Consumer complaint received 2018-01-03
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: CA
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:
On XXXX XXXX XXXX I made an early payment on my Federal Statement Student Loans serviced by Navient in the amount of 1 full month 's payment. I had already paid my XXXX payment on the XXXX of that month via Navient 's autopay system. 

When I paid that loan I selected the option that Navient provides to advance my due date for my next payment by the amount of time that this payment would cover, in this case 1 month. You must select to either advance your due date or have the additional payment applied to interest/principal when making a payment. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX, Navient 's autopay system attempted to withdraw the XXXX payment from my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account that I had enrolled with their autopay system. Because I did not have sufficient funds in that account, my bank charged me two {$29.00} overdraft fees, for a total of {$58.00}. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX I contact Navient and explained the situation. I spoke with a customer service representative and eventually a supervisor. Rather than refund me for the overdraft charges that resulted from their error, the supervisor informed that although I had asked that my due date be advanced when I made my additional payment, that had no impact on their autopay system. 

The supervisor further informed me that this was my fault and Navient could not help me because I agreed to the terms listed on the website when I clicked to submit the extra payment, and that these terms state that their autopay system would continue to function despite the extra payment. After our phone call I logged on to Navient 's website to review this " disclosure. '' How it actually works is that there is a scroll box on the screen on the final step before you submit payment containing terms and a button separate from this scroll box that you click to submit the payment. Next to that button is the phrase " By selecting the Submit button below, I am acknowledging that I have read, understand, and agree to the Electronic Payment Authorization. '' Only visible after scrolling approximately 4/5ths of the way through that embedded scroll box is the phrase : *If your loan ( s ) is currently enrolled in Auto Pay, your monthly payment will continue to be deducted from your bank account as originally agreed upon. 

I honestly do not recall whether I manged to locate and read this statement prior to submitting the payment. Frankly, it should n't matter. A term referencing another agreement ( one that is not contained in the same disclosure ) should not be allowed to trump the plain meaning of primary purpose of the payment being made. 

Remember, I had just informed Navient to advance my due date and I had no desire to pay off my loan more quickly than required. If they were planning to take more money than was owed that month anyway through their autopay, they need to take additional measures beyond burying an opaque disclosure outside of the initially visible portion of a scrollbox above the submit button. 

This practice is misleading and deceptive and causes customers to inadvertently double pay or pay early on monthly payments to Navient 's advantage. Or if they do n't have the funds in their account for the unanticipated double payment, like me, they will be hit with overdraft charges.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation