Consumer complaint received 2019-04-23
Company: HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY (HESAA)
State: NJ
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
I graduated a private university in XXXX. I had an academic scholarship, but I also required federal and state loans to attend. My parents had a college fund for me, but my sister unexpectedly passed away 9 months before I was to leave for college. My college fund went to her funeral costs. After college I did not get a decent paying job until approximately XXXX, although I was expected to pay a huge percentage of my monthly income to NJ CLASS and I could not keep up, I also had my first son in XXXX and communicated numerous times to HESAA that I need to go into economic hardship deferment while on maternity leave. This was not passed along to whoever it needed to be, and despite days upon days on hold for hours with NJClass and a newborn, I never got a person to talk to. They immediately put my loans into default despite my requests for economic hardship deferment. My loans were removed from the website and I had no way of paying anything. My mom ( cosigner ) was also paying interest until she could no longer afford it given a job change and divorce. Shortly after ( XXXX ) they took me to superior court, I prepared all of my correspondence with them and went to court, NJ Class attorney did not show, I never received a rescheduled court notice, until I was served with a notice that they obtained a judgement on me at a court date I was not notified of, and they put a lien on my mothers house. I am a single mom to XXXX children, and I do my best to pay all my bills, I am not late or in default on anything else, even my federal loans are consolidated and, in an income-based repayment plan. These loans are ruining my credit no matter how hard I try to pay everything, they either want me to pay the entire balance plus attorneys fees or nothing. They have garnished my moms and my state tax return every year since about XXXX, yet the balance keeps increasing exponentially. I want to take care of this and get this behind me I have finally gotten a good job and want to make payments, but I want to make sure they are being tracked and my account is current and then I need options for refinance and consolidation. I also do not believe I am responsible for attorney fees since their mess up caused this issue in the first place if they put it in deferment when I qualified for it and asked repeatedly and worked with me on the payments none of this would have happened. I am a responsible person, but the loans are not live on the website I had no way of paying them without saying I was responsible for lawyer fees. I I am the first person in my family to attend college let alone graduate, we did not know the predatory nature NJ Class practices before we took on these loans. I have found numerous articles that they have done the same to others. They have been haunting my mother and I for years. I must think about my own children going to college in 10 years and I want to have my own debt behind me.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation