Great Lakes Student Loans is a debt consolidation company that’s been serving the Columbus, OH area since 2009. Our mission is to repay as much of your student loan debt as possible, while helping to move toward a financially stable and debt-free future. We can help you achieve these goals without compromising your credit score or the services you need to repay your loans.
Student loans hold a great deal of power when it comes to the future of our economy, but it’s important that we don’t get too caught up in the numbers. There are several things we can do to stand to benefit from student loans, and hopefully we will all be able to avoid the pitfalls of these loans and save ourselves a lot of money down the road.
Great Lakes Educational Services has been in business for over 50 years and has a “B-” rating from the Better Business Bureau. It should be noted that critics have argued that there is an inherent conflict of interest when a rating organization, such as the Better Business Bureau, receives revenue primarily from the companies it reviews, opening the door for those ratings to be suspect.
Complaints
Great lakes student loans is a great service and has had some issues over the years. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Student Loan Ombudsman Report 2020, the CFPB handled 3,600 federal student loan complaints between September 2019 and August 2020. Approximately 1% of these complaints were related to the Great Lakes, making it one of the least reported by federal loan servicers.
Collective action
In May 2020, the Student Loan Protection Center filed a class action lawsuit against Great Lakes, Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, and VantageScore. The lawsuit alleges that Great Lakes mishandled CARES Pandemic relief efforts, illegally providing inaccurate information about its millions of customers to Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, the three major credit bureaus, damaging creditors’ credit.
Great lakes student loans is one of the companies named in a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Great Lakes mishandled CARES pandemic relief efforts, illegally providing inaccurate information to major credit bureaus, damaging student loan borrowers’ credit reports.
Is Great Lakes your only service?
Unfortunately, you can’t choose your federal loan provider. However, there are two ways to get a new server if you are not happy with the one you have.
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Consolidated loans
If you want a new loan servicer but want to keep the benefits of your federal loan. Consolidating your loans with a direct consolidation loan may be a smart solution. You can choose a new payment term, be eligible for a new payment plan, and receive a new loan servicer.
Your interest rate is based on a weighted average of your current loans. Rounded to the nearest 1%, so you won’t save money by consolidating debt. But it can be worth it, especially if you have more federal loans to juggle. And you may become eligible for payment plans that you were not previously eligible for.
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Refinance your debt
If you’re willing to forgo federal loan benefits like income-based repayment plans, another option is to refinance student loans. With this strategy, you work with a private lender to obtain a loan in the amount of your existing student loan debt and use it to pay off your old debt. The new loan will have different payment terms, including interest rate and monthly payment.
If you have good credit and a reliable income, you may qualify for a lower interest rate than you currently have. Over time, debt refinancing can even save you money. If you think refinancing sounds like the right thing for you, check out our list of the best refinancing lenders.
The final verdict
You can’t choose your federal loan servicer; one is assign. If you have Great Lakes and are not satisfy with the service you have receive. Please know that your contract has not been renew for 2021. A loan servicer will be assigned to you at that time. To minimize any issues with your loan servicer. Make sure you pay all minimum payments on time, review your statements. And contact your provider right away if you notice any errors.
Methodology
Investopedia is dedicate to providing consumers with unbiased and comprehensive reviews of student loan lenders. We’ve collect over 45 data points from over 15 creditors, including interest rates, fees, loans, and payment terms, to ensure our content helps users make the right loan decision for their needs.
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Great Lakes Student Loans is a student loan service provider with offices in Chicago, Chicago, and Houston. We specialize in helping students. Who need student loans or are currently in school repay the loans. They receive thanks to Great Lakes Student Loan. This year we have helped more than 85% of the student loan borrowers. Who apply for a loan on our website.
