Date Received: 2023-10-31
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: Back in XXXX - XXXX XXXX would receive over payments or extra payments from me. They would only apply to interest going forward not to principal as required for simple interest loans. I refinanced my loan with XXXX and I thought they would solve this issue but my loan is still with XXXX. I still have never received credit from past interest charges. If these payments would of been correctly credited to principal as required my load XXXX be already paid off, as I have been paying on this loan for more than 20 years!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: ID
Zip: 83646
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-06
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-01
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Consumer Complaint: From XXXX, XXXX, I was only enrolling in two to one hour per semester at XXXX XXXX Therefore, I was attending less than half time, so I would not have been eligible for an in-school deferment. I also did not request an in-school deferment during this timeframe. Since I did not request an in-school deferment, I was under the assumption that my student loan payments were paused due to the COVID-19 payment pause. I graduated from XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX, and the months after graduation were also not counted. I was also penalized for the six months after graduation. However, when I applied for the Limited PSLF waiver, I was told by Mohela that three of my loans would not be eligible for forgiveness due to an in-school deferment that I did not apply or qualify for. As a result of this, I have hanging loans or three loans that were not forgiven during the Limited PSLF Waiver. This is my twenty second year in education, and I have a qualifying employer, The Limited PSLF Waiver for was submitted prior to the deadline in XX/XX/XXXX. Your support with this would be greatly appreciated.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: TN
Zip: 371XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I tried to no avail to reach Mohela by phone several times. I've written them multiple times. I asked that my payment be applied to the unsubsidized portion of my student loan. I also indicated this instruction by writing it on the check they cashed. Mohela ignored me.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: WY
Zip: 82801
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-01
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: My student loan balance is has been {$0.00} since XXXX and its still reporting the full amount.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: GA
Zip: 31602
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: I submitted an application for XXXX and was estimated on the application to be paying {$460.00}, which was my payment amount previously but my loans were removed from that and switched to XXXX according to MOHELA 's website. based on mine and my husband 's Adjusted Gross Income of $ XXXX is accurate. On XX/XX/XXXX I got a notice from MOHELA stating I was approved for XXXX in the amount of {$1100.00}. This amount is nowhere near the estimate and is not accurate based on my income. I was also laid off at the end of XX/XX/2023 and without a job until XX/XX/2023. I also had to take a $ XXXX pay-cut. My payment should be 10 % of my discretionary income. I called MOHELA and spent two hours on hold just to be told they needed to transfer me. After another 45 minutes where the representative didn't even check back with me once, I ended the call with no resolution.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: DE
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with your payment plan
Consumer Complaint: I have applied for the SAVE plan so that I can make payments that count through PSLF as I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX They said that my documents were denied. They asked for my tax documents from the prior year, which isn't when I started teaching. I can't upload a tax document for 2023 because it isn't out yet. I can not get in touch with anyone, especially during working hours.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: FL
Zip: 331XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: XXXX XXXX transfer of accounts to XXXX and then MOHELA has been, in short, a travesty. I started working in a PSLF-eligible job AFTER XX/XX/XXXX ( prior to that I was with a private employer from mid XXXXXXXX ). I kept paying all through the pandemic on my XXXX XXXX account even though it was in forbearance. Mohela says even though I had FOUR YEARS of prior public service from XXXX, only nine payments are credited which is not accurate as I had certification submitted by my prior employers. Now I'm stuck in forbearance XXXX again even though I timely re-certified for IDR. So, once again, even though I've now been working ( and paying ) for almost a year under another public service job, I'm getting XXXX because they are not counting my payments as PSLF - they are just extending out my due dates and ASSESSING THE WRONG INTEREST RATES. Only three of my loans are at XXXX percent. The rest are XXXX and should be XXXX, but they've got them as XXXX too. No one will call me or message me or email me despite me trying constantly since XXXX and the last time I was on hold on the phone was three hours before I hung up.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: OH
Zip: 43078
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: MOHELA received my outstanding loans from XXXX as I have submitted qualifying payments for XXXX XXXX student loan forgiveness. To date, I have not received any billing statement from MOHELA for payments due in XX/XX/2023. It does appear that MOHELA is processing my payment for this month, but it is doing so without having providing me with any bill. MOHELA is required to provide a bill, and to provide that bill in advance of payment. I am concerned this will cause problems in the future for accounting for qualifying payments under XXXX XXXX student loan forgiveness. Ive attached a screen capture of my MOHELA accounts My Messages screen, which shows all correspondence for the last 12 months. The only document shown is an acknowledgment that my XX/XX/2023 payment is set for auto debit.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: 10022
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I called in to Mohela around XX/XX/XXXX because my loans were put into deferred status without my consent. After two hours I was able to speak to someone. The first time I called in, I waited two hours only to be hung up on. I am on the Save plan and I want to begin paying so that the accrued interest will be forgiven each month rather than piling on while deferred. They said they would submit a paper to complete my request. I just got a notification on XX/XX/XXXX saying this request has been delayed and would take up to 90 business days. I will be accruing thousands of dollars of interest during this time due to my loans be placed in a deferred status I never wanted in the first place. I want to pay my loans!
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CO
Zip: 80015
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-10-30
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: To Whom It May Concern : I am formally filing a complaint against MOHELA, my current student loan service provider. I have been participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) since XXXX and have been diligent in recording and reporting my public service employment. In XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed a change in the number of Qualifying Payments ( QPs ) for which I was receiving credit. When I reviewed my QPs more closely, I saw that the Special Waiver had been applied to my account and I had received credit for several prior forbearances. However, I also noticed that there was a three-month discrepancy between Loan Sequences 1, 4, and 7 and Loan Sequences 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8. Upon deeper review, I discovered that the difference was attributable to the months of XXXX, XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX for Loan Sequences 1, 4, and 7. Assuming there may have just been an error, I submitted a new PSLF form on XX/XX/XXXX, verifying my public service employment. Three weeks later, my account was updated for my newly-reported employment verification, yet the 3-month discrepancy remained. My updated QPs were XXXX payments on Loan Sequences XXXX, and XXXX and XXXX QPs on Loan Sequences XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. At this point I began calling MOHELA because I did not understand why there was a three-month discrepancy in XXXX. Indeed, there shouldnt be a difference : ( 1 ) I have always treated my loans as one unit, ( 2 ) I have never made extra payments on some loan sequences but not others, and ( 3 ) I have never requested a change in status on some loan sequences but not others. MOHELA has been less than forthcoming with information. I have requested MOHELA provide me with proof, explanation, or a full record of documentation related to my loans and none has been provided to me. When I first called MOHELA about this discrepancy, I was told that Loan Sequences 1, 4, and 7 were in a part-time student deferment from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. I explained that was not possible because I graduated in XX/XX/XXXX and have not gone back to school since. As background, I first applied for an income-based repayment option in XX/XX/XXXX and made my first payment in XX/XX/XXXX. Separately, on this call, MOHELA also told me that I instead needed to call the Department of Education because they were responsible for my PSLF counts. I called the Department of Education, and was quickly told the oppositethat my student loan servicer was responsible, and I was directed to the Federal Student Aid website with that information. I called MOHELA again on XX/XX/XXXX. I finally was able to speak with a supervisor, XXXX. She clarified that in fact Loan Sequences XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX were placed in a post-enrollment deferment. I explained that I never asked for that. I explained that I would never have asked for only some of my loans to be in that status. The call ended because it was almost XXXX XXXX XXXX and I had been on the phone ( either on hold or with a representative ) with MOHELA since before noon. She encouraged me to look through my documents and emails to see if I could find anything and she assured me that someone would call me back. I did not receive a call back and so I filed written complaints through MOHELAs website on XX/XX/XXXX and sent a follow up on XX/XX/XXXX. Over a month has passed and I have never received a response. I went through my documents and found the documents that I have attached. These documents show that XXXX, my first student loan provider, placed me in a grace period upon my graduation. I did not ask for that status, was not presented with other options, and was never given an explanation of why I was placed in a grace period. Additionally, I found a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX, indicating they had made a change to my loan status for loan sequences XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX loans for which there is a discrepancy. I have attached that letter. Again, I did not ask for the change in status ( for context, I had my first child in XXXX XXXX loan status was the last thing on my mind ). Since discovering this document I have called MOHELA three separate times, spent hours on hold and asked that they change the status back to a forbearance like Loan Sequences XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. Each time, I have been told that my issue is being researched and I have been given three different case numbers. I have been told it would take XXXX business days but that time comes and goes and I do not hear from anyone. I have also filed a formal complaint with the Department of Education. I have not heard from MOHELA or the Department of Education about this complaint. MOHELAs promises to research my issue and their claims that I will receive a call back or response ring hollow to the point of deceptiveness. It is unacceptable that one must spend 6+ hours on the phonenearly an entire workdaytrying to speak to someone about a loan issue. I question whether MOHELA purposefully tries to frustrate borrowers with long wait times and non-answers in order to force borrowers to continue making loan payments when their loans should actually already qualify for PSLF. MOHELAs handling of my issue is unfair because I can not consider other career opportunities until I get this issue resolved. Had MOHELA been able to address my issue in a timely manner, I would be able to move forward with a potential new job opportunity.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: VA
Zip: 23223
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-10-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A