Consumer complaint received 2017-05-19
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: SD
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Problem lowering your monthly payments

Complaint:
Navient  has severely hurt me today. They did so the other week as well when I called their company to ask about income based monthly payments for my student loans. I make  XXXX  an hour full time and work very hard to make sure my bills are paid. Of course I 'd love to pay as much as I can for my loans later on  down the road as my career unfolds but for n ow I was seeking solace.   On  XXXX   XXXX  I called Navient and asked to set up monthly income based payments, I was told to hold as I would be transferred to a representative. I spoke to a rep that, at the time, I believed was a part of Navient. When I asked about income based payments she began to tell me about student loan forgiveness. It sounded perfect, no payments at all it 'd be taken out of my hands ... If i paid a fee. I was in a time crunch as I was on my lunch break and I 'll admit I can be a tad naive. I signed up for this student loan forgiveness via files sent to me from a company called  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . After getting back to work and signing the forms ( I was n't allowed off the phone until I signed and confirmed it with the rep ) we ended the call and the rep sent me a follow up email. It was then I saw in their email signature the logo for  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . The entire time I spoke with this rep I was under the impression I was speaking to someone directly involved with Navient. Immediately I felt uncomfortable and I googled UPC and found no website or anything promising. I was allowed 3 days to cancel my agreement and I quickly did so, getting reimbursed my fee I gave them. The rep i talked to to cancel my agreement then told me about Navient 's bad business practices and that they were being sued. I did n't know who to believe at this time. It put a bad taste in my mouth and I was feeling anxious about the entire thing. But I received my money back and I decided to let it go for now.   I had realized I fell victim to  Navient  's deceptive practices but did not want to dwell on it.   Well, today  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX ,   XXXX   ) I called to make a payment. As far as I 'm aware I never even spoke to anyone from  Navient  today. Instead I was immediately hoisted off to a third party company, yet again and when I asked to make a payment the representative tried to talk me into  Student Loan co nsolidation. As far as I 'm aware this can be a legitimate option wh en Student  Loans are too much at the time, and because of my annual pay I technically qualified. But what gets me is that I started crying and I felt like i was pleading to make a payment. The representative, while being helpful, told me my account was " detrimental '' and that any payment I made would go towards interest and not the actual loan and that was the best option for me. I insisted I did n't care that it went to interest and that I really just wanted to make my payment as I was already a bit late on the payment for this month. I never got to do that.   Can  you imagine calling a company to make a payment to your debt and they basically refuse and dodge? What kind of company could do that? One that  wants to avoid processing fees and to treat me as a burden, hoisting me off to another company and preventing me from making my payments on time so I will be sent to a collection agency.   I want to emphasize the emotional trauma this is sending me in. Ultimately, yes, I made my payment online. But nothing can replace the fact that I now feel like absolutely nothing, I feel degraded, useless and I 'm not even worth their tie or money. I am already in medical debt along with my educational debt, and this is n't even about the money at this current time.   This is about being devalued as a hard working human being that wanted to just pay their dues and move on in life. I was not even granted the gratuity that is making a simple payment to a loan.   As far as I can tell I am stuck with Navient for the time being. It could be true that my account is " detrimental '' and in need of help, but ultimately I was denied the option of giving  Navient my payment so I could become someone else 's problem. I hope that they get brought to justice and I would like to thank CFPB for taking the time to take care of t his issue for the millions of students like me that just want to pay their dues.   I hope I find peace and guidance within the coming months and I hope others do as well.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation