Date Received: 2022-02-16
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have been a federal employee at the US Department XXXX XXXX continuously since XXXX. I am one of the people who originally applied for Public Service Loan Forgiveness in XXXX when it came into effect and was given false : illegal information then by my service provider about which repayment plans I could use. When I then sought to collect in XXXX after XXXX on-time, full payments I was again given wrong information and told I do not qualify for PSLF due to being in the wrong repayment program. When the PSLF Waiver was announced on XX/XX/XXXX, I applied immediately and all of my paperwork was completed and submitted by XXXX. Since then, I have spent. I less than 35 hours on hold trying to contact someone to find out the status of my application - confirm receipt, ask how we will be notified, see if anything is missing, etc. I have also checked at all of their online locations to try to get information, but just shows as pending. In all of the XXXX times I have called for information from XXXX or Dept. Of Education, no one has ever answered the phone. After an hour today I got through to XXXX # XXXX at XXXX explained I was calling about the waiver and had already been on hold for over an hour and have called multiple times and she promptly told me there is nothing she can do but send me to a waiver specialist at an unadvertised number. I told her no one ever answers that number and she said it is the only thing available. After being on hold there for another 75 minutes, still no one has answered. It is the same routine every day and in all the dozen+ times I have called in no one has ever answered. These so-called waiver specialists DO NOT EXIST. The providers are still playing games and trying to make it impossible for us to collect on the waiver and original PSLF as we are entitled!! I have served this country for almost 20 years, including a tour of duty in XXXX, and cant believe that public servants like me are being treated this way by these crooks. Meanwhile, they did transfer my loans from XXXX to XXXX, so what the heck is happening with my waiver application? I sincerely hope there will be some accountability on this issue. My loans should have been completely forgiven in XXXX and yet here we are still dealing with this same nonsense and buffoonery as I still dish out hundreds of dollars a month that I shouldnt have to pay. Its criminal.
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 223XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-16
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: Within the realms of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, it was expanded to include different options to help people in Public Service have loans forgiven. Once a loan has received XXXX payments then that loan is forgiven. One of new options of the program, is the ability to consolidate new ( er ) loans with older loans. Once these loans are consolidated, the new loans will have the same payment counts as the old loans. I am currently in school and am scheduled to graduate in XXXX ( 2022 ). I have student loans that go back to XXXX obviously have a high payment count. My plan was to consolidate my loans upon graduation with my older loans to take advantage of the new rules in place. This would bring up my new loan payment counts current with my old loan payment counts. I called FedLoan on XXXX XXXX to discuss this matter as well as others. I expressed my concern about the older loans being forgiven and how I didn't want that to occur. They noted my concern. I called FedLoan on XXXX XXXX to express this concern specifically and to ensure that the forgiveness didn't happen to my older loans. Further, I asked what could be done to prevent this. A " case file '' was going to be opened and I was told that I would be contacted within 24-48 business hours. XX/XX/XXXX, those older loans, the ones that I specifically asked not to be forgiven and what steps I need to take to prevent them being forgiven were .... Forgiven. I called FedLoan Ombudsman immediately upon finding this out to complain and see what my options were. He ( the guy I talked to was named XXXX XXXX stated that he would send his supervisor an email to see what my options were. XXXX stated that he would return my call ASAP and I never heard back from him. XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX called back immediately, and ironically talked to XXXX again. He stated that he sent the complaint up to his supervisor, and read me the response. The response indicated that the loans probably couldn't be reinstated, but they still have a balance on them. He said I could continue to escalate the issue if I wanted. I did, and he was going to transfer me to his superiors. He was unable to transfer me because no one was answering when he tried to transfer me over. He then gave me an extension and told me to call the main line, which I tried- but is notorious for long waits. In the past I've waited 3 hours on hold and never got through. I hung up after 40 minutes this AM. Side note - I also asked for a copy of the email that was sent from XXXX to his supervisor and the response that was sent back to XXXX. I was told that I couldn't have a copy of it.
