Date Received: 2020-01-03
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: I recently left school and applied for an income continent based repayment plan. I submitted three applications and each time FedLoan Servicing put me on a standard repayment plan with monthly payments of {$1000.00} which is almost half of my monthly income. I have called, written and submitted requests for the income contingent plan and they refused to acknowledge the applications. Today, FedLoan told me if I paid them {$5.00} they would consider putting me on an income contingent plan. They transferred me and I was on hold for one hour when I gave up. I requested a call back with their system and that also put me on hold. The FedLoan Service is violating the law by forcing me to pay for an income contingent plan. Further they will not respond either by phone, mail or online to my repeated requests and applications for the income contingent plan. I told them it was illegal to charge me and they said if I don't pay them {$5.00} they will keep me on the standard plan with a monthly payment of {$1000.00} for the next 25 years.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 75214
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-01-03
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: I have been right on time and paying more the what my payment is on my student loan every month. I paid {$90.00} to American education services XX/XX/XXXX. No they are demanding I pay {$280.00} XX/XX/XXXX and I just got a noticed that I had to pay XXXX by XX/XX/XXXX!!! What kind of XXXX is that! Thats over {$400.00}! I can not believe they are trying to scam more money from me. If this is not resolved I will be getting a lawyer. They contacted me way to late and are asking for separate payments way to close together.
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 177XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-01-03
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have turned in several applications : XXXX forgiveness, Obama, and Public Loan Service forgiveness. All of which have been sitting on someones desk, not processed. I was told so many excuses but the truth and what was given to me- that was " your loan is forgiven ''. I even applied Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness. What I got was XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX more payments and for them to tell me to refinance and they do not know what to do was the response I got. Fedloan says that my age of account is 5 years 3months, but that is incorrect. I have never refinanced nor did I get a loan from them 5 years 3 months. This company has ruined my credit and life.
Company Response:
State: VA
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-01-03
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have been working with FedLoan Servicing since XX/XX/XXXX to calculate a reasonable repayment plan for my student loans that total {$120000.00}. FedLoan has insisted that through an IDR plan I should be able to make a monthly payment of anywhere from {$1200.00} a month to {$700.00} a month - this is unreasonable. It is pertinent to know that my loans were consolidated in XX/XX/XXXX. This recent fall I worked with XXXX XXXX to better understand my repayment options with FedLoan. XXXX XXXX has indicated that it is best to use an IBR plan, which was never suggested by FedLoan, to make a monthly payment of {$270.00} a month. This is a reasonable payment. I submitted the paperwork for the IBR in XX/XX/XXXX and did not hear back from FedLoan in the time period they stated they would share the results. I contacted FedLoan on XX/XX/XXXX to learn that I was expected to pay a {$5.00} fee to opt out of the IDR plan to be considered for the IBR plan, which was not communicated to me, but I was informed that this requirement was stated on page 6 of the application in small, light gray font - nefarious. Yesterday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification that my IBR plan is two monthly payments of {$270.00} and {$450.00} a month and now my loans are no longer consolidated. There is DLSCNS loan program and a DLUCNS loan program now on my account - none of which has been explained to me. II also want to note that I am not able to download documents previous to XXXX as FedLoan has made the documents unavailable in my FedLoan inbox. I need help working with FedLoan to get to a monthly payment that I can afford. I have been XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX years, I have made many attempts to work with FedLoan to make reasonable monthly payments with no success.
Company Response:
State: AZ
Zip: 85396
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-03
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-01-02
Issue: Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly
Subissue: Talked to a third-party about your debt
Consumer Complaint: XXXX XXXX XXXX discussed my debt with my father and mother-in-law without my consent.
Company Response:
State: OR
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-02
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2020-01-01
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: I have acquired student loans through XXXX ( XXXX ) and XXXX XXXX school ( XXXX ) education. I have had multiple loan servicers including XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX and now most recently FedLoans. I am currently in the PSLF program and have requested multiple times for over 2 years a count of my qualifying payments. Both of my employers through my residency program and XXXX XXXX XXXX are qualifying employers, but these 7 years worth of payments have not been counted appropriately. My payment plans have included IDR/IBR. It appears that with the changing of loan servicers my account had been put on multiple forbearance holds from XXXX, including administrative holds, to which I was unaware. This has negatively impacted my credit report and credit score as well.
