Consumer complaint received 2018-02-19
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NY
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:
My loan payments were applied incorrectly, despite my instructions. Now my account is 73 days delinquent. 

I have been working at XXXX XXXX XXXX, in a public service XXXX job since XX/XX/XXXX, and my minimum payment under the XXXX program is {$360.00}. My account should now have an overpayment, but because my payments were incorrectly applied by Navient, I am in default. My loans are at about {$240000.00} and my only way to repay them is to have them forgiven through XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX after the 120 months of qualifying payments. 

I spoke with Navient, my servicer at the time, on XX/XX/XXXX, to make sure that a payment from the XXXX XXXX XXXX Award that was greater than my minimum would be applied towards future payments, and not go to interest. I explained that this was what I wanted, because I knew I only needed several months of payments covered by Americorps, as my law school has a loan assistance program that would kick in later. I also stated that the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX employer certification form at page 4 specifically said it was possible, and I wanted to make sure I requested the loan payments correctly. 

That payment schedule also appears to be required by law, at 34 CFR 685.219 ( 2 ) ( attached ). 

Navient confirmed yes, that if I made a payment larger than my minimum, that additional amounts would go towards my future minimum payments. I then made XXXX payments of {$2500.00} each, which were received by Navient on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, because the address that Navient provided was different than the address that XXXX  had on file and I wanted to make sure at least XXXX payment went through so that I was not delinquent. Both payments went through. 

After I saw that both payments went through, I asked Navient to refund XXXX via calls and letters. However, they never refunded either payment. They said I needed to provide the bank account information and check number for the {$2500.00} from XXXX. I could not do that, for obvious reasons, though I did try calling XXXX  to see if they could write a letter ( they could not ). 

The more pressing issue is that Navient also did not apply either of my payments the way that I requested ( and which appears to be required under 34 CFR 685.219 ( 2 ) ), by dividing the payment into multiple monthly minimum payments of {$360.00}. 

In XXXX, my XXXX application to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX program was approved, and my loans were switched over to XXXX. 

XXXX  could not see any payments from Navient, and told me my loans were in default. However, they told me to wait, because the payments would eventually show if I had made them. 

Eventually, the Navient payments showed up, but they had been applied in full towards interest in XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX  then needed me to make additional payments to keep my account current. 

Throughout XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, I called, wrote, and faxed documents to XXXX and Navient to try to resolve the issues above. However, XXXX said they can not adjust the XXXX payments because Navient has to do that. Navient said they can not adjust the payments because the account is not with them. 

By XX/XX/XXXX, I was about {$1900.00} in default, even though I had paid {$5000.00} and my monthly minimum payments are {$360.00} under XXXX. My law school program had kicked in, so I made a third payment of {$890.00} on XX/XX/XXXX from my law school 's repayment funds and since I was worried about negative credit reporting, I released a fourth payment of {$1000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX. 

In total, I have paid {$6900.00} towards my loans, even though only {$1800.00} should be due ( 5 months at {$360.00} ). 

Thus, I have overpaid my loans by {$5100.00}, but am still 73 days delinquent and am at risk of negative credit reporting and I currently will not have 4 months of public service work counted towards my XXXX qualifying payments under XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

In late XX/XX/XXXX, I learned that Navient has a consumer advocate, so I made a complaint to them. I explained the situation and they responded again that there is nothing they can do. They sent me a letter today XX/XX/XXXX, explaining the same things described above. Their position is still that there is nothing they can do. 

I need someone to simply update my account to apply the payments as intended.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation