Consumer complaint received 2023-11-10
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with your payment plan
Company: MOHELA (OH)

Hi there! I'm hopeful that you can help me deal with the ridiculous incompetence of Mohela, which has caused me endless amounts of stress and turmoil for several months now. 

I have XXXX payments certified for my PSLF, and have worked as a XXXX XXXX for nearly XXXX years. I have not yet certified XXXX or XXXX of XXXX, due to the uncertainty around my payments ( so counting XXXX, I should have three months left until I reach my XXXX payments ). 

My income was {$62000.00} last year. I have no dependents. My husband and I file married, separate. He has no student loans. According to the calculator on studentaid.gov, my payment under the SAVE plan should be approximately {$150.00} per month. This would be hard to manage, but we could make it work for my remaining few months. 

Mohela has been unable to give me a consistent answer regarding my SAVE payment amount for several months now. At this point, it feels as though their projected monthly payment amount is random, capricious, and arbitrary. I have also suffered from XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, and difficulty sleeping due to this issue. 

I have called and spoken with Mohela reps multiple times, and they have given me multiple contradictory answers. Every time I call and they process another recertification, they put me into forbearance, which ( they say ) will push my PSLF discharge date back further. These delays are due to their incompetence, not my own, and that is inappropriate and unfair. I don't understand how them putting me into forbearance should make this time ineligible for PSLF counts, since this is their fault and their MANY errors. 

Here is my timeline : XX/XX/XXXX : Got a letter stating they had calculated my SAVE payment at {$460.00} ( several XXXX dollars more than REPAYE was before the payment pause. ) I submitted another recertification request online. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Got a letter stating the request is in process ( and may take 90 days to complete ). 

XX/XX/XXXX : Got a letter stating they had calculated my SAVE payment at {$400.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Got a second letter the same day ( post-dated the day before ) stating that they had calculated my SAVE payment at {$250.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I actually got a third letter the same day as well, stating that they were having a delay due to processing times. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I got a letter stating they'd placed the account in an administrative forbearance. I then called and spoke with a representative who agreed with me that the calculation done by them for my SAVE likely used my husband 's income as well, and didn't consider me married filing separately. The representative verbally confirmed that my payment under SAVE should be {$150.00}. On the phone, we did another recertification. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I got a letter stating they'd calculated my SAVE payment at {$250.00}. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I got a bill for the wrong amount again, so called. The first representative I spoke to said she found on my file that they payment WAS calculated at {$150.00}, and that she wasn't sure why they'd processed another recertification after that calculation. She said she'd transfer me to someone who could fix it. The second representative first told me that the {$150.00} amount I'd been told was " just an estimate '' and that it had been wrong. I asked why the {$150.00} is confirmed by the calculator on studentaid.gov, and he said that's " just an estimate too ''. I said that I could not afford to pay the {$250.00}, and that the extra XXXX dollars is a huge hardship for me. The representative tried for a long time to pressure me into just giving up and paying the inaccurate payment amount. He said that the extra {$100.00} per month is nothing compared to the huge loan balance that will be forgiven, and that I should weigh forgiveness against the fact that I was just having to pay a little more each month. He told me my interest would continue while I wait for Mohela to process the new recertification. He told me that it wouldn't change anyway. He also said the forbearance they'd put me on would not count for PSLF payment months. He ran the numbers after I insisted on him processing the recertification of income anyway, and said that he was right, and that I would owe {$250.00}. I told him to process it anyway. He was extremely manipulative, very high-pressure, and I felt extremely uncomfortable with the interaction. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I got a letter stating that they'd calculated my new estimated SAVE payment at {$250.00}. I've never gotten an estimated SAVE payment letter before, and it feels like that representative generated it out of thin air to prove himself right. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I got a second letter ( post-dated to XX/XX/XXXX ) stating they'd placed the account in an administrative forbearance. 

I have seen many accounts in the media and online in PSLF forums of similar inaccuracies, manipulation, and random and arbitrary payment amounts provided to others by Mohela reps. Their " advice '' is contradictory, inaccurate, and they appear more concerned about getting money for their agency than helping borrowers. I took out my first student loans in XXXX, eventually made it through my XXXX 's and XXXX 's XXXX, got my XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX and have served this country as a XXXX XXXX for well over a decade ( my XXXX year anniversary with this agency is a month and a half from now ). I would love to not have to deal with this company 's nonsense for a day more than I have to, and should not have to be repeatedly penalized for their errors.