Consumer complaint received 2019-01-30
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: OK
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:
In XX/XX/XXXX I requested information regarding an income based repayment plan with Navient in order to address my student loan balance which is currently a little over {$26000.00}. Prior to XX/XX/XXXX I had no idea an income based repayment plan was available to me as I was always " suggested '' to me by Navient that I choose forbearance. Forbearance has consistently been the option provided to me from Navient whether in email form OR during phone calls over the lifetime of my loans. At NO time prior to XX/XX/XXXX was any other payment option explained to me. I only learned about income based repayment plans via research, then looking at the Navient website. 

I applied for the income based plan in XX/XX/XXXX but was NEVER told to submit any documents at the time the initial phone call was made. After not hearing from Navient I called again and was told I needed to supply documents verifying my low income, which I did immediately. 

After supplying the required documents, I was never notified regarding any updates to my account and was forced to call Navient repeatedly in an attempt to get more information. The information I received during each call was inconsistent and different depending on the individual I spoke with. Or, I was told the documents were STILL under review, no decision had been made, and to call back again at a later time. 

Within the last month I called again ( and spoke with a male operator ) in order to provide Navient with updated information related to my income and to check the status of my account. This individual told me that the documentation I sent in originally during the fall was incorrect, and that this was why I had not been notified of any changes. Therefore nothing had been filed, updated nor any information provided to me via email or phone call. This indivudal was rude, impatient, short, and unhelpful. I hung up on this individual because he was so disrespectful and did not provide me with any new information other than telling me I needed to start the application process all over again. Had I not called, I would've assumed my application was still under review. 

Keep in mind I requested an income based repayment plan last fall in order to have a financial plan in place BEFORE my XX/XX/XXXX payment was due. Just prior to my request for an income based payment plan I went through bankruptcy ( in XX/XX/XXXX ) due to my divorce. After bankruptcy I continued to struggle financially as I tried to find employment, so I contacted Navient and was simply told to utilize forebearance. An income based plan was not given to me as an option and as a result, my most recent forbearance was placed on my credit report, right after bankruptcy, without any warning being provided to me that it would impact my credit. Had I known it would impact my credit I would've denied the forebearance option entirely. 

As of today, XX/XX/XXXX I called Navient again. I have a XX/XX/XXXX payment due of {$180.00} which I CAN NOT afford. Today I was informed by the operator I spoke with that she can not see why my application has NOT been processed, and also informed me that she can not see any reason why it would be denied. She then stated she is going to request to have my application expedited. I was told to contact Navient on XX/XX/XXXX, ONE DAY before my payment is due, in order to follow up on my application AGAIN. When I asked what would happen if this was not taken care of or approved before XX/XX/XXXX, I was told my account would be placed into " courtesy forebearance '' until my application could be reviewed. I immediately stated I did NOT want my loans placed into forebearance again, at which time I was informed this forebearance is DIFFERENT from regular forebearance. And that it will not be placed on my credit report. Once again, I am being told my application is under review. 

I have contacted Navient repeatedly since the fall of XXXX, in good faith, in an attempt to take care of my student loan debt. Each time my requests have been ignored, I've been given inaccurate information, or NOT provided with information or follow up regarding my complaints that would've helped me take care of my debt in a timely fashion. I am especially angry that I was told to choose forebearance rather than given ANY OTHER options related to repayment. I trusted Navient. 

I truly believe Navient willfully withheld information from me related to other payment options when they suggested I use forbearance repeatedly. I do have emails related to suggestions of forbearance and welcome anyone to listen to the phone calls related to my account questions and issues.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation