More than 50,000 people have signed a petition on the onlineadvocacy platform Change.org calling for education financerSallie Mae to stop charging fees for late student loan payments, Change.org announced.

News Update:
Jan. 30, 2012: Sallie Mae Stands By Forbearance Fee
Feb. 3, 2012: Sallie Mae Compromises on Forbearance Fee

The campaign's leader, Stef Gray of Brooklyn, N.Y., argues thatthe education-focused financial services company unfairly charges afee of $50 per loan for every three-month delayed payment timeperiod, which unemployed college graduates can't afford.

Gray states that since jobless federal student loan borrowerscan defer payments with no penalty, Sallie Mae student loanborrowers should be awarded the same leniency if they can't findwork. She said she's been unemployed since graduating from a publiccollege in May 2011 and has since paid Sallie Mae $300 in latefees.

Sallie Mae is linked to around 500 credit unions via its student loan referral program, SmartOption Student Loan.

“My loan already grows by more than $1,000 in interest everythree months when it's in forbearance,” Gray said. “For Sallie Maeto tack on these extra fees just to pad their profits is to kickpeople like me when we're already down.”

Change.org Senior Organizer William Winters backed Gray,stating, “She's obviously tapped into an issue that a lot of peoplefeel strongly about, especially with student debt rising steadilyamid high unemployment among college grads.”