Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: Navient is the current servicer of my consolidated federal student loans. I have had constant barriers to my ability to apply for and subsequently recertify my income based repayment plan. The current complaint deals with their admitted failure to contact me about recertifying my REPAYE plan in XXXX using the provided and up to date contact information. As a result, they have converted my IBR/IDR into a standard repayment plan and failed as well to notify me of such until a past due balance had accumulated. The navient website directs customers to the studentloans.gov site for loan information. The studentloans.gov site directs customers to the navient website for information. When I called to speak to navient about the issue, despite admitting to the notification oversight, the rep said that the only way to move forward is by applying for a forbearance and then reapplying for an IBR/IDR. He listed the conditions for the application which include impacting loan forgiveness for on time payments. I indicated that it was my understanding that by missing these erroneous payments and then going into forbearance it reset or potentially deleted the clock on the possiblility of forgiveness in the distant future. I was not ok with this option given their oversight. I was then told that my only other option was to pay them {$6000.00} and still apply for a new IBR/IDR. Given the unsatisfactory nature of either, I indicated that I was only accepting the forbearance under duress and that I wanted that fact noted on my account. This is not the first time that I have been placed in an almost identical situation by navient. It took so many months ( 4-6 months as I remember ) for them to get my initial application to me and then processed that I was also forced under duress to file for forbearance. I should stop being surprised every time, but I am also very unhappy about being told by my loan servicer that they dont actually do anything associated with repayment plan applications. Theyre happy to file a forced forbearance, however, each time I am instructed that the only way to obtain the application is by calling some third party system automated system that has no possible way of speaking to a live agent. It is my recollection that for my initial application it took 2-3 failed attempts from this system before I finally got ahold of the right person at navient that was authorized to actually service my loan. Last year I seem to remember that I was contacted in advance to recertify, but still faced difficulties with obtaining the necessary application and getting it processed. Navient has been explicitly informed during every phone call I have ever made to them as well as in writing with every piece of mail I have sent them that I do not accept any form of incoming electronic or telephone communications from them. All contact should be through USPS or other snail mail. This is to specifically combat the unreliability of telecommunications due to everything from changing spam filters to my financial ability to maintain internet or telephone service. Additionally, it helps me to combat the abusive and manipulative practices of companies like navient that like to hide pertinent and timely information in things like html emails that would not even be loaded in my email to begin with since security settings prevent it. ( Not to mention navient emails go directly to junk and will never be placed on a safe list because they should not be contacting me using that route anyways. ) I do not accept phone calls from numbers not known to me. If a message is not left, the number is immediately blocked. Any businesses that ever text my cell phone are immediately blocked. I have no idea if navient is included in this list because trash phone calls from unprofessional reps and robocallers are a ubiquitous problem that I handle by blocking. Even if I was willing to accept these trash phone calls, I dont hear well and do not like to use a telephone for this sort of business. Navient has been repeatedly informed and sometimes agreed, sometimes indicated that its not legal to do that, sometimes just said it doesnt matter theyll contact me however they like and its my problem if I dont get the information. Today, the rep agreed and once again noted on my account the correct method for contacting me. But he also took the stance that it doesnt matter if they contacted me or not, its my problem and not theirs that the repayment plan was changed. He did indicate that there was no way that filing a forbearance or being late on these erroneous payments would impact future eligibility for loan forgiveness programs. Based on my understanding, it seems that is likely a blatantly false statement, but I will have to reread all of the terms of my loans and repayment plans to verify. This behavior is unprofessional. It is unacceptable. It has now met the definitions of chronic and habitual. This sort of abuse of students borrowers on such a wide scale should not be allowed to continue. There is a very real risk that navients very shady practices in loan servicing will result in my loans defaulting. I live in fear that an already dismal amount of debt will create such incredible and undue hardship for the rest of my life that I may never be able to recover. It is time for navient to start honoring their responsibilities to the USDOE and the students with the misfortune of having their loans serviced by navient.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 78681
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I have called numerous times and waited on hold. Ive emailed, with a response that i need to call. My online account is locked out, they just keep me in forbearance SINCE I HAD THE LOAN. University of XXXX put me in the wrong class, i told them what they did and then they just reported me to academic something for ising an exclamation point in my sentence. Now i have XXXX $ in debt from a company that ripped me off and a lender who i can not contact!! This has been going on since the company was sallie mae. How can Navient force me into forbearance for the simple fact i can not reach them. I make XXXX $ an hour and would like to pay this off. Im XXXX years old. How many more years can this go on. University of XXXX was a scam, navient is a scam. Im just a XXXX consumer. The balance keeps going up and up and up and mothing i can do about it!!!!
Company Response:
State: KY
Zip: 40356
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: On XXXX XXXX, I received an email that my 12-month Income-Based Repayment ( IBR ) period will expire soon. To continue with the plan, please reapply by XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for the Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) plan and provided my income from the used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. I got an email confirmation stating that If you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, certified that you have no income, or already sent your income documentation to us theres nothing you need to do now. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email statement that had my account summary : I was under the assumption that this would be my new payment. Around XX/XX/XXXX, I began seeing notices that they havent received any renewal forms from me regarding a payment plan. So, I sent an email on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX Hello, I have renewed my IDR plan online but I keep seeing a notice that I haven't completed it. What more does NAVIENT need to complete my renewal? thanks. XXXX Their response came on XX/XX/XXXX : Dear XXXX, Thank you for your inquiry. We received your application and/or documentation to renew your Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) Plan payments on XX/XX/XXXX. Note that the IDR renewal process may take at least 30 days, depending on the forms and documentation you submit. You will receive notification when your request has been processed. We're here to help If we may be of further assistance, visit us online or give us a call at XXXX, Monday through Thursday, XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, and Friday XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, ET. Sincerely, XXXX, your Navient XXXX Representative Navient - Department of Education Loan Servicing On the same day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) - XXXX, weve received your recent electronic application. Thank you for your interest in an Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) plan. If you used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, certified that you have no income, or already sent your income documentation to us theres nothing you need to do now. If you havent submitted income documentation or your income situation has changed, please send us your income documentation as soon as possible so we can review your application. I got a third email on XXXX- On XX/XX/XXXX, your Monthly Payment for your loans enrolled in an Income-Based Repayment ( IBR ) plan is set to increase to {$880.00}. This is the maximum amount youll be required to pay each month while youre in an IBR plan, but you may be able to lower your Monthly Payment if you qualify for a new 12-month partial financial hardship period. This payment is based on a 10-year standard payment amount calculated at the time you initially entered your IBR plan. If you recently ended your partial financial hardship period, Unpaid Interest was capitalized ( added to your principal balance ). We will remind you annually of this option. On XX/XX/XXXX- I asked for clarification on all the various messages I was receiving since XXXX and they responded by saying : Dear XXXX XXXX thank you for your inquiry on your application for Income Driven Repayment. We received your application on XX/XX/XXXX and have not yet completed our review. It can take us up to fifteen business days to complete our review and notify you of the results. In order to defer the XX/XX/XXXX, payment due date to allow time for us to complete our review, you may want to request a deferment or forbearance from our website. Deferment allows you to postpone payments on your eligible loans while youre in school, during an internship, unemployed, a fellowship, or some other qualified deferment activity. The federal government may pay the accrued interest on some subsidized loans during periods of deferment ; however, youre responsible for the accrued interest on the unsubsidized loans. Unpaid interest may capitalize ( added to the principal balance ) at the end of the deferment period unless you choose to make interest payments during the deferment. Forbearance allows you to postpone payments if youre experiencing temporary financial hardship and are not eligible for a deferment. During forbearance, youre responsible for all accrued interest. Any unpaid interest may be capitalized ( added to the principal balance ) no more frequently than quarterly and at the end of the forbearance period. Its important to note that you will lose eligibility to receive any borrower incentive or benefit requiring on-time payments if you elect to have a Voluntary Forbearance processed on your loan ( s ). To review your available deferment and forbearance options, log in to your account at Navient.com, select Repayment Options on the main menu, and select I need to stop making payments for a while option. If we may be of further assistance, visit us online or give us a call at XXXX, Monday through Thursday, XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, and Friday XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX, ET. I spoke with one of their representatives about the conflicting messages and that I was confused about the whole process. They recommended that I get on a forbearance plan until the IDR was processed. So, I applied for the forbearance and they sent me an email on XX/XX/XXXX approving the temporary Forbearance plan. Then, on XX/XX/XXXX, I get another email about an updated payment schedule on my loan due on XX/XX/XXXX. These exchanges went back and forth until XX/XX/XXXX. I requested to escalate my issues to one of their customer service reps and they told me I no longer qualify for the IDR or IBR plans due to my husbands high income and that I can only be entered into a Graduated Repayment plan in order to pay the least amount per month, which was still a very unaffordable payment plan for me. On XX/XX/XXXX, they sent the details of this new payment plan ( GRP ) which will end up making my principal of {$86000.00} into a total of {$200000.00} by the end of the payment term. Now, Im thinking my new payment per month is {$460.00} but on XX/XX/XXXX, I get a statement from Navient saying my new balance is XXXX. I then received another statement on XX/XX/XXXX for {$310.00}. With all of this confusion, I reached out to Navient again on XX/XX/XXXX letting them know their actions is causing me confusion and Im not sure what Im supposed to pay. Their insufficient response was : Dear XXXX, Thank you for your inquiry regarding your student loan payments. We hope you find the following information is helpful. After reviewing your account, our records show that your account is enrolled in the Graduated repayment plan. Under this plan, your student loan payment amount will be increased to ensure the full remaining balance of your loan is paid within your repayment terms. Your monthly payment amount has recently increased to the amount of {$460.00}. This payment amount will become due for the first time on XX/XX/XXXX. Theyre not explaining why Ive gotten so many conflicting messages from XXXX until now. I now have interest accrued on my balance during the unnecessary forbearance period. They could have told me I was not eligible for an income based payment plan when I originally applied for it back in late XX/XX/XXXX.
Company Response:
State: MD
Zip: 20904
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I attempted to contact Navient by logging onto my ( secure ) Navient account and sending inquiry via their email system. My inquiry : " Good morning. My account number is XXXX. My balance is now above {$30000.00}. I am going to start repaying soon. I request that my loans be changed to the Extended Repayment Plan and to be notified of how much the monthly payment will be for each loan. Thank you. '' After 4 days, Navient did not acknowledge nor respond to inquiry. So, I sent a copy of my inquiry via regular email, to CustomerService@navient.com. Navient 's ( automated ) response : " Your message wasn't delivered because the email admin for the organization 'navient.com ' created an email rule restriction. Please contact the email admin for that organization and ask them to remove or update the rule restriction. For more information about this error, see DSN code 5.7.1 in Exchange Online - XXXX XXXX. '' On XXXX, a borrower can switch repayment plans on the website - so easy. Navient doesn't even display or disclose which repayment plan your loans are currently on. Worse : Navient won't respond to inquiries!!
Company Response:
State: OR
Zip: 973XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I co-signed for a loan for my granddaughter with Sallie Mae while she was in school at XXXX. They tried to make her start paying for the loan while she was in school. After graduation, she setup payment with Sallie Mae. Then Navient took over and double the payments and double the amount that she borrowed. They said that she had not paid enough on the loan. Now I received letter from XXXX XXXX offering me a settlement to get my name off the loan but saying that she would be still responsible for the total amount owed. No one has contacted my granddaughter by phone or mail. They have been just contacting me with an abundance of letters demanding repayment from me for co-signing the loan. I am going thru XXXX with XXXX and do not have what they are asking for to settle. I have requested that they work with my granddaughter since she is still paying Navient.
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 239XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: My XXXX score dropped 25 points due to Navient reporting my account as closed. Per my XXXX credit score, it was reported XX/XX/18. When I checked my score XX/XX/18 is when I noticed it had dropped. My loan in currently deferred, so it should not show as closed, as that is inaccurate reporting.When I check XXXX XXXX, which using a different scoring module, it shows open, as it should. I have called Navient and was told they " have nothing to do with that ''
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 61107
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: I have now applied for a lower payment 5 times. My last time I applied for a recalculation, they actually increased the payment by another {$50.00}. So now it is {$180.00}. Why in the world we they increase the payment when I stated I can't afford a {$130.00} per month? Well, I called last week and got a honest rep on the phone who told me the truth ; evidently Navient falsified my grow income and " certified my income at $ XXXX/year. I didn't make {$32000.00} a last year. I haven't made that kind of money in over 5 year plus year. At best my AGI will be somewhere around $ XXXX after all the medical expenses and other deductions. That same honest rep did acknowledge the gross error and advised me to again resubmit my information after I did my taxes. That's another 3 months out! Whoever that did the review completely ignored all my actual information that this honest rep acknowledged was indeed received and should have been reviewed. I supplied Navient with my last bi-weekly paychecks from both employers and even a spreadsheet of all my medical expenses ; they still made a total mess of the recalculation. The rep wanted to put me into another forbearance and claimed that I he couldn't do a deferment over the phone for my Federal Loans that Navient took over. I refused the forbearance. So now the clock is ticking on defaulting because of the dangerous game Navient is playing with my finances. My actual gross is {$27000.00} before deducting the {$2300.00} in medical expenses. Please intervene.
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 062XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Consumer Complaint: Navient was satisfied in full and paid timely. However, currently reporting five-30 day late payments. spoke to a rep that confirmed that this should not be the case. apparently, their was some inaccurate XXXX dollar charge.
Company Response:
State: OK
Zip: 73034
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: I owe over 102000 in student loans and Navient expects me to pay 900 plus a month.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 17055
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-01-08
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: My student loans were paid in full in XXXX, and I have the receipt to prove it. When Navient bought my student loan, they have lost payments and continued to keep adding interest to a loan that was already paid. I have now gotten notice that I have less than 30 days to pay it in full ... ( which has tripled ) due to the outrageous interest. I have turned them into the XXXX, and I have showed them multiple times that the loan was paid in XXXX. Now it is XXXX and these people will not leave me alone, nor leave my co-signer alone, they call 5-8 times a day, emails and letters with threats. I am at a loss of how to get these people to leave me alone!!
Company Response:
State: KS
Zip: 665XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-01-08
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A