Consumer complaint received 2023-02-08
Company: MOHELA
State: NJ
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 XXXX, I submitted my application for the XXXX  program, expecting to have my student loans forgiven after having paid towards them for at least 16 years at that point. It was at that time I was told I wasn't in the " right '' program and would have to start over, making another 10 years of payments or a minimum of 26 years of payments. This is in direct conflict with what my servicers had told me in XXXX when the XXXX  program began. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I learned that the XXXX  waiver program had been established. On XX/XX/XXXX I re-submitted my application for the XXXX program. I was told that someone would contact me to help me through the process but I only received notifications stating that I was not eligible for the program ( even though my colleagues at the same agency had their loans forgiven under the XXXX program ). No one contacted me to go through my application. 

In XXXX of XXXX, having heard nothing from anyone regarding the status of my XXXX application, and while continuing to make my monthly student loan payments, I reached out to my Senator 's office who claimed it would help me resolve the issue. They did not. They advised that the Department of Education had no records on me. When they finally found my records some months later, I was told they would then investigate.

In the meantime, I was advised by someone else who worked with me that they had to " re '' consolidate their student loans to a new company but once they did, the loans were forgiven under the XXXX program. So I " re '' consolidated my loans and went to the required servicer MOHELA in XX/XX/XXXX. The letter I received from MOHELA stated it could up to 90 days to process a PSLF application. Sometime in XXXX of XXXX, I finally received an email from my Senator 's office stating that the Department of Education claimed I still had my student loans with my old servicer and therefore was not eligible for forgiveness. Except I had consolidated to MOHELA months before the Department of Education letter was written. I told my Senator 's office that but nothing happened. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted the Department of Education Ombudsman XXXX XXXX. She copied XXXX XXXX. They said they were going to help me get the matter resolved. I have been working for the State of New Jersey since XXXX of XXXX, and have paid on my student loans thousands every month since then -- more than 2 times the actual amount I've borrowed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from MOHELA telling me I've only made XXXX payments towards my student loans ( the correct amount is well over 200 -- much more than the 120 required for the XXXX forgiveness ). The letter is dated XX/XX/XXXX, 6 days before I reached out to the Department of Education Ombudsman 's office. 

Why am I not being granted the XXXX relief I'm supposed to be entitled to that my colleagues have gotten? 

One of the most egregious parts of this entire situation is that, when I " re '' consolidated in XXXX XXXX XXXX, all those years of payments on my student loans were wiped off my credit report. My credit score dropped almost 40 points as a result!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief