Consumer complaint received 2021-07-01
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NY
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:
Here is the letter I sent to Navient ( I have removed the personal information as requested ) XXXX Customer Communications Navient XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX PA XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, I received your explanation ( attached ) of the amount you believe we owe. You can imagine my surprise when I opened the letter from you folks back in XXXX, indicating the amount you think we owe. I immediately called your offices, and a gentleman told me that he would send an explanation, as well as the paperwork we would need to dispute this claim. In your explanation there was no such paperwork. We received another warning letter from you the other day, so I am writing this and you can consider this letter to be notification that we dispute your claim. 

As you indicate we sent a lump sum payment in XXXX, and we did so believing that this large payment was payment in full for the remaining balance. That was our intention. We were not notified following that payment that there was any remaining balance. 

According to your explanation the amount of the payment was applied to loan XXXX as well as to loan XXXX which you state was paid ahead until XX/XX/XXXX, and that they both originated in XXXX ( our record of the XXXX loans attached ). We have no record of a loan XXXX or XXXX. As far as we knew, our Sallie Mae account number was either xxxxxxx or xxxxxxxxxxxx. ( see attached ). Further, as one of the attachments indicates, we had received several letters at various points indicating that various loans were paid off. It was almost 20 years ago when our daughter started college, but if I recall, each year required a new loan, and I believe there were consolidations as well. 

Since this was so long ago, and since we have received no communication from anyone about this since XXXX, Im afraid Id have to take your word that we have an unpaid principal balance of either {$2400.00} or {$2600.00} ( your letter states both amounts ). We have never, ever, failed to pay a debt so in the spirit that this may have been some kind of misunderstanding, not to mention that you yourself seem uncertain which is correct, I have enclosed a check for the lower amount. If you had simply told us in XXXX that we still owed that amount we would have paid it then. 

We do not, however, accept your claim that we owe anything beyond that amount, and certainly not at the interest rate indicated of 6.125 %. To be kind, this rate is usurious at best and predatory lending at worst. Im not sure you would agree with that but perhaps the folks on copy will, considering that interest rates are at an all time low ( fed funds rate approximating zero ). 


I am copying these people, not for our benefit, but for those without the latitude that we have. Is there any wonder that there are so many people graduating from college, saddled with a mountain of debt, and unable to pay it off in their lifetimes? Multiplying this convoluted instance across thousands of people would go a long way toward providing the reason. We are able to pay this debt. Indeed we thought we had done so with the $ XXXX lump sum payment in XXXX as you acknowledge, only to learn 7 years later that the meter has still been running at 6.125 % interest. We have no issue with a company making a profit, but we do have an issue with a company gouging customers graduating from college through deceptive lending practices. 


Sincerely, cc : XXXX XXXX XXXX Sallie Mae XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, DE XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, President XXXX College XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, NY, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Washington DC XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation