Date Received: 2016-06-26
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are handled
Consumer Complaint: My servicer Nelnet is taking any loan payment I make in excess of monthly accrued interest and applying it to the principal of the loan with the lowest interest rate ( lender friendly result ). I asked them to change this and they said I can not since I 'm on an IBR plan. This seems predatory to me.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 11101
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-24
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about my loan
Consumer Complaint: My Husband and I complete FAFSA forms EVERY YEAR for our Parent Plus Student Loan and because of my husbands income we never qualified for any assistance. My husband has been on EVERY FAFSA and we originally began these Plus loans with XXXX. We have paid XXXX payments ( 10 years ) and as my husband is in XXXX we were told we qualified for this program ( If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program ) When I contact Nelnet today they told me my husbands name is not on the loan????? We have never removed him from the loan. The FAFSA directed us to XXXX and his earnings were included in the loan determination, just as they were when we were REJECTED from receiving any assistance. This means after his 30 years of public service ( he is still in XXXX XXXX ) and our 120 months of 100 % on time payments, Nelnet is telling me he is not on the loan and we can not take advantage of this program? All of the debt we have incurred in our 34 years of marriage have been joint. Nelnet is the XXXX largest purchase in our married life ( Home purchase being 1st ) and now mysteriously he is not on the loan? Again, he is on EVERY FAFSA to reject any assistance and I am furious and will retain an attorney if this is not resolved. ALSO Nelnet charges interest DAILY on these loans. This is the definition of predatory lending. " Predatory lending is any lending practice that imposes unfair or abusive loan terms on a borrower. It is also any practice that convinces a borrower to accept unfair terms through deceptive, coercive, exploitative or unscrupulous actions '' We still owe 50 % of amount of debt as when we started and we 've paid {$50000.00}. Nelnet is corrupt beyond belief and now that I have the time to examine their predatory lending it 's clear what they are doing to students and parents - robbing them blind!
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92056
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-24
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Having problems with customer service
Consumer Complaint: I have a Student Loan that upon becoming XXXX I had to resign from my job as a XXXX in XXXX. I have since been in contact with the company that my loan had been transferred to called NelNet after as well as during my employment. I informed them thoroughly and provided them the information they requested of me in order to apply for the programs they offered which were only either a forbearance or deferment ... despite me telling them from at least XXXX through the present that I had resigned due to my health, they mentioned nothing related to XXXX or XXXX until later, in which I sent them additional information to verify I had finally been approved for my XXXX benefits in XXXX, and thereafter in which they are now telling me I have never submitted anything ( because they can not locate anything regarding that in their history of records there - even though it should all be there because I know for a fact I did send things in to verify my status all along the way. Most currently would be the completed application that my doctor and I filled out in XXXX which I also faxed in to them that they told me they received but are now saying they do n't have it or any of my award letters, etc. That 's what I am just finding out, because in XXXX ... I also had to file a Chapter XXXX BK and I included NelNet in my list of creditors as well, since they declined to give me a total and permanent discharge all times prior with all the information they had received. My BK was discharged, but NelNet is still insisting they were not included to be discharged & have been essentially asking for the same information I have already provided them that has been and still is in reference to what they now claim is not in their file - now wanting me to repeat the process for XXXX - & /or - Send them proof of my XXXX ( award Letter ) - & /or a statement from an SSA form called a XXXX that NOBODY from there has ever mentioned to me before which will confirm whether I am declared as XXXX or not. They now say in informing me recently that it will go by XXXX 's 5 - or 7 year XXXX update review, in which by record I was declared as XXXX and approved for benefits in XXXX XXXX, - & had my first XXXX Update review in XXXX XXXX in which I provided the information SSA requested of me along with a list of my known conditions & Doctors Contact info, etc. - & they responded XXXX XXXX telling me that they would not be contacting my doctor at that time & would keep the information I gave them. Although I do not have a XXXX form, - that is all SSA has given me so far to this date ( which is an update given 5 years ( not 3 or less ) from my date of approval- XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ). SSA has not contacted me since then for another update or additional information. The 5 year update was in XXXX from XXXX, and this is now XXXX, approx. 3 years later which makes it 8 yrs since I was approved, not 5 or 7 or less. BUT- since NelNet claimed they were n't included on my BK discharge ( XXXX ) & has gotten rid of all the XXXX documents I submitted prior to ever filing BK - to request defer, forbearance and XXXX - and also wo n't forgive the debt through the fact I also was a former XXXX, - I have found that they consistently re-aged the debt from the date of my delinquency/ last payment made ( approx.XXXX ) and reported it to the Credit Agencies beyond the 7 years - & now re-aged it again and transferred it in XXXX XXXX to a company called XXXX who listed me owing now in XXXX XXXX over {$42.00}, XXXX and climbing - from NelNets amount at the time of their transfer in XXXX XXXX as approx. {$32000.00} - last payment made according to NelNet XXXX XXXX . Is this fair debt collecting practices and reporting?
Company Response:
State: AZ
Zip: 85281
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-29
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-24
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about my loan
Consumer Complaint: I noticed that my student loans was not XXXX balanced on my credit report and they should be. I am going to attach the form that shows I owe nothing on my loans. I need the information corrected with XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 770XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-25
Issue: Can't repay my loan
Subissue: Can't temporarily postpone payments
Consumer Complaint: 1. Nelnet is billing me, after only 90 days from graduation, for the old student loans. 2. Nelnet is not allowing me to have a deferment. 3. Nelnet is billing me for {$10000.00} more than expected on my total amount due.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 613XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-06-24
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Having problems with customer service
Consumer Complaint: My wife became eligible for XXXX Loan Forgiveness in XX/XX/XXXX after XXXX for 11 years in a low income district ( a technicality at the state level kept her school building off the list of low income school but it was added retroactively ). We applied immediately to Nelnet and XXXX, the XXXX servicers for her student loans. A little over a month later we received the first round of rejection letters. We had followed the directions as they were written on the federal form and listed all of the qualifying school buildings she had worked in ( all certified by the same CAO in Section XXXX ). Both providers wanted separate applications for each school building while the instructions required only that all schools be listed. We followed the instructions of the servicers and reapplied. We were then rejected by both servicers because the database listed " XXXX '' instead of " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' which is what the CAO wrote when he filled out the form for a second time. We were also told that the school was not listed for all of the years the CAO listed for her employment. He listed all 11 years of service and within those years were 5 consecutive years that were listed. After a phone call to XXXX we were also told that we would need to submit a copy of my wife 's XXXX certificate and a letter from her principal stating she had XXXX ( both of which, according to the application ) were certified by the CAO in Section XXXX already and to only list the years that qualified her for forgiveness. The federal application does not ask for these items but a form added by XXXX on their website does. For our third application to XXXX and Nelnet we only listed the five consecutive years of service that qualified and included a printout from the database, included a letter from her principal and a copy of her XXXX certificate, had the CAO certify she had worked at the " XXXX XXXX XXXX. '' just as the database described it, and filled out the remaining parts of the form exactly as we had the first two times. We sent identical applications to both XXXX and Nelnet. Yesterday we received another rejection from Nelnet stating we filled out section XXXX incorrectly. We had checked the box stating we had applied for forgiveness previously with another servicer and listed XXXX and their contact information. The instructions said that if you had applied and not yet received forgiveness to the the forgiveness amount blank. Neither XXXX nor Nelnet raised this objection with the first XXXX applications. I believe I was, once again, following the directions as they were written but Nelnet wants another application with the other box checked. Thus they will get a couple more months of fees from the government and we will spend another {$500.00} in loan payments for a loan that should have been forgiven several months ago. XXXX will probably raise the same objection. It seems that a new objection is raised every time we apply costing us hundreds of dollars and added interest. The objections are often as a result of unclear directions on the federal form or the servicer just making up their own policies. Should XXXX again reject the application I will file an additional complaint. Had all of these objections been listed upon the first objection we would not be trying to track down signatures during summer break from people on vacation in order to make our fourth application.
Company Response:
State: MO
Zip: 640XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-27
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-23
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are handled
Consumer Complaint: I have arranged to add an additional amount to my monthly auto debit payments on my student loans. I 'm told that because my groups have different due dates, Nelnet will not make a payment on a loan group that is paid ahead, so interest grows and grows despite the fact that I 'm paying over {$100.00} per month above my minimum payments. This month, Nelnet took roughly {$150.00} above my minimum monthly payment ( as I set up ) and did not even cover outstanding interest on XXXX of my loan groups, paying only about {$8.00} for the month, and leaving over {$30.00} of unpaid interest. This loan accrues about {$8.00} in interest every week, which would lead to me paying about an extra {$70.00} in interest by the time they take another full payment, despite arranging for about {$300.00} in extra auto payments above minimum in that time frame. If I did n't feel like I had to check this account weekly to see how they decide to split my " automatic '' payment I 'd never notice that they 're letting some loans accrue interest ( higher interest loans ) while making additional payments on lower interest groups. It will not take long at all for this practice to result in my paying significantly more in interest than I save with the 0.25 % reduction. Why is it made so difficult for me to stay on top of my loans? No other loan servicer I 've ever had ( auto, mortgage, etc ) has gone out of their way to make it difficult for me to make my payments. Why is it that I have to log in to this site every time I want to take any semblance of control over my student loans? I ca n't even set up more than XXXX extra payment at a time, so if I want to pay an extra amount on a different group each month, that 's XXXX logins. I would guess I spend about 6 hours a month managing the " auto-debit '' on my loan to make sure Nelnet is n't taking advantage of me.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 48060
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-23
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-22
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Subissue: Having problems with customer service
Consumer Complaint: Resolution of the following issue is still outstanding. Using the Income Based Repayment ( IBR ) plan, payee contacted the loan service provider questioning the degree of increase in monthly payments from XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX year to the XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX year. After repeated attempts to verify calculation with written documentation, the loan service provider could not confirm the calculation amount was correct. The service provider failed to return phone calls as promised, disconnected phone calls with the payee, communicated to the payee that she should " just pay the amount '' without questioning why it increased so extensively, failed to put the payee in contact with any senior management who could assist in resolving the issue, and refuses to provide written confirmation demonstrating how the IBR calculation accounts for a spouse 's loan amount as a variable in the IBR baseline methodology. The service provider in several instances affirmed that the payee 's calculation " looked too high '' and a supervisor confirmed that an analyst was working to reconcile the discrepancy, but the issue still remains outstanding. The payee contacted the service provider 14 days before payment was due, communicated to the service provider that she would not pay the amount until the calculation was confirmed as correct, asked for administrative forbearance until the issue is resolved, and is still receiving past due notices and advisement that interest will be capitalized because of failure to pay. The payee is willing and able to pay an amount that is correct, and should not be subject to scare tactics to incentivize payment of an amount that is inaccurate. The payee and spouse have been in almost daily phone contact with the service provider over the past 22 days and nothing is resolved. Payee and spouse have encountered incredibly poor customer service including representation of wrong information, unreturned phone calls, lack of written communication and clarification, incompetence in understanding what is required for IBR recertification and calculation methodologies, and just rude phone discussions with customer service representatives, account managers, and supervisors. Payee is effectively being penalized for the service providers incompetence and failure to appropriately conduct business with payee customers.
Company Response:
State: IA
Zip: 51503
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-22
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: No
Date Received: 2016-06-20
Issue: Can't repay my loan
Subissue: Can't get flexible payment options
Consumer Complaint: NelNet continues to practice inconsistent customer service and other inconsistent lending practices. Since the inception of my student loan in XXXX XXXX, I was informed for first time in XXXX XXXX that credit card is an acceptable method of payment by customer service representatives. I have called in, talked to a representative, and made one-time lump payments of {$4000.00} on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, and XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I attempted to make the same transaction and was denied. However, the same transaction was approved 3 times previously. I was informed they can not accept a " debt for debt payment '' as per SSA guidelines. I was told if I were to file bankruptcy, and made credit card payments it would dissolve that portion of the student debt as it has been offset by potential credit card debt. Further, I was informed I can not make a credit payment in excess of monthly payment amount. The payment amount is an arbitrary allocation of cost. Based on those grounds, if I requested a revised payment schedule based on a different payback period, I could simply work around the method outlined by the representative. I am not in acknowledgment of any modifications to my loan which revokes this privilege. Payment is payment and it should not be determined by the lender of which form of payment is " more credible ''.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 60178
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-20
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes
Date Received: 2016-06-18
Issue: Can't repay my loan
Subissue: Can't decrease my monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: I have made several attempts to get my loan payment reduced ( even prior to filing Chapter XXXX bankruptcy ) but no one at the XXXX seems interested. Currently, I only make {$50000.00} a year gross and that is not taking into account deductions for taxes, XXXX insurance, child support, and school tuition for the my child along with daily living expenses such as food, gas, required auto and renter 's insurance, etc. The most I could pay a month is {$50.00} a month. However, with the interest rates the XXXX has set, I would not even make a dent in the interest.
Company Response:
State: NC
Zip: 27215
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2016-06-18
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: Yes