Company Response:
State: MD
Zip: 20774
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2020-01-01
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-12-31
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I am currently enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program ( PSLF ). I have verified that I am qualified for this program and have followed all steps with FedLoans as my servicer. I consolidated my loans to XXXX XXXX in XXXX for this program. I have been making payments since that time with exception of one year of granted forbearance during my fellowship. I have noticed very inaccurate information regarding my qualified payments for this loan program and called FedLoan Servicing on XX/XX/XXXX to request a recount of my payments. The representative told me that she noticed several payments were not counted and she would request a re-count. I have not heard back in regards to this requested information. I called the ombudsman on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to XXXX employee # XXXX and he verified the re-count was requested but did not have any further information for me. It is now XX/XX/XXXX and I have still not heard back from FedLoans and do not have an accurate payment count. I have been making qualified payments and need to know when I can apply for loan forgiveness as the time is coming to do so soon. I am making major life decisions based on this loan forgiveness program. I have a husband and XXXX young children and I have declined taking high paying for-profit jobs to continue working in non-profit positions for this loan payment program. I have about {$370000.00} in student loans and have been making high monthly payments on time to assure loan forgiveness. FedLoan must be held accountable for what they have promised and what they are responsible for. It is hard to trust a company who is ultimately responsible for my entire loan forgiveness when they can not even provide a timely and accurate payment count.
Company Response:
State: AK
Zip: 995XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-12-31
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-12-31
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Consumer Complaint: I have consolidated my federal loans and they are handled by the FedLoan Servicing. I am in the Public Service Forgiveness Program where as long as I work for the government, I am required to make 120 qualifying payments towards my loan amount and the rest is forgiven. The key to the program is to have the qualifying payments which are counted by FedLoan Servicing retroactively once the payer shows that they are employed by a public service organization. Two years ago, in 2017 I had a case opened with FedLoan Servicing to look into whether the payments were calculated correctly for me. I had calculated more payments than what I was being told. FedLoans opened a case and said that they will look into the discrepancy. I would call every few months or so to follow up on the open case and each time I was told that it is being worked on. It has now been two years since the case was opened. Nothing has happened. In addition, FedLoan Servicing is not counting any payments I made since 2017 when the case was opened because they say that the case has to be resolved first, before any more payments are counted towards my program. FedLoan Servicing also told me that there is nothing else they can do to speed up the review of the opened case or even to close it because it is not handled by them directly. I would like for this issue to be resolved and for FedLoan Servicing to count my qualifying payments. I am afraid that this is a tactic and nothing will get resolved.
Company Response:
State: NJ
Zip: 073XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-12-31
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-12-31
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Problem lowering your monthly payments
Consumer Complaint: I could not find a more appropriate category, but I am struggling under the weight of my federal student loans. I elected to participate in public service loan forgiveness. I am on the income based repayment plan. I am grateful that the program exists, but if for some reason the program does not exist in 3.5 years when I complete 120 payments, I will have paid more than {$100000.00} and paid no principal at all. I have made 76 payments as part of the program. After 76 payments, I have paid {$51000.00} in interest and nothing on principle. The only principle satisfied on the loan was part of the State Department 's Student Loan Repayment Program, a taxed student loan forgiveness program for people working in war zones. That amount was {$5300.00} after tax. The current bill still shows interest owing on the loan. Making matters worse, my university tricked me into signing private loans. The loan officer, now retired, told me that I could not finish school if I did not take out private loans totaling {$50000.00}. I consolidated those loans through XXXX, but the variable interest rate is approaching 6 %. My student loan payments now top {$1300.00} a month and I have paid no principle at all.
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20009
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-12-31
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-12-30
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Don't agree with the fees charged
Consumer Complaint: I have had over {$66000.00} of capitalized interest added to my student loan balance over the past 7 years - all because I didn't do my yearly recertification for my income driven repayment plan in a timely manner. I understand that I must take some responsibility for failing to do the recertification, but I think that nearly {$70000.00} added to an account without any recourse is insane. I have continued to make my monthly payments, but I was ignorant as to why my account balance was going up until now. I spoke with XXXX and XXXX at FedLoan servicing on XX/XX/2019, and they informed me that there is nothing they can do. The notices they send out for recertification indicate that capitalized interest may be added to the accounts. It doesn't indicate the amount or that it is a guarantee. Worse, it doesn't list an amount of interest that will be added for failure to recertify. I should've asked questions before today, but this practice has to stop. I work hard trying to do the right thing and pay my loans back, but under this system, I will be paying forever. I hope that someone can look into this if not for me, then other people to come.
Company Response:
State: WI
Zip: 53224
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-12-30
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A