Consumer complaint received 2023-12-27
Company: MOHELA
State: IL
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:
Understanding that Mohela 's technical infrastructure has been inundated with requests for borrowers to switch to the Save Plan since late XXXX, XXXX, I've run into several concerning instances of misinformation and apathetic attempts to resolve my situation that has resulted in my problem being pushed to sometime in the future when Mohela has said they can review my application : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, having been on an IBR plan I was happy with, I decided to apply to the Save Plan. I am certain I was eligible based on my income at that time. During the initial application process, I synced my studentaid.gov account to the IRS for ease of processing my application, per the site 's prompting. 
-In early XXXX, I logged in to find out that my application in XXXX had been denied. I received no email about the status of my application. It seems at this point I was also placed on a standard repayment plan as opposed to the plan with the lowest monthly cost or back on the IDR plan I have been on for years.

-I called Mohela and a representative told me that they were inundated with requests, and that I should reapply, so I did, this time removing that automatic check with the IRS given I was told I was denied based on my previous income as reported to the IRS and not my current income. 
-In mid XXXX, I again learned I was denied without being notified, after logging in and checking under the " Documents Recieved '' tab. At that point I called Mohela and another representative mentioned I should submit a " Supplemental Alternative Documentation of Income '' form in lieu of providing tax information, so I did. 
-It seems at this point, my supplemental alternative documentation of income form was attached to a previously denied application. When I called to check the status of my application a representative reiterated they were inundated and placed my application on an administrative forbearance, also mentioning that many others would as well to allow Mohela time to review all applications. I was assured my application would be reviewed within thirty days. 
XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I received a electronic letter on Mohela 's site dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating my application had again been denied, per the below : " We apologize but we are unable to grant your request for the following reason ( s ) : - To return to the SAVE Repayment Plan ( formally the REPAYE program ), you will first need to provide income documentation and family size for the period since you were last on the SAVE ( or REPAYE ) plan. '' So I called again, and was promptly told to ignore this message as it didn't apply to me given I have never been on a REPAYE plan and because I had already provided a " Supplemental Alternative Documentation of Income '' form. 
-I called again in XXXX and was assured my application was still being processed due to delays. 
-After calling several times in XXXX, I was told my forbearance would be pushed to late XXXX to allow Mohela XXXX to process my application. 
-I called again today, XX/XX/XXXX and was told that my applications in XXXX and in XXXX had all been denied ( on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ) and when my administrative forbearance was up XX/XX/XXXX I'd have to begin making payments on a standard repayment plan. 

At several points I had to call and call again repeatedly to only get conflicting information, wait on hold for hours to get to what at the time seemed like more knowledgable second or third level representatives, only to find out later they had also been mistaken, culminating in today 's phone call in which I was : -Told I always needed to have submitted the past three years of tax documentation.

-Told that the " Supplemental Alternative Documentation of Income '' form I submitted in mid XXXX was never sufficient because people moving off of a REPAYE plan to another IDR plan always had to submit previous years of tax information ( I reiterated to the representative that I have never been on a REPAYE plan and she mentioned she didn't know why this was noted as the reason for my repeated denials ). 
-Told that there was no easy way to direct me to a webpage on Mohela.com or Studentaid.gov that offered examples of sufficient proof income verification.

-Offered an apology for not being promptly notified of these denials, that they were in fact denials though I see my documents are still pending per the Mohela site, or what additional documentation would be required and why throughout the ordeal.

-Told I should reapply for the Save plan and that Mohela would " take care of '' next month 's payment if I submitted another application today. I asked what they meant and why I should have any confidence given how things have been bungled until now and was told those were my options and to not focus on the past. 

Just a few moments ago I uploaded my past three years of tax information ( the first page of my XXXX, XXXX and XXXX tax transcript indicating my family size and AGI for those years ). The document upload section also indicated I should not upload another " Supplemental Alternative Documentation of Income '' form though this would be the only place where I can indicate my current income and why I qualify for an IDR plan and specifically the Save plan.

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