Consumer complaint received 2021-07-22
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (KY)

I had a student loan with Sallie Mae for many years and it eventually became Navient. I have had intermittent issues with them over the years regarding not posting payments. They can't seem to process money orders. I have no choice but to send money orders each month. I have a consolidated loan with my ex-husband and he is court ordered to send me money orders once a year ( 12 of them ) and I have to send them monthly to satisfy his portion of our loan. ( I actually pay my half online ). Every month for the last ( probably 6 ) months, I get harassing calls from Navient about my payment not being made. They tell me they never received the money orders. Then I have to call the money order company and confirm they were cashed-which they always are. Then Navient will argue with me and tell me I have to send them proof from the company ( which the company charges {$30.00} for. An automated system will give you the cleared date for free but charge for official copies ), and it's a written mailed request I have to send in, wait for it to be sent back, and then I would have to send it to Navient. The whole process is very time consuming all the while they are showing me past due. Every month I have to explain to a different Navient employee what is going on and that it happens every month. Today is the 2nd time this week they have called me-while I'm working. My payment is due the 11th. I mailed it 2 weeks ago, they cashed it on the XXXX of this month. Yet, they have no record of it in their system. THIS IS THE MOST FRUSTERING THING I HAVE EVER HAD TO DO REPETITIVELY regarding a billing issue and i do not wish ( or feel like I should have to ) do this for the remaining 15 years (? ) of my loan. There have been times they called XXXX weeks after they cashed it to tell me I am past due. 

The money order is mailed with a printout of my account ( I don't get a monthly statement ). The printout has the money order number on it, the amount of the payment, my loan number, name, address, and i put a note on it that says " any questions call XXXX ''. The money order has the loan number on it. A few months ago a Navient employee said " put a XXXX after the account number on the money order. It will help it get processed. '' So I did that. The following month when they called and I explained, the employee said " Since you are sending in 2 money orders, put them in different envelopes ( still with -9 ). So I do that, both will the printouts and all the information. ( I take a picture with my phone every month of the paperwork and the money order so I have documentation ) It's like a big game to them. They have called me 2 times today already. My anxiety and stress about this is through the roof and they don't care and they have no answers, and they don't care to make any process improvements. Why wouldn't a money order get posted when it is received like a check does? A money order is more reliable, its been prepaid. A check could bounce? 

I know Sallie Mae has had lawsuits for mishandling payments and other issues. I don't want a law suit. All I want from them is to process my payments and stop harassing me and acting like I don't pay my debts. I don't want to have to spend an hour on the phone with them once or twice a month every month explaining their incompetence. I think they should be forced into a process improvement, or fined if a payment is received but not posted within ( 3 days seems plenty reasonable ). The employee today told me it takes 3 days, yet it is the XXXX and it was cashed on the XXXX? He didn't really have any explanation, they never do. 15 minutes after I got off the phone with Navient, I got another call from them about my payment being late?! I have ask them to stop calling me about payments and told them why but they said no, they can't do that. I'm pretty sure you can ask a creditor to stop calling?? 

Please, for the sake of my sanity and all of the student borrowers-please do something to correct this.