Company Response:
State: KS
Zip: 665XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-16
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: Student Consolidation Loan started with XXXX XXXX in XXXX. XXXX XXXX took approximately XXXX year to process XXXX separate student loan consolidations ( XXXX for myself, and the other for my XXXX ). When the consolidation loans were final processed, XXXX XXXX went out of business and moved everything over to American Education Services. When American Education Services ( AES ) processed the loans, they were processed as a spousal Student Loan Consolidation on XX/XX/XXXX. Upon identifying the error, I attempted to work with AES without any definitive response until XX/XX/XXXX. Every year thereafter through XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to resolve the issue to no avail. The error has NOW been identified and acknowledged to be an error, however AES is unable to determine a solution. Separate from the loans being erroneously processed as a Spousal Student Loan consolidation, and perhaps more important, it was determined that the erroneously processed Spousal consolidation was done AFTER Spousal consolidation loans were allowed ( Ended XX/XX/XXXX ). Now that an AES supervisor has identified the error, no one with authority will call me back or even speak with me directly.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 604XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-16
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I applied for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) with Fedloan Servicing. On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I uploaded my Government Employment Verification forms. Fedloan took a look at these documents on XX/XX/XXXX. Since the Department of Defense, XXXX of my former employers does not verify employment. I uploaded my XXXX and XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. Fedloan Servicing asserts that XXXX of my payments are eligible payments towards loan forgiveness, BUT I do not have any Government work history verification. I have made multiple telephone calls to Fedloan Servicing and I am on hold for about XXXX minutes on the average. At last, in late XX/XX/XXXX, I finally got a person who told me that Fedloan Servicing has a backlog and he has no idea when they will get to my documents to verify the authenticity of my Government work history verification. I feel I am being stonewalled by Fedloan Servicing.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 30253
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-16
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-15
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: I was out of work for a few weeks and missed 4 payments on my student loans. When I returned to work I made all past due payment in full. FedLoans reported the missed payment on my credit but instead of reporting the 4 missed payments overall they took each individual loan and marked it past due 4 payments so instead of 4 missed payment it reads as 20 on my credit report. I reach out to Fedloans and was given paper work to submit to correct the issue in mid 2020. I was emailed back and told that I had already requested changes to my account that were approved and nothing could be done further. I never made any request previous to fix this or any other issue and they are telling me all the information is correct when it not. Details : I have one student loan account. I am invoiced for 1 payment monthly I make 1 payment monthly Fedloans however reports it to the credit reporting companies individually. This has and is destroying my credit rating and is not accurate reporting.
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20002
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-15
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-15
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Consumer Complaint: On two occasions, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX, my student loan provider, Fed Loan Servicing, has reported the two separate accounts that I had with them as 120 days late. I had a forbearance in both instances as I was in graduate school. I have disputed the account reported with my now-former loan service providers and the three major credit bureaus on multiple occasions to no avail. These attempts have been since XX/XX/XXXX.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 28216
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-15
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-15
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: Each and every year, I need to resubmit paper work to my student loan servicer to requalify for XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). At least twice in the past, the servicer has either not filed the paper work in a timely manner, or completely lost it. This has resulted in interest being capitalized onto my loan. The first time it happened ( they lost or forgot about my application ) I called customer service, and they reversed the capitalization. The second time, last year, they were given the paper work in time ( more than 10 days ahead of the due date ), but did not process it in a timely manner. This resulted in interest capitalization onto my loan. I called customer service, and was not able to get any help at all. They would not even listen to my issue. I then sent a letter, with proof of my timely submittal, but I have not heard any response. Not only is the capitalization an extreme burden to me trying to pay back my loans, but each time XXXX does not process my paperwork in a timely manner, the actual terms of my loan are reset to essentially zero. All of the work I had done in the past to keep things straight and on time is ruined, AND they get to charge me more for the loan. It's almost as if it is in their interest to not file my paperwork on time. It makes them more money.
Company Response:
State: UT
Zip: 84321
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-04-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-15
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Consumer Complaint: PLEASE HELP! I FEEL HELPLESSLY TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, BULLIED & MANIPULATED BY XXXX! I currently have new information regarding two CFPB complaints ; # XXXX and # XXXX, in which XXXX and PHEAA are taken advantage of me as a consumer and breaking protection laws. XXXX is allowing this fraudulent account to report on my consumer credit report although I have submitted my FTC Report, ID and social security card as proof that this account is fraudulent. I have submitted all of those attachments and evidence of XXXX 's criminal activity. I have called on the phone and submitted many disputes since XX/XX/2021, XXXX IS REFUSING to completely remove this account. Instead they are updating it. Fraud is fraud and XXXX is perpetuating this fraud by continuing to report it. I SUBMITTED MY FTC IDENTITY THEFT REPORT ALMOST 2 MONTHS AGO.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-03-07
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I am writing in reference to the PSLF student loan program and the temporary waiver program. I have been employed in public service since XXXX, and I have had eligible Direct Loans since XXXX. For the reasons I will list below, I am requesting the following actions : 1. That, for all borrowers, the DOE modify the rules of the PSLF waiver so that periods of forbearance be included as being in repayment status, as interest did accrue during those periods and was added the principal of our loans. 2. That, for me personally, the DOE review my account and give credit for payments when I was in forbearance while my loans were serviced by XXXX. According to a recently-settled federal lawsuit, XXXX illegally steered me -XXXX and thousands of borrowers -- toward forbearances when we were eligible for income-based repayment programs that would count toward PSLF. 3. That the DOE make whole, me and other borrowers whose financial lives were irreparably damaged by the actions of XXXX XXXX which was acting as the DOEs agent. While the DOE did not illegally advise me and others, they are ultimately responsible for XXXX actions on DOEs behalf. 4. That the DOE review and correct erroneous information on my payment history, especially the years, XXXX where XXXX recorded me as being in forbearance. XXXX refuses to make those corrections because my loans were transferred to Fedloan as part of the PSLF program. 5. That the DOE, in compensation for their agents illegal acts and continuing refusal to correct errors, give me credit for being in repayment from the date that the PSLF program began, which would make me eligible for forgiveness as of XX/XX/XXXX, which is the first date that anyone was eligible for PSLF. 6. That the DOE forgive my loans under the PSLF waiver and therefore, refund all of the payments I paid after XX/XX/XXXX, the first date of eligibility. Please allow me to explain more thoroughly why I am making this request. I am writing as a student loan borrower and a public servant. I have been teaching since XXXX, first in public schools and now in a public university. My first student loans were taken out in XXXX and then were consolidated in XXXX. These student loans have caused a lifetime of debt, stress, and worry for me. They prevented me from owning a home and from helping my children with college, and they almost drove me to bankruptcy in XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. When President Bush created the PSLF program, I was overjoyed, but because I was unable to make payments because of my low salary ( the biggest drawback to being a public servant ). My loan servicer, XXXX XXXX could have offered my income-based programs to help with repayments, but instead, XXXX told me that forbearances were my only option. I was repeatedly threatened with default, and the only option I was given to cure the problem was forbearances. I was not the only person that received this treatment from XXXX As a news story reports, Since XXXX, XXXX has been mired in a growing number of lawsuits. This includes suits from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) and 39 state attorneys general. One of those Attorney Generals was the North Carolina AG. A major settlement announced on XX/XX/XXXX, that requires XXXX to provide a total of {$1.00} billion in relief to private and federal student loan borrowers. As part of the XXXX lawsuit settlement, cheated borrowers are to receive a {$260.00} restitution payment. This is an obscenely low amount, considering the tens of thousands of dollars in interest I was charged during forbearance. As the lawsuit settlement shows, XXXX intentionally and illegally damaged borrows like me. Their actions cost me tens of thousands in compounded interested and more damagingly, made my reduced payments under forbearance ineligible for PSLF forgiveness. The PSLF waiver at this time will not count forbearance periods as being in repayment, even though it WILL count periods when money was due but no payments were made. Does that make sense to you? While I am grateful for this PSLF waiver, I am also frustrated because according to the guidance on the Department of Education website. PSLF borrowers have always gotten conflicting information from the DOE and its servicers, and we are still getting confusing information. For example, the DOE is recommending that borrowers consolidate old loans to get a higher payment count, but servicers like FedLoan, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX are advising borrowers to cancel those loans, telling them that consolidation will reset the payment history. This kind of misinformation is pervasive, and it confuses borrowers, who may miss the chance at getting eligible payments counted. Throughout the time that XXXX serviced my loans, they made a multitude of errors on my records. Those mistakes are still in my payment history, and XXXX refuses to correct them, as my loans were transferred to FedLoan for PSLF. So the servicers are STILL making it difficult to receive PSLF. In addition, because of its history of purposely denying borrowers the chance at PSLF, the DOE needs to be far more liberal in allowing payment histories to count. That includes allowing all payments periods when interest was charged to be considered as repayment periods. Thank you for your time.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 28405
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-02-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I opened a complaint previously ( XXXX ) which has been closed. The resolution was not satisfactory to me. Once the Public Service Loan waiver was implemented in XX/XX/XXXX, I inquired at Fedloan do I need to consolidate my remaining Direct Loans together and have all my loans as one loan. I was told no because the loans were already Direct and resetting them would reset my count to 0. Yet, one of my loans was forgiven during the review. Then later the language was updated in the waiver that consolidation loans that were comprised of underlying loans that have different numbers of qualifying payments, as long as your repayment history overlaps for each loan, the consolidation loan will be credited with the largest number of payments of the loans that were consolidated. I was never given this opportunity because I was 1 ) told not to consolidate and 2 ) had the remaining balance of the loan forgiven before I could consolidate. Changing the language and advice provided for the waiver after the waiver has been instituted is like changing the rules to the game once the game has begun. The resolution that you provided in my previous complaint is missing the point that I am making. The point is this if in XX/XX/XXXX if given the correct advice I would have reconsolidated all my loans together. My complaint has zero to do with the XXXX consolidation. The complaint is about the advice provided in XX/XX/XXXX that was changed once my loan was forgiven by the waiver.
Company Response:
State: SC
Zip: 29681
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-02-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A