Consumer complaint received 2017-05-11
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem lowering your monthly payments
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (CA)

I took out a private Tuition Answer student loan from Navient Private Loan Trust to attend   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  , which was dispersed o  XXXX   XXXX  , in the amount of {$20000.00}. I have been paying this loan since   XXXX   ( shortly my post-grad grace period ended ), and the balance is now {$21000.00} -- {$1000.00} HIGHER than the principal. Let me restate that I 've been struggling every month financially paying this loan for almost 8 YEARS, and my balance has risen!!!
From  XX/XX/XXXX  until  XX/XX/XXXX , I was paying {$200.00} per month. During this time, the amount that went towards the principal varied from {$3.00} to {$57.00}. At that point, I was looking for a job so I called Navient desperate, and they told me deferment would be my best option. So, under their guidance which I thought was HELPING ME, I deferred my payments from the date of my last payment unti  XXXX   XXXX  , so 4 months total. From   XXXX   until  XX/XX/XXXX , I paid {$200.00} a month towards the loan. During this time, my principal only went down about $  XXXX /month and the rest went towards interest. From   XXXX    through  XX/XX/XXXX , I was on an interest-only payment plan because that is the only option I was given. I was not given any information about lower interest-rate programs, or anything else unique to my financial situation. Navient told me this was the only option, so for another 3 years, my balance remained the exact same and I struggled monthly due to high minimum payment amount.
Finally in   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  , I contacted Navient at my wits end, and they told me I basically had exhausted all of my options. They told my only option was income-based payments, which I explained does n't work for me since I have other school loan obligations that they refused to take into account, PLUS the fact that I live and work in the most expensive city in the United States. From that point, I contacted all of their higher-ups, as well as each and every one of their departments that I could find contact information for. I sent them a letter explaining what I needed and also a financial breakdown of my monthly expenses. Only THEN was I able to get a response via telephone from their Office of Customer Advocacy.
The man I spoke to in the Customer Advocate office almost a year ago put me on a monthly payment of {$150.00} with 1 % interest, contingent on enrolling in auto-pay. DELIGHTED, I enrolled in auto-pay and have been paying those payments for the last year. When I spoke to him last year, I specifically asked if I 'd be able to re-enroll in this program the following year, and he assured me that I could - but that my financial information would have to be re-evaluated. The woman that actually carried out my enrollment told me the same exact thing. Fast-forward to this year, and I call Navient again to start the re-enrollment process. Whoever I spoke to on the phone assured me that I would n't be able to enroll in this program again - news to me. And so apparently I was given false and misleading information by this company one year ago.
So, I then wrote the same email that got me a quick response last time to the same people, but with my updated financial information ( which has not changed at all ). I got a phone response the next day since I 'd contacted Navient 's higher-ups again. I 've been back and forth via phone for THREE WEEKS now with   XXXX   XXXX   from the Customer Advocate center to no conclusion ; she has just been telling me that the terms I want " are n't gon na happen. '' To clarify, the terms I want are my current monthly payment with my current interest ( {$150.00} @ 1 % interest ). Navient is trying to raise my payment AND my interest, even though I have been very clear that all I can physically afford to pay towards this loan each month is still {$150.00}. This number is n't liquid ; it can not change. I can not squeeze any more money out of my budget, nor can I make money appear ( I sincerely wish that I could ). The only other option is for me to declare bankruptcy at this point.
My payment is due on   XXXX  , and now I cant get ahold of  XXXX , the person Ive been in contact with about my case for the past three weeks. Navient is and has always been VERY unhelpful and unwilling to accommodate. Obviously the program that I was enrolled in for the past year is an option but I was never told about it until I contacted their higher-ups. I was given false information about being able to re-enroll in my current program and everything feels very seedy and illegal on their end. I dont want to default on my loan, I dont want to ruin my credit, and I dont want any problems. I want to pay this debt back so that I can be done dealing with Navient forever. The max amount I can pay per month is {$150.00}. I am literally drowning just trying to keep up with this loan if I just go along with Navients programs and terms, Im going to die of old age before this company gets their money back. I am trying to pay this off before I die which is a benefit for both Navient AND myself. The only other option is for me to declare bankruptcy at this point, and I can not BELIEVE no one that Ive spoken to or emailed can help me with this. PLEASE help me.