Consumer complaint received 2018-02-03
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Company: DISCOVER BANK (NY)

I have a discover student loan with a balance of {$100000.00}. I have federal loans of over {$200000.00}. Two loans make up this Discover amount, one originally for {$30000.00} at 12.125 % and another for {$22000.00} 11.875 % and the interest rate changes all the time. It feels like I get a letter from them every month telling me the interest rate is changing, going higher. My parents took these loans out originally from XXXX to pay for my XXXX school around XX/XX/XXXX and I was not fully aware nor was I explained by any lender of what such high interest rates would mean once I finished XXXX school.The loans were subsequently sold to discover unfortunately. Both loans have essentially doubled now. I only began to enter repayment about a little over a year ago. My monthly payment is over {$1000.00} a month and it fluctuates due to the variable interest and I have never been able to afford this or consistently pay since I have been in repayment. I have been pausing other loans or using credit cards to pay what I can and my credit is now horrible. I have had a hard time passing all necessary tests since I graduated that I needed in order to work with my degrees. I finally have and would just like to be able to work and save some money for a rainy day and improve my credit. I have used forbearance and deferment and likely every other tactic I could just to get by for the past year. All the measures Ive taken are just not sustainable. There is no way I will be able to pay off this loan or even repay the amount I actually borrowed if Discover doesnt offer real reapyment options that reduce interests and payments to what people can make. Even if it extends the life of the loan, a lower payment I can actually make would be wonderful and I would never miss a payment. 

I went on Discover loans website the week mid XX/XX/XXXX to look at exactly all the options they offer since I was over 60 days late and just didn't know what to do and was told by Discover I had no options. One repayment option is hardship, where the interest rate is temporarily reduced for up to 12 months to lower your Minimum Monthly Payment amount, subject to a {$50.00} minimum. I contacted discover asking for this as I am clearly facing extreme hardship and have always since repayment began. I was been placed on a similar plan with XXXX XXXX for 24 months, which will absolutely help me save and just get to a better place financially. I was told they can not offer it to me unless the " loan says so ''. They also said that they can not tell me who qualifies for the program or really explain what this all meant, yet it is listed on the site as options for borrowers. This is essentially deceptive advertising. New borrowers likely have seen these options thinking that they will be available to them but they wont. Nor will Discover explain how to qualify for the one program that will likely save so many people from default. They consistency send emails or have agents tell you they have options for you if youre experiening hardship but all the options offered are temporary, add more interest to your loan or you actually dont even qualify for anymore. 

They have no other options for me and I do no know what to do as I know I can not afford this. Every other student loan has been flexible and have lowered payments and interest rates. Discover has been so unreasonable and truly does not give all repayment options as advertised to those who need assistance. Ive asked agents if they preferred default over working with me and they seem to prefer default. 

I tried to consolidate these loans with discover and of course I was not approved because they require a really high credit score. I can not get a high score and pay off debts with debts like this constantly looming over my head with constant calls from discover. Not paying other bills to manage to pay Discover has left me with bad cedit Ive explained so many times I can not just make the money appear out of thin air and they don't offer any real assistance. I am also enrolled in a debt management plan that unfortunately does not work with student loans. 

If they considered my debt to income ratio it would be clear that there is just no way. Discover truly does not have options to help people facing real hardship. Interest just keeps adding and adding and adding. I owe them double what I took out. They always say to ask my cosigner who just started working again after a serious work injury and absolutely can not help as well. If Discover cared to look at everyones credit profile as well as the totality of the circumstances they would offer real repayment assistance. I am only XXXX and I am considering bankruptcy SOLEY because of this loan or even defaulting on Discover because there are just no options. Discover does not provide its borrowers who can not pay their high minimum payments on loans with extremely high interest rates any settlement or reduced interest, or real ways to manage their payments. 


Additionally, in late XX/XX/XXXX, I requested to be removed off the reduced payment plan ( which reduced only about {$90.00} from the monthly payment ) so I could get forbearance for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX Payments I could not make. I had somehow been making sure to pay just enough that I wasnt reported but this is no way to live, not paying other bills. I was told that if I removed myself from the plan I would get forbearance for my late XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments. Something in their system stopped the forbearance from working and they ultimately had to decide I would not be responsible for XX/XX/XXXX payment due to their system errors. I thought that come XX/XX/XXXX I would have to figure out how to make at least some portion of the monthly XX/XX/XXXX payment and all months from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX would be on eliminated due to forbearance they were to apply on XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX.

In XX/XX/XXXX I learned from discover that the forbearance would not be applied to XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments and they would still be past due even though I had left the lower payment program solely because I thought this would happen. They said it would be instead applied to XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. I also found out these late payments were instead reported to my credit and I had 60 day plus late payment reflected on my credit report. I was ultimately forced to agree to pay the past due payments while they administratively removed my XX/XX/XXXX payment which they said was a way to " help me ''. I stopped paying other loans/bills to pay for XX/XX/XXXX during XX/XX/XXXX and I now have to somehow make sure I pay $ 700+ in XX/XX/XXXX to cover XX/XX/XXXX to not be reported past due for XX/XX/XXXX even though they told me forbearance would apply to them. They told me they would remove the late payments from my credit report. I am not sure if they have yet. I took this option because I felt trapped just so I could get the derogatory marks removed from my credit. They said that me paying XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX would be less than XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX however if forbearance was applied as they said they would I wouldnt have been in this issue. My credit has plummeted do to THEIR error and it plummeted at a time where I had another creditor report incorrect late payments. Just because Discover is offering to remove the marks now does not mean my credit will go back to how it would have been. The real effect on my credit score of their incorrect reporting in conjunction to the other creditor likely can not be calculated. 

I also asked for the agent I spoke to to tell me in writing they would remove the late payment marks and she would not. She said it was not something she would put in writing and insinuated they would have to receive XX/XX/XXXX payment in order to do so even though they should be obligated to correct the mistake anyway because it was THEIR mistake. It is them who told me the forbearance would be applied to XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. It was on a recorded call and it can never be denied. They also subsequently apologized for the mistake on a recorded call. I should have been forced to find {$700.00} just so the incorrect late marks would be removed from my credit. 

I did not choose this company and I would have never. XXXX was my original servicer. I would never want to be stuck with a company that isn't flexible. If you look at the attached statement youll see very little of the minimum payment is actually applied to the principal of the loan which effectively means I will likely never pay off this loan on cure I would attach my original loan details but they are not available online.