Consumer complaint received 2020-01-27
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
The information that I was emailed from XXXX directed me to log in to my XXXX account to make a payment. I did so, but my account said that I did not owe a payment and did not give me the option to make one anyway. 

Other directions I received from XXXX instructed me to create an account to make a payment. I had already created an account : I had to in order to apply for a loan in the first place. 

I received harassing phone calls from the company after missing a payment. They called multiple times a day every day, including early mornings ( before XXXX XXXX  PT ), in the evenings ( after XXXX XXXX  PT ), and on weekends. I also received emails daily about my missing payments ; however, the emails had the same instructions about logging into the account that said I did not have a payment due and would not let me make a payment. They somehow found my undisclosed work email address ( my account was made using my personal email address ) and started emailing me at work. 

A " recovery specialist '' XXXX ( aka XXXX ) violated my privacy and began to personally harass me. In addition to emailing my undisclosed work email address, she started calling me at my office. I did not disclose this information in any way, shape, or form to XXXX, Nelnet or Firstmarkservices. 

XXXX XXXX and unnamed individuals proceeded to violate my privacy and harass other people they assumed were associated with me, including estranged relatives and other people employed at my company. 

I am not a minor and did not have any cosigners on my loan. I did not disclose the names or contact information for anyone XXXX phoned, especially not my estranged relatives or colleagues. 

XXXX XXXX disclosed personal information to people not associated with my loan : She told them that that they should get in touch with me to let me know that I needed to call XXXX immediately regarding my " delinquent '' account. Again, this was a violation of my privacy and a humiliating, misleading message to people completely unrelated to my student loan. 

Not once did XXXX or anyone at the student loan company provide customer service to help resolve this issue. The provided misleading information about my account and incorrect directions about how I could make a payment. I sent screenshots of my account page to customer service to try to help them understand my customer experience. But when I brought this to XXXX XXXX  attention and copied the XXXX and Firstmark Services customer service email address, XXXX replied ( removing customer service from the email ) to reiterate the same instructions that I said were problematic in the first place. Her emails were unprofessional and unhelpful. At one point she had the gall to write " Please let me know if I can help. '' Isn't her job as a customer service professional to help? Of course, she could help! If she gave one ounce of effort into providing accurate information instead of regurgitating the same misleading instructions. 

They threatened to put my loan in default unless I made a payment. They threatened that this would have negative consequences on my financial future, including referral to a third-party collection agency, " each loan being reported as defaulted to the consumer reporting agencies, which will have a negative impact on your future credit applications '' - I thought I only had one loan and what consumer reporting agency are they talking about?! - and " legal action being pursued '' - what legal action?! 

To this day, I have not received any accurate information or assistance from XXXX, Firstmark Services, or Nelnet to resolve this issue. 

I'm concerned that I will have to endure this harassment and privacy violations indefinitely. I am worried that my future will be compromised by a predatory, dysfunctional student loan company and its incompetent staff.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation