KeyBank National Association harrassment, collections, hang up on phone calls, 5+ years Cleveland Ohio

I was forced to sign a Student Loan that I did not feel comfortable with from Concordia University in Irvine, CA with Key Bank Education Loans dba Great Lakes for about $11,000.00 . I do not have access to copies of the original paperwork, so the amount is unknown. Payments were not due until 6 months after completion of school as provided by law and provisions do extend repayment an additional 6 months, assuming a new graduate an extra bit of time to find a good job for repayment.

All was good, and I ended up not finishing my last year of school because the thought of another loan made me uneasy. 6 months went by from the last date of my classes, and I began repaying my loan using the original repayment coupon booklet. I would keep track of the checks sent to them, though I never received a Statement showing what had been paid, payment to principal or interest, or year-end tax forms showing how much I had paid in interest. My other education loans with Wells Fargo Education Financial were far smoother--- complete statements, excellent customer service, and payments were credited properly.

After a few months I quit getting any correspondence from the company. I had not been late or missed payment, my coupon book was complete. I get a few phone calls saying that my account is being transferred from Great Lakes division of KeyBank to KeyBank National Association. Okay, send me a letter confirming. Never got one. I asked on a later phone call if my checks were getting credited properly, and they say that KeyBank is not required to provide me with Statements or accounting on Delinquent or Charged-Off accounts. WHAT?? I had never been late, even paying extra ($115 payments became $150 to round up) several occasions. More phone calls and letters to them demanding responses. This was 2003. Finally in 2005, I get ONE good employee to help me, he actually printed out his screenshots of every check received, etc. and my total repayment amount. He said there is nothing they could do however, about the account being charged off, and it can never be fixed.

So now about 2006, I keep getting angry phone calls saying I am late and the total amount is due.....they can't provide me with how much I've paid, my past payments or each amount, or what my total amount due is. I bring up EVERY phone conversation that my Wells Fargo Education loan is almost paid up now 5 years later, never missed a payment, and they have EXCELLENT customer service...they say they are not required to do any account upkeep or records....one lady told me once that I owed over $15K on a $11K loan that had been repayed 5 years x $150/mo. = $9,000 of PAID, unaccounted for money.

Now in 2008 they call me every few months, demanding full payment of a remaining balance of like $10,500. They are rude, I always demand to speak with a supervisor and they always say "there are none here" or "they are out right now". I keep diligent track of every cashed/cancelled check to them, hoping it won't destroy my credit.

Get this-- in 2004 I run my credit report, and it says there are FOUR $10K bad loan debts with KeyBank that are charged off. I dispute (of course!) and a year later, there are only TWO $10K bad charge offs for KeyBank. I dispute again, and they say it is correct. I had only ONE $11K education loan with them in 2002, how is it that I have two accounts now in bad collections, charged off? They can't keep track of their own accounts.

I have filed complaints with the BBB and would go further but my time is very precious to ensuring that my family can meet its needs right now, but I am not above catching a flight to Cleveland and parking my arse in a waiting room chair to meet with someone directly, because they can't give me the time of day on the phone. I get hung up on EVERY TIME I talk with them, one gal put me on hold for over 70 minutes, and when the line clicked off the redial went to their after-hours message service. The nerve! And this is a company that wants me to pay them?? I can't even try to pay them, their employees won't let me!

So now we can't buy a house, car, decent rent, have to pay deposits for utilities (just moved to a new town/state for my wife's new job) because it shows $20K in charged-off, never-paid-since-2002 debt. Rediculous.

The only reason I signed the loan in the first place was to try to complete my Junior year of college while my wife was also in school. Turns out that Financial Aid counselor (Anna Rhodes, Concordia University Irvine CA) left the school later, but not before having a TON of problems with dozens of other students. I am just short of accusing her of accepting kickbacks from these banks for securing these bad loans. The Fin Aid office also accepted other grants "on my behalf" AFTER I was no longer a student, unknown if it was ever returned, but to the tune of several thousand dollars who knows.

Lesson-- like many others here, stay on top of your credit reports, and DO NOT use any banking or loan services from KeyBank, only well-recognized National banks like Wells Fargo or Washington Mutual who have the power to make corrections and make things right.

James
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.