Consumer complaint received 2017-03-13
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about my loan

Complaint:
Navient has engaged in deceptive practices concerning my student loans. Each time I have received an email from Navient, the title of each email was the same : " New Document Ready to View. '' Upon looking at the emails, they would show my current owed balance ( {$2100.00} ) on my loans and mentioned that I should log into their website to view more information. When trying to log into their website, I was unable to produce proper login information despite multiple attempts. It was n't until I called them XXXX months later that I found out I have to register on the website before being able to log in, despite what the email said. I am unsure how a document is ready to view for me if I do n't have an account. 
Towards the end of my grace period after leaving college, I was notified that my payments on my loans would begin in XX/XX/XXXX. I was NOT notified in the emails of the AMOUNT of my payments. I soon found myself funding some legal fees and neglected to pay on my student loans for 2 payments. After two months ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I received an email illustrating a balance overdue of roughly {$120.00}. It was at this point that I contacted Navient over the phone to see what could be done, as I am undergoing some extreme financial hardship between supporting myself and paying legal fees. 
In my phone call with the Navient representative ( XX/XX/XXXX ), she mentioned that while Income-based payment plans are an option, that in her PROFESSIONAL OPINION, which I should absolutely trust, I should place my loans on forbearance for an ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR. She also recommended that after the year was up, if I still did n't want to pay my payments due to hardship, I should renew my forbearance for ANOTHER YEAR. Throughout the conversation she was very reassuring that this was my best option, even after verbally confirming that I spend a decent chunk of my income assisting family members not claimed on my taxes. To lock in my forbearance, she said something along the lines of, " Okay now I have to read you something and I need you to say you agree and you 're all done! '' Great. She quickly read XXXX paragraphs of terms to me that briefly mentioned I would gain roughly {$30.00} a day in additional fees added to my loans. I was naive and trusted her so I said I agree ( it was my best option, right?? ) Here 's where it gets interesting. In XX/XX/XXXX I get another 'Document Ready to View ' email that now shows my owed amount jumped up to OVER {$5000.00}. I then called Navient again & another representative explained that I took out XXXX federal loans, the second one being for {$3500.00} ( I was n't aware of this ever ). I concluded this jump in principal was due to my account being placed on forbearance and that I IMMEDIATELY wanted to be taken off of forbearance and switched to an income-based payment plan. This new representative said that was fine, but that she recommended I " hold off on that '' because a link was broken on their website so the application process now involves me having to fax tax documents to them and filling out an application online that may take up to 15 business days to process before I get approved to be removed from forbearance. 
I promptly mentioned that I was aware of the lawsuit filed against Navient for their deceptive practices and that I felt I was being subjected to said deceptions. SHE IMMEDIATELY changed her tone and said " Oh well I can take you off forbearance right now over the phone let me put you on hold. '' She later came back with a fake surprised tone saying, " My goodness she pressured you into forbearance for a year? That 's unheard of ; let me fix that. '' While on hold, a recording emphasized the experience of all of their representatives and how I should trust their expert opinions ( lol okay ). She soon came back and updated my forbearance to be shorter and my new payments start next month. Caution to all : Navient is shady and should n't be trusted.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation