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Lawyer Sues Over Calls— About Law School Debt

He claims Sallie Mae is harassing him and wants payback

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 3, 2010 2:21 PM CST

(Newser) – There's probably a lawyer joke in here somewhere: School loan company Sallie Mae is peppering a Seattle man with phone calls because he's behind on his payments. The twist is that the debtor just happened to use those loans to go to law school, and he's now suing Sallie Mae for harassment in a class-action suit. He wants $500 for every call that he says runs afoul of consumer protection laws.

“Sallie Mae harassed me with dozens of unwanted calls on my cell phone, including calls that woke me up at all hours of the night and often within hours of each other," he says in a statement to the Puget Sound Business Journal. "These unrelenting calls unfortunately corresponded with a time in my life that required great attention to family issues.”

Sallie Mae wants its money back from a Seattle lawyer.
Sallie Mae wants its money back from a Seattle lawyer.   (Shutter Stock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 19 comments
mdb1969
Mar 12, 2010 8:57 PM CST
Sallie Mae has in the past and continues to make calls at hours when they're not allowed to and when they've been instructed to talk with an attorney/representative. Collectors from SallieMae do not respect consumer protection laws. Yes I have corrected SallieMae's mistakes and am timely paying all owed money. This is not about skipping on a student loan.
joshua70448
Feb 4, 2010 4:42 AM CST
Oh, I definitely think he should be paying back those loans. However, just like he faces consequences for not paying (major negative info on his credit report), the debt collector also faces consequences for breaking the law (civil lawsuit with damages). Two wrongs don't make a right, and the debtor is just taking the steps to remedy his wrong (and I guarantee you the debtee will hit his credit ratings and do whatever else they are allowed to by law, to remedy their wrong).
joshua70448
Feb 4, 2010 4:17 AM CST
@Doctor_Zaius: Then he should produce call records for his phone line indicating the calls he received from Sallie Mae during restricted hours. Unless he's lying, in which case he can DIAF.

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