Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: In addition to the issue that I named in my last complaint, Fed Loan Servicing has failed to list my most recent approved employment ( a certification form which it received on XX/XX/XXXX. ) I have attached the inaccurate qualifying payment count letter I received on XX/XX/XXXX, the letter on XX/XX/XXXX indicating receipt of my certification form, as well as a copy of the certification form ( please note the copy I attached does not have my signature but the one I mailed and that was received by Fed Loan Servicing does ). To update my qualifying payments to the correct and accurate number of over 90, including updating my approved employment time for the job in question/ certification form from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX.
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 069XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: I am constantly contacting AES Loan Servicing in regards to the fact that I can not fill out the forms I need to fill out to get my IBR plan on track or send in my recertification. Everytime I try to log into my account on the student aid.gov they can not confirm my social security number. It states on the web page it takes 1 to 3 days to confirm, This has been over a year. I am limited to access on my account due to this. The interest on my loans have doubled my loan amount. I dont even know how I got bamboozled into consolidating my loans with this company purely a rip off! How can they continue to report me to credit bureaus when they cant even verify who I am! Your information is still being verified by the Social Security Administration. This process usually takes one to three days. If you provided an email address when you created your account, we'll you an email confirmation once your information is verified. XX XXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: NV
Zip: 89433
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have been serviced by Fed Loan servicing since XXXX. I have been a participant in the public server loan program. Since that time I have accrued XXXX qualifying payments toward the forgiveness plan. I have XXXX or XXXX pending approval for the past two years not for lack of submitting the appropriate documentation. I have been with the same employer since XXXX and had payments approved up till XX/XX/XXXX, The approval process has stalled. There is a new public service loan forgiveness tool in which you add your employer and find out if its qualify or not. It has taken me roughly 2 years and some additional time to have my employer, previously approved in the program, added to the tool. I have submitted a great deal of collateral information to make this happen for my small nonprofit. Unfortunately just after my company was added as eligible to the tool, Fedloan made the decision that I not only was not qualified but did not work at a nonprofit. I work at a small nonprofit XXXX ( B ) which can be found on the Texas XXXX XXXX website. I have sacrificed earned income to work for a company in which I have a great deal of faith for the quality of care that we can provide rather than a corporate for-profit medical association. I have spent about as many hours as it would take to actually earn the money which I owe simply trying to get my loans approved for forgiveness under the new waiver which was approved by federal law.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 78613
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: Complaint against FedLoan Servicing, at Pensilvania Higher Education Assistance Agency XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX PA XXXX Attention : SECRETARY OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION My complain is about the incorrect information/count of only 2 payments toward my eligible payments for my Public Service Loan Forgiveness program after I consolidated my Federal Students Loans under the Limited PSLF Waiver rules. 1 ) On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from the FedLoan Servicing, which is a part of the Pensilvania Higher Education Assistance Agency ( PHEAA ), a federal student loan contractor with the U.S. Department of Education. 2 ) In the FedLoan Servicing letter of XX/XX/XXXX, FedLoan Servicing blatantly erased all my 97 previously recognized eligible payments toward my Public Service Forgiveness program. FedLoan Servicing wrote to me that my newly consolidated loans ( # 12 and # 13 ) have only 2 eligible payments toward the PSLF program, and FedLoan Serving posted a new date for forgiveness as year XXXX. In other words, FedLoan Serving extended my 97 previously found eligible payments with another 120 payments or 10 more years. This is unacceptable and against all rules of the Limited Public Loan Forgiveness waiver. 3 ) Needless to say, I consolidated my student loans on XX/XX/XXXX under the Limited PSLF Waiver rules. 4 ) Just before consolidation, my student loans had 97 eligible payment toward the PSLF program as I am a public teacher. The same 97 eligible payments were counted in the previous years by FedLoan Servicing at PHEAA. I should be forgiven my student loans at about XX/XX/XXXX. I continue to work as a public teacher. 5 ) I consolidated my student loans because the U.S. Department of Education stated If you have Federal Family Education Loan ( FFEL ) Program loans, Federal Perkins Loans, or other types of federal student loans that are not Direct Loans ( for example, those from older loan programs, such as Federally Insured Student Loans [ FISL ] or National Defense Student Loans [ NDSL ] ), you must consolidate those loans into the Direct Loan program by XXXX XXXX, XXXX ''. I was also advised by FedLoan Servicing Associate over the phone to consolidate my student loans. 6 ) According to " https : //studentaid.gov/announcements-events/pslf-limited-waiver '', if you have a Direct Loan and have already submitted an ECF or PSLF form, If you took out only Direct Loans or previously consolidated other federal loans into a Direct Loan, and youve previously submitted an ECF or PSLF form, you may automatically receive credit for prior periods of repayment. Automatic credit will be granted only if the employer listed on your form was determined to be a qualifying employer. My employer XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is determined to be a qualified employer. All my previous employers were determined by the FedLoan Servicing to be eligible employers as I have been certifying every year at FedLoan Servicing, PHEAA. 7 ) FedLoan Servicing is cutting off PSLF participants and not counting the eligible payments, even though FedLoan Servicing has evidently sent me letters every year stating my PSLF eligibility and counting my eligible payments every year around XXXX. 8 ) FelLoan Servicing are DISHONEST federal student loans contractor. The U.S. Department of Education promised that " XXXX has determined that it can use flexibilities provided by the HEROES Act of XXXX, which allows the Secretary of Education to waive certain rules related to the federal student aid programs during periods of national emergency. '' 9 ) The U.S. Department of Education also posted " Why do I have to consolidate my loans or file a PSLF form by XXXX XXXX, XXXX? There is a limited time that this opportunity can be offered, as it is tied to special flexibilities that have arisen due to the COVID-19 national emergency. At this time, that emergency flexibility has been determined to last through XXXX XXXX, XXXX '' XXXX ) Therefore, FedLoan Serving is conducting the opposite illegal actions, nulling the previous eligible payments toward the PSLF program, after the new Consolidation of student loans, and disregarding the Limited PSLF WAIVER. '' FedLoan Serving is deceiving the students with newly consolidated student loans and not providing the deserved eligible payment counts toward the Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 14626
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: Specifically, there are 68 payments that have been made under my Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that Fed Loan is now claiming are " ineligible ''. Currently, I have certified my employment with a Non-profit and/or the Federal Government from XXXX, 12 Years. Two years over the 10 year time period for the program. The rationale for the " ineligible '' payments are quote " In order for a payment to qualify, it must have been a payment you were required to make. You were not required to make any payments during the following period ''. This is fraudulent on many levels. I made payments in good faith. Fed Loan accepted all of the payments to include the 68 in question. However, now I'm being told that on 68 occasions my payment was not " required '' although accepted and applied to my account; but because they didn't require it or send a bill it doesn't count towards my 120 Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If the payments that were made were not " required or requested '' then why would FedLoan accept them? Why wouldn't it be refunded? I never wanted to miss a payment given the Federal Governments high interest rate ~7 % and the overwhelming interest I would accrue. I have paid consistently since 2010. My Principal Balance is STILL {$65000.00} as I have paid {$20000.00} in JUST INTEREST and only {$3000.00} has gone to the principal. My payments continue to increase as my income does with inflation, however its a never ending cycle that I am trapped in. I've paid ~ {$23000.00} and I still owe my original balance. Additionally I have worked in public service to serve my country and community, working as a XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and now at the XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX for 12 years and still don't meet the 120 payments/10 year program requirements.
