Date Received: 2022-06-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: My federal consolidation loan is held by FedLoanServicing. I applied for PSLF ( public service loan forgiveness ) in XX/XX/XXXX and submitted all my employment certifications. I submitted all the certifications again in XX/XX/XXXX. I have received multiple letters indicating that I am not yet eligible for forgiveness and that my payment count stands at XXXX. However they did not count two of my employment certification forms from XXXX. If those payments are counted then I have well over the 120 required for forgiveness. I have repeatedly called and emailed with no response. I have filed a complaint with FSA and my complaint was closed. No one can tell me why the two forms from XXXX were not counted, if there was an error or for some reason they believe the employment does not qualify or if there was an issue with the signature or something else. I have not been able to speak to someone on the phone despite multiple attempts. I was recently notified that my loans are going to be transferred to XXXX sometime in XX/XX/XXXX. I want this resolved before my loans are transferred because FedLoan Servicing is the one who has all the information about my payments and all the certifications that I've already submitted.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 90028
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: Hi, in resolution of my complaint # XXXX, XXXX agreed with my regulator to count my XX/XX/XXXX payment towards PSLF. However, they have refused to honor that agreement. I have records attached. Also, they have since refused to honor the limited waiver program to count my XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments towards PSLF. I've attached proof that those payments should be counted as well. They also haven't updated my count to include my most recent employer certification. To help you navigate the attachments, I'm attaching some additional XXXX records ( my loans were transferred from XXXX to Fedloan at the end of XXXX XXXX ). Please help to rectify my account/PSLF tracking before my loans are transferred next month and before the limited waiver program expires. Thank you so much.
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20019
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: On approximately XX/XX/XXXX, I requested a repayment of all the student loan payments that I had made during the COVID-19 forbearance - roughly between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. The payments total approximately {$6800.00}. As per protocol, I made the request to my then servicer FedLoan Servicing. My loans had just gone through a series of changes in servicer. I had most recently been transferred to FedLoan Servicing from XXXX XXXX, however, the payments in question had been made to XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was told that FedLoan Servicing would have to request information from the previous servicer and this would cause some delay but that it should take no more than 90 days. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called FedLoan for an update. I was told that the refund request had been placed on hold on XX/XX/XXXX pending outreach to the servicer. I again clarified that all such queries must be made to XXXX XXXX XXXX as XXXX had only had my loans for a couple of months and no payments were made through them. The FedLoan representative could not tell with the information query had been sent or when the hold would be removed. I was told that the new timeline was 150 days. The wait has now extended beyond 150 days. I've sent another query to FedLoan Servicing but have not yet received a response. Thank you for any assistance you are able to provide.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 12203
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-27
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: My loans have been transitioned many times to different companies - where each time my balance starts all over and I pay interest instead of the balance of the loan. I just consolidated my loans with Direct loans ( handled by XXXX ). from AES. I had been with AES, roughly, XXXX years. I've been making payments steadly and when I was laid off years ago I made payments. I had reached out many times to get assistance on options available to lower payments- they only offered forbearance. So in those times of need I took that since I didn't know of any other option- since none of the other payment options would work ( according to them ). Well, after calling a few months ago to try to get assistance - I was told again my only option was forbearance since none of the payment plans would work for me. I asked again - there is nothing you can do?? They replied only forbearance. During Covid I have been making steady payments while others have been able to have the interest stopped and payments stopped - unless they wanted to. My loans are federal loans but older so they didn't qualify for any of the Covid related assistances. So, I asked about that with AES- they said they didn't qualify - there isn't anything you could do to have them qualify. Like I had mentioned above - I did reach out to the federal loans department and they said all I needed to do was consolidate under direct loans and you would have qualified. I did this and - amazingly- they had a payment plan that would also lower my payments for the time being. I wasted time and money with AES and find them at fault for the reason my payments i have made have went the way they did : I paid {$25000.00} towards my loans, interest paid {$16000.00}, principal paid {$8700.00}, fees paid {$590.00}. My overall loan was roughly XXXX. I've been paying over 20 years and there seems to be no end in site. I feel they manipulated me into paying more interest and weren't looking out for my best interest to get my loan paid off. I can't control who my loans are transferred/sold to - but I would have thought that AES would look out for the students best interest instead of their profit. Please let me know if you need more information - I'd like to see some of that interest to be redistributed to the balance. Thank you, XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 60185
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-26
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have made several calls and sent XXXX emails over the past XXXX months to get resolve in having my student loan repaid. My complaints have not been addressed by the XXXX, despite the promised changes since XX/XX/XXXX that Borrowers will receive prompt redress of forgiveness. I have made over 130 qualifying payments to XXXX, all during the time i have been in the full time employment as a XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Since late XXXX, i have been qualified to have my federal student loans forgiven. As a loyal XXXX employee, and as i promised, i have doing my service, cumulative well over 12 years, showed up at XXXX, worked through lunches and late, to provide mental health service to our nations heroes, XXXX XXXX soldiers and their dependents. Fedloan service is not keeping the promise under the new administration ; the agency is forcing me to forfeit many months of qualifying service, adding to the total cost of my student debt, creditworthiness and ability to borrow. Currently, i show XXXX payments not counted as qualified, even though they are, as i continue my employment XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX currently. That means i am 6 months, MY COUNT, ahead of Loan Forgiveness all the while i have participated formally in the PSLF program, and kept my promise. I really would like a resolve of this. It is unseemly, it is unfair and indecent that this is not being resolved where it should, at the Lender.
Company Response:
State: WA
Zip: 984XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-26
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: To whom it may concern : As you should be aware, Congress enacted the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act ( Public Law 110-84 ) on XX/XX/XXXX as encoded in 34 CFR 685.219. To administer this program, the Department of Education contracted their the collection of student loan debts to servicing companies. Additionally, you have provided guidance to protect against sloppy servicing by the federal student loan industry. On XX/XX/XXXX, the Department of Education issued rules for the XXXX XXXX XXXX that in part relaxed the strict rules in which my loans made under the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX were allowed to count. Thus, over XXXX ( XXXX ) years of payments to qualified for the XXXX. Therefore, please treat this as a specific compliant against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency doing business as Fedloan Servicing in the name of the United States Department of Education in which money is owed to me likely Fedloan Servicing as the agent for the Department of Education. Significant Facts : Fedloan Servicing is a debt collector under the meaning of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692a 803 ( 4 ) Fedloan Servicing certified and reported 152 qualifying payments to the Department of Educations XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and notified me on XX/XX/XXXX. The estimated date of eligibility was XX/XX/XXXX. ( Attached. ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I notified Fedloan Servicing via certified mail that, in part, their XXXX counts were wrong and omitted XXXX ( XXXX ) payment periods associated with a previous Employment Certification as a federal employee with the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. These payment periods were for XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. Additionally, in good faith, I notified Fedloan Servicing that they had incorrectly certified XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX payments ) in which I was unemployed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was notified that Fedloan Servicing that my XXXX was granted and that I had made XXXX qualifying payments. Fedloan Serving notified the credit reporting agencies that my student loan tradelines were closed as of XX/XX/XXXX with a XXXX ( $ ) balance and is being reported as such by XXXX and XXXX. The Department of Educations guidance allows for refunds of payments made after the eligibility XXXX date. In a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( attached ) received XX/XX/XXXX, Fedloan Servicing indicates that my student loans were forgiven as of XX/XX/XXXX. And, Fedloan Servicing capriciously states that there was no need to have the months from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX count as qualifying toward XXXX ( emphasis added ). BaseXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX notification and their separate certification of XXXX payments to the Department XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I am owed at least {$2400.00} plus interest if applicable for over payments. Based on my calculations correcting for the months that were arbitrarily and capriciously omitted by Fedloan Servicing using Fedloan Servicings Transactions History retrieved XX/XX/XXXX ( attached ), I am owed at least {$3000.00} plus interest if applicable for over payments for XXXX qualifying payments. Therefore, FedLoan Servicings serving of my federal student has created many hours of frustration and unneeded hours of research, scrambling and paperwork. Their communications are inconsistent and misleading. Their XX/XX/XXXX letter documents their actions and internal contradictions that in turn, harms me and my family creating more frustration and anger. As such, I formally request that your agency to intervene as the federal regulator of this industry and forward my claims for relief. It has become clear the Fedloan Servicing likely retaliated to deny the {$3000.00} refund and falsely reported the credit reporting bureaus of the closure date status of my student loans. What is unknown, is whether or not the funds have been kept to unjustly enrich Fedloan or if the monies were actually forwarded to the U.S. Treasury. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: TN
Zip: 370XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-25
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: I DID NOT GIVE US DEPT OF EDUCATION CONSENT TO REPORT ANYTHING TO ANY THIRD PARTY AFFILIATE THAT DOES NOT HAVE A BINDING CONTRACT WITH MY WRITTEN CONSENT TO REPORT MY NON PUBLIC INFORMATION. US DEPT OF EDUCATION FRIVOLOUS AND WILLINGNESS TO VIOLATE MY RIGHT TO PRIVACY HAS CAUSED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DAMAGE IN MY LIFE. IN PURSUANT TO THE GRAMM-LEACH BAILEY ACT I WAS NOT GIVEN THE NOTICE TO OPT-OUT OF THIS SHARING OF MY NON PUBLIC PERSONAL INFORMATION. I DEMAND THAT THE US DEPT OF EDUCATION HEREBY BLOCK THE ACCOUNT THEY ARE FURNISHING IN RESPECT TO PROTECTING MY PERSONAL INFORMATION AS IT IS THERE DUTY.
Company Response:
State: NV
Zip: 89131
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-25
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program available through the Biden modification plan. I have submitted the completed and signed employment verification form through the Federal Student Loan website three different times. Their response to my submittals have stated each time that the form has incomplete or missing information. I have highlighted in yellow each section required to be completed and confirmed the information is accurate before submitting the form each time. The latest response letter dated XX/XX/XXXX states : " Missing Information : Your employer certified the dates of employment that were entered in Section 3 of the PSLF Form. However, the employment end date is before the employment begin date. Complete and return the enclosed form. Make sure that your correct employment begin and end dates are shown in Section 3 and that your employer certifies correct dates. '' My form clearly shows the employer entered by begin employment date is XX/XX/XXXX and that my employment end date is " still employed. '' The form was signed by the Human Resources representative on XX/XX/XXXX. A previous application was rejected based on similar reasons. My application was reject in XX/XX/XXXX because " Section 4 was not completed, '' however, I am employed by a state government agency and the form clearly states to only complete up through Section 3, then sign and date the form. The other submittal was rejected in XX/XX/XXXX because " Your employer did not provide a name or EIN in Section 3. '' However, the form had all of this information clearly provided on the form. I believe that the Federal Student Loan agency and/or my loan servicing company XXXX XXXX is deliberately rejecting my PSLF form and my application in order to deny my student loan forgiveness.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 27703
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: We have a spousal consolidation FFEL loan given to us through the financial advisors at the college. We were told that it was an ed loan just consolidated incase one of us died. We were never told that it would not qualify for PSLF. I have 14 years working for the USDA and my wife has years in early childhood education. After years of IBR, we were denied for forgiveness. No one would tell us why. When XXXX made FFEL part of forgiveness, we applied again. After multiple calls we were informed that we would never get it because of the spousal consolidation. We called AES and they told us they wouldnt work with us and there was nothing we could do.
Company Response:
State: MT
Zip: 59404
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2022-06-23
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted Fedloan Servicing after unsuccessfully trying to use their website to access my account to check on the status of my PSLF request. Employee with ID number XXXX took my call and reported that ( XXXX ) I did not yet have an account and ( 2 ) she could see the PSLF form I had mailed in but the form was incomplete. I pulled up a copy of the form I mailed and went over it with the agent and she said boxes were unchecked that I could see were checked. After unsuccessfully trying to work with the employee to get clarification on how to proceed, I asked to speak with a specialist. The employee claimed she would transfer me but, instead, she hung up on me. I called back and was connected with an employee with ID XXXX. This agent asked if I was calling about PSLF and when I said " yes '' the agent immediately said she was connecting me with a specialist. I waited over XXXX XXXX and no specialist ever came on the line. Apparently, this employee noted something on my account because I have had trouble getting anyone on the line to help me since. When I select " request a callback '' I eventually get called back by an automated system that simply tells me I need to call Fedloan Servicing again, and that starts the entire process of being placed on hold and asking if I want to reserve my place in line and get a call back all over again. I've successfully reached an agent only one other time, on XX/XX/XXXX. I spoke with an employee whose ID is XXXX and they indicated that neither my social security number nor account number could be found in their system at all. They said they would transfer me to a specialist and I explained that I've waited on hold before for a specialist and no one ever answers. This agent transferred me anyways and said they'd cross their fingers that I'll get connected this time around. They also gave me a number that's supposedly the specialist 's number. They also told me not to choose " request a call back '' because other people have indicated that option doesn't work. I know the first employee I spoke with ( ID XXXX ) could see my account because they read to me portions of what my employer had written on my PSLF form. As such, it seems obvious that someone at Fedloan Servicing deleted my form and my account. I am attaching to this request the letter I got from Fedloan Servicing that shows my account number. I am also attaching the original and complete PSLF form I mailed, and a copy I faxed in that has all markings even more pronounced than the original mailed form had. It is impossible to get my PSLF matter resolved without Fedloan Servicing being willing to interact with me and accept my completed form. I believe the rights granted to me by the Federal Government to have my eligible loan forgiveness request processed are being violated by Fedloan Servicing. I work for the University XXXX XXXX and so my form was processed by XXXXXXXX XXXX and sent to me electronically so there is plenty of proof that they fully completed the form and sent the fully completed form to me electronically. I simply printed and mailed in the completed form and Fedloan Servicing should be obligated to process it.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92596
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2022-06-23
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A