Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I applied for the SAVE repayment plan on XX/XX/23. I received a notice from my servicer, MOHELA, dated XX/XX/23 stating that my recent request has been received and is expected to be processed within the next 90 business days. I assumed this related to my SAVE repayment plan request. I received a notice from MOHELA dated XX/XX/23 stating that MOHELA has placed an Administrative Forbearance on [ my ] account. I had not requested a forbearance and the notice provided no further explanation as to why my account was placed in forbearance. The notice stated that the forbearance would end on XX/XX/23. I received a notice from MOHELA dated XX/XX/23 stating that my Income Driven Repayment ( IDR ) plan request has been approved. The notice stated that my monthly payment would be {$430.00} and this plan would go into effect on XX/XX/23. The notice said nothing about my SAVE request being denied or rejected. As of XX/XX/23, I had not received any communication from MOHELA about my return to repayment. I decided to both send a message to MOHELA and call the customer service line. I waited on hold for about 1.5 hours. When I spoke to an agent, I was told the following : ( 1 ) My account was placed in administrative forbearance at the request of the Department of Education. The agent could not provide any further explanation about why the Department of Education made this request. ( 2 ) I was told that I would continue to receive credit for qualifying payments for PSLF purposes while my account was in forbearance. ( 3 ) I was told that MOHELA had rejected my SAVE repayment plan request. The agent could not explain why the request was rejected, when it was rejected, or why I never received notice that it was rejected. ( 4 ) I was told that MOHELA would re-submit my SAVE repayment application and that it should be processed in about a week. In total, I was on the phone for about 2.5 hours. I received a notice from MOHELA dated XX/XX/23 stating that my recent request has been received and is expected to be processed within the next 90 business days. I do not know what request this is referring to, but I assume it is the re-submitted SAVE repayment plan request. Finally, on XX/XX/23, I received a response to my XX/XX/23 message to MOHELA stating that MOHELA assumed my inquiry has been handled. At this time, I still do not know : ( 1 ) why my account was placed in forbearance ; ( 2 ) when I will have to resume payments ; ( 3 ) how much my payments will be; ( 4 ) why my SAVE repayment plan was rejected ; or ( 5 ) whether my SAVE repayment plan request has been resubmitted. I would appreciate answers to these questions right away.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: WI
Zip: 53711
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/2023, my account was placed on Administrative Forbearance without my consent. I called Mohela twice asking to remove the forbearance and was assured by the agents that my request had been inputted into the system and is pending processing. When I asked about the timeframe for processing my request, I was transferred twice to XXXX different agents and did not receive an answer. I called on XX/XX/2023 to follow up on my request and was told that no request had been received and they have no record of it. I was again transferred to XXXX agents when I asked about the capitalization on my account. I received a letter saying my loans were being capitalized due to the forbearance. I asked for the capitalization to be removed as the forbearance was done without my consent or request for it and I wanted written receipt of my request this time to remove the forbearance. After being transferred, the agent did not answer any of my questions and then placed my call back into the queue without telling me. I have been on hold now for over an hour and a half. It is clear that MOHELA utilizes tactics to get their borrowers off the call or bounce them around agents and put them on hold until they give up. I still have not received any resolution to my requests.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 91741
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I received XXXX letters explaining the same thing ( a complete waste of resources ) that I was on an in-school deferment from XXXX and that is why that period is not being counted toward XXXX. This is interesting because I made XXXX attempts to get this answered by phone from Mohela and each rep I spoke to, including a supervisor at some point said that they did not make payment counts they pointed the finger at the XXXX XXXX XXXX. Now when they are being investigated by the CFPB they suddenly have some answers. The only issue is they still did not completely answer my question. You would think in XXXX letters they would. There is still a period of time that is not being counted that they did not answer. XXXX is also not being counted. That is XXXX years and XXXX months that are unaccounted for, so what is the excuse there? Additionally, I called in XX/XX/2023, because it showed my first payment was due XX/XX/2023. I had applied for XXXX, and apparently, it had not been processed so Mohela put me on an administrative forbearance ( this was initiated by Mohela, not by me ), while my IDR application was being processed. While talking to the rep, he learned my application had been processed and I could make the payment beginning in XXXX. He said if I requested for the forbearance to be removed, this would be counted toward PSLF repayment. I requested by phone for this to be removed in addition to sending a message through the Mohela portal a XXXX of weeks later because like everything they do no action was taken when I made the request. I made the XXXX payment in XXXX, and now I see on my account that this was an ineligible payment because my loan is in forbearance. This seems fraudulent considering Mohela informed me to make a payment knowing it was not going to count toward anything because they put me in forbearance. It appears to be a tactic to collect funds and prolong payment, all while interest is being accrued. Didn't XXXX get their hand slapped for this? This has all been a complete mess and I know you just want me to give up, you continue to move the goalposts on us so that we will never win, but I will remain persistent. Please respond and this time maybe you could be more efficient in your correspondence and send XXXX letter explaining the same thing. Perhaps by making this adjustment you won't feel compelled to prolong payments and could save money on printing and postage.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: TX
Zip: 78245
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: My federal student loans were transferred from XXXX XXXX to MOHELA. When this happened, my loan repayment plan was changed from income-driven to a higher cost level plan. I provided MOHELA with documentation confirming my income driven status with XXXX XXXX but MOHELA refuses to update my repayment plan status to reflect the correct repayment plan. Ultimately, MOHELA changed the terms of my loan repayment plan without my consent or knowledge when the loans were transferred to them.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: LA
Zip: 708XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/2023 I made a payment to MOHELA via XXXX XXXX XXXX bill pay in the amount of {$680.00}. MOHELA has yet to provide me credit for this payment. I have attempted to contact MOHELA via their secure message system. They reply with a generic response that according to their records this problem has been resolved. I also used XXXX 's system where I can report a missing payment. XXXX provided a response indicating they have made multiple attempts to contact MOHELA but are are unable to connect with someone. During this time I continue to pay interest on student loans and the interest continues to accrue. I believe this is fraudulent accounting principles and if you multiply my case by thousands if not millions of other students in the same situation, we are paying massive amounts of interest in loans in an unfair and dishonest manner. MOHELA refuses to credit my account with a payment that was made.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: FL
Zip: 33713
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: MOHELA has been displaying an incorrect payment amount for several weeks now. They are showing that I owe {$780.00} and the payment is due on XX/XX/XXXX, and they have assured me I wouldn't have to pay, but I have not been put in forbearance like I expected to be. XX/XX/XXXX : Submitted XXXX plan request, specifically for the XXXX plan. The studentaid.gov website indicated that my monthly payment would be {$0.00}. XX/XX/XXXX : I received a secure communication from MOHELA that is showing in my account as dated on XX/XX/XXXX but it was dated XX/XX/XXXX. This communication stated that my request could not be granted because I did not provide income and family size. I am confused for XXXX reasons : First, if this information was needed, it should have been required to be put on the application. And second, MOHELAs website says that through XX/XX/XXXX you can self-report your income. I have done this. MOHELA does indeed have the information they say they don't have. Not only did MOHELA reject my request for the XXXX plan, but they changed my plan -- before the pause, I was on an Income-Driven plan, but after the XX/XX/XXXX denial, I was placed on the " Level '' plan which typically causes higher payments. It showed me owing {$310.00} due on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX : I submitted another XXXX XXXX request. Again the application showed a {$0.00} payment would be due when approved. XX/XX/XXXX : I spoke with a MOHELA agent on the phone who assured me that I would be placed on forbearance while the application was being reviewed. He told me that this was pretty commonplace and that the systems needed a little time to process things but it would get settled prior to any payments being due. XX/XX/XXXX : I received a secure communication from MOHELA that is showing in my account as dated on XX/XX/XXXX but it was dated XX/XX/XXXX. It told me my loans were placed on the XXXX XXXX, but that my payments would be {$780.00} per month ( not {$0.00} like my application said ). XX/XX/XXXX : I spoke with a MOHELA agent on the phone who informed me of a few things. First, he told me that he saw an application for the XXXX program that showed a {$0.00} payment, so he did not know why it said I owed {$780.00}. Second, he said that the forbearance that I was on was due to expire on XX/XX/XXXX but that another forbearance was set to turn on that would take me through the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. Third, he said to wait until a little bit into the month of XXXX to see if it updated to a {$0.00} payment ( either due to the XXXX XXXX updating or a forbearance being put on ). That forbearance still has not shown up as of this writing. I have read about MOHELA being penalized for numerous errors, and the Department of Education has stated publicly that " All borrowers affected by these errors will be placed in forbearance by their servicer until the issues are resolved and any months in forbearance will count as credit towards loan forgiveness through Public Service Loan Forgiveness or Income Driven Repayment '' The remedies I am seeking are : XXXX ) My account be placed on forbearance so I do not need to be responsible for payments while this is being sorted out. XXXX ). If a forbearance is not placed on my account prior to the XX/XX/XXXX payment due date for the ( miscalculated ) {$780.00} payment, this payment NOT be held as " past due '' payment owed but instead should be corrected to {$0.00} as if a forbearance was on my account. XXXX ) My XXXX plan applications, which have shown multiple times that I should owe {$0.00} per month, be re-evaluated XXXX ) If for any reason I am not eligible for the XXXX XXXX or the XXXX XXXX calculates a payment higher than {$0.00}, MOHELA should place me on the Income-Driven Repayment Plan that has the lowest monthly payment.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: MA
Zip: 024XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: A few months ago I submitted a complaint to CFPB and the resolution needed was a fairly approved. The overpayment of my student loan should have arrived te weeks ago but there is no stopping her. Can you clarify when Ill will receive my reimbursement. My previous complaint number XXXX Thank you XXXX
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: CA
Zip: 94030
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I paid one of my loans ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, 7.08 % interest rate ) in full on XX/XX/XXXX and received confirmation from MOHELA that the payment was accepted. I continued to make payments on XXXX of my other loans ( XXXX XXXX XXXX with a 6.6 % interest rate that was reduced to 6.35 % due to XXXX XXXX of which I have been enrolled in since XXXX ). Following the resumption of student loan interest, my remaining loans ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX & XXXX ) were properly reflected in my account through XX/XX/XXXX. I called XXXX times to advise that my XXXX XXXX was scheduled by MOHELA to come out on XXXX different dates ( XX/XX/XXXX & XX/XX/XXXX ), asked for it to come out on XXXX date to prevent issues, and was assured that it would come out in XXXX lump sum payment on XXXX date ( XX/XX/XXXX ). Despite this, a payment for XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX & XXXX came out on XX/XX/XXXX and a payment for XXXX XXXX XXXX came out on XX/XX/XXXX. I called on XX/XX/XXXX and was told by the rep this would be remedied and would start coming out on the XXXX of each month. My account information was then erroneously changed by MOHELA so that XXXX XXXX XXXX ( paid in full ) was reapplied to my account and is currently accruing interest, while XXXX XXXX XXXX was put into a purported " credit '' status so that I couldn't pay it in full. Moreover, I received a delinquency notice ( and purported delinquency forbearance ) despite the XXXX XXXX taking out the full amount of the payment for all active loans. I called MOHELA repeatedly about this issue and was told on XX/XX/XXXX by a supervisor that it would be rectified within XXXX to XXXX business days ; however it has not been corrected. I then called about the interest accruing on my account based on erroneous principal balances and was told that my account would be put into a forbearance wherein the interest would not accrue. To date, interest continues to accrue on my account and the interest rate on XXXX XXXX XXXX was suddenly changed from the reduced 6.35 % to 6.6 %. Additionally, the representative that I spoke to this evening ( after trying to speak to a supervisor for over XXXX hours to no avail ) told me further incorrect information related to my account : that my interest rate was only to accrue at 6.6 % although my auto debit has been approved and in place since XX/XX/XXXX with multiple correspondences with MOHELA affirming same. MOHELA appears to be playing with the numbers because while the overall total balance appears correct, the individual principal balances on the loans remains incorrect and erroneous interest continues to accumulate on my account.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: 11580
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I was enrolled in an income driven repayment plan when student loan payments were suspended due to XXXX. Borrowers were told recertification was not necessary until payments were resumed. I did not receive notification to submit any recertification documentation but was transferred to a different repayment plan without my permission by MOHELA. In XX/XX/XXXX I applied for the repaye/save plan but was denied due to lack of documentation even though I gave permission for them to access my income through IRS electronically XXXX? I resubmitted an application for Save in XX/XX/XXXX using self certification and was notified the application processing would be delayed for weeks and subsequently got my first bill for a absurd monthly payment of $ XXXX I will absolutely not be making that payment and notified MOHELA of that through email. I expected that the process of resuming payments would be complex but transferring people to new payment plans without cause is a huge, unnecessary complication.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: ME
Zip: 04401
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-11-14
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Consumer Complaint: I had my PSLF student loan recertified in XX/XX/XXXX and in XXXX my certification letter was complete and my loans were forgiven/discharged. In XXXX, Mohela, an office of the Dept of Education stated that the total of the PSLF qualifying payments was XXXX which is over the 120 payments. On the Mohela website which is an office of the Dept of Education that any qualifying payments over XXXX, would be automatically refunded to the borrower, myself. When I had contacted several Mohela reps during XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX they told me that I had XXXX PSLF payments, that I would get a refund for the XXXX extra PSLF qualifying payments. On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted Mohela again to find out when the paper checks for the refund would take, I was told that I do not qualify for the overpayments and that my loan was forgiven and no other action would happen. I was questioning why since the Mohela website state any payments over XXXX would be refunded back to the borrower. The Mohela rep dit not have a response to that when I had asked why it stated that on their website.
Company Response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
State: NY
Zip: 11520
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-11-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A