Consumer complaint received 2023-08-17
Company: CommonBond, Inc.
State: NY
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:
On XX/XX/2023 I logged into my Commonbond account to check the upcoming balance that was to be due come XXXX. Once I logged into my account, I noticed that my status had changed from 'Enrolled ' to 'Grace '. I called XXXXommonbond on XX/XX/2023 to inference about why my status had changed. The customer service agent informed me that my enrollment status has changed because I had graduated from my educational institution in XXXX of XXXX. I informed the customer service agent that I had been accepted into a graduate program, and inquired about what steps I needed to take in order to have my status changed back to 'Enrolled '. Per the contract that I signed upon dispersement of my loan, if I am enrolled in an educational institution I am only responsible to pay the accrued interest every month, I am not required to pay anything towards my principal balance. The customer service agent directed me to complete a form titled 'Enrollment Verification ', and to have this form verified ( via official stamp ) by the educational intuition I was now enrolled in. 

On XX/XX/2023 I completed the 'Enrollment Verification ' Form, and had this form officially stamped by the registrars office at my current educational institution. After verifying my full-time enrollment and stamping the 'Enrollment Verification ' document, my educational institution faxed this document directly to Commonbond. I have email confirmation from the registrars office that this document was shared directly with Commonbond. 

On XX/XX/2023 I received notification from Commonbond that I had been sent an e-correspondence, and to check my online account. I logged into my account on the Commonbond website and was surprised to find Commonbond had notified me that my status had been updated to 'Repayment '. As a result, I was now required to make set monthly principal and interest payments at an amount XXXX that of the payments I had been paying while enrolled in my previous educational institution. I called Commonbond directly in the afternoon of XX/XX/2023. The customer service agent informed me that the 'Enrollment Verification ' form they had received from my current educational institution did not indicate whether I was enrolled full time or part time. I questioned why as a result of them receiving an " incomplete '' enrollment verification form, I was removed from my contracted 'Grace ' status ( 4 months earlier than the contractual agreement ), and immediately entered into the 'Repayment ' status. The customer service agent could not provide a reason as to why my status was immediately changed from 'Grace ' to 'Repayment '. The customer service agent did confirm with me that the change from 'Grace ' status to 'Repayment ' status was a mistake on the companies behalf. 

I continued to inquire about how I could get my status returned to 'Enrolled '. The customer service agent directed me to re-complete the 'Enrollment Status ' verification form, have it again verified by my current educational institution, and to have them re-fax the document directly to Commonbond. On XX/XX/2023, I re-completed the 'Enrollment Verification ' form, had it re-verified by my current educational institution ( where I am enrolled full-time ), and my educational institution faxed the document directly to Commonbond. The customer service agent assured me that upon Commonbond receiving my Enrollment Verification form, they would revert my status to 'Enrolled ' so that I could continue to make payments towards my accruing interest. 

On XX/XX/2023 I received an email from Commonbond informing me that they had sent me another e-correspondence, with instructions to check my Commonbond account. In the afternoon of XX/XX/2023, I logged into my Commonbond account to check the e-correspondence I had received. Commonbond had sent me a letter informing me that my status had been changed to 'Deferment '. Upon checking my account, I could see that my status had, in fact, been changed to 'Deferment '. Within the e-correspondence from Commonbond, they informed me that I was now ineligible for interest-rate reductions.

The contract that I signed with Commonbond indicates that I am entitled to a 6-month grace period following graduation from my educational institution. Commonbond did not honor their agreement within in contract, and have not allowed me a 6-month grade period. Additionally, I was falsely led to believe by a Commonbond customer service representative that submission of an 'Enrollment Verification ' document to Commonbond would revert my status to 'Enrolled '. Upon submission of this document, I was forced into a status of 'Repayment '. This again goes against the contract agreed upon by myself and Commonbond.

Following this, I took all proactive steps possible on my end to remedy the situation through the avenues I was directed to by the Commonbond representative. My educational institution re-submitted a completed the 'Enrollment Verification ' form with further clarification on my enrollment status ( full time ) as directed by the Commonbond representative. Instead of honoring the contract agreed upon by both Commonbond and myself, Commonbond, without my consent, changed my status to 'Deferment ', a request which I did not make, therefore rendering me ineligible for future interest rate reductions. The customer service agent I spoke to on the phone, on a recorded line, never indicated that submission of the 'Enrollment Verification ' form would change my status to Deferment, or that a status change to Deferment would render me ineligible for future interest-rate reductions.

Not only did Commonbond not honor the agreed upon contract which indicates my right to a 6-month grace period upon graduation, they took it upon themselves to declare me in a period of 'Deferment'- a request I never made. I was never infomred that submission of an 'Enrollment Verification ' document was related to or indicative of a request for deferment. The Enrollment Verification document itself does not mention deferment anywhere on it. 

Over the time period spanning from XX/XX/2023 to XX/XX/2023, Commonbond repeatedly broke the terms and conditions of our signed agreement and misled me as a customer. Commonbond does not honor the conditions of their contracts, and therefore I do not believe I should be hep responsible for upholding my end of the contract. I do not believe, nor do I feel comfortable, continuing to do business with a company that misleads its customers and scams them. I believe that Commonbond and the Commonbond representatives knowingly misled me to believe that submission of an 'Enrollment Verification ' form would revert my status to 'Enrolled ' so that they could, instead, change my status to 'Deferment ' therefore rendering me ineligible for interest-rate reduction in the future. Commonbond broke their contract, and is trying to scam me of every single cent they can.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response