Consumer complaint received 2022-09-26
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: OR
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
This is my third complaint to the CFPB about Firstmark, which continues to misapply my minimum due payment to individual loans. After the second CFPB complaint, Firstmark changed its website so the borrower could choose to apply their monthly payment to individual accounts as they saw fit OR just make a lump payment and Firstmark was to distribute that payment among all loans so that they were all in current status. 

In late XXXX, Firstmark stated that they cleared up my account and made sure all my accounts were current. My monthly due payment is always {$440.00}, typically I pay {$470.00}. Last month ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I paid {$500.00} and when I attempted to make my XX/XX/XXXX payment today, Firstmark 's minimum due balance shows {$500.00}. I contacted Firstmark and the representative told me that an individual account ( XXXX ) was not paid in XXXX, XXXX. I explained that I selected the payment option that gives Firstmark one monthly payment and Firstmark is to process that payment among all loans so that they are current. I did not select or give consent for Firstmark to overpay some individual loans and ignore others. 

The representative sounded a little bit confused. She kept asking that I make the additional {$89.00} to cover the delinquency on the account. She also mentioned another account - XXXX - as having an issue. I explained that the problem with making an additional payment ( {$89.00} ) beyond the minimum due ( and beyond the normal overpayment I typically submit ) is that it suggests Firstmark can continue misapplying my monthly payments and then expect me to fix it with an unexpected higher amount. Firstmark can not make a mistake in processing my payments, then go back to me, the customer, and seek more money as if I budget an unlimited amount every month to cover Firstmark 's mistakes, thereby also jeopardizing my credit. If the minimum due is {$440.00} and I make $ XXXX {$500.00} every single month, there's no reason why this month I should owe {$500.00}. 

Over the phone today I made a {$500.00} payment and asked the representative to make sure Firstmark understands that this is an overpayment I make so that I'm paying my loans quicker and that it does not mean that individual loans should be overpaid while others are ignored. I further stated that I expect my XX/XX/XXXX minimum due balance to be {$440.00} and that any outstanding amount is caused by Firstmark for misapplying my monthly payment among my individual loans. I am not sure if she entirely understood, but she did say she'd put my comments in the notes for the processing team and confirmed my monthly payment in XX/XX/XXXX will be {$440.00}. 

I'm submitting this complaint for the third time based on the fact that Firstmark has taken my monthly amount and ignored specific loans creating delinquency, then seeking higher amounts in subsequent months. This was to be resolved with the first two complaints stemming from issues that arose in XXXX, but it appears that they did not in fact resolve this problem and there is an account ( s ) ( XXXX? or XXXX? ) that they ignored and are seeking payment well above and beyond the minimum to cover this mistake.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation