Date Received: 2018-11-28
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: Graduated in XXXX, company was originally called XXXX, now called navient helped me set up a payment plan that worked for me. I wasn't making a lot of money so I was paying on the lower end of most plans. I received a booklet to help me make my payments but I was never informed on my balance. Around XXXX I contacted the company to see if I was close to paying off my loan, come to find out I owed more than I did when I graduated! I of course felt like it was my fault, but now I realize they were taking advantage of my inexperience. I feel like this is something they should have notified me about. Its now XXXX and I have just under XXXX left, this has been such a weight on my career.
Company Response:
State: VT
Zip: 056XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-28
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't temporarily delay making payments
Consumer Complaint: I contacted Navient last week about putting a temporary hold on my student loan. They got back to me today to tell me that my only option was to call in. I called them today ( XX/XX/27 ). They told me in order to get forbearance I had to make a good faith payment of XXXX dollars in order to apply for the forbearance. I told them that I did not have the money for the payment or the " good faith payment ''. They told me it was their policy and the most they could do was extend the good faith payment by 15 days. I am XXXX and have been for 4 months ; I can't make that payment or guarantee that I will have a check by then to make their deadline. This policy is not outlined anywhere on their website and when I asked for documentation they said they would have to draft something to send it to me. They provided no previous notification of this fee. The documentation has to be mailed to me so it should arrive in 7-10 days.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 78748
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: Have received several mailings from them stating I have been approved for lower interest from XXXX but when I try they keep telling me that I have inadequate income. Have not missed making a payment eve ( except for period when I was in bankruptcy ) almost always paying more than the monthly requirement. Not only have I called t hem but have sent them several written requests. They simply are not working with me. Loans are actually for all XXXX of my children so is a Parent Student loan. I would like to get reduced interest so the loan can be paid off sooner. On fixed income so every bit reduced would be helpful. I don't expect any loan forgiveness knowing that I am responsible to settle my debt.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 48371
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: Navient has private interest rates on my loans set for 13.25 % I have almost {$50000.00} in private loans, its been at this high interest rate since I graduated. They tell me, they don't set the interest rates, there is nothing they can do. This company is a virus, they make it so you can only pay interest and nothing happens to the balance. I have tried everything with them but my credit score is too low to refinance with another company and I can't find a co-signer that works either. I have been out of school for 6 years, I have a good paying job I am an XXXX - what they are doing is criminal.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 920XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
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: On XX/XX/2018 I filed a dispute with mainly XXXX and XXXX XXXX disputing the student loan listed on my credit report. Originally, it was listed as Sallie Mae, then Sallie Mae was changed to Navient. Navient can not prove that I owe this money and I never took out a student loan with Navient. I therefore requested it be removed from my credit report. If they had been able to prove it, they would have taken me to court, which they havent. They have listed these loans as in default and are negatively affecting my credit rating. Im asking that mainly XXXX be investigated for fraudulently listing this on my credit report despite it all being heresay. Thank you
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 242XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: Account number XXXX XXXX XXXX Its mine. My forgiveness loan is with another company. XXXX XXXX XXXX not XXXX. Navient account XXXX shouldnt be in my report anymore. XXXX XXXX XXXX is my provider for my loan forgiveness XXXX account XXXX thats not my account a shouldnt be in my credit report XXXX XXXX account XXXX. I reported the card loss to XXXX XXXX in 2013 along with everything in my wallet. Ive been calling them to make some types of arrangements no response. Please advise!!! I need help with this matter. I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX with XXXX kids. Just wants to fix this matter as quick as possible to move forward. Best XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 11429
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I had been on an IBR payment plan based upon my previous employer. My payments were between $ XXXX {$20.00} a month. I reapplied for an IBR my account came up for renewal. I received an email stating it was time to renew my IBR repayment plan and I immediately submitted all documentation. Upon submission I noticed a few days late that I had an outstanding balance that was due. I called and no one could tell me what the balance was for. Im finally representative explained to me that whomever setup my payment plan didnt do so for a full year, but only for 11 months which is why I owed the amount. I was never told this, explained that there were only 11 months, nor did any documentation received state that. I had been on repayment plans before for my student loans and they were all for a minimum of 12 months. I feel like this was done intentionally. Second, I had began working for a different company XX/XX/2018. When I applied for the IBR my repayment was about {$200.00} a month as the company said my income had increased by more than {$16000.00}. My income went from {$34000.00} annually to {$45000.00} but since my taxes have my adjusted income for my previous employer at around {$29000.00} and no adjsted income for the new income yet, including the few months at my previous employer, it looks like I received a {$16000.00} increase. The representative that I spoke with acknowledged that was the issue but said there was nothing that could be done. I advised that 1. ) I would not work a full year with my new employer prior to tax season, 2. ) my pay increase was only about {$10000.00} more a year, 3. ) i was told they could not use my adjusted income until I file taxes next year so even though my repayment is based on an incorrect number there is nothing they can do until my income tax is filed. I was advised by a representative in XXXX of 2018 to consolidate my loans as that should drop my payment low enough since they could not make adjustments for 1 ) not working a full year at my new employer, 2 ) not factoring in the lessor income received the first almost 5 months of the year, 3 ) not factoring my expenses for the month including child care, 4 ) not taking into consideration that I receive governmental assistance to support my XXXX small children as I am a single mother ( my children receive XXXX assistance for food and XXXX Medicaid for medical benefits ), and 5 ) they wont factor in adjustments that will affect my income. I began the consolidation process and was told it would take up to 60 days. I monitored every update via the Navient app. My request was approved in a little more than 30 days however my new payment was due within less than 2 weeks after approval. It was all finalized and approved around XX/XX/XXXX and my payment was due XX/XX/XXXX. This brings me to customer service. As soon as I saw this I immediately sent an email to customer service on XX/XX/XXXX. Over a week later, 2 days before my due date, I received another generic response that barely addressed my concern of the short notice of making the payment and their response was wel after the due date. The reply does not even contain the original message. This seems to be recurring. I have submitted several requests, questions via email as paper trail and proof seem to be the only thing that holds up and I have constantly received generic responses that do not address my concerns thoroughly and are responded to so late that I forget the original request. I can not even reply to the representatives response. I followed the generic response of looking into repayment plan options but I am not eligible for any of them. This leaves me at square 1. I am very irritated with all of this. I will essentially have to make the large payment until I file my taxes in order for my adjusted income to be considered. I can not afford to pay anything over {$50.00} a month and feed myself and children. I would have to sacrifice food/gas in order to pay my student loan amount listed. If that is my choice food/gas will always win as I have children to care for. I do not know what to do. I can make the payment in the amount I can afford each month but I will always have a balance forwarded. And Im still trying to understand when did the payment plans/options go from 12 months to less than 12.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 77449
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: 1 ) Navient provides misleading information to customers about their payments. Every time I made an overpayment, a pop up box would prompt me to indicate how I would like my payment applied. The pop up box was misleading. It said something like " would you like to not have another payment until [ due date approximately two months ahead ] or would you like your payment due on [ next regular due date ]. '' I no longer have an account with them, so I can't exactly recreate the prompt, but it really made it seem like there is a huge advantage to having your payment be due farther in the future. And no advantage to just paying extra and then having your bill come due again right away. The prompt doesn't even include the word principal. And the prompt certainly doesn't indicate that by applying an overpayment to the PRINCIPAL, you will reduce the overall amount of interest that you pay over the course of the loan. This prompt appears to be designed in a self-serving fashion to guide borrowers to continue paying the highest amount of interest, rather than paying down the principal to reduce interest in the future. Other loans I have use a simple radio dial to indicate if you want your overpayment applied to the principal or to cover the next payment. The word principal is always used. This is a balanced and informative choice. Do you want to pay down the principal or do you want to pay ahead on your next regular payment? Every mortgage servicer I have worked with ( several! ) automatically applies overpayments to the principal unless you indicate otherwise. This is standard practice because most people want to pay their loans off faster if possible to avoid paying more interest in the long run. I'm deeply concerned that Navient works with many first-time borrowers who are not experienced with loan payments, and their prompt is worded in a way that is counterintuitive and makes it seem like there is no advantage to paying more now and just having another payment due right away. Of course paying down the principal is a big advantage and all borrowers need to know what principal is, and if they don't know use the word anyway so they will look it up and find out. When I took out a mortgage at age XXXX, I needed to learn about principal. My mortgage lender did not mislead me. They made it clear that if I pay down the principal, my loan will end sooner and I will pay less interest in the long run. A student loan servicer that students are forced to deal with for their federal student loans should be MORE helpful and transparent than a run-of-the-mill mortgage servicer. Not less. I think it's unacceptable that federal student loans are still being processed by Navient considering all the many many many problems they have. 2 ) I also had a lot of trouble getting Navient to disclose how much interest I was being charged each period ( again, something that has been clear as day with every other loan servicer I have ever worked with ). Navient 's interface just shows your balance, what your last payment was, and what the next payment due is. Even after calling their customer service and emailing, it took multiple contacts before anyone could point me to my actual monthly statement which was buried in a nearly impossible to find series of links within links within strangely-labeled links. The process was something like, click on account info, then FAQ, then communications, then summary, then... and eventually somewhere in there the monthly statements can be found. Again, in the interest of transparency, there should be a clearly labeled link called " monthly statements '' or alternatively under documents, the first thing listed should be " monthly statements. '' Burying the monthly statements makes no sense. 3 ) As a final note, when I found a way to refinance my student loans for the exclusive purpose of changing loan servicers, it was difficult to get my loan payoff document. Again, it was buried and required multiple contacts to get my bank the right document. Again, under documents, the last link on the list should be " loan payoff letter '' and it should be easily accessible so that people can escape Navient. It took so long to obtain a loan payoff letter from Navient that my refi application nearly expired before I was able to finalize the new loan. Congress needs to take responsibility for working with a very poor loan servicer and forcing potentially inexperienced borrowers to navigate Navient 's deceptive practices.
Company Response:
State: WI
Zip: 53704
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have had two separate but similar issues with Navient that have resulted in them capitalizing interest on my account and it I worry that these issues appear systematic and designed. I am on an IBR plan and have been for the last 8 years. On this plan I have to submit two documents, my taxes and a IBR application, annually to keep my payment plan. In 2016, I submitted both of these documents and was notified shortly after my the expiration of my current loan period that the IBR application I had sent in was the previous years version ( although when I sent it, it was current ). I was informed that my correction was days late and I was left with capitalization. This happened again today. I sent in all my annual paper months ago. When I went to make a payment today I noticed my interested had capitalized yesterday. I called and they informed me that the upload of my document was missing a page. I explained that this error was on their end as my file is complete. I informed them that I could upload the file again today. They replied they the capitalized interest will not be changed. Both of these document issues resulted in approx {$40000.00} of capitalized interest.
Company Response:
State: WA
Zip: 98177
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-11-27
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: During the last 3 years, navient has been charging me close to XXXX dollars a month. My current income is XXXX a year. I have been on the phone with them several times over the years so come up with a lower monthly payment plan. They claimed I can not do that. They also claimed that Ive been in forbearance twice for deferred payments. Even though Ive been on auto pay since 2015. They provide no help for economic hardship and claim Forbearance is my only option ( which I have to pay for just to get it ). My bank accounts have no proof of deferred payment activity or forbearance. But apparently On their side there is. Im extremely frustrated.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 30188
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-11-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A