Consumer complaint received 2024-10-03
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA (AL)

XXXX XX/XX/year> I submitted a Public Loan Forgiveness form in hopes that I would receive an update and certification for the number of student loan payments I have made. I utilized the Federal Student Aid PLSF platform to submit the form ( https : //studentaid.gov/ ) At the time of submission, I was informed that it would take approximately 30 days to process. 

On XX/XX/year> I scheduled my XXXX student loan payment via Mohela 's website to pay on XX/XX/year> and received an email payment confirmation reflecting both dates ( date payment was scheduled, date it was expected to pay which was XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/year> I received notification letter from Federal Student Aid that my PSLF form had been processed ( submitted on XX/XX/year> ). The letter indicated that I had made XXXX payments for PSLF eligibility although I have made several more ( XXXX XXXX  ) which should have reflected XXXX at the time the form had been processed. XXXX XXXX hand, I understand that at the time of form submission that they may have only reviewed the payments through that time period. However, this is not how payments were previously managed and no updates have been communicated regarding the change that I am aware of. Typically the payments are accounted for although you are required to submit another PSLF form to verify employment eligibility for those timeframes ( Qualifying payment vs. Certified payment ). 

On XX/XX/year> I checked the status of my XX/XX/XXXX payment via Mohela 's website and it was indicated as processing. 

On XX/XX/year> I checked my bank account and the Mohela XX/XX/XXXX payment status. It was listed as pending on both XXXX XXXX and Mohela 's website. I also discovered that second payment for XXXX was processing of which I did not authorize and was not indicated on the website when I reviewed on XX/XX/XXXX. Again, I scheduled the XXXX payment on XX/XX/XXXX to pay on XX/XX/XXXX and for some reason on XX/XX/XXXX a second payment of the same amount was listed as processing. I contacted Mohela via phone and was prompted that the wait time was over XXXX minutes and elected for a return call. While waiting I sent a message via the XXXX platform on Mohela 's website to express concern about the XXXX payment I did not authorize. I received a return call from Mohela and was informed that because the payment was processing that there was nothing they could do. They could not provide rationale for the second payment even after informing that I did not schedule or authorize a second payment and did not receive confirmation email regarding a XXXX payment. I was advised to contact my bank- XXXX XXXX. I contacted XXXX XXXX and explained the situation and they assisted with a stop future payment request on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/year> I discovered that XXXX XXXX inadvertently stopped the original payment scheduled on XX/XX/XXXX for XX/XX/XXXX ( although is was pending with the bank ) and the XXXX payment I did not authorize. After this discovery, I submitted another payment for XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX via Mohela 's website to ensure I received credit for XXXX. 

The above describes a series of events that result in confusion and mistrust. My complaint is that Mohela should not process payments that you do not authorize and should be able to provide supporting documentation when this occurs ( when was the payment submitted, how, email confirmation documenting the payment, etc ) all of which they could not provide. I feel that this is attempt to cause confusion and not provide payment credit within a reasonable time for individuals who are near loan forgiveness and deduct additional payments that are not authorized. My loans have been in good standing and I have a systematic process to ensure my payments are made before the due date. A review of my payments via Mohela 's new platform reflects that all my payments are made on the XXXX of the month. 

In addition, it is not clear why Mohela does not update payments monthly with Federal Student Aid when every other merchant ( credit cards vendors, utility providers, etc. ) are expected to provide updates on accounts on a monthly basis via monthly account statements that reflect payments made to-date and the amount owed. Further, there is also the practice of duplicating the amount owed for student loans on your credit report. Last month my student loan amount was duplicated on my XXXX credit report ( I owe ~ $ XXXX and the loan was listed twice indicating that I was XXXX in debt more than I am ) I submitted a dispute and received a " no change/update '' response but the issue seemed to have resolved on its on but the fact that it happened is gravely concerning as these practices require diligent observation, recording and record keeping on behalf of the consumer when organizations such as Mohela should be practicing ethically. 

As I prepared to submit this complaint today I have also noticed that the XXXX messages I sent via the Mohela 's Inbox Message feature on XX/XX/XXXX are no longer showing on the website. One email was sent to request cancellation of the XXXX payment I noticed and did not authorize and requested an explanation regarding while I awaited a return call from Mohela ( sent just in case they did not call me back ). The second email was sent after I utilized the chat feature on Federal Student Aid website to inquire about how my payments could be update. The chat transcripts reflects that I was advised to to contact my loan servicer, Mohela to request that they " push '' my most up-to-date payments to Federal Student Aid as it is the loan servicer 's responsibility to provide updates. I have documentation from XX/XX/year> that reflect that I received credit for my XXXX payment in XXXX so it is uncertain why the reporting has changed. I have noted the lag time reflected in the XXXX transcript but this is unacceptable. 

My regret is that I did not take screenshots of all activities specifically the emails sent via Mohela 's Inbox Email messaging platform - I never would have thought the organization would go so low by deleting documentation but here we are.