Consumer complaint received 2021-09-07
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: WA
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:
Navient, my student loan provider, is known for harmful and deceptive practices that have resulted in several lawsuits starting in XXXX according to XXXX XXXX XXXX 

Please add changing Federal Loans to private loans to avoid the CARES Act mandate, overcharging repayment amounts on the Income Based Repayment Plan, refusing to respond to emailed requests, charging unauthorized fees, engaging in deceptive communication techniques, and engaging in harassing and retaliatory actions to these harmful practices. 

Changing Federal Loans to Private Status I have 11 student loans to cover finishing getting my XXXX  and XXXX  degrees. The first one was opened on XX/XX/XXXX and the last one was opened on XX/XX/XXXX. I graduated with my XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. All these loans were opened under Sallie Mae and were XXXX, subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Loans ( please see the Sallie Mae Repayment Plan Selection and Summary from XX/XX/XXXX ). When these loans were sold to Navient in XXXX, Navient also agreed they were Federal Loans and not Private, please see pages 1 and 4, Section 9, Definitions of the Income Driven Repayment Plan Request, which is also attached.

From 2015 to XX/XX/XXXX, my payment on the Income Based Repayment plan was just the payment. In XXXX of XXXX, my loan was placed in deferment because I was unemployed. When Navient took my loans out of deferment status in XXXX of XXXX, my payment of {$74.00} included an additional monthly fee of {$11.00}. That is when my Navient changed my Federal to a Private loan to avoid the CARES Act mandate. According to Senator XXXX office, the service fees are only assigned to private loans. 

It appears that Navient knew my loan was a Federal loan because deferment is only for 12 months, yet Navient let the loan remain in deferment until XX/XX/XXXX, which is 16 months, which seems to imply that Navient was going to let my loans stay in deferment and then changed their minds in XX/XX/XXXX Current Payment on Income Based Repayment Plan I am at a loss at what Navient is doing, especially since they are not replying to emails. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Navient saying my new IBR monthly payment, starting on XX/XX/XXXX would be {$76.00}, however, when I went online to pay my XXXX XXXX, Navient posted that my XX/XX/XXXX payment would be {$220.00}, plus a fee of {$11.00}. ( This when I tried to resolve this issue with a Navient supervisor and ended up talking with Senator XXXX office. ) Since contacting the Senators office, President Biden and the FSA Ombudsman, Navient changed the amount due to {$220.00}, less the ONE service fee of {$11.00}. Does the mean that Navient realized they shouldnt have charged service fees for 9 months? If so, doesnt it make sense that Navient should refund {$100.00}, instead of just {$11.00}? And doesnt this mean that Navient acknowledges that my loans were not private, but Federal? And if so, they are supposed to be in deferment? 

If Navient is going to acknowledge that the fees were charged in error, then next payment due after XX/XX/XXXX, after the deferment ends would be {$76.00}, less {$100.00}. Which would {$0.00} due on XX/XX/XXXX and {$46.00} due on XX/XX/XXXX. 

No Response to Emails and Deceptive and Hostile Verbal Communication Communication with Navient has been unsuccessful. They dont respond to emails left on their website. I left emails in XXXX, XXXX and XXXX of XXXX asking what the additional monthly fees of {$11.00} were for, but didnt get a response, until after I contacted the FSA Ombudsmans office, Then, I got a very hostile phone response in the summer. The woman who called me was so hostile in her tone, that it made my stomach upset and she refused to let me speak to her supervisor. I left an email on their website on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX and it is now Friday, XX/XX/XXXX and no response. The generic message on their website says they reply within 2 business days. It has been 5 business days since my last email. 

Speaking with Navient representatives is a frustrating process as they use unfair fighting techniques like being inconsistent which is defined as keeping the caller off balance by changing the focus of the issue, brown bagging which is bringing up issues that dont relate to the solving the issue at hand, blame and straight out lying. Examples of these communications styles are as follows : - On XXXX, I spoke with a Navient supervisor who said my loans had never been in deferment from XXXX to XXXX, which made me wonder if he was really looking at my account. He also said because my loans were Private Loan and not Federal, it were not eligible for deferment. 
- On XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, I spoke with someone from Navient who first, got mad at me when I interchanged you and Navient. Obviously, when I said You, I meant the corporate You, yet she took it personally and said, Stop accusing me of that She also said that my loans were not eligible for deferment because I had been paying on them, which was nonsensical. Of course, I was paying on them, Navient took it out of deferment! Just because I was doing the right thing and paying it, doesnt make it right that Navient took it out of deferment when they shouldnt have. She also said that even though my loans were Federal, they were not eligible for deferment because they were taken out before XXXX. So, there are some Navient employees who see that my loans are Federal and others that tell the Federal Student Loan Association, that my loans are Private. And again, my loans prior to XXXX, were with Sallie Mae, not Navient, I didnt start with Navient until XXXX. 

Charging Incorrect Amounts on Repayment Plan In addition, Navient has not been charging me the correct amount on my Income Based Repayment Plan. Per page 4, the definitions of what is calculated for a monthly payment on the Income Driven Repayment Plan Request, 15 % of discretionary income is allowed. The 15 % of discretionary income is the amount that exceeds ones adjusted gross income that exceeds 150 % of the poverty guidelines for ones state and family size. As you can see by the chart below, I was overcharged by {$110.00} per month in XXXX, {$35.00} per month in XXXX, and {$23.00} per month in XXXX. In XXXX, they undercharged me by {$77.00}. ( Please see the attached chart Chart of Incorrect Payments for IBR ) I can provide copies of bank statements to prove my payments upon request. How can I do business with a student loan servicing company that cant even calculate the annual IBR payment correctly?

According to Navients website, my current payment is {$220.00}. It should be noted that the 150 % above the poverty level doesnt accurately represent what a persons discretionary income is in the Seattle/metro area, where the cost of living is so much higher than elsewhere in the state. In fact, there is an additional chart called the Wx or Weatherization Chart, which gives a more accurate representation of how much is the actual discretionary income a person in the XXXX area might have. In my case that amount is {$2900.00} for 200 % of poverty or {$3400.00} for 60 % of the mean income. Using those numbers to calculate how much my monthly payment would be, my new payment would be {$110.00} or {$32.00}, depending on which number one used. Either of these numbers would fit my budget much better than {$220.00}, plus fees, which I can not afford. Therefore, I ask that Navient be required to use the Wx Chart when determining monthly payments, because they are more in line when considering the high cost of living in the XXXX area. 

Harassing and Retaliatory Action In addition, Navient is now engaging in harassing and retaliatory action because I have sought help from Senator XXXX, President Biden and FSA Ombudsman. My XX/XX/XXXX payment is 7 days late. I received two phone calls asking for payment, one at XXXX XXXX  and one at XXXX XXXX  and I spoke with both callers. In the past, Navient would only call on a past due bill if it was over 30 days and it is against the law for companies to call demanding payment more than once a day. 

Conclusion In conclusion, I believe the documentation shows that my 11 student loans are Federal loans and not private, as Navient is claiming. I believe that Navient took my loans out of deferment early, in XX/XX/XXXX, and changed the loans from Federal to private at that time. Navient will not respond to my emails within their 2 business day response time. And are arbitrarily adding and subtracting service fees for no apparent reason. When I do speak to Navient representatives, they lie, are hostile and/or are deceptive. From XXXX to XXXX, Navient has not charged correct payments, per the Income Based Repayment Plan. And Navient is engaging in harassing and retaliatory actions, since I have sought help because Navient changed my Federal loans to private.

What I am seeking. I believe that changing my Federal loans to a private loans and charging incorrect amounts that were not in line with the Income Based Repayment Plan are illegal practices and violate the conditions of loan ; therefore, I believe the loans should be completely forgiven. In addition, Navient not responding to emails either verbally or a written format, and verbally lying, being hostile and being deceptive when I call to speak to them, makes doing business with Navient impossible. The retaliatory and harassing actions of Navient, because I sought help are also in violation of business practices. In short, Navient has irreparably ruined this business relationship and I demand that Navient forgive all outstanding balances. 

Thank you for help in this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation