Consumer complaint received 2023-12-31
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: EdFinancial Services (WA)

In XXXX of XXXX, I applied to consolidate approximately all of my undergraduate and graduate student debt via Studentaid.gov. I used the Studentaid.gov calculator to estimate the total sum of my forthcoming consolidation loan to verify the expected sum after consolidation. The debt was being consolidated from XXXX, who held all of my loans, and was to be transferred to EdFinancial. 

On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, I received notice of my repayment schedule and consolidated loan from EdFinancial. The total balance appeared accurate per the consolidation terms I had agreed to. However, on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX, I received an updated statement, showing an additional, erroneous amount of {$290000.00} that had been added to my total student loan debt with no explanation. 

Upon reviewing my XXXX and EdFinancial accounts, I can see this same erroneous amount, {$290000.00}, added as a Disbursement to my XXXX account on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. However, this amount was deducted as a - {$290000.00} " Write-off '' that same day. My EdFinancial online account shows a Disbursement of my student loan balance on XXXX XXXX XXXX This Disbursed amount is accurate. However, it is followed by an Adjustment that same day, adding the erroneous {$290000.00} to that balance. There is no explanation of what this adjustment relates to. 

I have contacted EdFinancial numerous times by phone and in writing since XX/XX/XXXX ( over four months ) in effort to resolve this error. EdFinancial has failed to respond to my request or even acknowledge that an error was made. 

Ive also opened a case with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman via the U.S. Department of Education 's Dispute and Resolution office. EdFinancial responded to the Ombudsman once asking for more time and then, in the Ombudsmans words, went silent. The Ombudsman escalated the case but has not provided me with any updates. 

It has been several months since my consolidation was completed, and interest is now accrueing on the inaccurate balance claimed by EdFinancial. I am not comfortable paying my student loan until the balance and interest are retroactively adjusted to be accurate. On XX/XX/XXXX, I asked EdFinancial to apply an administrative forbearance to my account, but their representative declined. Instead, they informed me that there is a student loan onramp for the coming months, and that my account will not be affected if I miss payments, so I am declining to make payments until this situation is resolved. 

A record of my communication with EdFinancial and the Federal Ombudsman is included below. I have not received a response to any of this communication. Please help me to resolve this situation. 

Communication Record : XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : Phone call to inform EdFinancial of the inaccurate balance and request for an investigation into my account. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I wrote to EdFinancial using the contact form on their website explaining the situation and requesting that it be addressed immediately. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I wrote to a Federal Student Aid Ombudsman to inform them of the situation with EdFInancial and asked whether I should report this to Studentaid.gov. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I called EdFinancial to follow up ; they were closed. I received a callback until XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. I missed the call ; EdFinancial did not leave a voicemail. My account had not been updated. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I followed up with a Federal Student Aid Ombudsman in writing. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I called the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman and left a voicemail. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I called EdFinancial and requested a callback. EdFinancial returned my call that day at XXXX XXXX. I explained again that my balance was incorrect ; the representative did not see any notes on my account from my XX/XX/XXXX call. The representative said that they would leave a note on my account and look into it. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman returned my call, reviewed my case, and confirmed that an additional balance of {$290000.00} ( which has since grown due to interest ) had been applied to my account. The Ombudsman opened a new case number and said that it was not necessary for me to file a report on Studentaid.gov, as the case had already been escalated to the U.S. Department of Education 's Dispute and Resolution office. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I received a canned email from an EdFinancial Representative in response to my written request on XX/XX/XXXX. My original message about the balance error was embedded below the Edfinancial Representatives email, but the Representative did not address it at all. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I replied to the email from the EdFinancial Representative at XXXX, restating the issue, shared the Federal Case #, and recopied my original note in full. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I called the Ombudsman to follow up but did not get through. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman returned my call and left me a voicemail stating that EdFinancial had gone radio silent on them. They stated that they had followed up three times on my case ; the first time EdFinancial requested more time they have not responded to the Ombudsmans other inquiries. The Ombudsman shared that they had escalated the case, and didnt have more information yet. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I called EdFinancial and was able to get through to a representative. The call lasted 49 minutes. Unfortunately, the EdFinancial Representative did not see any notes on my account from the previous calls, could not access the written communication Id sent, and had no information on the Federal Ombudsmans case. The EdFinancial Representative repeatedly suggested that the additional {$290000.00} dollars that was applied to my balance could be due to interest capitalization or fees. However, this is not mathematically possible given my interest rates, previous loan balance, and the length of time I've held the loans for. The representative did not seem to be listening and during the call. Instead, they sent me four canned emails about unrelated topics, including : Public Loan Forgiveness, Auto Pay, how to visit StudentAid.gov, and how to set up an online account. Eventually, the EdFinancial Representative agreed to have my case investigated, '' but they were unable to tell me what this meant. The representative would not commit to contacting XXXX, who their company received my loans from. The representative also declined my requests to speak with a supervisor. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I missed a call from EdFinancial. No voicemail was left, my account had not been updated, and no one had responded to my previous inquiries. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I received an email from XXXX that reads " We see that we were able to speak to you since your e-mail inquiry on XX/XX/XXXX and your inquiry is resolved. If you still have outstanding questions, please reach back out and we will be able to assist. '' However, as described above, my call on XX/XX/XXXX did not resolve my inquiry in any way, and no action had been taken to address the errors on my account. 

XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX : I wrote to EdFinanical at XXXX, copying the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman. I shared that I had a time-sensitive request, and included my account #, the Federal Case #, and a summary of the inaccurate balance and interest that have been applied to my account. I asked EdFinancial to confirm that they had received the email, complete their investigation, remove the inaccurate balance and any associated inaccurate interest from my account, and respond to the federal inquiry. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, the only communications I have received from EdFinancial are automated account reminders. Even when I have spoken and written directly to EdFinancial Customer Service Representatives, I have only received automated responses that do not relate in any way to my request to address the {$290000.00} that was erroneously applied to my account during the consolidation process.