Date Received: 2019-01-11
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have been paying off these student loans for over 10 years now. I am at the point where I want to pay off my student loans very aggressively and be done with them within a year or 2. However, Navient does not allow you to pay more than the minimal payment they suggest for you as a monthly payment. You have to " apply for '' and choose one of their payment plans that are all very low and minimal payments. If you want to pay off more than those minimal amounts you have to manually log in every time and specify exactly the overpayment you want to make. I want to be able to pay off a large sum as an automatic monthly payment without having to log in every month, but they make this impossible. I easily do this with the 2 other loan companies I use with no issues. You should be able to choose exactly the amount you want to pay off as a monthly auto payment. I have gone through every link on their site trying to figure out how to increase my monthly payments with no luck. I feel that they are purposefully and actively trying to discourage me from paying more than the minimum payment each month. When I try to contact them about this issue, there is a roadblock there as well. There is an endless loop of broken links that never takes you to a place where you can email or message them. I click on " Contact us '' and it takes you to page where you can click to 'email them ', and that takes you to the log-in page, even if you are already logged in. And when you log-in again, then you have to go through the same steps again, never getting anywhere to contact them online. Finally I give up every time because I get so frustrated. I think this is their plan. This problem has been going on for a long time. They do not respect their customers, and I believe they purposefully try to make you owe them more money by accruing more interest over a longer than necessary time period. I don't have much in terms of documents to attach for evidence because these are things I can not do, so it's hard to document them. So I will attach some screen shots of the place I got stuck trying to contact them.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92107
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-11
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't temporarily delay making payments
Consumer Complaint: I signed up for automatic payments from my XXXX account. But later I stopped using that account so I called in approximately in XX/XX/XXXX to tell Navient to use another account instead for my payments and to cease using the XXXX account. This company has taken money out of the wrong account several months from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX even after I repeatedly called and told them that that is no longer an account that I am using for loan payments. I have received 12 overdraft fees ( each fee is {$34.00} ) due to their failure to update my account info after I called them several times to request that it be done. They said that I have to specifically say that I want them to cancel any previous automatic payments when I call in. I believe this to be self-explanatory because if I call in to tell them to STOP deducting from that account and gave them new information, that is telling them to stop taking from an account that is not being used anymore. When I called to complain the ombudsman said they would refund my overdraft fees. However, later when the fees were not refunded I was told they would not be refunding the fees because it was not their fault. Now they have marked my credit late 30-60 days because I refuse to pay them until I have the refund. Further, I can not afford to pay the amount they are asking me to pay. They refuse to lower my payments to an affordable amount that I can pay and they will not refund the fees that they caused me plus they have ruined my credit.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 60615
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-11
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: My daughter and I have been trying to work with Navient for almost 12 full months as of XX/XX/2019 trying to lower her monthly payment to an affordable amount. I am positive we signed up for a Fixed Interest Rate, but they continue to raise the interest rate stating we signed up for Variable Rate. I can not find our loan documents on their website either. We have recently called to request a copy of this information. I am cosignor on this loan with my daughter but since cosigning have become XXXX XXXX, unable to work and therefore, unable to help her make payments on this loan. Navient doesn't seem to think that is an issue. Navient continues to offer no solutions to be able to afford a payment. She has used her 12 months of forebearance as of XX/XX/2019 trying to work with them to help her be able to afford payments. Navient has offered her interest only payments, or forebearance. Neither of those options HELP. We have called them monthly if not twice a month hoping to find the right person to answer and help offer a solution. She isn't looking to not pay her debts, she just wants to be able to feed her family and enjoy life a little while paying her debts.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 195XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-11
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have been struggling to make minimum payments on my loan since I first graduated school. I was mislead by my school about this loan they pressured me into, trying to get me to take out even more for living expenses despite me telling them no several times, and later found out I was being charged 16 % interest on my loan while I was in school, which was then capitalized on year after year. My loans are all sitting at around 12 % interest even after being told over and over on the phone that my interest rate would be lowered to .01 % if I made on time payments for 3 months. I made the payments for 3 years and got nothing in writing despite NUMEROUS requests, and no valid proof my loan interest rates were lowered. My school has now been sued ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and has agreed to cancel the student loan debt of students its been charged with lying to. I believe I qualify for that discharge but because of the private loan I was pressured into I have had a very difficult time getting any help with my loan. I now owe $ 56,000+ when I originally borrowed {$32000.00} and have paid around {$12000.00} since 2008. I am calling my lender and recording the call, I will advise them I am recording it and I would like to forward that call to the CFPB.
Company Response:
State: MN
Zip: 55317
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: As an uninformed XXXX-year old, I took out student loans through Sallie Mae for my XXXX degree between XXXX and XXXX. I was not well-informed on the difference between a fixed-interest rate and a variable-interest rate, and was thankful for any loan that would help me pay for my college degree, as my family could not help me with tuition. While I was in school, the interest rate on one of my Sallie Mae loans sky-rocketed to 14.75 %, which quickly caused the loan amount to double from {$20000.00} to over {$40000.00}. I was eventually able to refinance this loan to a lower, fixed-interest rate through a different company, but am stuck paying off $ XXXX in interest before I can even touch the actual money that I borrowed. In the last three years, I have been able to pay off a little over {$5000.00} of this loan. I have three additional loans that were taken out through Sallie Mae ( one each year of my undergrad ). These loans were sold to Navient approximately 3 ago where their interest rates remained low ( at first ), but still variable. Over the past year and a half, I have watched my interest rates slowly creep up higher each time I begin to make some progress in paying down one of these loans. I had to enter interest-only payments in order to be able to ensure that I could afford payments. I was eventually able to start applying extra to these loans each month, and although that amount was small, it allowed me to pay off {$10000.00} over the course of three years ( XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ). Unfortunately, over the course of those three years, I have paid Navient a total of {$22000.00}. Please note that this amount only includes those payments made since Navient has taken over these loans and not any money that was paid to Sallie Mae. I have continued to try to refinance these loans for fixed interest rates including applying to Navient itself, as I received a mail notice that I was applicable to refinance. Unfortunately, despite an excellent credit score and a perfect payment history, I have been turned down over and over because I do not have anyone that can or will cosign for me. As an XXXX, I do not make a large income. At this point, just over half of each month 's paycheck is immediately allocated to student loans ( both private and federal ). As of today, my interest-only payments have ended on these loans with Navient. Not only has my required monthly payment doubled from {$350.00} to {$700.00} ( I was previously paying {$500.00} per month in order to work on paying them down ), but the interest rates have once again increased 0.25 %. If I am not able to get these loans refinanced, I fear that the interest rates on them are going to skyrocket like the previous one did under Sallie Mae 's management.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 30248
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: My total loan from Naivent is {$140000.00}. I am currently paying {$1300.00} a month in student loan repayment. I am unable to afford this payment seeing as I work at a non profit and pay rent. My mother, who is my cosigner, recently lost her job and is not working right now. My monthly payment is over half my income. I have contacted Naivent on multiple occasions about lowering my monthly payment and they said there is nothing they can do about it. They suggested I consolidate my loans, but I do not have good credit. After graduating from college, I did a year of service called XXXX XXXX XXXX and could not pay my loans. Navient refused to put me in forbearance and therefore put late payments on my credit report. I asked them to remove the late payments so my credit could go up and they also refused. They have not been any help and are extremely rude. There is no way I can continue paying the {$1300.00} a month and I am not sure what to do.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 10310
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: Since Navient became the service company for some Sallie Mae loans, I have had nothing but wrongful handling of my loans. Over the last few years, I have been told I no longer qualify for forbearance or in-school deferment on any sort. I did qualify for a hardship 1 % interest rate reduction program that I was told depends on my financial statement and income driven. The last two times I agreed to the program, I was paying 1 % of interest only, which was $ XXXX/mo. and today I reapplied was suddenly was given a 2.75 % rate for the same program, leaving me with $ XXXX/mo., which I explained I will have no way of paying. I tried to ask for some understanding that those loans were signed 16 years ago and that this payment is absolutely insane even at their suggested reduced rate. I was only told that I should have understood terms and conditions of those loans as a responsible adult. I spoke to a supervisor, then manager and was denied a document that explains how their system calculates the new 2.75 % rate reduction rate and was told it is NOT income driven but merely a courtesy program for those in hardship. Neither the supervisor nor the manage were able to further explain why I no longer qualify for the 1 % interest payment. I was quickly reminded of my large sum obligation and told the next step would be to remind my co-signers of their obligation as well. I asked for a written explanation of the program and was denied the request, again being reminded of my debt. My first complaint is that there is no explanation of changes to the rate reduction program and refused a written document. My second complaint is that the terms I agreed to over the phone recording always state that the rate reduction payment does not rid any additional interest accrued, making it very clear that any interest I would have paid with a pull interest only payment, would be added to the total balance of the entire loan regardless. I understand that the reduction plan of 2.75 % /mo. only keeps me from being delinquent, but does not actually narrow any of the original interest built and piles additional interest on top of the original interest to the total sum of the loan. But why, they can not explain, just say that " this is a courtesy plan and interest is stackable, which you agreed to ... ''
Company Response:
State: FL
Zip: 33071
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have had student loans that first were with Sallie Mae and later moved to Navient. I attended school for the loans with Navient in XX/XX/XXXX. From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX I struggled to make payments on this loan due to being a stay at home parent with my spouse in military service. I was only ever offered hardship forbearance as a resolve to the payments. This causing my balance to continue to increase with interest fees. I went back to school in summer XX/XX/XXXX obtaining a student loan from a different lender, XXXX. When I stopped attending school I was contacted by this lender for payment options. They asked multiple questions and even though I now had income I did not previously have they explained that I qualified for a income driven repayment plan. This option would avoid additional cost being added to the balance but I would need to contact them each year to re-certify my qualification. They completed my application which the Department of Education applied to both my loans with XXXX and Navient. This income driven repayment option was never offered even when my family was qualifying for state assistance programs that Navient inquired about while applying for the hardship forbearance. Since starting the income driven repayment I have had to dispute credit reporting by Navient as well in XX/XX/XXXX when rather than decreasing my balance they reported an increase in my balance. This caused my credit score 70 points and when corrected my score only improved 24 points.
Company Response:
State: AZ
Zip: 85209
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-17
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-10
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: I consolidated my loans through Sallie Mae/Navient. When I stopped working, rather than guiding me to a payment plan that would help me continue making payments, Navient guided me towards a deferment program. The balance of my student loans has almost tripled. In addition, Navient, when I started working again, based income-based payments on both my income and my husbands even though he was never responsible for these loans. These two factors are causing a significant hardship. Navient has refused to deal with this.
Company Response:
State: NH
Zip: 03833
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-09
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: XX/XX/2018 : Rate Reduction program agreement for 6 months XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX payment XXXX XX/XX/2018 : XXXX payment XXXX XX/XX/2018 : XXXX payment XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX payment XXXX XXXX XXXX : statement received for XXXX for last of 6 payments. Amount deducted from account was XXXX. Navient stated the agreement had ended. I violated the agreement. I failed to renew in 6 month time frame. Interest rate was increased to 7.5 % In an attempt to discuss and review this issue Navient is stating I was aware of this increased deduction and agreement violation without Navient ever contacting or providing a statement indicating the amount due was more than the agreed XXXX or that the 6 month contract had ended before the 6 month term
Company Response:
State: NM
Zip: 87114
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-09
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A