Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Information belongs to someone else
Consumer Complaint: DEPT OF ED / NELNET Account # XXXX 15.U.S.C 1681 section 602 A. states i have the right to privacy 15 U.S.C 1681 section 604 A section 2 : it also states a consumer reporting agency can not furnish a account without my written instructions
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 22309
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2024-01-07
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-29
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have tried to redirect the additional money I send in monthly to specified loan amounts which is an option on the website. I have gotten an error message on several attempts on different days and have called Nelnet to correct this issue. The service rep was not able to do this during the call, but only submit a request and expect that someone will update this and send me confirmation. The rep is also unable to redirect my additional payment upon request. There is not a dept for online issues and no one else to be directed to. I am actually unable to access my account to send any documentation or screen shots as I write this complaint. I believe this system to be faulty and also believe the website to be misleading in how it recommends payments to be directed.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 60618
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-29
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't temporarily delay making payments
Consumer Complaint: I am in the process of getting a job opportunity and trying to repay my student loans. However I keep getting non-stop phone calls everyday and was told that they won't stop and need to stop. I will repay this however it is making it more difficult. They have been calling me almost everyday for the last 2 years now. I was told by the Biden-Harris admin that I received an email of student loan cancellation and is in the process since I was eligible and received an email from them. I would like the phone calls to stop.
Company Response:
State: WI
Zip: 54115
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: XXXX XXXX : I submitted my application for SAVE repayment plan via Studentaid.gov. XXXX XXXX XXXX Nelnet confirmed receipt of my application ( that had been transferred to them by Studentaid.gov ) XXXX XXXX : Nelnet sent an email requesting additional documentation required to review my application ; I uploaded this to their website on XXXX ( their website confirms documents were uploaded on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : I received an email from Nelnet that my " request had been received XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I sent an inquiry to Nelnet.net, via their website, requesting status update on my application. XXXX XXXX : Nelnet responded with a request for more information regarding my income ; I uploaded this to their website on XXXX ( their website confirms documents were uploaded on XXXX XXXX Documents included NYS unemployment benefits ( and expiration of benefits as of XXXX ), income from all part-time employment, and a self-certification letter as requested by Nelnet. - XXXX : I sent another inquiry to Nelnet requesting a status update on the processing of my application and whether there were any additional documents needed. I did not receive a response. - XXXX : I sent another inquiry to Nelnet requesting a status update. I did not receive a response. XXXX XXXX : I checked the Nelnet website and my application was listed as " still pending : and was instructed to check back in 10 days. XXXX XXXX : I received an email from Nelnet that my application was " still pending '' but this email did not indicate that any further documentation or action was required on my part. XXXX XXXX : I submitted a formal complaint with NYS DFS and requested help to try and elicit a response from Nelnet. XXXX XXXX : I received a response from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that the issue had been resolved. This response did not provide any actionable information and my account remained " still pending '' on the Nelnet.net website. XXXX XXXX XXXX I sent a response email to XXXX XXXX informing them the issue had in fact not been resolved and requested they reopen my complaint as the issue was still ongoing. I did not receive a response to this request. - XXXX XXXX I checked the Nelnet website and my application was listed as " still pending '' and was instructed to check back in 10 days. - XXXX : I checked the Nelnet website and my application was listed as " still pending '' and was instructed to check back in 10 days. - XXXX : I sent emails to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX requesting updates. Throughout this entire process, Nelnet has claimed they would keep me updated via email every 10 days that my application was still being processed but I seldom received an email from them. All the while, interest has been accruing ( {$1400.00} as of XXXX ) and my payments are scheduled to resume on XX/XX/XXXX at the Standard repayment rate. I was laid off in XXXX XXXX and have been working hard to stay afloat with XXXX work but am nowhere close to the income level I was at prior to being laid off. I want to repay my loans and it has been incredible how difficult Nelnet has been in helping me make this happen.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 11101
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: My student loan servicer is Nelnet. As soon as the option was available, I enrolled in the SAVE plan (Saving on a Valuable Education) via the Federal Aid website. It was then processed and estimated a monthly payment of ~XXXXXXXX. Based on what I have seen that payment should drop to around half in XXXX XXXX when the other provisions of SAVE kick in and discretionary income paid drops from 10% to 5%. This is just stuff I have heard. I have called Nelnet to speak with representatives before to verify this information (because $XXXX a month is really not affordable for me, but I was going to hold out and make those payments until XXXX when they drop to half), and some people are unsure or say, "Yeah, sure those payments will drop," but you can tell they don't actually know. Anyway, I was placed on "SAVE," and it said so in my Nelnet portal on the home page. I realized that I might have submitted the wrong XXXX in my application, so I resubmitted a SAVE application with Nelnet, which asked me to verify my income either through their website or I could import my IRS tax information into studentaid.gov and then have them submit that information to Nelnet- I chose the latter. Since then, sometime in XXXX, my status was switched from "SAVE" to "IDR Proc Admin" in my Nelnet account. I have called several times to check on the status, and I have also made 3 payments since then of what I can afford. I signed in today, and it still says it is processing my application, but now, on my Nelnet homepage, it says my repayment plan is the "Standard Repayment Plan," and it estimates my monthly payment to be about $XXXX. I call today on XXXX to ask several questions - one to ask why it says Standard Repayment in the repayment section because I applied for SAVE and wanted to see why it says Standard? It has said IDR Proc Admin there. The representative tells me that it's just because that application is still processing and she sees that. I was trying to explain that I was worried that they were switching it to say "Standard" so they could get out of forgiving the interest that has accumulated since I was placed in an administrative forbearance, because my account has said "IDR Proc Admin" until this point and on XXXX XXXX XXXX the department of education released a statement that includes "In certain circumstances where potential servicer errors may harm a borrowers progress toward loan forgiveness, the Department has directed servicers to count those periods in administrative forbearance toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment forgiveness and adjust accrued interest to XXXX (source: XXXXXXXX ). From a consumer standpoint, the language is very specific and says those accounts put in administrative forbearance will have accounts adjusted to account for this interim accrued interest, so to me, it appears almost as if Nelnet is saying I am in "Standard" repayment to get out of that? Maybe not, I just wanted to check but the representative doesn't even know how to reply. I said "Well they say they are only going to waive interest that says IDR plan, and mine did say IDR plan until a few days ago, so I'm checking to make sure that they will still uphold waiving my interest since they are the ones choosing to label my account as "Standard" even though it has been IDR proc admin" (which should count as an IDR plan that gets the administrative forbearance interest waived) for a few months. Before that it was listed as a processed "SAVE repayment plan" (Which is also an IDR plan that should get the administrative forbearance interest waived). She was unsure. I then said "okay, well I also see an accountment on my account homepage that says I can have my payments made refunded to me during this time and I would like to do that." The representative said I would have to "talk to my bank" which doesn't even make any sense. (For reference the statement on my loan homepage says "Recent Notification of Administrative Forbearance If you were recently notified that your student loan account was placed into an administrative forbearance for the months of XXXX through XXXX XXXX, and you would like to have any payment(s) you made during these months refunded to you, you have 90 calendar days from the date shown on your notification to contact us to request a refund."). I said "Oh well I am reading the announcement that it's giving me on my Nelnet homepage and it says to contact Nelnet if I want the payments refunded." She said, "Well, I only see one payment". I told her I had made 3 payments in XXXX and can see them in my payment activity. She then said she saw them (?) and put me on hold to contact a supervisor to get the payments refunded. I talked to the supervisor and explained the whole story. He said my original SAVE application was processed, but when I resubmitted in XXXX that is when I was placed in an administrative forbearance and that now it is moving up in the processing queue but he can get my payments refunded I have made in XXXX and that yes the SAVE Plan was processing. We then continue talking and he reaches out to another person to talk about my situation and getting payments refunded. When he comes back he says that basically it doesn't make sense to do the SAVE for me because of my income and that the monthly payment is high and that actually the lowest monthly payment is an ICR plan. I explained that I know ICR might be cheaper now but I know it is the most expensive over time and that yes my payments for SAVE were high but that I had read in XXXX XXXX when the rest of the provisions for SAVE kicked in my monthly payment is supposed to basically be halved because the plan will ask you to pay what it considered 5% of your discretionary income instead of 10%. So even though my payment was going to be high now, I was just going to try my best to stick it out until XXXX XXXX because then it would be around $XXXX or whatever which is basically the same monthly amount they are projecting for me under both the Standard Payment Plan and the ICR plan, with the added benefit of costing less over time than ICR and it's also an IDR plan so if for some reason something changes with my situation, regardless my loan will be forgiven after 20 years if I have any outstanding amount (I don't plan to have to but you never know). ALSO, again, the announcement suggests that the months I spent in administrative forbearance while processing my SAVE plan would count towards the 20 years of payments (it is also in the same statement as the XXXX XXXX announcement about waiving accrued interest. See: "In certain circumstances where a borrowers progress toward loan forgiveness may be harmed by potential servicer errors, the Department has directed servicers to count those periods in administrative forbearance toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment forgiveness and adjust accrued interest to XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX). He's like oh okay I see. We then continue talking and then we are talking about my application and he mentions that I had selected an Income Contingent Repayment plan. This is where I got confused. I said "..No I didn't? I never selected an ICR plan. When I went on Nelnet both times to apply for SAVE it gave that as an option and I didn't select that." he said "Well they put you in that one because right now it's the cheapest option for you" and I said that doesn't make any sense. I just thought maybe he didn't know what he was talking about because again, I have ran into lots of representatives not knowing what to tell me with all of these nuances... so I was like no I selected SAVE, and that doesn't make sense that they could just put me on an ICR plan when I didn't request to be on one? He then got a little upset/frustrated with me in tone (understandably because I am basically arguing at this point that he's wrong with whatever he must be looking at) but I told him even from my most recent statement published on XXXX it says under ALL of my loan groups XXXX XXXX XXXX) that my repayment plan is "SAVE." He said "That's because they JUST reprocessed your application, like today, so now I have to get you BACK on the SAVE plan, and I also will submit your refund for the payments you made in XXXX." I was worried maybe when he was discussing with the person he asked for assistance they just switched me to ICR since they saw it was the cheapest option and that Nelnet didn't actually do this but that he did. I'm not saying he did I was just concerned and this is why I kept questioning him on it. He basically says that they just put me on it today and now he has to get me back into SAVE and I'm like oh okay because I definitely don't want to be on an ICR plan and I am hoping that this back and forth as far as this goes will again further affect my account and make it complicated to where I don't get the accrued interest waived. During the conversation, the supervisor admitted he did not even KNOW about the payment dropping in half for SAVE in XXXX from 10% discretionary income to 5%, and I had to reference what I could find online explaining. The servicers I talked to months ago the last time I called for anything also did not know. The whole reason I want the 3 payments I made in XXXX refunded anyway is because I want them to make sure they cancel all the accrued interest during the IDR Proc Admin hold including the interest I had already paid in those 3 payments (Nelnet Lists the Interest Paid on these payments as XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX respectively). After being told that I would be put back on SAVE, later that day I logged into my account and it said SAVE as my plan and my monthly payment XXXX instead of StandardXXXX Why is it I had to call for this to be done? Again, why was it switched from Idr Proc Admin to Standard anyway? Again they said it was just a part of the application processing but that doesnt make sense to me since it had said IDR Proc Admin for several months now why now would it have switched to that? The representative said its because they had put me in an ICR plan but if thats the case why didnt the account say ICR under the repayment planning section and why wasnt the amount due listed the amount that I wouldve owed had I been in ICR? Its fine with me if its just a visual error and that it really didnt affect my account, but again I dont want the change of it saying IDR Proc Admin to something else (Wheter that be Standard or how it now says SAVE) to affect what interest should be waived during the months of XXXX XXXX XXXX. Now that my account lists the correct plan, I still think interest should be waived until my due date, no? Because it wouldnt even say the right thing had I not called, so why would I call? It doesnt make sense to penalize with more interest just because I took initiative to straighten things out. Had I not called it would still be in process correct? Maybe it still is in process, but it just says the right thing now? Every time you talk to someone, it feels like you know more than them, even though you feel like you know nothing. You're calling to get an understanding on how to best proceed since there have been so many announcements and a lack of clarification (ex, seeing the announcement I saw on the Department of Education website mentioning canceling IDR Proc Admin interest but it's not widely announced or easy to keep up with changes or understand because when you search for information often news articles or websites are referencing old or unrelated announcements/actual laws/legal jargon/groups of borrowers that don't apply to you). Nobody knows what is going on, and it's not their fault, but it makes the situation so complicated (see this complaint). It creates an environment where the student loan company can exploit the consumer either knowingly or even unknowingly and unable to keep up with what is supposed to be implemented. Who will even follow up with them to make sure they cancel this accrued interest caused by the servicer delays and being placed in an administrative forbearance? Are they really going to calculate the proper amount of interest to cancel? They should calculate from whenever I was placed in September on administrative forebearance to whenever I am taken out which I am not even taken out of it right now, according to my account my payment is due in XXXX. What if they don't acknowledge that they put me in the administrative forbearance? I don't even know whether I should make a payment right now or wait until my "due" date of XXXX because I feel like the more payments I make until my due date the more it will confuse the backlogging of waiving the administrative forbearance interest, if my student loan company even does it at all. Overall, I am concerned that my interest in IDR Proc Admin will not be waived if it is supposed to be. My balance has continued increasing (balance: XXXX XXXX XXXX). The accrued interest on my account has continued increasing (accrued interest listed on these dates: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Again I made payments in XXXX which if refunded should not increase the interest owed. I also don't want the switch that apparently happened (or happened according to service rep?) from SAVE to "ICR" while re-processing my SAVE plan to affect me because I have been on a SAVE plan OR Idr Proc Admin status since I originally applied for SAVE as soon as it came out.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 272XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: My credit score went down XXXX points within 30 days in XX/XX/2023 due to Nelnet reporting that I missed a payment which negatively affected my credit score significantly. This was not true. My original first payment date for Nelnet student loan repayment was XX/XX/2023. However at the beginning of XX/XX/2023 I applied for a Extended Standard Repayment plan and Nelnet was taking time to process the change of plans and notified me that my NEW first payment date for repayment will be XX/XX/2023. That is when I was notified on XX/XX/2023 that my credit score dropped XXXX points due to the " missed payment '' on my student loans with Nelnet. Nelnet INCORRECTLY reported this to the credit bureau and I would like for this to be amended and my score to be fixed.
