Consumer complaint received 2018-10-12
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
I was a XXXX XXXX XXXX for 12 years ( XXXX XXXX ), employed full-time by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in Maryland. At the start of my tenure back in XXXX, I was pressured by many financial institutions to consolidate my loans because I was told it would bring down my monthly payments, put all of my debt into one place, and make my life easier. I was also told that this wouldnt affect any future XXXX or public service loan forgiveness programs that were being created in Congress in the mid XXXX, and I was informed that this wouldnt affect the category or status of my loans, or loan type. So I consolidated some of my loans on XX/XX/XXXX with XXXX Bank, and in XXXX Navient became my new servicer. The original consolidated amount was {$21000.00}. I also consolidated another set of loans in XXXX from my grad schools years, and these were serviced first by XXXX XXXX and now XXXX  XXXX XXXX. The first consolidation with Navient still has a balance of around {$13000.00}, but my loan through XXXX XXXX XXXX is nearly paid off ( one payment of {$130.00} remains ). 

Im writing a letter of complaint primarily about Navient, the company facing many accusations and a potential class action lawsuit currently, but also XXXX Bank, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and the non-transparent consolidation process I was pressured into entering in XXXX. 

In XXXX, before moving overseas to XXXX where I currently live and while still employed by XXXX XXXX, I applied for Public School Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX   ), thinking my application would be accepted because of my more than 120 consecutive payments while working at a qualifying XXXX XXXX. But both of my applications were rejected by XXXX XXXX XXXX ( for PSLF ) and Navient ( for XXXX  ). I never received detailed letters or documents explaining why I was rejected, and when requesting information ( especially from Navient ) it has been incredibly difficult to secure documents or clear, unequivocal reasoning. 

Recently I reached out to both of these servicers over the phone to get answers and this is what I was told after piecing together information from more than ten hours of stressful conversations with representatives and supervisors on the phone. ( It was impossible to get through to managers for some reason they were never available ) : XXXX XXXX XXXX informed me that the reason my direct consolidated loans didnt qualify for PSLF is because back in XX/XX/XXXX, my automatic payment was only processed for {$63.00} instead of XXXX. When I explained that my account was always set up to process these payments automatically and it wasnt my problem that there was a computer glitch with removing a XXXX  from the payment, I was told that the payment wasnt satisfied in full and they couldnt do anything about this issue. When I asked if they could review this problem I was told it would take 70-90 days for a manager to process this audit and get back to me about the investigation. To me, this seems very dubious and quite laughable : XXXX XXXX holding up the processing of a PSLF application of a qualifying XXXX. There was a clear error online in the processing that had nothing to do with an unwillingness to hand over an extra XXXX. This amount was for consolidated direct loans. 

Navient, on the other hand, gave me two contradictory reasons for my XXXX application being denied. First, I was told that my type of loan, a FFELP, didnt qualify for XXXX forgiveness. Then, this explanation was reversed by different representatives and I was told my underlying loan ( a XXXX portion I had already paid off ) that was woven into the consolidation in XXXX prevented me from qualifying for the program. When I asked to get details about this, Navient couldnt provide them after being put on hold countless times. When I asked to be sent this information, I was told a PDF file would be sent with a history of my loan prior to XXXX when it was with XXXX Bank servicing. After three weeks, I hadnt received an email. When I called back, I was informed that the document was sent, and a rep walked me through their online system to locate it on my account for over an hour. After we couldnt find it in my email or on my Navient account online ( via the message inbox with requested documents ), I was informed that it would actually be sent to my Hungarian address as a hard copy. So after one month of trying to figure out why I was rejected for the program, Navient still cant explain why or give me the requested material to document this decision for me. Navient has failed to provide me with the documentation about my records at XXXX Bank and details about my underlying loans before XXXX that were the source of the rejection. 

Whats more frustrating is that as a student Im just trying to locate the paper trail of my original loans, their types, their consolidation history, and what went wrong to prevent me from qualifying for two programs that loan counselors, government officials at XXXX, reps in my public school system, and reps at the loan servicing companies told me I would easily qualify for. Ive become one of the tens of thousands of XXXX across this country who stay in this often thankless XXXX   profession with the hope that a small fraction of their loans will be forgiven after 10 years and 120 consecutive payments, only to discover that all the programs are fraudulent or at least set up in a way to minimize chances of applications being approved. For example, until these conversations and investigative research, I had no idea that my consolidated loans under Navient were FFELP ( I thought they were classified as federal direct loans ). Whats worse is that these Direct loans were converted into commercial loans, and this is the underlying reason why I dont qualify currently for XXXX. Ironically, if I had not consolidated and if these direct loans had not been converted to commercial loans or if the XXXX loans had not been rolled in, based on my understanding of the facts I would have qualified in XXXX for the XXXX  and PSLF programs when I applied. If the consolidated loan had remained a direct loan and not been converted into a FFELP, up to {$170000.00} of my remaining balance at Navient would have been forgiven without question through the PSLF instead of the XXXX  ( only up to {$5000.00} could have been forgiven under this program ). I feel that the whole system and the servicers ( XXXX Bank, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and Navient ) were not transparent with me about these conditions. In XXXX when Bush and Obama administrations approved these programs ( which would take effect in XXXX ), it wasnt clearly explained to me by any of the servicers that my loans would no longer qualify unless I changed by consolidation type. This should have been clearly articulated, but it wasnt, unfortunately. XXXX  and other public servants shouldnt be subjected to navigating such a mess of a labyrinth when theyre trying to apply for programs they should qualify for after years of service. The process should be clear, automatic, and painless for these public servants whove given so much to society with modest salaries. 

So here I am, a XXXX who worked for 12 years in the public school system, and I qualify for none of the federal loan forgiveness programs that were designed to help me financially after years of service, all because of these servicers not being transparent and clear about the consolidation process. 

I have decided to write the CFPB to express my concern about these servicers, in particular Navient. It would be great if you could help me out with these issues, and get me in touch with anyone leading the charge against Navient now in the class action lawsuit. If what Ive read online is correct, I believe that CFPB has filed numerous cases against Navient recently for reasons similar to my complaints. 

Thanks for your time and for looking into my case.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation