Consumer complaint received 2018-11-15
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: MO
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:
First off, I want to state that this issue was eventually resolved by Navient. I have only just learned of the lawsuits pending against Navient, however, and wanted to submit this information in case it might be pertinent to the legal issues at hand. 

In XXXX, I applied for my income-based repayment planned to be renewed. When Navient responded, they sent a letter stating that my application was denied. I contacted Navient by phone because I felt I qualified for the renewal and wanted to know why they had chosen to deny it. The Customer Service Representative with whom I spoke put me on hold while she checked my account. She then informed me that my receiving the letter had been the result of " a glitch '' and that my repayment amount would stay the same ( {$0.00} ). She also assured me this payment amount ( {$0.00} ) would run for one year after my initial plan ended and the renewal began. 

Not long after speaking with the CSR, however, I received an email from Navient telling me that my monthly payment would increase to {$63.00} and the first such payment would be due on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I made by second contact to Navient through a form on their website. The representative who responded told me the same as the first -- my application had been received, processed, and approved. I was told that it would go into effect before the XXXX due date so there was nothing for me to worry about. 

I logged into my Navient account on XX/XX/XXXX to check to make sure the payment had been adjusted. What I found, however, was that my account then showed as " PAST DUE '' with a new payment amount of {$120.00}! On that date, I contacted Navient for the third time total, my second written communication ( again, through their website ), and demanded immediate action before my credit rating was effected and late fees accrued. 

After that third contact, my account payment balance was finally reset to {$0.00}. 

I have renewed that same plan in XXXX and again in XXXX without issue. 

Again, this matter was eventually addressed by Navient but it took my contacting the company 3 separate times over the course of 3-4 months for them to correct an issue which I was assured to be correct from the outset. It is my opinion that this was an attempt to  strong-arm me into making a payment ( or multiple payments ) when I was not financial able to do so, and I found these tactics quite unethical. 

( Because this happened more than two years ago, I have very little proof. The written communications through the website are no longer accessible on my end, as communications older than one year are routinely removed from the message system on site. These communications should be included in my account history. The one thing I still have and am including as an attached image is a copy of the third communication that I sent in this matter. By that time, I was concerned that I might have to pursue legal channels, so I made a point of keeping a copy. )

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation