Consumer complaint received 2023-10-05
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: MT
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Need information about your loan balance or loan terms

Complaint:
On Tuesday, XX/XX/2023 I submitted my application for the SAVE Repayment Plan on the Federal Student Aid website. The confirmation email from FSA states : We have sent your income-driven repayment ( IDR ) plan request to your federal loan officer ( s ) to process the request. You can expect to hear from your service ( s ) within four weeks, but it may take longer if additional information is needed from you.

( See Attachments : XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Nelnet is my student loan service. On my account dashboard it states : APPLICATION REQUEST : Were reviewing your repayment plan application we received on XX/XX/2023. Please allow time for your request to be completed. 

( See Attachment : XXXX  ) Interest resumed on XX/XX/2023 and my payment was due by XX/XX/XXXX. ( My next payment due date is currently listed as XX/XX/23 which I have already paid and payment has been accepted. 

( Compare Attachment : XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) When I called Nelnet the automated answering machine states that email is the best way to receive information from Nelnet. I have received emails preparing me for the start of the repayment process. However, I have not received any emails from Nelnet regarding the status of my SAVE application request nor requesting any additional information. 

Nelnet has not contacted me within the contracted 4-week window. The servicer has not accepted or denied my SAVE application, nor requested additional documents. This has led to interest added to my federal student loans balance which would be paid on my behalf if my SAVE application was accepted.

( See Attachment : XXXX ) The Federal Student aid website, under the page SAVE Repayment Plan Offers Lower Monthly Loan Payments states : The SAVE Plan has an interest benefit : If you make your full monthly payment, but it is not enough to cover the accrued monthly interest, the government covers the rest of the interest that accrued that month. This means that the SAVE Plan prevents your balance from growing due to unpaid interest.

( See Attachment : XXXX XXXX I have tied to reach out to Nelnet directly to fix the problem. And have been unsuccessful at requesting information from the company because I can not get through to a customer service representative. 

On Monday, XX/XX/2023 at XXXX XXXX : I called Nelnet twice to speak with a customer representative to discuss my loan terms. 

The automated called asked for my social security number, birthday, and zip code. The automated message said the the call center was not open and automatically hung up. 

Nelnets Website state that the call center is open Mondays XXXX EST. 

On Tuesday,XX/XX/2023 at XXXX XXXX : I called Nelnet again. Gave my social security, birthday and zip and instead of hanging up I was transferred to hold. The automated message stated it would only take a few minutes to wait on the line for the next available representative. I held for ~ an hour and did not get through to a representative.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation