After reading a super detailed Reddit post about SM’s modification option & what to do to make sure I qualify, I called the special number to speak to the account manager - i.e. the person who can get me in this reduced payment program

I expected the SM questions about my income/expenses- just like previous redditors prepared me- as well as my co-signers income and expenses, but I was not prepared for the person on the phone to cross-check our statements with credit reports they pulled WHILE ON THE CALL to verify our estimates to the penny. It was difficult bc my co-signers pay their bills regardless of who’s name is on certain accounts. For example, my mom pays her monthly car payment, but the car itself is in my dad’s name; SM rep asks: who pays the water bill? Co-signers jointly respond “we do”. Not easily separated but that created issues when the rep had to enter certain values into a system they were using to calculate my reduced monthly payment.

Whatever system/calculator/ plug n chug thing they use wouldn’t accept the financial statements we provided and that made the entire phone call about 3 hours long. It was torture! It didn’t align with what I expected the call to be based on others experiences shared on Reddit.

All the other posts About Sallie Mae loan modification that I could find prior to this phone call said that the rep would want a “simple budget” and not check anything seriously or verify, but I just want to share my experience for anyone else that has to make a call to reduce their monthly payment: yes they do. They absolutely dig deep into your finances for proof, and will not approve a reduced payment without verifying every dollar in & out with your credit report (co signers as well)