Consumer complaint received 2022-03-08
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC.
State: NC
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
Hello- I don't know if I am doing the right thing by messaging you here. I don't know if you can actually help. I don't know if I will ever hear back from someone. And if I do hear back, will that person just tell me that there is nothing they can do or will they just tell me to contact someone else? I suppose that I'll find out. 

Simply said, I can not pay my private student loans with Navient. When I was working towards my XXXX and my XXXX, I took out loans with Navient because it was easy money to get. I was already maxed out on the amount of money I could take out from the federal government and getting private school loans was the only option I had to not just pay for my courses but also to get money for a living allowance. 

I have over {$200000.00} in federal student aid loans and over {$10000.00} in two private loans taken out from Navient. 

With regards to my federal loans, I have 2 consolidations, both done on XX/XX/XXXX. The federal loans were used to help my parents and myself pay for my XXXX tuition ( I graduated the XXXX University XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) in XXXX ) and also for my XXXX XXXX XXXX ( I have an XXXX and then a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which was just given to me during the course of working towards my Ph.D. ). The current principal for the 1st federal student loan is {$85000.00}. The current principal for the 2nd federal student loan is {$130000.00}. Together, the two loans equal {$220000.00}. 

The purpose behind the private loans from Navient was to help me complete my XXXX I needed this degree so that I could become a XXXX XXXX ( the only thing I ever wanted to do ). However, I failed out of the program due to politics within the program. I did very well in all of my coursework and even had much of my dissertation already completed ( which was unusual ). I even had an unofficial chairperson who was one of the professors in the program. He told me that he would make sure that I was granted my XXXX but I had to pass my comprehensive exams. I ended up failing those exams twice and was kicked out of the program. 

The first private student aid loan from Navient was taken out for {$8700.00}. That loan was disbursed on XX/XX/XXXX. The current balance on that loan is {$7000.00}. The second Navient loan was disbursed on XX/XX/XXXX. The disbursement amount was {$8000.00}. The current balance on that loan is {$6200.00}. Together they come to {$13000.00}. Together with my federal loans, I have {$230000.00}. 

I am XXXX XXXX XXXX and I am currently living with my mother. The federal student loans have been in non-payment status ( I believe forever )- I don't believe I have ever made a payment on those loans and I have never been in default on them either. For the private loans, when I took them out, I needed my mother to cosign for them. So her name is on those loans and even though I have been able to make some payments over the years, my poor mother has been the person who has made the vast majority of those payments. She is XXXX XXXX XXXX and retirement is not in her future. I am certainly not helping her and that has really hurt me over the years. 

My father passed away 3 years ago on my birthday. For the last decade, due to unknown problems, I have not had a stable career. I have currently been unemployed for almost a year however I believe I will be able to start XXXX  again shortly which should bring in some money. I have been so depressed over money. 

About 8 years ago, I declared bankruptcy which did away with my personal debt but my college debt was untouched. 

I first moved to XXXX  and then with my parents down to XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX. I wanted to spend time with them and to take care of them. And I don't regret doing that - unfortunately, that has not created much of a life for me. But I was able to help them. However, down here, anywhere around here, there are NO jobs. I used to work at XXXX. I was the most educated person working in the plumbing section and that's all I could find work for. I was able to XXXX XXXX for a while but after my dad died, the thought of driving 3 hours every XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX became unbearable. So I finished the term and stopped doing that because it was just too much of a drive for me. And that's all there is " around '' here. Why should it be a decision? Either I take care of my mom or I move to somewhere which has a job better than {$13.00} an hour? 

The purpose of this message and the crust of my complaint is with Navient. There is no way that I nor my mother will ever be able to pay off Navient. And it's wrong that they gave me this money, especially for a program that I was kicked out of ( due to no fault of my own but because of politics within the program which never should have been there ). 

Additionally, I have so much federal student loan debt. When I filed for bankruptcy, I was told by my attorney that the judge would never approve dismissing my federal student loans or my private loans. As with my private loans, there is no way I am ever going to be able to pay that money back either. And in all honesty, I should have never been able to borrow so much money. I take responsibility for that. But, with regards to my private loans, Navient preyed on me and I then begged my mother and begged and begged her to become a cosigner on those loans. And as the good mother she is, she did what I asked her to do and I wish she never did that. 

I am in so much debt and have been since I graduated XXXX in XXXX - that was 21 years ago. And I was officially kicked out of the XXXX program about a decade ago. My credit will forever be weighed down because of these debts. 

I remember once, I was walking into the student financial aid office at XXXX- it was the first time I would ever take out loans past the time I completed my XXXX XXXX XXXX. There was a sign on the wall which showed how much money I could expect to make if I went to XXXX and completed my XXXX there. And the numbers were so high! 6 digit figures. Honest to God I saw this and thought that taking out these student loans was a no-brainer. I was young at the time and there was no doubt that I was smart enough to get my degree from that place ( at least my XXXX and I was smart enough to get my XXXX. too ) and it wouldn't be a problem getting into debt because I knew that I would be able to make enough money after graduation to pay that debt off. And whatever I needed to have my poor mother cosign for, it wouldn't affect her because I would pay off those private loans right after graduation. That sheet was a complete lie! A decade later, I ( rather my mother ) have not been able to pay much of either of those student loans back. And as far as my federal loans, none of that has ever been paid back. 

I will never get a house. I will never get married. Who wants to marry someone with a quarter of a XXXX dollars in debt ( before they start a family and before they even have a house )? After my mother dies, I see myself as homeless. I'm not just saying that. I'm smart enough to know how bad things are and in large part, they are bad because of these debts. But I can say that I have all of this education. And this education hasn't helped me at all. 

I feel really sick from all of this and I have met up with financial counselors and others who have tried to help me. But the reality is that these people allowed me to take out money under false pretenses and I don't know if there is anything you can do to help. But if you can help, please let me know. None of the above is made up or exaggerated. If anything, I didn't speak enough about how much XXXX this has caused me, my mom, and my father when he was alive. Maybe I should XXXX XXXX XXXX That's not a cry for help - don't worry XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX But I don't see any way out of this crippling debt. No bank is going to give me a loan for a house let alone anything other than a car. All my Dad wanted during the time I was born until he died was for me to get settled. In fact, the day he died, I asked him : Dad, what would you like me to become in life? His answer was simple, XXXX, I just want you to be happy and to be settled down. Now that he has died, the burden of settling me down ( so she calls it ) rests with my Mom. But seriously, how is that possible with this amount of debt? There is no way that I will ever be able to become settled or to give my parents the one thing they always wanted for me. So sad. Please help me. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( my new telephone number- my last two numbers had become disconnected for lack of payment )

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation