CornerStone is one of the smaller federal student loan servicers contracted by the Department of Education. Boasting 35 years in the industry, CornerStone is the servicing arm of the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA), a state government agency and part of the Utah System of Higher Education.
Their mission is to guide families through the process of financing higher education. UHEAA’s Repay Centsibly program offers students and schools financial aid literacy, assistance with loan repayment, and help preventing default.
UHEAA, as well as CornerStone, claims their vision is to “provide the best student loan experience anywhere” and proudly lists their guiding principles on their About page: integrity, diligence, customer focus, collaboration, knowledge, self-discipline, and resourcefulness.
CornerStone sounds like a company that cares for their borrowers and really wants them to succeed financially. They even have a selection of games to teach financial literacy.
On Facebook, CornerStone claims to “take the guess work out of repayment.” But their borrowers tell a different story.
If you're not quite sure where to start or what to do, consider hiring a CFA to help you with your student loans. We recommend The Student Loan Planner to help you put together a solid financial plan for your student loan debt. Check out The Student Loan Planner here.
ACS Transfer Mishaps
ACS is a student loan servicer that lost their credibility several years ago. After the Department of Education decided to transfer all Direct Loans serviced by ACS to other servicers, many went to CornerStone. Unfortunately, too many of those transferred accounts arrived incomplete, resulting in borrowers discovering that their income-driven repayment plans, deferment status, auto-payments, or even interest rates did not make it through the transfer.
When your loans transfer to another servicer, the only thing that should change is your contact point for payments and communication. The loan terms should not change, but that’s what this borrower, among many, experienced. After noticing a higher interest rate after the transfer to CornerStone, this borrower started a personal campaign to fix it. Over a dozen phone calls and 9 months later, their loans still had the higher interest rate, even after speaking to a supervisor who assured her they had resolved the error.
In another instance, a borrower received a letter saying that her loans were being transferred to CornerStone but that nothing would change, including her auto-payments. After one payment was smaller than the normal amount taken from her account, the auto-payments stopped completely. To resolve the issue, she mailed a request to start auto-payments again but did not hear back. She and her husband called several times, faxed, and emailed but could not reach anyone.
Lack of Communication
Nothing is worse than needing help with a time-sensitive problem and being unable to reach those who should be able to help. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many CornerStone borrowers experience when something doesn’t go quite right with their student loans.
While the problems CornerStone borrowers experience are certainly worth concern, the fact that they cannot reach representatives is downright alarming. In too many instances, borrowers’ inability to contact a CornerStone representative resulted in delinquency and negative credit reporting, despite how persistent their contact attempts were.
Many of those borrowers wonder how they are supposed to keep their account in good standing if the servicer is unwilling to even speak with them about potential problems.
Take this borrower: After two failed attempts to make a payment online, they tried multiple avenues of communication to resolve the issue to not miss their due date. All failed, and as a result, their credit suffered. The only communication they received before they resorted to filing a complaint with Better Business Bureau (BBB) was a letter notifying them of the failed payment.
In a similar case, one borrower’s payments consistently sat in pending status before being returned to them. As a result, they kept getting late fees that they were expected to pay off with payments that never went through. When they called in, they could never reach anyone. As they wrote that complaint, they had been on hold for close to 40 minutes.
Some borrowers describe the lengths they went to in order to contact CornerStone Customer Service. Daily attempts for weeks to contact a human went unanswered. All this borrower needed was to be put in forbearance before their payment due date — an action that is routine for other servicers.
They waited on hold for more than 45 minutes every day. Selecting the auto-callback feature resulted in a dropped call every time. Emails and contact form submissions elicited no response. The only success they had in communication was through BBB.
Issues Despite Communication
When borrowers are lucky enough to talk to a representative, they don’t leave the conversation feeling lucky. Instead, they develop a deep distrust of CornerStone when, in too many cases, their requests never get completed. Many borrowers compare their experience to other servicers, who have no problem processing the same request in a timely manner.
Income-based repayment plans require annual recertification or the account switches back to the Standard plan, which can be catastrophic for borrowers who rely on the lower IBR payments. One borrower sent off identical recertification paperwork to their two servicers at the same time. While one was prompt with processing, CornerStone was not.
Instead, they initiated a back and forth to get the information they claimed was missing from the original packet the borrower sent, changing their story about what information they had at any given time. Information they had midway through the process was somehow missing by the end.
Another borrower had trouble submitting an application for a hardship deferment. They faxed and emailed the form to CornerStone four times, but they were still unable to process it. When they weren’t claiming they did not receive the form, CornerStone claimed they did not have all necessary information to process it, but they did not tell the borrower what was missing.
After several attempts to find out, the borrower was unable to determine what additional information they required. All this happened after their account transferred from Nelnet, who had approved the borrower’s deferment.
Silver Lining
A recurring theme among the countless complaints of impossible communication is a surprising sense of community. It is unacceptable that a company dealing with time-sensitive financial matters — matters that have the potential to make or break individuals’ futures — has such barriers to vital communication.
However, those individuals complaining are constantly demanding that CornerStone’s communication, website, and processes be improved so future borrowers do not have to suffer.
Consider this from a borrower whose in-school deferment was not applied, despite CornerStone’s assurances that it would be applied automatically and that communication from the borrower was not necessary.
Normally, the school sends the servicer notice that the borrower is in school, but CornerStone claims to have never received that notice and continued to bill the borrower, even threatening late fees if they did not pay — all while they were currently enrolled in school.
They said: “I have never experienced such poor service and communication from other loan companies and would like to file a complaint to help ensure that the public is aware of such practices and so that other students will not have to suffer the same difficulties I am currently experiencing.”
That borrower shares that sentiment with countless others. A pessimist might notice that those pleas have gone unanswered, proven by the constant influx of similar complaints. An optimist might find comfort in the sense of community and goodwill.
What everyone should take from these stories is motivation to be proactive. Delays and communication breakdowns don’t happen to everyone, but they are always a possibility, so it’s best to come to the table prepared. When you need to deal with your servicer, do so early, and document everything.
Final Thoughts
If you're not quite sure where to start or what to do, consider hiring a CFA to help you with your student loans. We recommend The Student Loan Planner to help you put together a solid financial plan for your student loan debt. Check out The Student Loan Planner here.
Have you ever had any of these problems with your student loan servicer?
Rose says
CornerStone is the absolute worst company I’ve ever worked with. All the responsibility is on the consumer. CornerStone seems to believe their responsibility is limited to billing and threats combined with sloppy and deceitful business practices.
I should be on the ICR plan. I have no taxable income. I send in required information every year, but CS claims not to recieve it and I have to resend the information repeartedly. CS is overwhelmingly frustrating to work with and apparently encourages service representatives to lie and misguide the consumer.
For instance, I was persuaded to sign up for auto-pay. Shortly after I signed up, CS withdrew $600 from my checking account when my monthly payment was $31 and was NOT in arrears and never notified or informed why this happened. After trying for two weeks to speak with someone, I was told not to worry, it would be applied to my loan balance.
I spoke with other reps at CS and given different excuses, with one thing recurring theme: they would NOT nor could NOT refund the difference between my regular payment and the $600 they withdrew. BUT, rest assured, the $600 would be credited to my account.
No matter who I spoke to, I did not receive a satisfactory answer. My experience with CS leaves me feeling like I am dealing with a nest of theives. I went to my bank and signed a form that denies CS further access to my bank account. I continue sending them a monthly check.
CS keeps raising my monthly payment, even though I am supposed to be on the ICR plan and I repeatedly send in proof that my income is unchanged. The CS reps repeatedly say they haven’t recieved the information, even though I send it in several times. CS must be the most sloppy, disorganized mess ever, to be running any kind of business.
Where is government oversight of this obviously corrupt, inept company? Who looks out for the consumer? Does anyone give a damn?
Robert Farrington says
There are options to get help. First, when sending anything to your lender, send it Certified Mail with a Return Receipt. Then, when they claim they didn’t receive it, you would have proof of mailing and delivery.
Second, you can always file a complaint with the CFPB. Go to ConsumerFinance.gov/complaint and share your complaint.
Roseanne says
Me too! Instead of a $33 monthly payment, CornerStone withdrew $600 from my checking account. I called CS and was told, not a problem, the $600 would be credited to my account! I have no income and had sent in papetwork, but was told they had no record of it. I have no way of making up the $600 and CS refuses to return the differenc between $33 and $600!!!
In addition, every few months I get a letter saying my payment is 1 or 2 months overdue when it’s NOT!!! Then I end up paying extra.
Maybe CS is retaliating for signing papers at my bank, that CS is no longer authorized to use autopay on my account. In my opinion, CS is an unhelpful, deceitful business and their autopay is akin to written permission to steal!
Bobbie says
My daughter and I have received phone calls and emails saying she is delinquent on a loan with Cornerstone. She didn’t have a loan with this company. She had one loan through Sallie Mae and has been making payments directly to Sallie Mae. This company is a fraud and is trying to collect on a loan we don’t owe. I don’t know who to report them to. I called Sallie Mae and they weren’t much help . I’m afraid just to ignore them for fear they will rain my daughters credit.
Robert Farrington says
You should check your credit reports and see if the debt is listed. If it’s not your debt, you need to dispute it.
Bonnie says
CornerStone took over my sons student loans in 2012. We have paid faithfully the amount shown on the statement but, most of the time a little more than ask for. I receive a letter from CornerStone 1 day (August 21st) ago that they are upping the monthly payment by 600%. as of September 19th. Is it legal to raise a loan payment by 600%?
Robert Farrington says
What repayment plan are you on? It sounds like you might be on an income-driven repayment plan – which is based on his income. If he failed to re-certify his income annually, then the repayment amount will jump up to the standard plan amount – which can be significantly higher.