Consumer complaint received 2017-02-09
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Received bad information about my loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (NY)

For the past four years since I have been out of college I have been struggling trying to figure out how to repay my student loans. I was under the belief there was an income based payment plan I could get enrolled into. I was told there was nothing I could do online multiple times during this four year period and that I had to fill out forms and send them in the mail to them. I did do this I believe 3 times total I sent the paperwork to the address I was given each time and each time I was told they never received the paperwork. I have a multitude of phone calls that I can remember very specifically saying ca n't I do something online based on my income and was told multiple times this was the only way. So each time I was told the best thing to do was to take forbearance on the loan and refile the paperwork. I finally got frustrated enough after reading an article about a lawsuit against Navient recently for this very reason being unlawful and that I was not the only XXXX experiencing it, and called Navient and demanded to know all of my options. Again I received the run around and was questioned about where I was mailing things until I poked more and said I know there is an online resolution I read about it in the article about the lawsuit against you. As soon as this was said I was told by the gentlemen on the phone there was an income based repayment plan which is filed online. I had asked multiple times if XXXX dollars a month would suffice for a payment and was told the lowest with my income which has n't changed this entire time would have been XXXX. On a {$25000.00} a year salary, before taxes, I could not afford XXXX a month but have since learned this entire time it would have been XXXX a month with the correct repayment plan. I finished my phone call by asking him how much my current loan was at and was told I currently owed just over {$25000.00}. I then asked how much the loans began at when I left school, to which I was told just over {$10000.00}. So i barraged him with questions asking if there was anywhere I could complain to because for the past four years I have gained {$15000.00} in debt, which is more than I racked up the entire time I was in college, because the people who were supposed to help me chose not to. To this I was told there was nothing he or anyone else could do to relieve any of the interest gained and suggested since I was going forward with the income based repayment plan that I take forbearance so that my loans would n't risk defaulting. To my dismay I agreed to another 30-day forbearance to ensure this would n't happen and to give myself adequate time to resolve the issue. 

I believe this can not be legal practice I should be able to trust the student loan company to help me pay them back not bury myself so far into debt that I can not get out. If someone had told me from the get go exactly how to handle my student loans at this point I would almost have them completely paid off but instead I have an endless amount of debt that in four years has increased by % XXXX. I am beyond fed up and disappointed that I would have been better off in life had I not even gone to a higher education. 

I would beg anyone looking into this case to demand my phone call logs and recordings specifically because the amount of frustration and misleading these people gave and did to me is unbelievable and prime example of the suit currently in progress.