Company Response:
State: CT
Zip: 064XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with your payment plan
Consumer Complaint: My loans were switched from XXXX XXXX to Nelnet. Once that occurred, it took forever for the loans to transfer resulting in my credit being affected. Then I applied for the SAVES income driven repayment option. This has been processing for MONTHS. I keep getting automated emails that it is still in process, that they are behind and my account has been placed on administrative forbearance. Now my credit is once again being affected as my loans are now accruing more interest during this administrative forbearance. This is completely unacceptable for this company. I NEVER had issues with my credit with XXXX XXXX. This needs to be resolved. Is this even legal for them to drag their feel to continue charging us more and more interest?
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 79924
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-28
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have had to call Nelnet 5 times, about the same issues, regarding my repayment plan. Each time I call the wait time is close to 2 hours long, and I receive different answers from each representative I speak to. On top of this, each time a representative gives me information, nothing of what we spoke about actually happens on my account leading me to have to call back again, over and over. I was initially told that all groups of loans will be placed on an extended graduated repayment plan and the total of the payments will be {$290.00}. This has changed several times since I was told this on XXXX The payments have jumped to over {$570.00}, then reduced but still higher than the initial amount given to me on XX/XX/. Then I was given completely different information and amounts of what the payments will be. Literally, each time I speak to a representative, the amounts and information provided to me are completely different. I want resolve. I want a payment that I can afford so that I can make them timely each month. I want what I was told would happen to actually occur on my account. I was told, {$290.00} TOTAL - this includes all groups of my loans, on the extended graduated plan. The amount of time, anguish, irritation, effort, etc. that I have to put into getting accurate information for my loans is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. Nelnet is a student loan servicing company contracted by the Department of Education to service direct and Federal Family Education Loans. However, it seems they are severely understaffed as well as not fully equipped or trained as to how to properly service, process, and execute the information provided to customers about their loans. I want resolve. I want to not have to spend time each week, holding for almost 2 hours each time, just to be told different information than the last time I called. I want the total payment that I was told I would have of {$290.00} TOTAL which is inclusive of all my groups of loans.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 28214
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-28
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-27
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem with your payment plan
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX2023 I paid off the entire remaining due balance of my student loans on Nelnet, a total of XXXX. I ensured group ID was selected for ALL to ensure my full payment was allocated to each loan group and each would be paid off in full. My Nelnet ID account number is : XXXX. I have attached proof of this payment. I have confirmation that the full payment was taken out of my bank account as well. Of my full payment to my student loans, Nelnet only applied {$26000.00} to my principal. My payment in full was incorrectly allocated which led to an incorrect remaining balance due of {$61000.00}. Somehow, {$68000.00} was applied towards my group XXXX loan, yet the loan still has a remaining principal balance of XXXX. Only {$410.00} was applied towards my group XXXX loan, yet the loan still has a remaining balance of {$31000.00}. I have attached screenshots of this as well. Since this error, these loans have still been incorrectly accruing interest. I spoke to a NelNet manager on XX/XX/XXXX23 named XXXX XXXX employee ID : XXXX ) who could not give me any information on how or why this happened. I paid my loan in full correctly and he admitted this was a clear, egregious error in their system. Also, he could not tell me exactly when their accounting department will fix this error. While they are not urgently fixing their error, my incorrect remaining balance is accruing interest. I have attached screenshots of this as well. I have tried to call Nelnet multiple times, and have received no update on when this will be corrected and each time I have called has been over a 2-hour wait time to talk to someone.
Company Response:
State: CO
Zip: 80204
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2023-12-27
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: The nelnet company is a completely incompetent company the customer service representatives do not ever answer the phone calls their emails are backlogged the website is down so i can not make a payment tried calling but wait times are greater than 30 minutes and I waited for 2 hours never spoke to anyone
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: 245XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2023-12-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A