Consumer complaint received 2023-11-05
Company: MOHELA
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
I consolidated myXX/XX/XXXXloans in XXXX in order to submit my application for PSLF under the waiver. I applied for PSLF and my application was processed on XX/XX/XXXX according to the Mohela website. In XXXX of XXXX I received a document from Mohela that stated I had 3 qualifying payments. At this time I knew, from research I conducted, that the PSLF qualifying payment counts took time to process and that updated counts would be added at a future date. Mohela 's website states that the process generally takes 90 days but could take longer. Keeping all this in mind I waited until XX/XX/XXXX to contact Mohela to inquire why I did not have any additional qualifying updates to my count. At that time a customer service representative stated to me that there did seem to be a discrepancy and that he would initiate an investigation and that I could call back in a week to inquire about the status of the investigation. The representative I spoke with a week later stated that there was nothing wrong with my account and that I would just have to wait to see what would happen. When I asked to speak with his supervisor he stated that, " You don't need to ''. I had to request 3 times to speak to a supervisor and then ultimately stated that this call could be traced and that I would file a complaint against him. He did put me through to a supervisor and she stated that she could see that a case number had been issued, but for an incorrect reason. She stated that she would fix this and gave me a new case number and would follow up with me. From this point it has been nearly impossible to get clear and concise information pertaining to my application. I have received information, but it is not clearly stated in layman 's terms and is at times conflicting. I am including communications I have received from Mohela. I also filed a complaint on the studentaid.gov website. Their response was that the waiver had not been applied to my account. I am now going on the XXXX month without a fully processed application, and conflicting information. A fair resolution : I would like my account placed into forbearance without penalty to me. I stopped communicating with Mohela via telephone because of the continuous conflicting information I was receiving. One representative told me that it was the Department of Education that counted qualifying payments while another agent told me Mohela was responsible for qualifying payment counts. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received the following documents this morning. I do not understand why I have two separate payments if I have consolidated my loans.

The schedule to repay one or more of your loans has changed. Please review the enclosed Repayment Schedule which includes your minimum monthly payment amount, total number of payments to be made, and your due date.

Changes such as interest rate, balance, payment amount, number of allowable months to repay, due date, repayment plan, and/or status ( i.e. deferment/forbearance ) may result in future Repayment Schedule changes. 
Important Information About Your Repayment Schedule Do you have multiple loans? If so, you may receive separate Repayment Schedules. 
If you have a past and/or a current amount due under your prior Repayment Schedule, those payments remain due unless they have been paid or deferred. 
Are you signed up for Auto Debit? If not, consider signing up! Youll never forget a payment, and you could receive a 0.25 % interest rate reduction. To enroll, log in to your account at mohela.com to get started. If youre signed up for Auto Debit, payment currently due under the prior repayment schedule is expected to be withdrawn via Auto Debit, including any additional amount you have requested.

Have you requested an additional amount to be withdrawn via Auto Debit? If so, any additional amount you requested to be withdrawn will continue to be withdrawn, in addition to the new payment amount for the due date listed on this Repayment Schedule.

Want to pay your loan off faster? You have the option to make more frequent or additional payments at any time.

This is an estimate of repayment and may be recalculated in the future to pay off wit
hin the number of months allowed for your loan program.

Important Information to Manage Your Loan ( s ) Log into mohela.com to manage your loan ( s ) and contact information online.

Monthly billing statements will be sent to you at least 20 days prior to your due date.

You can request to change your due date.

You can request to change your repayment plan at any time - Review the enclosed Overview of Repayment Plans for more information. 
Options to postpone payment through deferment or forbearance, discharges, cancellations, forgiveness and consolidation may be available. 

Payment Amount : XXXX and Your eligible loans have been placed on the Saving on a Valuable Education ( SAVE ) IDR Repayment Plan. If you were previously on the Revised Pay As You Earn ( REPAYE ) Income-Driven Re

payment ( IDR ) Plan, it has been replaced by the SAVE Plan. This letter includes more information about the SAVE plan. New Monthly Payment Amount : {$83.00} If your income or family size has changed, you can ask for a plan recalculation to lower your monthly payment amount. Visit StudentAid.gov/idr to electronically sign and submit a new application. Alternatively, you can self certify your income and family size through mohela.com until XX/XX/XXXX, to recalculate your payment. 
IDR Repayment Plan : SAVE # of Monthly Payments Scheduled for the Plan : XXXX Scheduled Begin Date for this Plan : XX/XX/XXXX Documentation of Communication : XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXXBody : Your Question : According to Mohela representatives a review of my account was initiated to address the number of qualifying payments that count toward PSLF. Although I have not been given a recent update from Mohela I have just logged into studentaid and received a new message that states that I do not have any additional qualifying payments. This is inaccurate information. I have been paying on my XX/XX/XXXXloans and have been working for the same qualifying employer since XXXX and most certainly have more than XXXX qualifying payments. I would like to know what are the next steps I can take to ensure that my concerns are being addressed. I have already filed and updated a complaint on the student aid website, but do not feel that my concerns are being addressed. According to studentaid I would need to file a complaint with the Ombudsman. I would like to know if this is correct, and would like advice regarding filing a complaint. Also, I do not want to be directed to a Mohela customer service rep. to address my concern unless it is a supervisor. I have already spoken to two representatives that have given me conflicting information. Thank you MOHELA 's Response : XX/XX/XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX, Thank you for contacting MOHELA regarding your Public Service Loan Forgiveness Payment Count. The reason your account shows only 3 qualifying payments is because the count under the Waiver has not been done yet. Once the count under the Waiver begins you will get all the payments you had prior to consolidation back and then some. Since it has been a while an escalated request will be submitted on your behalf to update your payment count. We apolgize for the time it takes for the count. The Department of Education will also be doing the one time IDR Account Adjustment alongside the Public Service Loan Forgiveness count. Your escalated case number is XXXX # XXXX and a response is usually received within 7-14 business days. Once a response is received will update you via secure email. 

XX/XX/XXXXXX/XX/XXXX Body : Your Question : Hello, I am writing to inquire about the status of my case number XXXX # XXXX. The last correspondence I received stated that a response is generally received within XXXX business days. It has been XXXX business days since that correspondence and I would like an update on my case. Thank you MOHELA 's Response : Dear XXXX XXXX, Thank you for contacting MOHELA. Please accept our sincere apologies. We regret that you had a less than satisfactory experience during your interaction with us. We value your feedback, as we understand how important it is to offer exceptional service. After reviewing your account, it was determined that an underlying loan of your consolidation was not updated to a Paid in Full Through Consolidation status and instead was still showing as In Repayment on the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We have since submitted a request to have your status updated to correctly reflect your Paid in Full Through Consolidation status, as well as a request to add the qualifying payments to your Public Service Loan Forgiveness payment count affected by the incorrect status. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXXBody : Your Question : Hello, I am once again contacting Mohela to inquire about the status of my case number XXXX # XXXX pertaining to PSLF. The last correspondence I received stated that a response is generally received within 14 business days. I have yet to receive a response to my initial inquiry and my follow up inquiry sent on XXXX the XXXX. Also, I just received a message stating that my account has been placed on an administrative forbearance, however the letter did not state why. I would like to know why my account was placed on forbearance. 

MOHELA 's Response : Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX, Thank you for contacting MOHELA regarding your case and we apologize for the delay in our response. After reviewing your case it states that one of the loans that was supposed to be paid in full was not and is in repayment and should have been marked in full. So it has been sent to the Department of Education ( ED ) for review and to correct and to add payments to your Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ). Unfortunately ED can't be rushed or expedited we have to wait on them. So that is what is taking so long to update your payment count. We appreciate your patience in this matter. 

The administrative forbearance was placed to correct your payment amount under the Saving A Valuable Education ( SAVE ) repayment plan as there was a system error for calculations of payments making them too high. This will not hurt your PSLF. 

XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Body : Your Question : Hello, Thank you for your response, however this does not clearly answer my question. From the information in your response, it is my understanding that one of my loans was not updated. I consolidated more than XXXX loan. Why are the payments I made toward my other loans not showing up under my qualifying payments count? My payment tracker count still reflects a count of 3 total payments that qualify. Also, under the waiver, the Covid payment pause time period should count toward my PSLF qualifying payments. Although I have my employment certified through most of the payment pause I do not see all qualifying payments reflected for this time period. Can you please adequately explain the full process to me in writing. I would also like a time frame of when this issue might be resolved. I also requested an explanation of why my loan was placed in a one month forbearance, to which I have not received a response. At this point it has been exactly one year and a day since I submitted my documents for consideration for PSLF. To state that my experience with Mohela has been ~~less than satisfactory~~ is an understatement. I have filed a complaint with the Department of Education through studentaid.gov.

I have not received a response from Mohela XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX Body : Your Question : Hello, re : Second Request I am contacting Mohela to receive an update regarding case number TMS # XXXX. I would like to know the current status of my application since it has now been over 1 year since my initial application for PSLF under the waiver initiative. I have not received a response to my previous email dated XX/XX/XXXX. I requested that I receive in writing an explanation of the process regarding my loans and why it is that only 3 payments have qualified under PSLF. In Mohela~~s response to a previous inquiry it was stated that, ~~After reviewing your account, it was determined that an underlying loan of your consolidation was not updated to a Paid in Full Through Consolidation status and instead was still showing as In Repayment on the National Student Loan Data System XXXX We have since submitted a request to have your status updated to correctly reflect your Paid in Full Through Consolidation status, as well as a request to add the qualifying payments to your Public Service Loan Forgiveness payment count affected by the incorrect status.~~ It did not state that the PSLF waiver has not even been applied to any of my loans, which is information I received from studentaid.gov not Mohela. I would like, in layman 's terms and in writing, why this process has been delayed. Mohela~~s explanation of the consolidation process and status of my loans does not adequately explain ( in a clear and concise way ) why this process has been delayed and continues to not be resolved. I also requested an explanation as to why my account was placed in forbearance. I have yet to receive an explanation. It is very distressing waiting in limbo for a situation that should have already been processed to its fullest extent. 

I have not received a response from Mohela Sent XX/XX/XXXX *** Addition to the above inquiry ( XX/XX/XXXX ) : It is my understanding that while my account is in review for PSLF under the waiver my account should be in forbearance. I have just received a notification of payments restarting in XXXX. I would like an explanation of this process as well. 


XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX Body : Your Question : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, I appreciate the response, however Mohela has still failed to answer my question with an adequate response. I understand that one of the loans was marked incorrectly, but what I do not understand is why did that affect my payment count? I am still in repayment. As I begin to make payments these payments will count towards my PSLF because I am still employed by a qualifying employer. Why I only have 3 qualifying payments has not been adequately explained. Was the loan marked incorrectly by Mohela or the Department of Education? In addition, why is my payment count towards PSLF at 3. Did none of my other payments made on the loan ( s ) that were marked correctly count? Has the waiver even been applied to this/these loans? Due to an error made by either Mohela or The Department of Education I still have no idea where my qualifying payment counts stand and I am waiting in limbo. This is unacceptable. This was a process that I initiated over XX/XX/XXXXyear ago. I had good faith that Mohela was processing my application, and gave leniency in the time frame because I knew that many people were also submitting applications. However, it has been one excuse after another as to why this delay has occurred. I stopped calling Mohela to inquire about the status of my application because service representatives were giving me conflicting information. At this point I decided that I needed to protect myself by submitting my inquiries in writing. I feel I have no other choice but to file a complaint with the Ombudsman XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Department of Education. I understand that mistakes regarding how my loans were marked were made. However, Mohela has failed to adequately explain how and why this directly affects my PSLF status. I have requested in writing that a clear explanation be provided to me in writing yet I have not received this. I received a reiteration of what Mohela had already stated. I also asked why my account was placed in a one month forbearance but have not been provided with an answer. It is my understanding that this was possibly initiated by the government. If this is the case Mohela should have stated that.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation