Consumer complaint received 2022-04-05
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: Maximus Federal Services, Inc. (MI)

I received a letter from the Department of Education on XX/XX/XXXX stating my application for Borrower Defense regarding my loans from XXXX University were being discharged. The letter stated within 180 days. I was so happy to have the nightmare from XXXX behind me and my life could get back on track. I started looking at houses and speaking to a lender. The lender said my letter from the Department of Education was insufficient for her to begin the prequalification process because there is no amount. I called the Department of Education and was then told that if I did not refinance, I would get nothing because some of my loans were Direct and some were FFEL. I had no idea the loans were different. They were all being handled by the Department of Education. Why should there be a differentiation and why punish me further for being in this situation? I did not trust what I was being told. The agent refused to give me any dollar amount and tried to push me off on my new loan servicer AidVantage. AidVantage was also just as clueless ( which we will get into later in this statement ). I talked to my mortgage lender and she said just to wait until the loans were discharged to start the process, that it should not be much longer. The 180 days would have ended the day before my birthday, XX/XX/XXXX. 

As we got closer to the due date, I reached out to the Department of Education again ( XX/XX/XXXX ). First I tried via chat and got the rudest person I have ever encountered who said that the Department was busy and it was not their fault I chose the wrong school to go to. I called the phone number after that and was given a XXXX number to call and was said to be transferred to a mailbox. I remarked that the phone number sounded fake because of the XXXX exchange. I also XXXX  the number. The agent laughed at me on the phone and said " HAHAHAHA EVERYONE SAYS THAT HAHAHAHA ''. When I was transferred, I was sent to a mailbox message that said that it was both full and not set up properly to receive messages ( which seemed very odd ). I called the phone number and I was correct, it was not a real or working number. The message I received from XXXX ( my cell carrier ) is that it was not a working number. I called back again ( all of this happening in the same day ) and got a representative that did not seem like she cared about the other 2 encounters and said to just keep checking and that maybe by midXXXX something would be done. 

I waited until the day before my birthday ( the 180th day ) to call again and was forced into refinancing my loans. I was told again that they do not know the exact amount that would be removed but to get it all removed I had to refinance. I went through with the process despite not being fully comfortable with what I was being asked to do. I feel like refinancing gives them the opportunity to deny my relief of this unbearable burden. 

I received an email from AidVantage on XX/XX/XXXX stating that an additional {$340.00} was being added to my student loan burden. In the grand scheme of things, if I owe over {$110000.00} adding {$340.00} does not seem like a big deal but considering I have been in an economic hardship deferrment since XXXX ... adding this {$340.00} for " failing to make 12 consecutive payments '' on my loan in XXXX ( when I was in an inschool deferrment at that time ) is ridiculous. I checked my balance on the Department of Education website ( studentaid.gov -- also where the chat happened and the phone number was obtained from this website ) and it showed the same totals. I called AidVantage and spoke to a representative that said my balance was only {$18000.00} which is from my current loan for graduate school. I asked again and then I logged into the AidVantage account. It showed a payment of {$98000.00} was received. It shows up as " PAYMENT ''. The agent said it looks like my Borrower Defense discharge had happened and I would receive a letter in 2 weeks. I asked if she was sure because I did just consolidate to which she replied that it looks like the consolidation kicked off the process of these loans being discharged. I was overjoyed. It felt like a dream come true until I woke up the next day and the money was back on the account. It was not my discharge. It was just the consolidation. The same heartbreak returned. 

I called the Department of Education ( studentaid.gov ) to ask them how much longer it would be and spoke with another snotty person who said that " We're really busy and maybe you will get your loans removed in XXXX or maybe as late as XXXX... we don't know ''. More heartbreak. I have also received notices from AidVantage saying I am still accruing interest on my student loans and that I will have to start repaying if the Biden administration does not extend the student loan pause. With my being part of the Borrower Defense, I have been told that there is no interest that is being added and that they can not force me to pay anything until after my loans are discharged. 

I am angry that this mess keeps going. I am angry that no one has a straight answer and that I still have no answer as to when my student loans will be discharged. I have been treated horribly and I need some sort of reprieve from the nightmare.