Consumer complaint received 2019-01-23
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (AL)

I recently discovered issues with my Federal Loans handled by Navient. I did not know of the issues with Navient until my bank alerted me to issues while trying to buy a house.

I looked into the situation ; discovering Navient is facing current lawsuits for similar situations to the way they have handled my account.

My loans were originally handled by Sallie Mae, then by Navient. I setup auto pay with Sallie Mae, then had to re-setup my auto payments with Navient.

From what was communicated to me ( via paperwork and online ), when I setup Autopay, I understood that I was paying extra each month, to be applied towards the principle.

I only ever received simplified information. It consistently stated my minimum payment amount as around {$400.00} ; I was paying almost 2x that. 
IE My paper work received states : " You have {$400.00} due XX/XX/19 '' and " Total Payent Due {$400.00} '' and " enrolled in Auto Pay. {$830.00} will be debited from the designated bank account by XX/XX/19 '' My bank alerted me, from the detailed information that they could see ( that I do not have access to online ), that something weird was going on and it was keeping me from being approved to buy a house. My principle was moving much slower than the amount of money I have been paying. 
I typically only sign into my online account a few times a year. Since the last time I checked my account, the options had changed. 
There are now new, difficult to find choice settings with confusing verbage of how payments are to be applied. 
On my account, an apparently default choice had been made, without my knowledge or confirmation, that I was pre-paying my bill, pushing due dates back ; NOT PAYING down the principle. 
I had to call to discuss and clarify what these settings meant and to clarify that I my extra funds are NOT paying down the principle, they are just 'pushing back ' the due date. IE I could not pay for several months since I am 'ahead ' of my payments now.

It was indicated to me that.

I had to work hard on the phone to pin down the representative to use clear and simple layman 's terms. He kept repeating the confusion verbage for the options posted on the website. I had to keep pressing the matter to get confirmation and make sure I understood.

After 5 or 6 tries, He eventually confirmed what I have written here with simple and clear statements.

I was never alerted to, or confirmed my choice of the below situation.

IE : For the website to adjust how over payment is handled. You have to go to Dashboard>Profile>Edit Profile>Overpayment Directions " Billing Direction '' " No, Advance my due date by the number of payments I cover. Even if you have XXXX  amount due on your billing statement, continuing to make payments will reduce your total cost of borrowing. '' OR " Yes, Bill me for my full monthly payment. You will be required to make a full monthly payment with your next billing statement. '' My setting was the 1st choice ( No, Advance [ ... ] reduce total cost of borrowing ). This PUSHES BACK the due date AKA Pre-pays the next bill. It does not pay down the principle as intended. 
I did not make this choice. I had setup originally and assumed it was continuing, before the software was setup this way, that my overpayment was almost 2x my minimum and that it was all going towards the principle. 

1 ) Misallocated payments - Contrary to what I originally setup, the settings had been changed without my knowledge or confirmation to pay the extra towards future payments ( 'pushing back the due date ' ) vs paying on the principle 2 ) Change in minimum Payment - My higher, extra payment that I had originally set at almost 3x the minimum originally with Auto Pay, according to the staff via phone, is now my REQUIRED level of payment.The representative told me there was no way to adjust this.

3 ) Change in Settings - Without my knowledge or confirmation, what I had setup through Auto Pay had been CHANGED to a 'default ' settings at some point.

4 ) Misinformation or Unclear Information - Provided convoluted explanations and unclear information about settings, how to make changes, and how to enroll in income-driven repayment plans. When asked via phone how to change Auto Pay level, I was told that the [ new ] minimum could not be adjusted. Paper work received made it look like I was overpaying and that the amount would go towards principle vs pushing the payment dates back. 
5 ) Lack of documentation - Navient has not sent me anything in writing reflecting ANY of the situations I have reported above. All I see / have seen is a minimum amount due, my over payment almost 2x that amount, the remaining principle, and the interest. When I demanded documentation reflecting the current policies and how the money is being applied, the representative told me that it would be provided immediately and would arrive within 48 hours ; as if this is a standard procedure to address this repeated situation.

6 ) Lack of Updates - I was not aware of my options. I did not receive any updates about programs and services that would improve my situation and/or reduce my monthly payment burden. Through this process I have discovered that I am eligible for several programs that would have benefitted me in multiple areas.