Consumer complaint received 2018-04-16
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NC
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:
My school wasn't listed, it closed about 2 years after I went. It was called XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX ( XXXX ). It was a 10- month XXXX program for XXXX. 

Sallie Mae was the original lender of the {$12000.00} NO FEDERAL BACKING, Private, paid directly to the facility, " Career Training Loan '' in XX/XX/XXXX. The interest was 7.25 %. My mom was my cosigner. Even though I was successful in the program, obtaining NC State licensure, and finding my first job. I was not successful in finding XXXX work after I was laid off. I diligently tried to keep current with Sallie Mae and my growing list of creditors. I was made calls to keep them informed that I was trying, begging them to work with me. They wouldn't. In the 8 years, ( 96 months ), I tried paying this loan down, I was late 15 times. And even though I had requested to have payments go toward my principal first, I was always told I was still making up the interest gathered for the first 13 months of the loan when I was making interest only payments. From XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX only {$0.00} of the {$860.00} paid, had been applied to the principal. Over the next 8 years, I kept sinking into debt and back then 29.99 % interest was the hurdle you could never get over. I failed too, like so many people did. 

I began the process of filing ChXXXX Bankruptcy. In XX/XX/XXXX, my ChXXXX Bankruptcy was finalized leaving me with my 7 year old vehicle as my only debt because I needed to have transport to get to work. All other debts were discharged. Sallie Mae marked the account as Closed, the balance was zeroed out and a remark of ChXXXX Bankruptcy was reported to credit agencies. 

From XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX, I had been awarded : {$12000.00} and had paid {$13000.00} in principal, interest, and fees. However, at the time of purchase, Sallie Mae showed I still owed {$8700.00}. {$3800.00} of principal paid. However, the online record history shows {$4800.00} was paid toward principal. 

XX/XX/XXXX, ChXXXX filed not finalized until XX/XX/XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX Capitalized interest was applied to the account and removed the same day. XX/XX/XXXX, acct was discharged and closed, however a late fee was reported then removed after I called Sallie Mae and was referred to Navient. I was told it was a mis-key and would be removed, which it was. I was ignorant of so many things at XXXX, I never asked why I was even discussing the account with a brand new company ... they never informed either. 

XX/XX/XXXX, Navient called my mom and let her know as the co-signer, the loan was now her responsibility. The representative was very rude, basically informed her she could either pay the loan down or other actions could be taken ; liens/garnishments/bankruptcy. When my mom became upset, she was told I was the only one she should be angry with. That I put her in this situation. Needless to say, my mom called me afterward. I called Navient and wasn't given a total on the loan. I was told the electronic bill would post by the middle of the month. I requested paper billing, they denied since I already had electronic billing set up. I requested information through the mail again because they were a different company. Again, they said the statement would be available online by the middle of the month. I was never informed they were/were n't a division of Sallie Mae, a collections agency. Navient never advised me to seek legal advice for verbage I didn't understand and was mocked when I asked what forebearance/deferments we're and how they effect the principal and longevity if the loan and/or any implications doing either may have. 

But, until recently I was willing to make payments to prove to my mom I wouldn't let her down. Also, after the ChXXXX, I thought it would show diligence and responsibility in reestablishing my credit. I continued to make over the minimum payment with calls to apply toward principal first before I'd go online to pay. Navient never informed me I needed to mail in payments with instructions on a separate piece of paper monthly if I wanted to do that. After some time of being on time with payments, I started playing around with how much I sent to them and asking what kind of math they were using to come to their figures because there was so much fluctuation in the percentage gap between the interest and principal. I was even making payments when the amount due was XXXX. When I asked about that, I was told it was because I had been so responsible in making timely payments, they were being deferred. Which I know now, was not good. I had never requested deferments and I was making sufficient monthly payments in a timely manner. So, from XX/XX/XXXX, a month after discharge from Sallie Mae, to XX/XX/XXXX I have been paying. However, I went to make a payment online the other night and saw a new loan arrangement letter and my principal had jumped from around {$2200.00} to {$3400.00}. The new loan said that since my account had been deferred, at my request, ( which it had not been ) and had carried a forebearance and was restructured from 7.5 % to 8.25 % variable with a 36 month schedule of {$110.00} payments ( {$4000.00} ). They listed 8 different reasons why the terms changed ; including deferment/Forebearance expired or the interest only payments period of time had expired, which was true ... when the loan was 13-months old and Sallie Mae had originated it. 

I figured out what Navient was doing, they would defer payments and apply Administrative Forebearance when I was close to being paid off so they could capitalize the interest and just keep this loan rotating. Even though I was not requesting anything by this time and they're reporting me as a good-standing debtor! I'll bet they love me ... it took me too long to figure out what they've been doing. 

I was denied FAFSA for XXXX XXXX, I liquidated my checking, savings, and sold my car and my husband took out loans against our home and his home his parent 's reside in so I could get through XXXX XXXX OUT OF POCKET! Navient shows the origin of this loan in XXXX, when it originated through Sallie Mae, so my credit suffers by having a 15 year old outstanding private, career training loan on it! I also have medical debts in collections because I've been trying to pay off Navient and I've had to help paying down the 2 outstanding home loans my husband so generously took out so I could have a lucrative career. I've been a XXXX XXXX for 3 years now and we're still trying to crawl out of the hole! My ChXXXX will drop off in another 2 years and I'm still paying this debt that was marked discharged, closed, XXXX by the original lender. I've never been informed Navient had me in collections via co-signer. They report as an open Career Training Loan to XXXX and XXXX, not as a in collections. How is this legal? How is this happening?? 

From XX/XX/XXXX after Navient bullied and terrified my mom to XX/XX/XXXX I've paid : {$5400.00} in principal and an additional : {$2800.00} in interest and fees for a total of : {$8300.00} Adding that to what I listed above for principal, interest, and fees for Sallie Mae I've paid : {$21000.00}. 180 months/15 years! This loan has been a nightmare, to say the least! They do not have our interests in mind ... much less our best interests ... they manipulate our percentages, numbers, time tables, emotions with scare tactics and fraudulent accounting for their bottom line. I can't be a cash cow for them anymore, I'm worth more than that, but I'm so discouraged with how my life has turned out. I really thought I'd get a fresh start after ChXXXX, I've come a long way with money management but, I'm depressed and at a loss. 

I do not know what I'm going to do about Navient. The new loan due date is XX/XX/XXXX. I am afraid if I even call them about it, I'm bonded as accepting it. But, 36 more months? My ChXXXX will have dropped off for a year by the time that thing is done. I was XXXX when my mom co-signed the Sallie Mae loan, I turned XXXX last month. I've not been able to contribute to my retirement benefits as much as I should be at this age because I've been getting milked by Navient since a month after the discharge. Not to mention putting off education advancement in XXXX. I can't go back to school for my XXXX until I can get Federal Aid or another education loan, which I won't be able to get because this 15 year old Career Training Loan is a huge red flag for education AND scholarship/grant lenders. And until my husband 's home loans are paid, we don't have the means to pay for further education, home repairs, etc. Navient has really done a number on me. I'm just hoping I'm able to get rid of them, recover enough to have a decent life in retirement and not be looking back on my ruined life because I enrolled in a 10-month training program! I'm at a loss, I've been devastated since I printed out their new loan arrangements. 

Please know what I can do ... I need some hope!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation