Consumer complaint received 2019-12-23
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: CA
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:
Nelnet Incorporated. I took out 4 student loans over a 3 year period from XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX. I got a federal perkins loan as an XXXX at XXXX XXXX, XXXX near the amount of {$1000.00} and paid that off in XXXX. The second loan was a {$5500.00} FFEL loan while I was at XXXX XXXX XXXX as well. I graduated from XXXX XXXX in XXXX and immediately went to XX/XX/XXXX to XXXX for XXXX school in XXXX. The last two loans were conjoined with the XXXX XXXX bank  as two separate {$8500.00} loans to go to XXXX  school. When the Department of Education loans were privatized without my consent by the Clinton Administration, the loans were sold off and lost, yes LOST from XXXX XXXX. I called them multiple times in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and they had no clue who serviced my loans. I was told that both loans were sold off to DIFFERENT banks MULTIPLE times in a one week period and the records are gone. I gave up. In XX/XX/XXXX Nelnet said they had my loan records and somehow offered me debt consolidation. I had no choice since the Federal government had lost all records of my three loans still unpaid. I had no banks to send any forebearance paperwork to, which I needed to do ... So I was stuck with Nelnet. I was still going to school completing a second XXXX XXXX degree and finally finished my collegiate education in XX/XX/XXXX ( I applied for forebearances before then, and then started making payments ). I  found out inconsistencies in my paperwork of payments in XX/XX/XXXX. I tried multiple times to pay ahead on my loans prior to XX/XX/XXXX. I was told I could not. I was told that I was charged interest every day, and that could never change. I would make payments with special instructions NOT to carry forward my due dates, but instead pay down on the principle of the account. There was NEVER any proof that those payments were processed properly. Lastly, I complained in XX/XX/XXXX and was wrangling on trying to make early payments which were {$170.00} / month at the time. I was then told that the ONLY thing they would let me do is lower my monthly payments to {$50.00} per month. I told them over 3 times that I did NOT want to lower my payments, but make early payments and got nowhere. They ended up RE-AMORTIZING my loan WITHOUT my approval and without my consent. I called and complained MULTIPLE times to put the terms of my loan back to what they were and tried to make an offer to pay ahead on my loans on principle payments, not interest, and they refused EVERY single time. I am STILL in this fight with them after 6 years more of efforts. My most recent attempts with the Department of Education ombudsman ( I've been working with them for years on and off to get help ) also led the Dept of Education to favor Nelnet to keep the loan as it is. Nelnet claimed to have NO RECORDS of ANY re-amortization, and yet claim I authorized it, with no proof. There is NO paperwork as it was done behind my back, and I never signed ANYTHING to agree to a re-amortized loan. I have subsequently asked to have my loan to be forgiven as a last ditch  effort after 6 years of wrangling. I now only owe under {$1000.00} after trying to pay off this wretched loan for over 24 years. I just wanted to pay my loans off early, and I got NOTHING but headaches. I had to give Nelnet my loan amortization record in my XX/XX/XXXX Department of Education complaint I had gotten from NELNET in XX/XX/XXXX via fax, and they claimed that they had NO RECORD of the information I had actually gotten FROM them in XX/XX/XXXX! When I supplied it to them, they refused to acknowledge that the data on my paperwork FROM NELNET was something anyone present at Nelnet could understand. They have been either very fraudulent with me, or are incompetent. There is evidence for much of both with my student loan case. I can supply more than enough e-mails and documentation about my loan available upon request.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation