Consumer complaint received 2024-08-02
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA (OH)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied to consolidate my loans to ensure that I received the benefits of the IDR repayment count for all of my loans, as many borrowers were encouraged to do. I was enrolled in the SAVE plan prior to my consolidation and I requested to re-enroll in the SAVE plan with my consolidation. My consolidation loan was disbursed on XX/XX/XXXX. My servicer ( MOHOELA ) received the XXXX XXXX plan application in conjunction with my consolidation application on XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  days ago ) and did not evaluate my IDR SAVE plan application that accompanied my consolidation application in a timely manner. It has still not been evaluated and MOHELA has placed me in the Standard repayment plan. I have not been placed into administrative forbearance while processing the IDR application. This Standard repayment plan will not count towards my IDR forgiveness. This delay is creating a hardship on me, as it is lengthening the amount of time I remain in debt and delays my final repayment date back as many months as MOHELA is unable to get me into the new repayment plan. XXXX will make XXXX months so far. The clock on my maximum XXXX repayment time span has essentially stopped. MOHELA now blames the temporary injunction for why they are unable to process my application, despite having my application in their hands for XXXX days prior to this injunction and a total of 64 days so far. Previous policy statements by the Department of Education that servicers should target 15 days to process IDR applications. More recently, the XXXX XXXX XXXX  's website states that " p ] rocessing typically takes about 30 days from the date you submit the request ''. If not for MOHELA 's delay, my IDR SAVE application would have been approved long before the injunction was in place and I would be placed on an administrative forbearance like all other borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan.

I submitted 3 different secured messages asking them for assistance and each time, they reply with a generic press-release-sounding statement about the injunction and never once answering basic questions about why my IDR application is taking so long, why I am in the Standard repayment plan, and what I should do. On XX/XX/XXXX, I logged in and saw that I had a {$2.00} payment due that day, despite never receiving a billing statement. Good thing I didn't miss a payment I was never told was due! Today, I was on the phone with MOHELA for fifty-four minutes attempting to reach a resolution and get some kind of assistance because I have a payment due on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked if they could enroll me in the SAVE plan. The XXXX XXXX XXXX  's website is still allowing borrowers to apply for SAVE, but MOHELA says they are not permitted to process any SAVE applications. I asked if they would put me in an administrative forbearance without interest accrual until they are able to process my application, so I am treated similarly to SAVE borrowers, and my request was refused. I was told they could put me in forbearance, conveniently with NO mention of the fact that interest would continue to accrue. This is deceptive. When I specifically asked if interest would accrue under this option, she replied " yes ''. I told them this is unacceptable and I was told " well that's all we can do ''. I now have 2 terrible options to choose from : 1 ) make payments under the Standard repayment plan that they unilaterally decided to enroll me in and have these payments NOT count towards my IDR forgiveness, or be put in forbearance and incur interest for an unknown period of time. The actions of MOHELA amount to unfair, abusive, and deceptive acts and practices which are causing substantial financial injury to me and my family. The negligence and delay of MOHELA is completely unacceptable and they should be shut down as a loan servicer.