Consumer complaint received 2019-03-19
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NY
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't temporarily delay making payments

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I checked my student loan status with Navient. At this time, I was in my second year of a Chapter XXXX bankruptcy and wanted to know where I stood. When I checked the loan status, I was surprised to learn that my loan balances indicated " Paid in Full '' status and that I had no payments due. There was no reason why listed, so I assumed that the loans had been forgiven under some Federal Program that I was not aware of. I checked my credit reports at this time also and saw that they, too, reflected that my loans had been paid in full and nothing was due. 


In XX/XX/XXXX, I became unemployed and my financial circumstances made it impossible to continue making my Chapter XXXX payments, so the bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter XXXX and discharged. My student loans were still showing as paid in full, so I felt very blessed. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, months after the bankruptcy had been discharged, I received a notification from Navient that my loans had been " repurchased '' and the balance they presented me with was over {$16000.00} higher than it was previously. The notice stated that I now owed {$110000.00} and that the payments would be in excess of {$800.00} / month. Mind you, I had just became re-employed in XX/XX/XXXX after a period of approximately 7 months being unemployed. The job I took in XX/XX/XXXX does not pay enough that I can afford a payment this high and I was still recovering from months of unemployment. I contacted Navient and requested a forbearance for a few months until I could configure my finances in some way that I could maybe make a lesser payment. Navient did not even respond to my request. Since it is impossible in my present financial state to make these payments, I have been trying to work something out with Navient to prevent worsening of my situation. They have been non responsive to my continued requests for forbearance until I can figure something out and at the time I am writing this, I am behind several months - creating even more issues. 

In my current employment, I am grossly underemployed. I make a less than half of what I was making in XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX when I was actively repaying the loans. In fact, I made approximately {$28000.00} in payments which are NOT BEING REFLECTED in my current loan history. This further proves my point that the loans were, in fact, cleared - along with any of my old history. This " repurchased '' loan shows NO HISTORY before XX/XX/XXXX. I have been questioning this with Navient for the past five months and they still will not provide an answer as to where my payment history has gone. 


As I said, I am now several months behind and to further complicate things, Navient has now reported my to the credit bureaus as delinquent - causing a 141 point drop in my struggling to be rebuilt credit score. This drop will have financial implications on me for everything - even potentially impacting my ability to get a better job or some form of assistance to help unbury me from my present situation. 


I should mention that I am presently XXXX  years-old and my under-employed condition remains. I was XXXX XXXX military when I earned my first degree and was forced to defer payments due to my income at that time. Since then, I have only had one position that paid enough to allow me to make student loan payments. I have had to defer for economic hardship for some time. The current balances show that on my original balance of {$66000.00} there has now been an accrual of interest ( from legal and approved " relief '' programs ) in the amount of {$51000.00} - almost equivalent to my principal amounts. 


I need help. The " income sensitive '' options do not take into consideration one 's NET income or other life expenses. I drive an 11-year-old car and  live in an apartment because I can not afford to own a home. I continue to seek " appropriate employment '' for a person of my education and experience, but this area is significantly repressed and I consider myself fortunate to have what I have, but making these payments is impossible for me. I have documentation to show that my loans were indicated as paid in full and I did not expect them the mysteriously " re-appear '' at a time when I am recovering from unemployment and under-employed. I communicate with Navient via writing only because I do not trust anything I can not prove by hard-copy given what has happened to me thus far. I desperately need the assistance and guidance of the CFPB.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation