I just finished paying of the last of my student loans from college this month (yes, that’s right - 10 years baby). One of the loans was with Direct Loans which is part of the Department of Education. Now, if you’ve ever seen their website you’ll probably understand the following story.
I got this letter in the mail yesterday saying “Electronic Debit Account - Debit Suspended” with a bunch of wording on it that is confusing at best. I called the number on the back of the letter and went through 5 menus of confirmation of who I was (and it was actually pretty painless) only to be directed to a customer representative that then asked me the exact same questions. The dialog went something like this:
Me: “What does this letter mean?”
Direct Loans CS: “Well, we’ve stopped charging your account.”
Me: “I believe I’ve paid off the account. Is there anything else I need to do?”
Direct Loans CS: “Yes, your balance is showing as zero.”
Me: “So why not send me a letter saying, ‘hey, you’re done! way to go!’ After 10 years, I could use a little love.”
Direct Loans CS: “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
Ha! Alright, I know the guy is just doing his job but it just seems like that letter could have been a little clearer on what it was trying to tell me. Instead of “you’re paid in full” I get a cryptic message about debit accounts being suspended which sets off an alarm in my head that “I did something wrong”.