Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have worked in public service since XXXX but due to the type of loan repayment I was on I was unable to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I had decided to just make larger payments to pay off the loan rather than switch repayment since I would be putting more towards the principal each month. I had been serviced by XXXX XXXX from XXXX to XXXX. I had applied in XXXX to PSLF and was denied due to the repayment schedule. I had done the math and I would end up paying more if I switched due to the payments I had already made and the monthly payment amount. When the covid payment pause went into effect I continued to pay since I could finally make a real dent in the principal since the interest was frozen. I made 28 payments of {XXXX} during this time. In XXXX on XXXX I was finally able to qualify for PSLF thanks to the limited waiver program. At that time my loans were moved to Mohela. I had no way to continue to make payments at that time due to the payment freeze and being a new client without and owed balance. I therefore waited till repayment started before continuing to pay. I had received notification that I had made 113 qualifying payments at the time of my approval into the program in XX/XX/XXXX. I was never notified that the covid pause was counted as payments at any point by XXXX, Federal Student Aid, or Mohela. I have gone back and re-read all of my communications and this was never listed. On XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX was the first reference to these paused payments counting toward the PSLF program in an email about starting repayment. At this time I sent a message on XX/XX/XXXX to Mohela referencing this email and asking if this mea n't I was done paying my loan. I was informed in the auto response they would respond in 15 days. They responded on XXXX XXXX 43 days later, saying that these covid paused payments did count and that I had to recertify to update my qualifying payment count. I immediately rectified and was notified on XX/XX/XXXX that I had 126 qualifying payments, not 113. This was the first time I was made away that these non-paid paused payments counted. At this time I immediately called and requested my full payment history since I knew I had over paid in the XXXX as well as during covid. At no time did they mention not being able to request this as a refund. I immediately requested the 2 payments I had made in XXXX and XXXX of XXXX since they were over the required 120 payments needed for forgiveness. Since my loans had moved from XXXX to Mohela I had no way of seeing my past payment history to know how much I had overpaid throughout the many years. On XX/XX/XXXX I finally received my full payment history in the mail. It was at that time I was able to see that I had overpaid {$6800.00} total, XXXX} of that being paid during the covid pause. At that time I immediately looked up how to request a refund and was only then notified that refunds could no longer be requested after XX/XX/XXXX for payments made during the covid pause. At that time I went and searched every email and conversation with any servicer and not one mentioned a refund, this date, that these months were counted whether and actual payment was made or not, no reference in any communication at any time. The first and only reference was in an email sent after the refund date had passed and it did not directly what was and was not counted or that refunds had been issued or that the refund time ended. I am attaching this email and the other referenced communications. I have spoken to Mohela and informed them of this and they informed me they were aware there was no notification but that they could not process a refund for this {$4900.00} due to the XXXX XXXX XXXX refund deadline passing. My complaint is that whether the refund can be requested or not, I was not notified at any time about any part of these paused payments counting or refunds being requested until after the deadline. This {$4900.00} is there for not a payment made towards my loan but funds being held XXXX and not being applied to any debt. From the time I was able to qualify for the program I stopped payments so these were not payments made in error, these were payments made with the good faith effort to repay a debt I had no reason to believe would ever be forgiven. I believe there for it is illegal for these funds to be held whether the refund time has passed or not given the lack of transparency and the immediate action upon notification on my part. Please advise on how best to proceed with this complaint to resolve this issue for myself and for what is surely millions of others who also attempted to repay this debt. I am simply requesting the {$4900.00} back as it is not being applied towards moneys owed.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: KY
Zip: 417XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: I have called almost weekly since the end of XXXX to figure out when interest accrued and/or paid on my account would be refunded and/or removed from my account due to the 0 % interest rate that was SUPPOSED to be active on my account during this time ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ), but was not. Because of this, I have paid {$400.00} in interest between the months of XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ( when there shouldn't have been ANY interest accrued ) and have accrued an additional {$200.00} ( which again shouldn't have accrued ). MOHELA has stated twice from former complaints that this would be and actually HAD BEEN done. Interest accrued or paid has NOT been removed or refunded and is continuing to capitalize, therefore the company is providing false information. There is also no timeline for when this will be done because representatives are unable to give any answers from conversations held on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: TX
Zip: 77833
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-02
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: In the Fall of XXXX, Federal Student Aid/Department of Education ( FSA ) notified borrowers via message on their website about the timing of income recertification for borrows in income driven repayment plans. This message stated that borrowers would not need to recertify their income until at least 6 months after payments resumed from the Covid student loan payment pause. As such and according to the message from FSA, borrowers with a recertification date listed on the FSA website that was prior to XXXX XXXX XXXX would have their recertification date pushed back by 1 year into XXXX. The date listed for all of my loans on the FSA website is XX/XX/XXXX, and the date listed as my recertification deadline on the MOHELA website is XXXX. Based on this information, my recertification date should be pushed out to XXXX. However, MOHELA is demanding that I recertify now. They claim the XXXX dates are " soft deadlines '' and they are using a " hard deadline '' of XX/XX/XXXX. This " heard deadline '' is not listed anywhere on my account, or has it ever been communicated to me. It also ignores the message from FSA that said the recertification date on the FSA website is the one to be used for this issue. MOHELA can not provide any information as to where the XX/XX/XXXX deadline comes from, or why they are refusing to follow the FSA guidance. Why is this important to my family 's financial situation? As many who are pursuing the PSLF loan forgiveness program and are on income driven repayment plans, I use this information to determine the best tax filing status for me and my family in order to reduce my loan payments. As a resident of a XXXX XXXX that received a special tax filing deadline extension due to natural disasters in XXXX, I wasn't required to file my taxes until after the FSA released the guidance described above. Therefore, I used this information to determine my family 's tax filings status. However, with MOHELA not following the FSA guidance, I will be required to use this tax information to recertify, and my payments will increase by over 1,000 % from $ XXXX to between XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 957XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-02
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I paid off loan # 2 to Mohela XXXX XXXX, 2023 in the amount of {$7000.00}. A payment crossed, so I actually overpaid the loan. I called XXXX to request that the overpayment be applied to loan # XXXX. Loan # XXXX briefly showed as paid off a few days later, but about a week later I noticed that loan # XXXX had a balance again, and loan # XXXX had been reduced by the $ XXXX amount, so I called In. XXXX, explained the situation and was assured it would be handled. By XXXX it still hadnt been paid so I called again, I was on hold for an hour, explained it yet again and all seemed like it would be handled well, but then I got disconnected and wasnt called back despite giving permission. I called again XXXX XXXX and was told it would all be handled by the followingg Wednesday. It wasnt so I called yet again XXXX XXXX and requested to speak with a supervisor since Id heard repeatedly that it would be handled and it wasnt. I had to wait 24 hours to get a call back. I got the call and was disconnected within 10 seconds and got no call back. I called again to speak with a supervisor and had to wait another 24 hours. I was called back on XXXX XXXX, and I went through the whole thing again with the supervisor who assured me that the payment reallocation would be expedited but that it could still take a week due to volume. He said he would call Wednesday XXXX XXXX either way and he didnt not call by EOD . The loan payoff had still not been reallocated to loan # XXXX. I called and requested to speak with a supervisor again and was supposed to recover a call by the end of today, XXXX XXXX. I did not receive a call. Mohela us the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I want my payments processed accurately and promptly. I also want compensation for the hours I have spent on the phone trying to resolve this issue.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: OH
Zip: 43015
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I can not get through to Mohela to get help. I have been left on hold for an hour and then disconnected Mohela put my loan on TEPSLF which is not eligible for PSLF because it is a Parent Plus loans. This is not right. Please know that they are taking advantage of loop holes to make money. They also sent a notice saying they were going to apply a payment to the future due and instead applied the amount to principle with no notice. Had I known that I would have made payments but since no effort was made to inform me I missed out on a chance to make a qualifying payment. Also, they are requesting employment verification for PSLF each month instead of once a year.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: WA
Zip: 98370
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-02
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: Provided documentation from my institution, proving that I was not enrolled in school during the five years that my loans were placed in in school deferment. Mohela reportedly stated that because my loans were obtained prior to enrolling with Mohela that they could not make changes to my loan status. Upon communicating with XXXX, my prior loan servicer, they stated that they no longer have my records and Mohela would be responsible for addressing this issue. I also filed a complaint via studentaid.gov in XX/XX/2023, regarding this issue and have still not received a response.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: PA
Zip: 15217
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: {$160.00} in interest with the payment being {$160.00}
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MI
Zip: 493XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: XX/XX/XXXX Applied for IDR before loans go into repayment. Application appears complete on StudentAid.gov but Mohela says still processing. XX/XX/XXXX called Mohela : and gave up. Not called back XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX called Mohela Spoke to someone XXXX in training. She has no idea what she '' s doing. Puts me on hold over and over. She says it looks like the IDR request from XX/XX/XXXX is in process. System error resolution? Can not answer if the standard payment will count towards pslf or if will get refunded. Recommended to refile IDR request, which I did XX/XX/XXXX. Still processing. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Mohela Spoke to XXXX at XXXX in training.XXXX is very nice. asked if level payments count. XXXX thinks they do but wants to verify. put me on hold to ask their " mentor '' for 15 min. Says yes they count and will continue to count. asked status of IDR requests from XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. States I could stay on the level plan if I want if i '' m comfortable with payment. Transferred to specialist, XXXX. she says that if the IDR plan payments are higher than the level, it will be not be enacted. they will automatically save me money. this call took 1 hour XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Meeting with XXXX XXXX level plan with XXXX until the last 12 months but funding could be gone when it '' XXXX gone. Confirmed that level plan will not cover PSLF if consolidated loansXXXX need to ask for it in writing. need to request to be on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX at Mohela I Asked to be placed on IDR. She can '' t tell if application was denied. Agrees to do the IDR certification over the phone. told it takes 15 days She clarifies that for consolidated loans over XXXX, level plan does not qualify. She reads the rules and acknowledges that I was misinformed last time I called. She takes notes and transfers to advanced representative to confirm that my XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and potentially XX/XX/XXXX payments will count. XXXX XXXX me on hold XXXX XXXX. States that won '' t know if my XXXX payment will count towards PSLF until I re-certify. My new IDR request may take 15 days. I have the option of going on forbearance to avoid another payment on the level plan. I can file a complaint. They are not sure about my XX/XX/XXXX payment counting though was placed on admin forbearance by them.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: PA
Zip: 19083
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-02
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: Hello, I XXXX from a combined XXXX XXXX during which time I accumulated a large amount of loans ( currently at XXXX ). I achieved my dream of matching into a XXXX XXXX, and was in a qualifying XXXX for 7 years. During this time, I was mentally and physically challenged and experienced significant financial hardship. I also received 0 guidance from federal loans and was wrongfully steered into forbearance/deferment. Over the years I rarely received any information for them, except for a new letter that my servicer had changed ( this happened about 3-4 times during the course of the 7 years ). Every time I would get such a notification, I would be told that forbearance was my only option. Therefore, I was in forbearance from XXXX. I then went to a fellowship where I also experienced financial hardship and continued the forbearance from XXXX. That should be 8 years of payments that qualify for the IDR waiver. I communicated by concerns with Federal Loans and MOHELA, and was told that because I was in " rehabilitation forbearance '' I did not qualify for several of those time periods. I feel incredibly upset that I chose to give my time to the service of others and was completely and utterly exploited by the financial system for trying to get an education and help people. No one told me about the IDR plan, about PSLF, and certainly that forbearance in itself had different types. I could've tried to be on an IDR plan had I not been told multiple times, by multiple servicers, that forbearance was my only option. Please help make this situation right and hold these servicers accountable for counting all those times for forbearance, a forbearance that they forced and misled me into.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MO
Zip: 63118
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2024-02-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: When I log into my Mohela account, I am immediately notified about a high call volume and informed that I thus may be unable to reach customer service. I submitted by PSLF recertification document to Mohela on XX/XX/XXXX. They initially said it would be processed in 30 days. Then I got another notification saying it would be an additional 30 days. As of XX/XX/XXXX, they still have NOT processed the form and updated the amount of qualifying payments I have made toward Public service loan forgiveness. I called them on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX time to discuss it. The automated message said that they were closed, but it also said they are open until XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX so I called within business hours. It's appalling that they haven't processed my form after approx 120 days and even more so that I have no way of speaking to them about it.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 92109
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-02-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A