Consumer complaint received 2018-08-26
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: ID
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
As a XXXX  XXXX since XXXX, I should have been eligible for the Public Loan Forgiveness Program. The employment certification forms indicate that the loans will be moved, in preparation for qualifying for the program. After 10+ years, of making payments on 2 separate student loans ( one with  Fed XXXX XXXX- covers my 2nd XXXX XXXX from the University XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXXne very large loan with Navient-covers my XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX University in XXXX and my first XXXX XXXX from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX College in XXXX in XXXX ), I was told that my loans were not consolidated properly for this program. They were consolidated, but not for this program, so I would have to re-consolidate and then make 10 more years of payments. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ XXXX XXXX XXXX To XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX A Department of Education Servicer Image of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Logo We received your application for Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ). We will review to make sure your application is complete and confirm you meet the following criteria : You have made 120 qualifying payments on the Direct Loans for which you are seeking forgiveness You worked full-time at a qualifying employer when you made each of the qualifying payments Please note that the process of confirming your eligibility and qualifying payments may take approximately 30-90 days. 

Important Information : You must continue to work full-time for a PSLF qualifying employer until the time your forgiveness is granted. We may contact your employer directly to confirm your employment before granting forgiveness. 

Do I need to continue to make payments? It depends. Unless you specifically selected the option on your application indicating you wanted to continue making payments, we will suspend your obligation to make payments by applying a forbearance* to your Direct Loans if we confirm that you have qualifying employment that covers a 10-year period. We will continue to suspend your obligation to make payments on these loans until we have time to review all necessary documentation and determine your eligibility for forgiveness. Continue to make your payments until you receive confirmation that your payments have been suspended. Note : If you have other Direct Loans that still require additional qualifying payments or have other non-Direct Loan types, you are still obligated to continue making payments on these loans while applying for and after the forgiveness is granted. 

*If we make a final determination that you are not eligible for forgiveness, any outstanding interest may be capitalized ( added to your principal balance ) at the end of the forbearance period. You have the option to cancel the forbearance on your loans at any time. If you cancel, any outstanding interest may be capitalized and payments will resume. 

What happens if my request is denied? If we determine that your employer is not eligible, that your application is incomplete or that you have not yet reached the total number of qualifying payments, your forbearance ( if a forbearance was applied ) will  end and you will need to continue to make your monthly payments. We will resume normal collection activities if you do not make your payments timely. 

Will I have to pay income tax on the forgiveness amount? No. According to the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ), student loan amounts forgiven under the PSLF Program are not considered income for tax purposes. Please contact the IRS or a tax advisor for more information. 

Have additional questions about PSLF? Visit MyFedLoan.org/PSLF or contact one of our PSLF loan counselors. 

This is a table that provides you with detailed information such as your loan sequence, loan prrogram, and Outstanding Balance for each applicable loan. 

Direct Loan Details Loan Sequence Disbursement Date Loan Program Outstanding Balance XXXX XX/XX/XXXX DLSTFD {$2500.00} XXXX XX/XX/XXXX DLSTFD {$2200.00} XXXX XX/XX/XXXX DLUNST {$4000.00} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Student Aid Feedback XXXX To XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX Dear Mr./Ms. : Thank you again for contacting the U.S. Department of Educations office of Federal Student Aid regarding your eligibliity for Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ). 

We received your Employment Certification Form ( ECF ) for PSLF on XX/XX/XXXX. Your ECF was approved on XX/XX/XXXX and we began transferring your eligible loans for servicing. The ECF you completed states that you may only qualify for PSLF after you have made 120 separate, on time, qualifying monthly payments on an eligible Direct Loan, after XX/XX/XXXX, while employed full time by a public service organization. You received correct information when you were advised that you would have to reconsolidate your FFEL consolidation loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan in order to make it eligible for PSLF. Completing the ECF does not change the loan type and only verify 's your employment for PSLF purposes. 

We are unable to take action on your concern due to governing federal regulations. Attached is the regulatory reference for your information and records. 

We hope this information is helpful to you. We are going to close your case at this time. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( ET ) How satisfied are you with the outcome of your complaint? Let us know by answering one question on your case details page! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Apparently, I am not the only one, there are thousands of people in the same boat : As the first wave of borrowers submitted applications to get their remaining student loan debt erased under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) program last year, many were met with an unexpected response : They didnt qualify. 

That was after 10 years working in the nonprofit sector, or as teachers or government employees. After submitting the proper paperwork every year. And after making 120 payments. 

Rather than having their debt swept away, they were told they didnt hold up their end of the bargain and that many of their payments didnt count toward the requirements to qualify for forgiveness. 

In most cases, that was because the borrowers monthly payments were not made under the right kind of repayment plan, according to XXXX XXXX, a New York student loan lawyer. 

In the worst situations, borrowers were told they would have to start their payments again from the beginning and complete another 10 years of payments before they could qualify for forgiveness. 

That changed in XXXX, when lawmakers created a {$350.00} XXXX fund to give those who were denied forgiveness a second chance. 

On Wednesday, the Department of Education announced the process for those previously denied forgiveness to appeal. 

Denied Before? How to Know if You Qualify for Loan Forgiveness Under this temporary program, borrowers still have to adhere to most of the qualifications for the forgiveness program. 

You still have to have direct loans, you still have to be working qualifying employment, but if you were on the wrong plan for some of those 120 payments, you can request  forgiveness under the program, and the fund is designed to pay for that, XXXX said. 

Now, borrowers who made payments under the graduated repayment plan, extended repayment plan, consolidated standard repayment plan or consolidated graduated repayment plan could qualify for forgiveness too, according to the Department of Education. 

But there is one important caveat : The money will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis until the fund runs out. That means you could qualify to get your loans wiped away but still be denied if you wait too long to notify the Department of Education. 

Its not a fool-proof guarantee, but it is a potential option for some borrowers, XXXX said. Something is better than nothing, generally. 

How to Appeal Your Student Loan Forgiveness Denial If you meet the qualifications for student loan forgiveness, simply send an email to XXXX with your name and date of birth. 

Heres a template from the Department of Education you can use to make it simple. Just copy and paste, then fill in the blanks and send it off as soon as possible. 

To : XXXX Subject : TEPSLF request I request that ED reconsider my eligibility for public service loan forgiveness. 

Name : [ Enter the same name under which you submitted your Public Service Loan Forgiveness application ] Date of Birth : [ Enter your date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY  format ] Thank you. 

Expecting Forgiveness Later? Heres What You Need to Know Right now, only those who have already completed 10 years in a public service career and made 120 payment toward their direct federal loan and then got denied forgiveness can apply for help from the {$350.00} XXXX fund. 

For those who are still working toward that goal, this isnt going to help you now. 

It certainly means that unless Congress is going to be committed to replenishing that fund, it is going to be a limited number of borrowers who are going to be able to access that, XXXX said. 

The fund may be empty long before they can take advantage, and the future of the program is still unclear. 

Could someone who has made less than 10 years of payments on the wrong plan have those non-qualifying payments count under this expansion? Yes, its possible, XXXX said. But theyre not going to be able to get a definitive answer to that until they have accrued 120 qualifying payments, they apply, they get denied and then they appeal. 

The vast majority of people are going to be in the situation where they have made some years of payments that dont count and then theyre questioning whether or not they will be able to get those years counted, and the answer is there is absolutely no way to know. 

In the uncertain meantime, be sure to keep track of every communication with your student loan servicer and double-check any information it gives you to make sure its accurate. 

XXXX XXXX ( @ desi_stennett ) is a senior writer at XXXX XXXX XXXX. She writes about how government and court actions impact your wallet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I submitted the required email and received this response on XX/XX/XXXX YOU ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR TEMPORARY EXPANDED PSLF Thank you for recently requesting that we evaluate your eligibility under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( TEPSLF ) opportunity. 

We are reviewing your request. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? 

We will contact you if additional information is needed to determine your eligibility. Once the review is complete, you will be contacted. 

There is nothing more you need to do at this time. 


Subject : [ external ] TEPSLF Request To : Subject : TEPSLF request I request that ED reconsider my eligibility for public service loan forgiveness. 
Name : Date of Birth : Thank you. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have not heard anything since. Given, I should have qualified to have my loans forgiven in XX/XX/XXXX, I have now paid thousands more than I should have had to pay. After returning to Idaho, from working in Oregon for the XXXX school year, I have taken a drastic pay cut, and continuing to pay these loans is going to be more difficult. I am afraid to do anything to the loans, like consolidating again, because I worried that will restart the clock, and force me to pay for an additional 10 years. 

Please help me resolve this matter, as soon as possible. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation