Consumer complaint received 2024-09-22
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: Nelnet, Inc. (OR)

I believe Firstmark has made a mistake in my loan payments and I can not get any information to help resolve this, and I have been provided with what I believe is bad and potentially unlawful information along the way. 

I have been paying my student loan on time for the last ~7.5 years, and the payment amount has been the same the whole time. Im about XXXX of this year, my loan servicing was transferred to firstmark. Recently, I noticed that my payment amount rose about {$58.00} a month. I called firstmark on XX/XX/XXXX to inquire about this and was told ( rather dismissively ) that my loan had reamortizated and that was why the amount due changed. I asked why reamortization would change my loan if the terms hadnt changed, and he told me it could be due to late fees. I said I didnt have any late fees, and he again just told me that the lion reamoritized and I wouldnt pay it off on time otherwise. I said that didnt make sense, if all the terms were the same, unless there was an initial miscalculation in my loan. I asked if I could see a schedule for future payments so I could understand what I would be paying. I was told that the company did not provide this. I expressed my surprise that this was the case, as it was reasonable that customers would want to understand their upcoming responsibilities. He told me that all I could review was the initial loan documents /promissory note and my monthly statement ( which was apparently also the only way I would have been apprised of the payment amount change ). I asked to speak to a manager, as this did not seem correct to me, and he told me he would pass me along but theyd just tell me the same thing. 

I then spoke to a manager, who again told me that my loan had reamortized and that I could not get detailed information about how they calculated my new loan amount. I pressed her that this did not seem right to me, and that I did not understand how the loan amount could change if all the terms ( maturity date, rate, etc ) were the same. She put me on hold and, while I was on hold, I pulled up some loan calculators that estimated that my ORIGINAL monthly payment was the correct amount for me to pay off in time. 

When this manager came back on the phone, she acknowledged that she was also having trouble understanding the the change, and was elevating the issue to the payments department. She said that she learned that I could, in fact, have a payment schedule if needed ( I do not think I would have gotten the true information had I not pushed over and over again ). She told me I should hear back in 3-5 business days. 

I had not heard back in over a week, so I called again on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told that my request had been elevated to payments, but that he could not tell me any estimate of when I would hear a response ( he told me that the person shouldnt have given me any estimate to begin with ). When I pointed out that I was nearing a payment date, and this hasnt been resolved, he basically told me that was too bad, thatd theyd do some kind of adjustment if needed. 

Because of all this, I have done a bit of a deeper dive into my online statements and my online account. Although it appears that my payments were each made in accordance with my statements ( even the elevated payments ), I am now showing to be owing about {$58.00} past due, the same amount that theyve been overcharging me. I cant tell why this would be the case, since Ive paid what is showed owing and I have auto debit set up ( and have for the last 7.5 years ). 

I am now concerned that, because of firstmarks mistakes, they are putting me in a position where I wont just have to argue about an incorrect payment amount, but also about incorrectly applied late fees. It is BEYOND frustrating that I can not get any clarity from the company in a timely manner. I have been treated dismissively by several reps, while they have told me what is incorrect information. I have been forced to argue with them when what they told me didnt make any sense. I cant help but think how many people are being misled by these inaccurate statements by firstmark staff.