Consumer complaint received 2016-03-23
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about my loan

Complaint:
Hello, I am writing to you because I recently re-examined by eligibility for XXXX. Unfortunately, I was dismayed to learn that my federal loan servicer ( Neltnet ) failed to put me into a qualifying repayment plan, such as XXXX, and therefore prevented me from being eligible for XXXX Please allow me to explain the details of my situation and layout a clear timeline. 
To date, I have worked nearly 9 years full-time at XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX - present ), XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX XXXX ). Back in XXXX, when I first began working for XXXX XXXX, I spoke with my loan servicer ( Nelnet ) about my potential eligibility for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was told then that my work did not qualify for XXXX. The man I spoke with said a XXXX repayment plan on my XXXX Consolidated loans would be the best repayment plan for me at that time. Looking back, this was a clear mistake by my loan servicer. My employment, in fact, did qualify. As a result of this error, Nelnet did not enroll me into XXXX, which would have properly allowed me to make qualified payments towards XXXX. 
To be clear, my repayment history began in XXXX. At that time, I put all my federal Direct student loans into a period of deferment and forbearance for a period of two years because I could not afford to make payments. I was never told then about my ability to enter into an income driven plan, which would have likely saved me money and kept me in an active repayment status for those two years. In XXXX, I also instructed my loan servicer to consolidate all my federal loans into XXXX consolidated loans - XXXX consisting of Direct subsidized loans, the other consisting of XXXX unsubsidized loans. Later, in XXXX, I asked my loan servicer to put my XXXX XXXX Consolidated loans into a standard repayment plan since I could afford to pay a bit more each month and no longer wanted the graduated repayment schedule. When I spoke with Nelnet I again asked about my eligibility for the XXXX - I was again told that I was not eligible for this plan. 
In short, I am requesting my loan servicer to take responsibility for this mistake and correct it by retroactively enrolling me into XXXX. I would like all my full and on-time payments since XXXX, when I originally asked about my eligibility for XXXX, to count towards forgiveness. Given the fact that I inquired about my eligibility for XXXX and was mistakenly told that my employment did not qualify, I believe it is very clear that I should not be denied the benefits I have earned for my XXXX years of public service. If this is not possible because the XXXX does not allow borrowers to be retroactively put into XXXX, then I am requesting that Nelnet provide just compensation for their mistake. Why should I pay the price for their error? Also, I would like a clear explanation from Nelnet why I was not originally put in an income driven plan back in XXXX. This would have saved me money and a tremendous amount of stress to me and my family. 
From a federal policy perspective, I also see my case as an indication of a much larger potential problem. As I understand, federal loan servicers are paid an amount for each borrower in " good standing ''. I believe this may inadvertently create a perverse incentive for loan servicers to act against the best interest of borrowers. In my case, Nelnet should have enrolled me into the appropriate plan given that I explicitly expressed an interest in XXXX and my employment qualified. I fear the financial incentive to keep a borrowers like myself in active repayment may cause loan servicers to forgo helping borrowers enroll in XXXX, if that means they XXXX lose the borrower sooner.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation