Consumer complaint received 2018-05-25
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: DISCOVER BANK (IL)

I have been going back and forth with Discover Student Loans for seven months and it's exhausting. 

I originally applied for its hardship assistance program in XX/XX/XXXX. Despite showing I had no income at the time, I was denied. I immediately re-applied with additional documents and was notified I would receive a decision within 10 business days. That time frame past and I'd still not received a response. When I called in XX/XX/XXXX, roughly 30 days after submitting my second application, a support rep initially told me they were still waiting for me to submit paperwork. This couldn't have been further from the truth, and after insisting she check, she verified I had submitted everything required, well within the timeline required. This representative put me on hold while conferring with her " back office team '' and after more than an hour on the phone together, told me I was immediately approved for the hardship program and my account would be updated to reflect as such, as well as being current on payments. 

I still continued to receive daily calls and letters than my account was past due for the original payment amount, despite making consistent payments of {$50.00} per the program guideline. I spoke to numerous representatives at least weekly to try to resolve the issue. I was told Discover was merging its system with XXXX XXXX, it's previous processor, and that was the root of the issue. The merger was complete at the end of XX/XX/XXXX and yet this problem has yet to be resolved. One particular representative assured me they would correct my account erroneously being reported 60 days past due and that shed also make a note for the reporting department to stop the report for 90 days past due, as I had been making timely $ XXXX/month payments per the program. Neither of those things happened, and my and my co-signer 's credit were negatively impact. It took another month of phone calls and talking to countless reps and supervisors to finally have that resolved and to receive a letter confirming the correction. 

When I finally received a letter confirming my enrollment in the program, my monthly payment went up by {$14.00} from the original {$170.00}. I didn't understand how this was possible, as it completely defeats the purpose of a hardship program. I called and was yet again informed it was a system error but they would send it to the person who handles these things and was assured this would be fixed. It still has not, and to this day I've still not received any sort of documentation confirming my enrollment and reduced payment of {$50.00} through XX/XX/XXXX. I've repeatedly asked to speak to the back office team that handles the program but am never allowed- they apparently do not accept calls from their borrowers. I repeatedly ask when the " system error '' will be fixed and am told " up to 30 days. '' 30 days has come and gone 180 days ago. No one will tell me what the error is or why if I am approved for the program and it's reflected in Discover 's notes it's not officially being reflected on my account. 

I initially spoke to a supervisor named XXXX ( ID XXXX ) roughly 3 weeks ago. While he could not give me a definitive resolution, he told me to only speak to him about the matter going forward. He advised that he would have to do some research and would call me back a week later. Unsurprisingly, he never did as that has been the trend with all customer service reps and supervisors at Discover. When I called him 10 days after our initial conversation, he essentially passed the buck to someone else, saying she, not he, would be able to handle my case. No resolution was achieved. 

I called to speak to XXXX ( ID XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX but was told she's in a meeting and could call me back that day. She never did. When I called on XX/XX/XXXX I asked to speak to a supervisors superior, as so far everyone at his level has been unable to assist me. Initially, he refused, telling me the only person that could handle my case is XXXX and I could not speak to anyone else. I insisted on speaking to higher management, to which he then informed me his boss was " in a meeting '' but could call me back. I asked who it was and for her ID, his initial response was " we don't have that information. '' I found this very hard to believe since I had names and IDs of his other colleagues and that information was willingly provided to me. He finally told me it was XXXX ( XXXX ). I never received a call from her. I've never been allowed to speak to any management besides immediate supervisors of the support reps who take initial calls. 

However, XXXX finally called me on XX/XX/XXXX and assured me she was working hard and reaching out to headquarters to resolve the issue with my account- in fact she was going to talk to them daily. It's now 10 days later, I've not heard from her or received any correspondence/letter that the issue has been fixed. I still continue to receive calls and letters that my account is past due. I'm once again at risk of having an erroneous report on my credit, which is detrimental to me as a small business owner and my ability to secure a new apartment in the coming months. 

Frankly, I do not believe this is a system error at this point. This is more of a systemic bullying tactic to wear borrowers down and force them to give in and pay. I have zero trust in this company from the severe mismanagement and lack of transparency. It makes me absolutely sick to think I'm chained to it until my loans are repaid.