Consumer complaint received 2024-01-29
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA (MS)

Federal Student Loan Servicer ( Mohela ) Refusal to Comply with Department of Education Guidelines Regarding Income-Driven Repayment Plan Recertification Dates : XX/XX/XXXX - Mohela notification by email to recertify Income-driven repayment ( IDR ) plan by XX/XX/XXXX or be kicked off IDR plan, which means monthly payment will increase XXXX % XX/XX/XXXX - 1st phone call with Mohela customer service ( XXXX XXXX # XXXX ) when I explained my renewal date for my IDR plan is scheduled as XX/XX/XXXX, and according to Department of Education and Federal Student Aid XXXX whom Mohela has referred me to repeatedly for further information regarding re-entering repayment after emergency Covid-19 administrative forbearance for all federal student loan borrowers according to CARES Act ), renewal dates that fall before XX/XX/XXXX will be pushed by one year. I was transferred to XXXX # XXXX who transferred me to resolution team at which time the call was disconnected due to be after operational hours at this point after being on the phone for 4 hours ( XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX - 2nd call answered by XXXX # XXXX. I explained the situation again and she communicated with supervisor XXXX # XXXX who submitted an IDR processing adjustment to push renewal date in accordance with Department of Education. I was told to wait up to 30 days for this to process. 

XX/XX/XXXX - 3rd call to check status of request answered by XXXX # XXXX who confirmed my IDR recertification date adjustment ticket was in place. I was transferred to XXXX # XXXX who confirmed my recertification date will be pushed out by 1 year in accordance with the official guidelines from the Department of Education and Federal Student Aid. She advised me to wait 5-7 days for the adjustment to update in Mohela 's system. 

XX/XX/XXXX - 4th call to check status as update had not occurred yet. Spoke with XXXX # XXXX who informed me that my recertification date had been pushed by one year already but that the system was not updated yet. She stated that Mohela had received communication from the Office of Federal Student Aid on XX/XX/XXXX confirming that my renewal date should be pushed by one year to XX/XX/XXXX. She assured me that I would not be kicked off my IDR plan and there was nothing else I needed to do for this to finish updating in their system. 

XX/XX/XXXX - 5th call after noticing Mohela account is still not updated and previous IDR processing request to push renewal date has now been cancelled. Spoke with XXXX # XXXX who messaged supervisor XXXX # XXXX. She explained to me that my renewal date has now been pushed to XX/XX/XXXX instead of XX/XX/XXXX and now I do not qualify to have my renewal date pushed by one year as previously assured by Mohela and Department of Education and Office of Federal Student Aid. I explained that my renewal date is XX/XX/XXXX and has not changed in either online system. She confirmed this on her end and stated she does not see that my renewal date has changed either. She could not explain how my renewal date was pushed by Mohela to XXXX in order to avoid pushing the renewal date by one year. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was transferred to the resolution team where an automated message stated I would be called back. I have not received a call back. 

The Department of Education and Office of Federal Student Aid have published their guidelines regarding entering repayment after the Covid-19 administrative forbearance in which they clearly state that any renewal dates that fall prior to XX/XX/XXXX will be pushed by one year. This can be found at https : //studentaid.govXXXX. Mohela has referred me to this website in almost all correspondence received during the Covid pandemic for any further questions I might have. The negligence and failure to process corrections to borrowers accounts in accordance with the official instructions by the Department of Education and Office of Federal Student Aid have deprived me of the relief provided by the CARES Act which was signed into law on XX/XX/XXXX. My repeated attempts to have this corrected have been unsuccessful so far. The average time spent on the phone during each call trying to correct this is greater than 3 hours. I am concerned that the inability of Mohela to provide accurate information or apply changes to borrowers accounts in accordance with the Department of Education may constitute negligence at the expense of federal student loan borrowers.