Consumer complaint received 2024-06-11
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Don't agree with the fees charged
Company: Nelnet, Inc. (MN)

I have student loans that were consolidated with my ex-wife in the XXXXXXXX XXXX into what are called XXXX XXXX XXXX Loans. The program by which these loans could be made was ended in XXXX, with no ability for the loans to be separated ... this means that divorced couples, or couples where there is XXXX XXXXXXXX, or couples where XXXX person refuses to pay, are tied together by these loans, and forced to stay connected to their former spouses or their XXXX in the case of XXXX. 

I was a police XXXX for nearly XXXX XXXX and continue to work for a police department in XXXX, so I qualify for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX program. However, these XXXX XXXX XXXX Loans are privately held and not eligible for XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was signed into federal law that makes it possible to separate these spousal consolidation loans into direct loans, so that the borrowers are eligible for loan forgiveness programs such as XXXX ... as a side note, while student loan payments were put on pause during the pandemic, these types of loans were not, so we have been paying when others have had some relief. 

According to the XXXX Department of Education ( XXXX ), the process to split the loans will not be finalized until late XXXX AT THE EARLIEST. XXXX has issued the following guidance to Federal Student Loan Servicers, like XXXX XXXX XXXX these types of loans : -- -- - XXXX is XXXX that all XXXX loan XXXX offer the same forbearance or payment suspension for all commercially-held FFEL joint consolidation loan XXXX who request a forbearance or payment suspension while they wait for the separation process to become available. 

These borrowers can not currently consolidate into XXXX to take advantage of more-generous XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX Allowing these borrowers to postpone their payments while the separation process is developed will provide them financial relief while they wait for implementation. Granting the forbearance or payment suspension is not a requirement. This is at the discretion of the XXXX loan holder, but XXXX strongly encourages all XXXX loan holders to XXXX these forbearance or payment suspension requests to assist struggling borrowers. 

The forbearance or payment suspension for these joint consolidation loan borrowers should be non-capitalizing and granted in one-year increments that will automatically renew without the borrower needing to request a new forbearance or payment suspension annually. The forbearance will begin on the first day of the month in which the borrower requested the forbearance or payment suspension. The forbearance or payment suspension would end when the joint consolidation loan separation application process becomes available. It will then be the borrowers responsibility to apply to separate and consolidate into a new DL Consolidation loan. 
-- -- - I have called Nelnet/Sloan nearly a dozen times requesting the administrative forbearance since the law went into effect in XXXX, and the response has been everything from " we haven't seen the guidance from XXXX yet '' to today when I was told " I will not place the loan into forbearance. '' I am attaching the full document from XXXX for your review. 

I have followed the process outlined, and did file my intent to separate the XXXX XXXX XXXX Loan with the XXXX Ombudsman ( XXXX XXXX  ) in XX/XX/XXXX. 

I have been paying on this loan, which is otherwise eligible for discharge, since the law passed in XX/XX/XXXX. I have unnecessarily spent over {$6000.00} in payments ( my portion of the over {$10000.00} paid since XX/XX/XXXX ). Nelnet/Sloan refuses to even acknowledge they received the guidance, and refuses to place the loan into non-capitalizing administrative forbearance, so I continue having to pay money every month that I should not have to. In the meanwhile, I am a member of a XXXX XXXX made up of individuals with Joint Spousal Consolidation Loans, and have seen screenshots from other individual 's Nelnet/Sloan ( and from other servicers ) accounts showing that they have had their loans placed into Administrative Forbearance as indicated by the guidance issued by XXXX nearly XXXX year ago. 

This is a somewhat complex circumstance, so I am more than happy to provide any other information you may need to provide assistance.