Consumer complaint received 2022-07-08
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NY
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 am a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and I work for XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX as an essential employee throughout the entire pandemic. I have made payments for years and finally paid off my student loan in full in XXXX of XXXX ( using my tax money ). I did this because I'm thinking about retiring soon and wanted this off of my shoulders. 

Navient never informed me of my option to consolidate my loans, apply for PSLF, and then ultimately participate in the Payment Pause from XX/XX/XXXX and forward. I reached out to Navient, who then told me to reach out to XXXX ( which I found to be absurd given that my loan was never transferred there but I was told that " they handle that PSLF stuff '' ). XXXX, of course, told me to call Navient back as they had no record of me. 

Then, after being transferred to 4 different representatives, each one higher up the chain than the next, I was told by Navient that as my student loan servicer that they were never required to inform me of anything PSLF related. The XXXX  was on me to ask about a program I knew nothing about. I am a tad old school in that I mail in my payments with the monthly stubs they allotted me. 

Again, according to multiple Navient representatives spoken to on XX/XX/XXXX, they were never required to show me options beyond what I was currently doing ( e.g. IDR plans, loan consolidation, PSLF qualification, etc. ). They were never required to look and see who my employer was and notice that they qualify as an employer for those seeking PSLF. So, because my loans were paid in full as of XX/XX/XXXX, my account was closed. They said there was nothing that they could do. 

I asked if they could reopen my account so I could consolidate and apply for XXXX, and they said they could but then my account would be 4 months overdue and it would appear negatively on my Credit Report. It would cause more harm than good. In that moment, I knew that they had the power to reopen my account and help me but they were choosing not to. 

The fact that they withheld information that could have been lifechanging to me and my family right before retirement is heartbreaking. 

Please help me? The fact that all of this correspondence through the years was in the Federal Mail has to account for something? 

I want my account reopened, I want to consolidate all of my loans to Direct Loans, I want to apply for PSLF as I have well over 120 payments, and then I want a payment pause started immediately while my account is being researched. If at all possible, I'd really appreciate having the payment pause initiated as of XX/XX/XXXX and forward. If I had known, I would have consolidated asap and participating in the payment pause / PSLF Waiver. 

Please help me? I'm going to be reaching out to Attorney General XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) for assistance as well. Thank you for fighting the good fight. I don't want more, I just want fair. Public  Employees aren't rich and Navient took advantage of me and my lack of knowledge in this area. I help people for a living and my hope is that someone out there can help me now. 

Sincerely, XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation