Date Received: 2023-11-11
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX this year I noticed that for one of my federal direct loans, the principal balance Mohela is basing the minimum payment off of is the balance that loan had in XX/XX/XXXX. That balance was {$19000.00}. I've made several payments on that loan since XX/XX/XXXX, so I asked Mohela why the minimum payment was being calculated on an old & inaccurate principal balance. The rep I spoke with on XX/XX/XXXX said they had no idea. I decided to give it a couple weeks to see if things might update. When it didn't, I sent a message on Mohela 's website on XX/XX/XXXX asking the same question. I received an automated response XX/XX/XXXX saying they were delayed in correspondence response. Today, XX/XX/XXXX, I got a message saying my question is too complicated to answer via messages and that I'd need to call and talk with a rep. I did. The rep told me they have no idea how to answer my question or why the principal balance used for calculating minimum payments is not updating, 11 months later. Because of this issue, I cancelled my auto debit setup, because Mohela would have been pulling the wrong amount. This means I can not benefit from the .25 % interest rate reduction offered by Mohela if you participate in auto-debit. Mohela 's staff needs to be trained to understand their system and answer questions such as this. It's egregious to have a loan servicer not be able to provide information about something that is directly impacting borrowers ' required payments. Secondly : I applied for the SAVE plan and it's been several weeks with no update on processing that request.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CO
Zip: 80301
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I paid my monthly due throughout the Pandemic pause even after the following timeline began... XX/XX/XXXX I was notified that my servicer Mohela would process my loan forgiveness XX/XX/XXXX Received an email from Mohela that my student loans were forgiven XX/XX/XXXX US Dep of Education emailed notification that the payment pause was ending and that I should check with Mohela because my account was awaiting discharge On or about XX/XX/XXXX I called Mohela customer service and was told that my file was processed on XX/XX/XXXX and the refund would be redeposited in the manner paid within 60 days after the call, I checked the app, the app showed a {$0.00} loan balance but a credit balance of {$15000.00} ( I took a screenshot ). XX/XX/XXXX I called 3 times, the first time the wait was XXXX minutes but the call was answered at XXXX minutes. When I finally spoke to a rep she said there was no file -- I explained that it had been forgiven and gave the old account number. I was on hold for XXXX minutes so she could talk to her supervisor, and she came back again and said she would transfer me to her supervisor, I held for XXXX minutes and the call disconnected. I called back but the call center message said I needed to call during hours of operation. XX/XX/XXXX I called again and waited for XXXX mins. This representative saw that there was previously a credit but indicated refunds would take 90 days. I just want a solid answer on when I should see this refund.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: VA
Zip: 22556
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I applied for the PSLF waiver before the deadline in XXXX. I then sent in all of my PSLF documentation. This was eventually processed and my payment counter was updated to well over XXXX eligible payments on my existing consolidation loan, most of which are also qualifying, so I am very close to 10 years of completed payments. Please note that they had a different qualifying payment count on the two parts of my sub/unsub consolidation loan which was incorrect because a sub/unsub consolidation is one loan and the count should have been aligned on both parts. They also had missed a couple of months that should have been added to the count. Neither of those two issues matter as much now because I had one loan that had been left out of the consolidation that did not get the full payment count. Therefore, I worked with MOHELA to determine if the same payment counts would apply if I reconsolidated to add the missed loan ( because I had applied for the waiver by the deadline ). I was reassured by multiple people at MOHELA that it would. I also found documentation online that it would. My consolidation was finished in early XX/XX/XXXX. My account now reflects just 5 eligible payments. I have called and messaged MOHELA repeatedly for the past 5+ months only to be ignored or told a different story every time I call. I was told that this fall they would update the counter. Then via messaging they said my issue was resolved ( it is not ). The waiver was already approved and processed previously, so all they have to do is update my payment counter to match what I had before and add the months since consolidation. I have attached the documentation MOHELA previously posted online that indicated if consolidating by the end of XXXX, I would still get the payment count benefit ( 4th bullet point ). I have attached the message from MOHELA just after my consolidation reassuring me that I would get the payment counter update to match what I had before. And I have attached a screen print of what my qualifying payment counter looked like just before that consolidation happened.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MO
Zip: 633XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: My account was placed under administrative forbearance on XX/XX/2023, i called on XX/XX/2023 to request information about what why this occurred, I was on hold for XXXX hours. I was told that if I made the scheduled payment that it would not effect my PSLF progress. I also asked to speak to an account manager. They told me that the forbearance was a mistake on the account and would be removed after several days. It has not yet been removed. I made the payment on the originally scheduled due date for the originally billed amount. The payment has gone through, but not the month of XXXX is being flagged as ineligible for PSLF because the account was in forbearance. To summarize. 1 ) i requested forbearance to be removed, it has not and the account is still in forbearance 2 ) i made the scheduled month payment on time as was calculated under the SAVE program 3 ) I was told that this would count towards PSLF, but my account shows that the payment is being marked as ineligible.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: 108XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: MOHELA put my account on some administrative forbearance without my authorization, consent or request. They did this on their own. I just checked studentaid.gov, and it says that this forbearance is delaying my PSLF progress. I have tried calling MOHELA numerous times, but they are not open when I am home. When I try calling during the work day, I am put on an hour hold. There is no viable option to contact anyone at MOHELA to correct their error. I would like my monthly progress towards PSLF restored, and my payment count updated immediately. Thank you.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: 14051
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: 1. MOHELAXXXX did not count my temporary waiver application by saying I was not full time and another time saying I was in forbearance which my lender in XXXX told me to take instead of XXXX which would have counted my low payments since I made 60-65 % of a salary as a resident. The dates I applied were XX/XX/XXXX. That should have given me 12 more payments since graduating PT school I would have started right away knowing the benefit. 2. MOHELA did not save the update I put in for my payments for auto debit and I had to do manual 5 days late realizing their error and tried to update but said it would take 10 days to update direct withdrawal. Odd since all my banks can process new accounts1-5 business days. 3. MOHELA changed my payments multiple times which made no sense and no info on how my loans for undergrad and grad would be calculated to adjust for the SAVE program. I have called multiple times, but as a PT in a nonprofit I can not wait more than 45 minutes on hold, even though once I did for 1.25 minutes on hold.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: VA
Zip: 22314
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: Student loan repayments started back up. I signed in with MOHELA, my current servicer, and saw that I had made the requisite number of payments to fulfill my public service loan forgiveness. They continued to send me letters about repayment. I called customer service and then was put on hold for over an hour before finally giving up. I emailed them on multiple occasions but did not receive any confirmation that they were working on the issue. Last month, I signed in and saw that I no longer had a payment due. I assumed this meant, they had sorted out the problem. Today I received a letter that they would be auto-debiting {$400.00} from my bank account in XXXX. So, I emailed them again and pointed out that I had reached the requisite number of payments for forgiveness. As before, I have received no notification that they got my email or that they will get back to me. I do not expect that they will ever get back to me. I'm sure you can understand how frustrating and stressful it is to worry that they will be taking money from my bank account that they should not be taking and have no control over the situation and no way to get through to talk to a customer service representative.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I applied for the income-driven repayment SAVE repayment plan through the studentaid.gov website on XX/XX/XXXX, the same day I applied for PSLF with my employer information. When I applied, it was estimated I would owe XXXX XXXXXXXX on the SAVE plan due to my previous tax information. At the time, my loan servicer was XXXX, who I have never had issues with. I then received notification my loans were being transferred to MOHELA. I began receiving different billing statements from MOHELA, one stating I owed {$350.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, and another stating I owed upwards of {$850.00} in XXXX of XXXX. I reapplied for SAVE on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX after contacting studentaid.gov and being told they did not have any information and I would need to reach out to MOHELA. I was unable to contact MOHELA. I waited on hold for hours before having to hang up due to working. I sent an email and received notification back that I would hear back in two business days, but weeks later I still have not received a response. Finally, I called and waited on hold for upwards of two hours on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to a MOHELA rep who told me my initial SAVE application from XXXX was probably " lost in the transfer '' and that it was good I resubmitted a SAVE application on XX/XX/XXXX. This rep told me it would only take 5-7 business days to process my SAVE application and I would not have to pay any of the payments I was billed for in XXXX. After XXXX business days went by with no notifications, I called and sat on hold with MOHELA for three hours to be told that it would actually take 90 days to process my SAVE application and I was already being auto-debited in the mean time for the {$350.00} bill. I asked if there was any way this could be cancelled due to this being an error on the part of MOHELA, and I was told that they didn't know. As a XXXX XXXX new out of XXXX school, this payment is not realistic for me. I feel as though MOHELA can not give me clear answers as to what happened to my original SAVE application and I am told conflicting information each time I call. Their mistakes are costing me money I do not have and I need clarification on where my loans are at.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MO
Zip: 64030
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: piggybacking of my last complaint where they still won't put me on standard repayment plan I've been approved for months ago, the auto debit is still pulling the graduated payment amount when it actually is pulled ( i can't add to this because it will just pay me ahead instead of pay down the principal - I'm paid ahead until XX/XX/2024 - why? i asked them in writing to distribute extra money given to highest interest, etc. [ using cfbp template and it's still not happening ] ) anyway now they told me they'd fix it, I'll pay the standard amount ( still not true ), then they applied me to an IDR plan ( that I didn't ask for ) and put me in admin forbearance ( that i also did not ask for. I am NOT having trouble paying... i can NOT do PSLF, there's no reason to be on IDR I want to pay more. ) that was background : today i go in to pay off a specific loan, since they can't seem to distribute my payments so I'll pay off the whole loan with the lowest balance. well, that loan is technically on forbearance -but tell me why it's been gaining interest this whole time? and how when I had to do the payoff amount it included TODAY 'S interest. HOW? " they aren't accruing interest '' according to mohela or dept of ed. XXXX please never pay these people ever again
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: PA
Zip: 186XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-09
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: MOHELA assumed control of the student loans. In XXXX when re-payment was set to resume, I received a letter indicating that unbeknownst to me, Mohela had unilaterally decided to place my account in administrative forbearance. I called it took hours to speak to an actual person, and they could not tell me WHY it was placed in forbearance. I asked that it be removed and they complied saying to would be effective within XXXX business days. It was not I called again, representing HOURS of waiting to speak to someone, I was told it had not processed, still given NO insight into why Mohela decided to take it upon themselves to mess up MY account and then take ages to correct the mistake. I made a payment manually to cover the month of XXXX so that i was not HARMED by the interest that would STILL Acrue due to Mohela 's reckless decisions that had NOT been informed by the borrower. Cut to XXXX I received ANOTHER letter about continuing administrative forbearance, I called AGAIN representing more HOURS of time and burden and I was told ( 1 ) it was still not processed when I requested it over a month ago ( 2 ) There was nothing I could do to fix it, so their XXXX up is now MY problem AND IT COSTS ME ADDITIONAL MONEY, ( 3 ) my work to set up auto-debit, and plan to resume payments was for nothing because of THEIR DECISION WITHOUT MY INPUT to put me into forbearance is now requiring HOURS of my time, and runs the risk of costing me money AND delaying my ability to meet the requirements under the XXXX program. This is worse than what the situation it was before, and is actively harming borrowers who are following all of the rules and trying to pay off loans in good faith. This company has recklessly made decisions that were not agreed to by the borrower that effectively CHARGES them more money. I don't know about others but this seems pretty predatory at worst, and harmful negligence at best.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MD
Zip: 21075
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-09
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A