Consumer complaint received 2024-04-25
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (SC)

I am XXXX of thousands of students that were scammed by Navient/Sallie Mae into taking out predatory private loans to attend a now-defunct, for-profit schoolXXXX XXXX XXXX. 

In XXXX the XXXX, the parent company of XXXX XXXX, was investigated and settled in a whistleblower suit for XXXX XXXX dollars to the tune of XXXX XXXX which is less than XXXX % of the original suit. They were found to be guilty of predatory recruitment and illegal recruiting practices across XXXX states and Washington, D.C., and numerous lawsuits alleging fraud. XXXX XXXX XXXX Part of those accusations included XXXX  XXXX XXXX. They were found to be lying about total costs, accreditation, and were also investigated for distorted program costs and job placement rates, and giving admission recruiters bonuses for getting more student to sign up. 

I experienced this in XXXX when signing up. The recruiter showed us costs, and the breakdown of how long it would take us to pay back the loans, with promises of a XXXX-year repayments, and a total tuition rate. I later found out all this was false, as my total after school was almost double the cost for the associates degree. In the late XXXX when trying to transfer to a local community college, I found no credits would transfer. I was stuck at this school. Some semesters I didnt know if Id be able to continue. We would get pink slips on the first day telling us we would be counted absent and asked to leave the campus unless we went down to request more financial aid. Why did I need more aid? Wasnt the amount I was told I needed the amount? They were getting us to sign up for more and more aid. Instead of having XXXX loan with an interest rate, I now have multiple Navient loans with high, variable rates, that Navient, XXXX and the XXXX would profit from. 

After finally leaving the campus, without graduating due to running out of funds and not being able to request more loans, career advisors also sent us XXXX job postings, or applications to XXXX so it would qualify as the print industry. There is a XXXX article outlining personal stories that sum up the average experience for students, and the lies we were told. XXXX of those students I attended XXXX with and we have very similar experiences. 

When leaving school, with no degree, I had {$60000.00} dollars in the original amount borrowed without compound interest. Now, over XXXX  years later of making full, on-time payments ranging from $ XXXX {$1100.00}, I am still sitting with {$65000.00} of loans. I have more than paid back my original loan amount. 

Which brings me to my next complaint. I also am XXXX of the students who were completely disregarded when Navient was sued by the CFPB for. Misallocated payments, steering struggling borrowers toward multiple forbearances instead of income-driven repayment plans, providing unclear information about how to re-enroll in income-driven repayment plans and how to qualify for a co-signer release. When this lawsuit happened, because I began making full, on-time payments and my loans we in good standing. I was left out of this suit. 

I was also lied to about repayment options and forced into multiple forbearances early in repayment by Navient, and was lied to about co-signer release. I have a previous CFPB complaint for this ( XXXX ). They should have record of this conversation where I called in to request the information for cosigner release and was lied to. I called to ask what was needed for me to release my co-signer was told I needed a credit check, proof of income, and I would need to make XXXX years of full, on-time payments to qualify for co-signer release. I then enrolled in auto-payments. AFTER making the XXXX  years of {$1100.00} payments, I was informed by Navient I could not have her released because I did not have a degree. Even though I met the qualifications I was initially told by their customer reps. I got a generic copy and paste response to my initial complaint and it was closed with no resolution. 

They also denied my ability to increase my monthly auto-draft to help re-pay these loans quicker. I was told I could not increase the amount or it would un-enroll me from the interest rate reduction program. I also filed a separate complaint about this, which was closed as a duplicate complaint but it was not ( XXXX ). I also have had issues with Navient refusing to send me paper statements. I have had to call multiple times to request they send them. I have recordings of these conversations. And now, they havent been sending them for XXXX years since the last time I reached out asking them to. I do this to protect myself from wrongly charged amounts and to watch them for illegal practices. 

Because of the numerous claims of fraud and misconduct perpetrated by these online for profit schools, such as XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was able to file a XXXX XXXX claim with the Dept. of Education against XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, and my Fed. loans of around {$42000.00} were discharged. My XXXX XXXX Claim was also part of the Sweet Vs. Cardona settlement for which I was a full class member. 

I am aware that Navient was sued by XXXX state AGs regarding their predatory loans to attend these online for-profit schools and that Sallie Mae/Navient were a " preferred '' lending company in a " deal '' with these schools during the early XXXX 's. These private loans with a high risk of default were part of a package deal offered to for profit schools. But loans made to students in states outside of the agreement, or those who were not in default for XXXX months or more during a " specific '' time frame, were excluded. I am sure this was a big win for Navient, but what a sham of a settlement deal for the rest of borrowers scammed into taking loans to at least XXXX for profit online schools. 

After the AG settlement, didn't Navient also get out of the Federal student loan business due to scrutiny from lawmakers and borrower advocates? Didn't Navient have to pay restitution to the Federal student loan borrowers for not informing students of XXXX payments students could have enrolled in, but instead steered toward forbearance? Furthermore, hasn't Navient been sued at least a XXXX XXXX  times for other predatory loan practices and illegal collection practices? 

I am also aware of a " pilot '' program by which Navient is sending out " applications '' to select students who may have filed XXXX XXXX claims against their schools and were approved. This application is a sham. Why do we need to prove anything? Navient knows who we are. Under the FTC " Holder Rule '' Navient is liable for giving predatory loans in connection with for-profit schools. Time is running out for Navient to do right by students who were scammed into taking out private loans to attend online for profit colleges who have committed misconduct and misrepresented themselves to the public to entice students to enroll. XXXX XXXX XXXX has sent a letter to Navient 's CEO asking to discharge these loans NOW! It's time Navient do the right thing and discharge all these predatory private loans made to attend online for profit schools NOW!