Consumer complaint received 2023-12-21
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: Nelnet, Inc. (IN)

XX/XX/XXXX : I researched Nelnet 's quoted payoff amount for all of my student loan groups and made an online payment of {$20000.00} on my Nelnet account. I received a payment confirmation email from Nelnet confirming that I made a payment of {$20000.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX in my account and that the payment effective date is XX/XX/XXXX ( see attached documentation ). 
*I attempted to speak to a Nelnet representative prior to making an online payment because the payoff was so large that I wanted to make sure Nelnet was going to process in a timely and appropriate manner ( i.e. paying off the entire group of loans to a XXXX balance before any extra interest accrued ). I waited on hold for 80 minutes before the line was disconnected before choosing to paying off my loans through the website. * XX/XX/XXXX : I go to my Nelnet account hoping to see the {$0.00} XXXX balance in order to save this documentation. Instead, I see that Nelnet has incorrectly applied my payoff payment to my student loans and is expecting me to continue to pay on one of the XXXX XXXX XXXX with a payment due date in XX/XX/XXXX ( see attached documentation ). Nelnet 's online payment process confirmed that I was paying on XXXX XXXX XXXX, as did the confirmation email, yet Nelnet has only applied my payoff payment to three of my four student XXXX XXXX XXXX, specifically XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX ( see attached documentation ). Nelnet ignored student XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, leaving it open to accrue interest, and applied the payoff payment amount for XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX effectively stealing the {$7600.00} meant to payoff XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( see attached documentation ). {$9500.00} of my {$20000.00} payoff payment was applied to XXXX XXXX XXXX which only required a payment of {$1900.00} ( {$1800.00} principal + {$30.00} interest as of XX/XX/XXXX ), leaving the {$7600.00} meant for XXXX XXXX XXXX in some kind of Nelnet financial limbo ( see documentation ). In the meantime, Nelnet has left XXXX XXXX XXXX open, accruing interest, and expects me to start making payments in XX/XX/XXXX. 
*On XX/XX/XXXX, after seeing this error, I emailed Nelnet through their website and called Nelnet via the phone number they list at the student loan contact number on their website. That evening, I spent approximately 3 hours in total on hold with Nelnet. After the first two hours on hold, a Nelnet representative named " XXXX '' answered and I explained this to her. She told me she could not fix the error, but that she would inform the correct department and asked if I would like to pay the accrued interest. After I explained that I felt I should not be charged for the interest that accrued due to Nelnet 's misapplication of my payoff payment, she told me that I would have to speak to a supervisor and placed me on hold for another hour before the call was disconnected. I have not been able to speak to another person from Nelnet since XX/XX/XXXX and I feel their system is designed to dissuade their customers from trying to speak to a representative.