Consumer complaint received 2023-09-07
Company: MOHELA
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
I was on IBR plan ( income driven plan towards PSLF ). My monthly payments were {$290.00} renewal date XX/XX/XXXX. I decided to apply for the SAVE plan since my household size has changed ( have a child now ) and its supposed to lower my monthly payments. According to the department of education, ANYONE can apply for the SAVE plan. I called MOHELA XX/XX/XXXX and provided my income verbally for the SAVE plan. I was quoted estimate of {$140.00} per month and told it should be processed in the next seven days. Next week I filled up on it and was told that information was not submitted, so I provided my income again and applied XX/XX/XXXX. The application was marked as duplicate. I called once again and applied through the department of education via email XX/XX/XXXX. The application shows processing under the documents received but my monthly income has been changed to {$320.00} now and I have been placed on level plan, which is not income driven. In addition to that, my account has been placed on forbearance which does not count towards PSLF. 

I called MOHELA today to seek clarification XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with their supervisor XXXX who told me that I have been automatically placed on a level plan because MOHELA needs my income dating XXXX verification in order to process my SAVE application. Reportedly at some point I was on the REPAYEE plan in XXXX so they need my income all those years to be placed on REPAYEE plan again which is reportedly the new SAVE plan. I asked o speak with someone above but she did not allow this. She claimed that she is the highest level service that I can get with MOHELA and if I do not provide the income verification that I will stay on the levelplan and this is my new payment plan. The supervisor told me that I make too much money to be placed on the SAVE plan so this is why the department of education needs me to provide income verification since XXXX. Just to summarize : all these years my income was verified because I was on the IDR plan and the department of education had access to verify my income through IRS website, but for some reason they wanted me to provide that information AGAIN in order to process my SAVE application. This makes no sense! Nowhere does it say on the Department of Education Website that you have to provide your income over the past 5 years in order to apply for the SAVE plan. 

I no longer wanted to argue with the supervision so my income was verbally provided over the phone today from XXXX. MOHELA should not be FORCING student loan borrowers to do the things that they are not required to do. It appears that another application is pending now since my income verification has been submitted today XX/XX/XXXX. MOHELA also claimed how they notified me via email that they need my income verification from XXXX. Needles to say, I never received this request. 

I have applied for the SAVE plan 4 times now and MOHELA has not been able to put me on this plan yet. They keep asking me for the income dating XXXX. Not just my income but my spouses income, even though that I am married and we have been always filing separately which is the reason why I was switched from the REPAYEe plan to IBR plan. The payments are going to start in XX/XX/XXXX. MOHELA never processed my SAVE application even though it was submitted in XXXX, but instead they assigned me to a random plan ( not income driven ) and placed my account on forbearance.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation