Dealing with Sallie Mae

It never feels good to deal with student loan issues. But I thought I should take care of some business sooner rather than later. So, since Carsten had recently left for his trip to Switzerland I thought I would call Sallie Mae and deal with my issue. As I am waiting on the phone, for 10 minutes, it begins to storm like crazy here in Freiburg. Thunder, lightening, rain and wind all at once. A premonition, yeah I think so. Anyway, the reason I had phoned is that Sallie Mae has a new program beginning on July 1st. I downloaded the eligibility form however I was missing some of the necessary info and after looking for it on their web page and not finding it decided I would just call. The reason I am all about this program is that it is based on one's income and after 25 years of repayment, what is left can be erased. Right now I am on a 30-year plan and struggling to make payments, so having a lower payment and possibly having some of the debt erased sounds good. So, back to my call. Someone finally answered and said that their name is Season. I know someone named Season but that is a story for another day. It is not clear to me if this Season was a male or female. I think they may have come from India, but that was not clear either. The person was nice enough, though at first was not all that helpful. I said I need the amount of what my loan was when I first finished school and began paying. And then for him/her to take that amount and tell me what my payment would be on a 10-year plan. He/She informed me they can not help me with this program until after July 1st. I explained the information I needed was not to enroll in the program only to see if I was eligible. The representative said that didn't matter and that the information I requested was unavailable. So I said, "You mean to tell me you can't access my account or how much I owe you?" Then I was given current information. Fine, no big deal that was right in front of me on my computer screen anyway. So then I asked the representative to tell me what my monthly payment would be if I switched today from a 30-year plan to a 10-year plan. I was put on hold for another 7 minutes and then told my amount. Once I regained consciousness I thanked Season for their time and wished them a pleasant day. I was asked if I wanted to participate in a survey about my experience. I said yes, as I always do (don't ask me why) and then I was disconnected. In the end, I appear to be eligible for this new program, no duh, but I have to wait until after July 1st to actually apply and send in the necessary forms to find out if I am officially accepted. Based on the information on the worksheet I downloaded from their web page, I could potentially save $700 per month!!!!! Can I get an amen?!?