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 22193
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-12
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: Good Afternoon, I am writing to you as I do not know where else to turn. I have already tried several times over the past year, spending countless hours on the phone with Fed Loan Servicing to resolve this issue and emailing them as well. I am part of the Public Interest Loan Forgiveness Program and have contacted Fed Loan multiple times to correctly update my " Qualifying Payment Count '' to the accurate amount. All of my Employment Certification Forms have been submitted and uploaded by Fed Loan, and are even listed with the correct dates in Fed Loan 's letters that they send me, yet they still have an inaccurate number of Qualifying and inaccurate amount of eligible payments listed, keeping me at XXXX qualifying payments when the number is actually over 90. They estimate my forgiveness in the program to be XXXX when it is actually no later than XXXX. I have been in this program since XXXX making on-time monthly payments while employed full-time for qualifying employers that have been APPROVED by Fed Loan, yet they still do not update my payments despite countless requests, responding only with generic language from their website when I submit complaints through writing, and providing inaccurate information over the phone. The only time I did not make on-time payments while employed full-time by a qualifying employer during the past 11 years was for a brief period of 1 year total ( respectively one period of 8 months not working and another period of 3 months not working ). where I was not working. The only other time I did not make payments was during Covid when I was working for a qualifying employer but the amount was waived for all those in the Public Interest Program. I was told by Fed Loan Servicing that these {$0.00} payments would count since I was working full-time for a qualifying employer. They STILL have not been updated as qualifying payments in my account. This has been going on for over a year, and they each time fail to submit accurate counts. They also fail to provide a SPECIFIC timeline of days or a specific date of when I can expect to receive an ACCURATE updated payment count. Any help in resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 069XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-12
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-13
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I had already submitted a complaint here but havent heard anything. I have consolidated federal loans with Fedloan servicing and I am enrolled in the loan forgiveness program. I had unfortunately needed to do a XXXX XXXX bankruptcy in 2013 for 5 years I talked to fed service about the loan forgiveness at that time or before I believe when it was XXXX maybe. Anyway during the XXXX XXXX I demanded that my stir T loans be paid during this time to ensure I would be getting credit for the months while in the 5 year bankruptcy which I did I faithfully paid my monthly payment automatically through the bankruptcy liaison for the 5 years. Then I was told after the 5 years that because they ( fed service ) didnt have me in the right program that none of those payments would count. Then with Covid relief I was told that those payments would count and that someone would be reviewing and would let me know. Well they said that they still dont count and XXXX will b paying for another 8 hears on my 10 year plan ( Im a XXXX and qualify for loan forgiveness ) I asked to speak with a supervisor and they gave me one and she said oh we shouldnt had taken any money from you and we will b reimbursing you all the money u paid in. ( which they never did ) I really would prefer to have the months count towards the Temporary loan forgiveness guidelines. Ya know I am in this ridiculous mess from my XXXX loans which I believe were originally only round XXXX I was misled also as I was originally told they would all b forgiven if I stayed in maine.and the interest rates are ridiculously high I will never get ahead Please help. XXXX XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: ME
Zip: 04401
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-11
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: -Fedloan is very difficult to get ahold of. It took weeks for a call back. Very long wait times over the phone. I am continuously given false or inconsistent information. On XX/XX/22, I spoke with a representative from Fedloan regarding the limited PSLF waiver. Given that I had loans with different payment counts, due to previous FFEL loans that were later consolidated, it was recommended by the representative to consolidate all of my loans in order to get the highest payment count applied to all loans. I submitted a request to consolidate my loans. On XX/XX/22, I received a letter from Fedloan about the requested consolidation. At the end of the letter, it stated that I would need to make another 120 qualifying payments on my new consolidation loan. On XX/XX/22, I received a letter from Fedloan that they had completed a review of my eligible and qualifying payment counts in your pursuit of ( PSLF ). They confirmed that my payment count was accurate and the matter closed. This is false information. According to my account, I have ZERO eligible payments for PSLF. Before the consolidation, I had 96 eligible payments and 15 ineligible payments. I continue to have concerns regarding the ineligible payments and had previously requested a review.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 93003
