Consumer complaint received 2023-11-15
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: VA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for my current Income-Driven Repayment plan for my student loans at Nelnet to be changed to the SAVE-type of repayment program that has recently come out from the Dept of Education. After sending in this application to change repayment schedules [ to the SAVE program of repayment ] in XXXX, I did not hear back from Nelnet concerning the application. 

On XXXX, I received an email [ see attached file ] stating that a payment of {$0.00} was due on my account, on the due date of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. This made sense, as on both the regular Income-Driven Repayment program that I had, and on the new SAVE-type repayment plan I had applied for [ in XXXX ] but had not yet been approved for, my payment due in XXXX should have been {$0.00}, as I am currently unemployed and have {$0.00} monthly gross income. 

Erroneously, and without any further emails from Nelnet, my XXXX checking account was auto-charged by Nelnet, my student loan servicer, on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX for the amount of {$150.00} USD. Seeing this charge, I went online to my online Nelnet account to see why this payment was charged to my XXXX Account. I learned that [ again, erroneously ], all of my loan repayment plans had been switched to a regular/standard repayment plan without my knowledge. Normally changing the terms and type of repayment schedule requires a good deal of forms and agreeing to the new terms of the loan ; this was never done by me, and the Nelnet resolution XXXX, XXXX, stated he did not have any application to change my loan schedule and could not tell me how the repayment plan had been switched by them to a regular/standard repayment schedule where payments are regularly due each month, from the [ correct ] income-driven repayment program I was supposed to be on. This conversation was had after needing to wait for over XXXX hours and XXXX minutes on hold to reach someone from Nelnet by phone, on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I showed him the statement sent to me by Nelnet to my email, on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX showing I had an amount due of {$0.00} on XXXX. He agreed that the charge was an incorrect auto-debit, due to their system looking at old information on my account rather than the amount that was actually due [ and that {$0.00} was, if fact, the correct amount due ]. 

He placed my student loan account into administrative forbearance while the payment schedule issue was resolved [ which, I was told, could take a good deal of time ]. However, XXXX the Nelnet resolution specialist stated that due to understaffing issues and an enormous amount of erroneous payment claims and other problems with individuals being serviced by Nelnet, that it would be much faster to have a payment reversal performed by XXXXXXXX XXXX on the {$150.00} charge, rather than him submitting an application for Nelnet to credit the {$150.00} back my XXXXXXXX XXXX account. He stated that such an application for them to credit this charge back to me would take an indefinite period of time and indicated that it would likely be many months, before I got my money back. He further stated that Nelnet would not dispute the payment reversal if it was requested by me through XXXXXXXX XXXX 
Therefore, I am submitting this letter requesting that the charge of {$150.00} USD made on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, be reversed and placed back into my account. 

Additionally, I placed a new application through Nelnet on this same date as calling Nelnet, on XX/XX/XXXX for all of my student loans to be placed on the SAVE repayment plan [ which has lower interest accruement per month than other loan repayment plans. ] I was told by XXXX, the Nelnet specialist that he saw and Nelnet had received this application, and that I only needed to complete an Income Self-Certification Letter yet, and Nelnet would have everything they needed to change my student loan repayment plan to the SAVE repayment plan. Nelnet sent me an email on this same date [ XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ] on how to fill out this fairly simple letter. I submitted the letter in the format asked of me in the email on that same day of XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into my student loan online account on Nelnet, to find that, rather than having my loan repayment schedule changed to the SAVE repayment plan I had requested and sent all requested documents for to Nelnet, Nelnet had instead switched most but not all, of my loans to the Pay As You Earn [ PAYE ] repayment plan, something I never requested but has a higher interest rate for XXXX XXXX, than the SAVE repayment plan. Additionally, some loans were left on the Standard Repayment schedule with higher interest, rather than being reverted to the income-driven repayment plan I had originally agreed to for these loans, or to the SAVE repayment Plan I had requested these loans be changed to. 

A brief search of XXXX has revealed a plethora of customers with student loans serviced by Nelnet with the same issues : very slow, XXXX hour wait times to speak to anyone from Nelnet, XXXX not responded to from Nelnet, and Nelnet ignoring XXXX not approving SAVE repayment plan applications. It is my belief that Nelnet is systematically and deliberately not approving or slow-rolling SAVE repayment plan applications or in my case, switching student loan repayments to other plans to try to gain greater interest payments from customers. This practice appears to be systematic, intentional, fraudulent, and predatory. 

Thank you for your time and attention to this issue. You may also be interested to know that a class-action lawsuit against Nelnet was brought in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX for very similar practices, aimed at fraudulently gaining extra interest on loans by refusing to process documents and applications around income-driven repayment plans. 

Regards. 

XXXXXXXX XXXX statements showing the auto debit of {$150.00}, the statement email from Nelnet on XX/XX/XXXX stating I would be charged {$0.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, the email showing receipt of my second Nelnet application for the SAVE repayment plan on XX/XX/XXXX, the incorrectly switched loans to the Standard repayment plan, the incorrectly switched loans to the pay as you earn ( PAYE ) [ rather than SAVE ] repayment plan on XX/XX/XXXX, the email requesting the income self-certification letter and format from Nelnet on XX/XX/XXXX, and the dated upload of this income self-certification letter to complete my SAVE repayment program application, are all available upon request, however these documents necessarily contain personal information, names, account numbers, etc. Please contact me by phone or preferably email for copies of these supporting documents.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation