Consumer complaint received 2023-01-06
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Company: Nelnet, Inc. (CA)

I have a student loan costing {$610.00} per month with Firstmark. ( I also have other federal student loans which are in good standing and in forebearance. ) In the fall of XXXX I was on XXXX and could not work. During that time, however, I was able to make all payments on all of my loans with Firstmark, including paying off XXXX of the loans using my sick pay and savings. The account has always been in good standing. 

In the Spring of XXXX I was unable to return to work and began receiving unemployment in the amount of {$1600.00} per month, which was only a small portion of my full monthly salary. I continued making payments using my savings, as the unemployment would not cover my living expenses and the {$610.00} student loan. When I realized I would not have enough savings or income to pay the full amount of the student loan and live, I tried contacting the company. I was told they had no options for me. 

I continued to call and asked for other people I could email or write to for help at the company, all to no avail. First, I tried multiple times over the past year ( XXXX to XXXX ) to arrange for a forebearance, reduction of monthly payment amount, or even other flexible payment options such as interest only loans or income based repayment. They told me they could not help or change anything and that my account would go to collections. They then told me to contact the loan holder T.H.E. and provided a website. Per the website there was no information on how to contact them - no phone number, email address or mailing address - and there was no information on what was available to me or how to address my problem. I continued calling Firstmark and emailing Firstmark including screenshots of the defunct and useless website they kept referring me to and they told me they could not help me further. At one point the customer service agent went to the website with me on the line and offered to escalate my complaint and issue. I received an email back a few weeks later claiming there was nothing further they could do. I have retained the email chain. 

Since early XXXX, I have been paying on the Firstmark student loan as best as I can. I currently have my own business that I started in XXXX in which I work as a XXXX  being paid as a XXXX for various clients. When I have income, which has been more and more frequent, I make payments as large as I can to keep the account from going too far past due. While my income has been increasing, I do not receive unemployment anymore, and I still often do not make more than {$1600.00} per month. My income qualifies me for state assistance, which I take advantage of for XXXX, so as to keep my expenses low and allow for payment on this loan ( which is the largest expense that I have ). 

Today I called again because the Firstmark website had a new page available titled " Repayment Options ''. On the page it lists which options are available for your loans. It is not a generic website as it lists my loan numbers which are my loan account numbers, which are specific to me. When I called to ask about how I could apply for the repayment options listed ( including forbearance and interest only ) I was told that it was generic and did not apply to me. I asked individually about EVERY SINGLE OPTION that was applicable to me because I know from experience that they are told not to volunteer any help or options that I could use that would reduce or eliminate my payments. Even still, I was told that none of the options listed for my specific loans and my specific account could apply to me. 

They should be required to disclose all available repayment options applicable to borrowers when asked. Borrowers shouldn't be required to ask specifically about hidden programs or options that they do not know may be available to them. 

This is extremely unfair and distressing. This is deceptive, misleading, and malicious. This entire process over the last year has been distressing and infuriating. I have spent so much time battling this company and its ineptitude, laziness, and cruel and greedy practices. And yet, I continue to make payments and try my best to ensure payments are made. 

If people have a choice as to their student loan lender or servicer, do not choose Firstmark. My recent experiences have shown that their practices are deceptive, shadowy, and possibly fraudulent. Their reluctance to give or even identify correct information they share with their customers is a dangerous and intentionally misleading practice that should be avoided if possible but definitely investigated and stopped as soon as possible. 

Please investigate and take any and all action necessary to censure, correct, or shut them down to prevent further harm to borrowers.