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: This is regarding My Fed Loan and my attempt to participate in the PSLF program and the failure of My Fed Loan 's Customer Service. I have been making payments on federal Stafford loans since before XX/XX/XXXX while in qualifying public interest employment. When the rules allowing those payments to be credited towards loan forgiveness changed temporarily in XX/XX/XXXX, I consolidated the loans to My Fed Loan and applied for PSLF in XX/XX/XXXX. I received confirmation that my application was received. I am now being told my recent payments ( not the ones prior to applying ) don't count because of my repayment plan. NOBODY said I had to have a certain type of repayment plan within My Fed Loan. Now it sounds like those payments won't count towards qualifying payments. Moreover, I have heard nothing about crediting my past payments which, if they were credited, should result in full forgiveness. Finally, I attempted to contact PSLF about this on XX/XX/XXXX at approximately XXXX XXXX. I went through the prompts to be able to speak with an agent and selected the prompt to speak about PSLF. After 38 minutes a woman named XXXX answered and when I said I was calling about PSLF she said she would transfer me to someone in " public service '' despite the fact that she should have been able to answer my question if she was in the phone tree for PSLF. She transferred me and the recording said I had to wait more than 20 minutes. All in all, I was on hold for an hour and twenty minutes and had to hang up so I never was able to speak to someone.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 19103
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-03-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: To whom it may concern : On XX/XX/XXXX, I called my student loan servicer FedLoan Servicing to get some clarifying information regarding certifying my Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) plan. I called specifically to ask whether during the Cares Act Forbearance if interest would capitalize if I went from the Pay As You Earn ( PAYE ), to the Revised Pay As Earn ( REPAYE ) plan. It was my general understanding that it might. However, because this was only a rectification during Cares Act Forbearance, I thought there might be other provisions that would prevent interest capitalization. I submitted an IDR recertification application on studentaid.gov website and did not receive an pop-op disclosure about interest capitalization. Then : 1. I immediately called Fedloan Servicing. The agent on the phone explicitly says during the call, No, your interest will not capitalize during the Cares Act Forbearance, so you will be fine. 2. I hung up the phone and researched the studentaid.gov website to make sure I was correct. When I found the paper application on the website, I said that interest would capitalize, so I immediately recertified for my original PAYE plan about 20 minutes later. I called FedLoan Servicing again and explained what happened. I told the representative that I previously called to confirm whether interest would capitalize if I switched plans and the agent told me no! I told the agent that I had submitted another recertification and the representative assured me that the last application would be the one they processed. I asked him whether it was true that interest would capitalize, and he confirmed that it would not during the Care Act forbearance. I asked if he was sure and he said yes. During that call, I reapplied to the REPAYE because two agents had confirmed the regular capitalization process would not occur. 3. After I hung up, I call back a third time, just to make sure, and the third agent said, yes, generally the interest would capitalize, but because of the Care Act Forbearance it would not, I just needed to make sure I switch before we when back into repayment in XX/XX/XXXX. I said, are you sure, because I have {$75000.00} of interest, and if it is going to capitalize, I will just go back to the original plan. She reassured me that I was fine. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a confirmation letter from FedLoan Servicing, stating that on XX/XX/XXXX when you changed your repayment plan .... the amount of interest the capitalize was {$71000.00}. In that same letter, it also stated, in the fourth paragraph, that There has not been any interest capitalized with Fedloan Servicing due to an Administrative Forbearance or due to the processing of an IDR. This is conflicting information! On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I called Fedloan and spoke to a Escalations Agent, Case # XXXX. I explained the situation. I asked him to listen to the calls and after about 20 minutes, he told me that he would just revert me back to my original plan and reverse the interest. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, which stated that they would not be able to reverse the interest capitalization, which Fedloan Servicing had originally reversed. Every time they do this I see a XXXX XXXX drop in my credit score. The Dodd-Frank Act, 12 USC 5536 , prohibits unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices. An act or practice is deceptive when : 1. the act or practice misleads or is likely to mislead the consumer ; 2. the consumers interpretation is reasonable under the circumstances ; and 3. the misleading act or practice is material. Fedloan Servicing engaged in a deceptive act or practice in violation of 12 USC 5536, by misrepresenting to the borrower ( me ) whether a capitalizing event would occur when switching IDR plans during the Cares Act Forbearance. Generally, switching plans would cause interest to capitalize, but I was reassured that the Care Act Forbearance suspended that practice until the forbearance ends. Fedloan Servicing points out in the paper application that it states that interest will capitalize. This is obscured reasoning. My promissory note for when I took out my loan also states the interest will accrue monthly on all my loans, but that is not occurring during the Care Act either, so I am not sure what the point is. I called the servicer to confirm whether there were special provisions because of the Cares Act and I was told yes. Furthermore, I was told that they would reverse the capitalization. The representations by three of the Fedloan agents misled me, a reasonable borrower, by causing me to believe that the Care Act Forbearance provided additional provisions that prevent interest capitalization with switching between IDR plans. It was reasonable for me to believe it was true, because three separate agents confirmed it ( review the phone calls ). The misrepresentations are material because it caused {$71000.00} of interest to be capitalized on my student loans. If they did this to me, they most likely have done the same to millions of borrowers during the Cares Act Forbearance. The CFPB should immediately investigate this matter. I want my capitalization to be reversed immediately. Thank you,
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A