Consumer complaint received 2018-08-08
Company: LendKey Technologies, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2018 I called Lendkey Customer service in regards to two student loans of mine which were sold to Lendkey by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was about to return to XXXX  XXXX full-time to finish by XXXX XXXX XXXX, so I needed to set up forbearance/deferment on my two loans during the time that I have no income. I knew that forbearance would be required initially ( due to bureaucratic processes at XXXX, as a readmitted student I would not meet officially meet " half time '' status until XX/XX/XXXX ), but I was ecstatic when the Lendkey representative indicated that I would be able to re-enter in-school deferment once I was recognized as half time! Previously I had been told that returning to in school deferment was not possible at Lendkey ( even though it is was not a problem with the three other lenders I interact with : XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX XXXXI ), and this was a significant obstacle for someone who was saving up to return to school. 

Months later, in XX/XX/XXXX, I met XXXX ' standard for a " half-time '' student. I had scheduled the forbearance to end after the month of XX/XX/XXXX since I knew I would be able to enter forbearance after that. On XX/XX/2018 I called Lendkey again to ensure that my in-school status had been verified so that I could enter deferment. I was surprised to hear that the policy had flip-flopped again, and that I would never be able to enter in-school deferment on these loans again, and was forced to submit a rushed application for extended forbearance. 

Lendkey 's document submission process is purposefully obtuse. Instead of having a web-form or option to apply over the phone, the site requires users to manually print forms, fill them by hand, scan them, and upload them. Since time was of the essence ( I do not have the capital to makes payments currently, and my Lendkey loans are always charged on the second of the month, ~24 hours after the due date ), I used a pdf form program and typed my responses to the form. This was submitted on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX Lendkey contacted me notifying me that the form had been rejected due to form being filled electronically. 

On XX/XX/2018, I went to great length to get access to a printer and scanner to re-submit the forbearance for as quickly as possible. This was completed, and at XXXX XXXX ( PST ) the next day I was emailed with a notification that my forbearance had gone into effect. Later that day ( XX/XX/2018 ) the full monthly payments for both loans were charged to my checking account, which overdrafted. Lendkey has refused to refund the full amount associated with this error. 

Overall, between the lack of in-school deferment, the unnecessarily complicated forbearance application process, and the inability to process these applications sufficiently or communicate relevant requirements, it seems to me that XXXX XXXX is not just negligent, but malicious. 

The payment options, forbearance application process, and general lack of transparency are so inferior in comparison to my three other lenders, that I now believe that these issues are a purposeful choice by Lendkey management to discourage users from seeking the support that they require. The loans are not any lower interest than my other private ones, so I see no reason why Lendkey would not invest in getting their systems up to standard, except to drain cash from users like myself who are struggling to make payments. 

I did not choose Lendkey. My debt was sold off to them, and as a non-graduate I know of no recourse to refinance or transfer these loans to another lender. Lendkey 's systems are completely unacceptable and are clearly designed with the intention of inconveniencing/ignoring the people who have taken out loans.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation