don't want to piss off their existing customers by constantly badgering them about products for which they have no use, especially via phone, and double-especially when it involves claiming that you actually requested the calls when you know perfectly well that that's so much bullshit.

What you can do is to call Wachovia's customer service line, and ask them to remove you from their telephone solicitation list (if you haven't already). This will prevent anyone from calling you with a sales pitch in the future. You might also mention the reason for your request, and ask the representative to report the false sales note on your account. At the very least, they'll stop calling you, and who knows, you might even get an apology out of them.


I have actually never had any dealings with Wachovia at all, aside from what I posted above, that's why it's so strange. The guy I actually spoke to sounded surprised, so I'm pretty sure he was just going by the note and was assuming it was true. He said he'd make a note of it, and that I shouldn't get any more calls. If I do get more, then I'll call customer service, but the rep I spoke too sounded sincere and was apologetic.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

This thread has taught me one thing, though - Pitting doesn't just make you feel better, sometimes it actually accomplishes stuff, if the right people read your thread. Thanks, Roland Orzabal!
Right on!!! Another thanks to you, Roland Orzabal!

[Beadalin]

Well, what should come in the mail today but a letter informing me that my student loan has been sold to Wachovia. Woo hoo.

[Maus Magill]

I have actually never had any dealings with Wachovia at all, aside from what I posted above, that's why it's so strange. Have you ever had dealings with First Onion? Walkalloverya bought them a couple of years ago. That could be where the note cam from.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Have you ever had dealings with First Onion? Walkalloverya bought them a couple of years ago. That could be where the note cam from.

Nope! Heh, First Onion sounds made up, I've never even heard of it.

My banks:
Citizens
BOA and whatever it was right before before that (Fleet, I think)
Currently I use a local credit union, which isn't affiliated with Wachovia as far as I'm aware

[Maus Magill]

Nope! Heh, First Onion sounds made up, I've never even heard of it.

My banks:
Citizens
BOA and whatever it was right before before that (Fleet, I think)
Currently I use a local credit union, which isn't affiliated with Wachovia as far as I'm aware
Sorry - First Union.

I want to say that either FU (another favorite nickname) or Wachovia bought Citizens in the '90s.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Sorry - First Union.

I want to say that either FU (another favorite nickname) or Wachovia bought Citizens in the '90s.

Then it's possible. I had Citizen's in high school, which was during the mid to late 90's. I certainly wouldn't have told them to send me an application for consolidating my loans, though, since I didn't have any at the time.

Ah well, I think I'll just have to chalk it up to one of those weird things.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

For what it's worth, I remember hearing commercials on the radio for a First Citizen's bank; I guess FU (heh) bought them out?

(This would have been fifth grade or before...so the early '90s, definitely.)

[Roland Orzabal]

For what it's worth, I remember hearing commercials on the radio for a First Citizen's bank; I guess FU (heh) bought them out?

(This would have been fifth grade or before...so the early '90s, definitely.)Nah, First Citizen's is still around; we have a couple branches in this area. Since SunTrust bought NBC, First Citizen's seems to have replaced them as "official bank of being inside Kroger".

Also, dirty little secret: First Union actually more or less bought Wachovia, but kept the name because of the bad reputation "the big F.U." had built up over the years. Different name, but the corporate structure, the account numbering/classification system, the home office locations...all First Union.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Hmm. In this area, SunTrust is the "official bank of being inside Harris Teeter."

I remember reading about the nature of the buyout, and the switch to a First Union business model; I've always wondered if that explains why Mom's personal banker suddenly started calling her trying to push various investment options.

[tiger lily]

Kyla, since at some point Wachovia records suggested that you were seriously in arrears, I'd strongly recommend checking your credit reports as soon as possible to make sure they haven't screwed you over there as well. If you haven't pulled your free credit reports in the last 12 months, you can do that here (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp). If you already have, you can truck on over to myfico.com and retrieve any or all three of the Big Three credit bureaus' reports for you.

Check now, and give yourself peace of mind... you don't want to find out that they slapped you with a 90-day late payment or worse, which does horrible things to your credit score and impacts your ability to get future credit. If you do find problems, you can handle at least one or two rounds of disputes easily enough online. The credit bureaus have 30-45 days to investigate your dispute and get back to you, so the process of correcting problems can sometimes take a while.

I should say it'll require giving out your social security number, and other past/present credit account information (sometimes account numbers, old addresses) to verify your identity. If you don't think you can do that securely from where you are, maybe your parents can retrieve your credit reports for you. Good luck!

[Maus Magill]

Also, dirty little secret: First Union actually more or less bought Wachovia, but kept the name because of the bad reputation "the big F.U." had built up over the years. Different name, but the corporate structure, the account numbering/classification system, the home office locations...all First Union.
Sorry for the misinformation. That's what I get for washing my hands of banks years ago.

Remeinds me - I need to head to my local SECU branch at lunch. The manager needed me to look at some of my loan papers. (Wow - personal service. That's something I haven't seen since the eighties.)

[Pushkin]

So I guess I'm the only one to wonder why I'd not heard of the country of Wachovia before and didn't know why Bush was going to invade it :o

[Kyla]

So I guess I'm the only one to wonder why I'd not heard of the country of Wachovia before and didn't know why Bush was going to invade it :o

Hey! I'm not George Bush! What kind of insult is that?!

[Pushkin]

I thought you were using the royal, editorial "I" :p

I've dealt with US loan companies before through the university, I understand its a hell of a hassle compared to the UK's one student loan company.

[Roland Orzabal]

So I guess I'm the only one to wonder why I'd not heard of the country of Wachovia before and didn't know why Bush was going to invade it :oFor fuck's sake, don't give him any ideas. A Bush-ordered attack on Wachovia would destroy about 1/3 of downtown Roanoke and a good portion of the outlying areas. Manhattan would be fucked as well.

Bank of America and First Citizen's are probably safe. SunTrust? I dunno; sounds kinda commie. Sanctions, perhaps.

[Pushkin]

Bank of America and First Citizen's are probably safe. SunTrust? I dunno; sounds kinda commie. Sanctions, perhaps.

What if he decides he is the only first citizen and is rebuffed trying to make a withdrawl? Besides, First Citizen sounds a bit elitest-commie in itself.

[AskNott]

When I first saw "Wachovia Bank" in print, I thought of "watch over you," which seemed positive enough. Later, I heard it spoken on television, and they used a K sound. That makes it "walk over you." Walk Ovah Ya Bank; is that a good corporate image? It's like going to Hugh Lou's Casino. :p