Consumer complaint received 2021-06-22
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NJ
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:
Navient mislead me into paying thousands of dollars in interest. It was never clear they were allocating my payments nearly all to interest, and Ive never seen this kind of loan now that Ive unearthed the details. 

When the first documents came- XXXX- I didn't even understand I would pay $ XXXX/month for ( 3 ) years and pay nothing at all towards the principle of the loan, and that payments would balloon to $ XXXX/month after that time. I called Navient and got advice every year in how to lower my monthly payment- and it didnt occur to me how I was misled and steered into the worst possible plans for myself- while Navient was bilking me out of thousands of dollars in interest. 

15 years later- the obvious lies of their representatives made me dig deeper- to find out with a 4.75 % rate over 15 years -- I had already paid nearly {$11000.00} in interest and only a little more than {$4000.00} in principal on an {$18000.00} loan. My total due is still over {$14000.00}. 

As of today, I paid ~ $ XXXX on an $ XXXX loan and still owe nearly $ XXXX. This is predatory lending. 

If this was ever clear to me- I would have intervened sooner. The Navient website is not clear in any way- not like any other lender that provides clear and reasonable information on your loan. Nothing like a mortgage, credit card or other loan provider- they obfuscate the lenders information to mislead intentionally. 

XXXX : It was not clear that I would be charged interest for all of my unemployment deferment- but I was. Navient reps often say, You wont be charged interest on XXXX portion of your loan!! because they are obfuscating how much interest you will be accruing. 
How much of the loan is subsidized? Can I even see this XXXX the site? because if so- very unclear. 

XXXX : I also asked about the CARES act in XXXX only to be again mislead into a plan that still accrued interest- though I was eligible to go into 0 % interest until XX/XX/XXXX. Costing me hundreds of dollars unnecessarily. 

XXXX : I submitted an application for a new IBD that was denied twice due to me making too much income. I reviewed the income terms and knew this to be untrue. 

After calling ( 3 ) times- a rep admitted I had answered one question incorrectly -- and that is why the application was denied. She helped me change it and then I was approved. However, if one rep had guided me correctly or any correspondence- I would have known the one mistake and corrected it prior to the end date of my old term. Its unclear if I was or was not charged interest for their failure to guide me into how to correct the application. 

XX/XX/XXXX -- Last month when the IBR was finally renewed- I called to see if the monthly payment could be a little lower just based on the fact I had only recently returned to full-time work. Again- I followed the advice of the Navient rep- who said if I paid her {$120.00} today she would put my on a plan for $ XXXX/month. I did not feel comfortable making a payment over the phone and told her as much- but she insisted. I acquiesced and paid- only to check the next week my next payment would not be {$60.00} as promised- but {$670.00} instead. 

It came to my attention that the plan she said I was eligible for- I was not. She literally took money over the phone from me in a fraudulent act of misrepresentation, a verbal contract in which she had no intention of upholding. 

Ive been in contact with the DOE Ombudsman, and was put in touch with XXXX XXXX from the Office of the Customer Advocate. 

She has inferred she removed {$400.00} from my principle balance- but literally she must added the same amount to interest owed- because my total balance is the same as before my dispute. 

Heres a screen shot of my account history from today- can you tell what is going on? I can not.

Please help. I have an excellent credit score, was late twice in 15 years on these payments- and feel very duped and taken advantage of. Im trying desperately to consolidate and change providers -- but have been advised a few times by XXXX XXXX to wait until she concludes this case for Navient. She even charged me interest while I waited the past month for a resolution, despite telling me she would not. 

I dont think I should owe interest for the time I couldve been in 0 % interest due to the CARES actand they should allocate some of the interest they have taken in payments and put it where I thought it would go- principal. 

All of the attached documents say {$0.00} in Interest or Capitalized interest and seem to mislead the borrower into thinking they are not paying thousands only in interest. How is this legal? 

Navient has added {$400.00} interest owed SINCE I ASKED THEM TO START THE INVESTIGATION when I had {$20.00} interest owed, as is shown in the image below dated XX/XX/XXXX. 

As of XXXX I owed {$21.00} interest, since I was put on a forbearance based on my requesting an investigation and wanting to change loan servicers. Why do I now 20 days later- owe nearly {$400.00} in interest? 






XXXX XXXX is very articulate in being deceptive while wronging students. She sounds sane and compassionate until you realize she is delaying borrowers from moving servicers, lying, and then adding debt arbitrarily to my loan balance. 

If subpoenaed- phone calls between us- will clearly show XXXX advising me that my interest rate will go up if I consolidate, and inferring it is not in my best interest to do so.

She is a customer specialist with Navient.

Above is as of today in Navient portal- reflecting nearly {$400.00} MORE than the principle stated by Ms. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 

When I asked why my balance was now higher- she indicated its interest owed. This is theft. 
I did not agree to any terms that would allow for this as I wait for the end of their investigation. 
I feel emotional distress at being lied to and deceived, during a time when I was managing grave family issues.

There are laws preventing predatory lending- why is Navient allowed to continue deceive borrowers without enforcement of the law?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation