Date Received: 2024-01-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: TO : Consumer Financial Protection Bureau : The following information was submitted to the United States Department of Education and MOHELA on XX/XX/XXXX. This is one of a series of communications submitted to these agencies since XX/XX/XXXX in an effort to gain relief from this longstanding dilemma, a situation that has resulted in extreme financial and emotional difficulty for me and my family for more than 30 years. Anything you can do to help bring this matter to an end would be greatly appreciated. ____________________________________________________________________ TO : United States Department of Education - Office of Loan Forgiveness & MOHELA ____________________________________________________________________ LOAN FORGIVENESS REQUEST - UPDATES XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I submitted an application for an IDR consolidation for the SAVE Program, because of information I received stating that I would have to apply for the SAVE Program in order to be considered for LOAN FORGIVENESS in XXXX. I qualify for full loan forgiveness for the following mandatory reasons plus other related reasons as outlined below : Standard Qualifications for Loan Forgiveness : I have applied for the SAVE Program via an IDR Consolidation application. My original loan was less than {$12000.00} ( {$9400.00} ), which originated in XXXX while in XXXX school. I have made more than 20 years of payments. Other Justifications for Loan Forgiveness : As previously noted, I first received student loans while in XXXX school totaling {$1700.00} from XXXX to XXXX. These loans were paid in full on XX/XX/XXXX. In XXXX and XXXX while in XXXX school I received loans totaling {$9400.00}. I paid on these loans over the next twelve years. In XXXX the payoff was around {$9000.00} but I was having difficulty making the payments and became delinquent. The account had been referred to a collector in California ( XXXX XXXX ). They were calling me at home and at work non-stop. Then in XX/XX/XXXX the collector recommended that I apply for a consolidation loan through XXXX in order to bring the balance current and stop the collection calls. I did so effective XX/XX/XXXX. Keep in mind that the only loans I had were the XXXX loans totaling {$9400.00} with a payoff of around {$9000.00} - after 12 years of payments. After this consolidation loan was executed, I received notice that my total balance had shot up to well over {$30000.00} overnight, even though I had no other loans and had never returned to school after XXXX. I questioned this development through XXXX over and over again but never received an explanation except that I had allegedly received additional loans, resulting in the quadrupling of my payoff. Finally, in XXXX XXXX agreed to refer my case to the U.S. Department of Education for review. I was then contacted by XXXX XXXX of the USDOE who spent several weeks conducting an exhaustive investigation of my loan and payment history. I was interviewed extensively during this process. At the conclusion of her investigation, she reported to DIRECT that there had been extensive duplication of charges in my case, something I already knew. But I had been unsuccessful at advocating on my own behalf. I was extremely thankful and appreciative to the U.S Department of Education and certain that this matter would finally come to a close. To my shock, however, XXXX refused to accept the findings of the U.S. Department of Education and continued to demand payment. As a result, I continued to make payments until the pandemic pause in XXXX - or another 17 years - a total of 29 years since the loans originated. It has now been 34 years since these loans originated and the payoff is currently reported by MOHELA as {$24000.00}, again after 34 years and payments of more than XXXX Therefore, I am asking that this balance of {$24000.00} be forgiven immediately, especially since these loans have already been paid. This, actually, would be a correction rather than a forgiveness. Per MOHELA, I am also being charged for two loans taken out by my adult daughter in XXXX and XXXX with a current total balance due of {$14000.00}. MOHELA and a past servicer alledge that I co-signed for these loans, though I did not. A number of years ago the servicer sent me a copy of a co-signer signature sheet with my name on it, but it was not my signature. Again, I never co-signed for these loans. I have tried to pay on these loans because my daughter was unable to make payments and because she suffers from XXXX XXXX, preventing her from driving and limiting her ability to earn a regular income. Now that I am retired, I am no longer able to pay on these loans. Also, I have no legal responsibility to pay on these loans. Therefore, I am asking that these loans be forgiven immediately. MOHELA has also notified me that a loan with a current payoff of {$6300.00} taken out on XX/XX/XXXX was for my son while he attended XXXX XXXX. However, my son was XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX and did not enroll at XXXX XXXX until XXXX. This is clearly an error on the part of MOHELA and further underscores a longstanding issue with my student loan history. One loan to XXXX XXXX was paid off in XXXX. Another loan to XXXX XXXX is currently being paid at {$250.00} per month and is current. These payments continued to be made monthly throughout the pandemic pause. There are two parent loans taken out for my son in XXXX and XXXX while he was a student at XXXX XXXX where he graduated in XXXX. Payments on these loans were set to begin in XX/XX/XXXX after the pandemic pause. I was a XXXX XXXX employee from XXXX to XXXX ( when I worked for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX )- for 14 years. Now that I am retired, I have also XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX The urgency of my request to have loans forgiven/ corrected is underscored by my age and health condition, severely limiting my ability to earn additional income. I am XXXX years of age and have several serious health concerns. I have taken all steps to qualify for loan forgiveness under current federal USDOE loan forgiveness programs and to demonstrate my eligibility. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: TN
Zip: 37122
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/23 I completed an application on the Federal Student Aid website to change to the SAVE plan. I was told my monthly would be {$800.00}. The application was transmitted to MOHELA, and they confirmed receipt XX/XX/23. I never received a correspondence about the status or processing of my SAVE application. I called twice as the repayment restart was approaching, the first in early XXXX, and, I believe, the second in either late XXXX or early XXXX. I don't know the exact dates of those calls, but it was in that range. In the first call, the MOHELA representative told me that the application was erroneously marked as a duplicate and not processed. She marked it for reprocessing at that time and said I would receive a correspondence within a couple of weeks. I asked if forbearance would count towards PSLF and she said a very clear NO ( we later, obviously, learned that the admin forbearance was supposed to count towards PSLF ). In the second call, I asked again about the status of my SAVE application. The representative said that it was still in progress. She also confirmed that admin forbearance would NOT count towards my desperately needed PSLF. We discussed how to manually enter my payments and she processed the request to remove me from forbearance. The representative instructed that payments made while the request to return to payments was processing would be backdated and thus count towards PSLF. I made payments of nearly {$1000.00} each in XXXX and XXXX. In XXXX, my account reflected no payments due and that the month would count towards PSLF. In XXXX, I received two correspondences from MOHELA dated in XXXX about the admin forbearance. Later this month, I received a notification that my IBR request had been processed and my payments would be {$990.00} per month. This is not at all what my XXXXAVE application from FSA said, and I still haven't heard any specific updates about my SAVE application despite repeated requests, both in phone calls and messages through their system. Not only have they lied, but they are refusing to honor the lower SAVE monthly payment approved through FSA.They 've ignored repeated requests for updates, and lied about the PSLF counts for XXXX and XXXX while in admin forbearance, causing me to lose approximately {$2000.00} I did not have to pay. Now, they're continuing to charge me over {$150.00} more per month than decided by FSA. I'm not clear if they just junked my SAVE application and put me in the regular IBR, or if they decided that their own calculations were better than the ones used by FSA. All of this is on top of countless other issues with MOHELA, from their complete ineptitude at assuming control of all of these federal student loans from other processors, to properly counting PSLF totals and granting forgiveness, to completely bungling to the restart of repayments and the SAVE program. The number of problems with this company far surpasses the standard for negligence, and they should be held to account by the government. How much are we paying this company for their understaffed, ill-trained, and flagrantly incompetent loan servicing? Why on earth should they receive another cent from loan borrowers or on the federal contract when their behavior is this egregious? I qualified for $ XXXX on the SAVE plan on XX/XX/23. I demand that MOHELA honor this, refund the nearly {$2000.00} XXXX spent because they lied and tricked us into making unnecessary payments, refund an additional {$180.00} for the XXXX payment that they charged under the wrong plan, and immediately set my repayments to {$800.00} for XXXX and on. I also don't want to see any nonsense about recertification for the next year as they have absolutely screwed me at every turn on this, and I will not have them demanding recertification early to try to make up any of the money they should lose on this.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: VA
Zip: 22401
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: All of my federal student loans are serviced by MOHELA. They were all put on the REPAYE IDR plan back in XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from MOHELA stating, " Your eligible loans have been placed on the Saving on a Valuable Education ( SAVE ) IDR Repayment Plan. If you were previously on the Revised Pay As You Earn ( REPAYE ) Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) Plan, it has been replaced by the SAVE Plan. '' The letter listed my new monthly payment amount as {$350.00}, and it said the scheduled begin date for XX/XX/XXXX. Given that all of my loans had been on the REPAYE IDR plan, I understood this to mean that all of my loans had been transferred to SAVE. However, I did not have a XXXX payment, as my account was placed in an administrative forbearance by MOHELA per federal instruction because they hadn't properly billed me for my earlier XXXX payment. At the end of XXXX, before my upcoming auto-payment, I checked the MOHELA website to make sure everything was set for my payment, and I noticed it said that my payment amount was {$1100.00}. I immediately called MOHELA to find out what had happened. Apparently, not all of the loans had properly been transitioned from REPAYE to SAVE, and the loans that hadn't been transitioned and dropped off an IDR plan altogether. I requested MOHELA to immediately fix this and put any loans not on SAVE on SAVE. I also requested an administrative forbearance since this wouldn't be fixed before my upcoming payment due date. The agent said she submitted for this to be done and she also requested the forbearance. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from MOHELA stating that they were " unable to grant your request '' for an IDR repayment plan because my " request was incomplete '' and I hadn't submitted the IDR Request Form ( multiple page form ). When I had talked to the agent, she had said this form wasn't necessary because the transition should have been automatic from REPAYE to SAVE and no forms had been needed when MOHELA made that transition. I again had to call MOHELA and I explained the situation. The agent said she didn't see why I would have to submit an IDR application as the loans were originally IDR approved and had been dropped off by MOHELA on accident. However, upon talked to her supervisor, I ended up having to work over the phone with her to submit a new IDR request for those loans - despite the fact that this wasn't my fault and should have done automatically by MOHELA in the first place. I am still waiting on that IDR to hopefully go through. In addition to the issues with the REPAYE/SAVE transition, I was also improperly billed in advance of my XXXX XXXX payment. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from MOHELA advising that my account was placed into an administrative forbearance through XXXX XXXX ( a little late maybe seeing as it was now XXXX ). The email letter stated that " the months of XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX will count toward IDR forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. '' Yet when I went and checked my PSLF tracker today in MOHELA, the XXXX XXXX loans are all listed as ineligible. MOHELA has no business managing anybody 's money let alone student loans for millions. They're completely incompetent and in no other business field would this level of poor service stand. They should be seriously fined and punished by the government for their irresponsibility and mismanagement.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MN
Zip: 55418
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-27
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with your payment plan
Consumer Complaint: MOHELA continues to incorrectly recalculate my SAVE payment. I am the primary income earner in my household and have XXXX children in college who are my dependents, and while MOHELA 's own calculator shows my estimated monthly payment at {$250.00} a month, yet my monthly payments are {$540.00}, more than double the estimated amount. This payment amount is much higher than I can afford. When I have called MOHELA, I was told by a representative that I should " move to another state that's less expensive. '' This is not appropriate or helpful. I have seen where MOHELA has also miscalculated other borrowers ' SAVE payment amounts, more than doubling their payment when they incorrectly take into account the borrower 's spouse 's income and loans due. I would just like for my payments to match what their own calculator states or close to it, not more than double, which I can not afford. It makes no sense for their calculator to be this far off.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 91730
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: For account XXXX Mohela I submitted forms to show the progression of the loan repayment for the public loan forgiveness. I have document to show that the progression isn't reflecting the documents I've submitted.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MD
Zip: 21804
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I keep getting emails and letters by MOHELA stating that my IDR renewal date is approaching. My IDR renewal date is supposed to be on XX/XX/XXXX on the MOHELA website. However, according to studnentaid.gov, under covid -19 announcement, if my recertification date falls between now and XX/XX/XXXX, it will be pushed out by one year. Therefore, it should be pushed out to XX/XX/XXXX. Per Mohela website, it states that " If we do not receive your renewal in time, your payment may change and unpaid interest may capitalize. '' I have called many times and sent emails requesting my renewal date to be pushed back a year. There is no way of getting hold of representatives. I got put on hold over the phone for hours and hours. Mohela even got rid of phone option to speak to a live person. At the end, MOHELA simply does not reply back to the emails/calls. My IDR renewal date should be pushed to XX/XX/XXXX as stated on studentaid.gov, and it should be reflected as XX/XX/XXXX on MOHELA. The wrong renewal date of XX/XX/XXXX is approaching but Mohela has not made any corrections. I am afraid that my loan payment will wrongfully increased and i will be stuck with a large Lum sum of payments.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 90274
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I graduated medical school in the summer of XXXX and my federal loans were initially serviced with XXXX XXXX. As PSLF was anticipated to be revamped in the summer of XXXX, I applied for PSLF and requested to be placed on an income driven repayment plan. This was approved by great lakes with all loans listed as eligible and a monthly repayment amount of {$1900.00} due to start in XX/XX/XXXX ( this was later extended when the XXXX payment pause was prolonged ). When my PSLF application was processed, my loans were transferred to Mohela in XXXX of XXXX, but for some reason my IDR plan was not transferred and I was initially listed as being in standard repayment. I called Mohela and they said they would refile the IDR ( unfortunately they also recertified my income without my consent and my payment amounts rose by XXXX dollars ). I received notice from Mohela XX/XX/XXXX that all my loans were eligible for IDR and my new payment amount would be {$2000.00} per month. On XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX, Mohela placed my account on an administrative forebearance, presumably to switch from REPAYE to the SAVE plan ( though this was never discussed with me ). On completion of the forbearance, only XXXX of my student loan disbursements were listed on the SAVE plan with the remaining 5 loans listed as on level repayment and my repayments went up to XXXX. I also received notice that my income needed to be recertified on XX/XX/XXXX I called them about this in XXXX of XXXX when I realized the error and was told it would be corrected, but the application to correct the error was cancelled without notice in XX/XX/XXXX. I called Mohela again today XX/XX/XXXX to fix both issues ( my loans not all being listed in SAVE and thus not all being eligible for PSLF ) as well as my income driven repayment income certification being incorrect ( based on my initial IDR certification it should have been due for renewal in XXXX of XXXX and thus extended to XXXX of XXXX, and based on the deadline Mohela gave me of XX/XX/XXXX it should have also been extended by one year to XX/XX/XXXX as the deadline was before XX/XX/XXXX.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 93720
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I contacted MOHELA multiple times about this issue and tried calling to resolve it today. However, they've removed the option to speak with a representative from their phone tree, so I have no idea how to contact them. During the forbearance between XXXX, which MOHELA initiated due to their own incompetency with the repayment process, I made two payments. I wanted these payments to be applied to my XXXX and XXXX payments instead. Their original email stated this would happen automatically, but I did not see it reflected on my account, so I called to move these payments. On XX/XX/XXXX, I talked to a representative who said they could do this. However, as my due date approached, I never saw the amount reflected on my account. I talked to another representative on XX/XX/XXXX, who informed me that the previous rep had not completed the paperwork correctly, so it never went through. I asked if it was worth sending the paperwork through since my loan was about to be due on the XXXX, but she said they'd see it in time to apply the payments. She proceeded to help re-submit the paperwork over the next hour. It is now XX/XX/XXXX, about a week past my due date, and there are still no payments reflected on my account.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CO
Zip: 80219
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with your payment plan
Consumer Complaint: I was transitioned to MOHELA and I participate in the PSFL program. I am currently an emergency medicine resident and have been participating in the PSLF program for the previous 2 years. My payment was {$0.00} and my IDR recertification date has been moved to XX/XX/year> and therefore my monthly payment should be {$0.00}. On the MOHELA website they have failed to recognize this and I have a month payment of nearly {$3000.00}, which is incorrect. Ive called MOHELA numerous times and I have a confirmation number, but MOHELA refuses recognize the problem and they are being unhelpful.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MS
Zip: 386XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-01-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: 1. ) When I tried to recertify my IDR while unemployed last year, they canceled my application and lowered my payment to {$2.00} instead of the {$0.00} I paid in previous periods of unemployment. Later when I called, I found out they had canceled my IDR certification claiming it was a duplicate and that's why I owed {$2.00}. 2. ) I was in school at college from XX/XX/XXXX to present. At first my loans were on in school deferment, but in XX/XX/XXXX Mohela took them off deferment claiming my school needed to certify half time enrollment. They also showed me as suddenly owing interest on the subsidized loans that had been in deferment, and they sent me a message in their portal saying my in school deferment from the school had been denied. I called and messaged Mohela multiple times since XX/XX/XXXX, and my school submitted the requested form from studentaid.gov. Mohela sent me another message saying my in school deferment had been denied and failed to answer my previous complaint messages asking about this. 3. ) I also had asked them to correct missing payment counts for PSLF on my 2 consolidated loans. That was not done and I have not received a response after multiple messages I sent. 4. ) in XX/XX/XXXX, I paid back the 2 loans disbursed XX/XX/XXXX. Mohela emailed 2 letters that they were paid in full and removed the loans from my account. In XX/XX/XXXX, they put the loans back on my account and added interest to to the unsubsized loan. 5. ) In XX/XX/XXXX, my school disbursed 2 new loans to me to be serviced through mohela. Neither loan is reflected in my account on Mohela, but the 2 previous higher loans that I had already paid in full were added back on Mohela 's site instead.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: GA
Zip: 30135
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A