Consumer complaint received 2017-03-14
Product: Student loan — Non-federal student loan
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (FL)

The complaint I have against Navient is too long to explain in this form, so I have attached a 4 page letter detailing my interactions with Navient since XX/XX/2016. 

The main points of my complaint are the following : - I have been trying to work with Navient since XX/XX/2016 to set up a payment plan I can afford on my student loans. 

- My loans are not affordable due to the 10.5 % interest that they have been compounding on my loans since I took them out 7-12 years ago in college. The principal was around {$90000.00} and now the balance is over {$200000.00}. The interest only payments Navient is requesting total {$2200.00} per month. These loans should be considered illegal and usurious. 

- I was contacted by a department at Navient called " the office of consumer advocate. '' They state they are an intermediary between Navient and the debtor, when in fact they are just another collection department at Navient. They used the fact that two of my co-signers died to make me believe they could help me obtain a hardship modification to my loans so that I would be able to afford the loans. They sent me paperwork to fill out and I returned the hardship paperwork for me and my surviving co-signer, with XXXX pages of supporting documentation. This department pretended not to receive the hardship documentation, even though I have a fax confirmation to their fax number. This department has not helped me obtain any kind of payment plan and the real purpose of this department appears to be to investigate the death of co-signers to attempt to collect on any assets of the deceased that may be used to pay the loans. 

- After my hardship paperwork was sent in, several representatives have continued to call me, all stating they did n't have my hardship paperwork. It appears someone received the paperwork and did not attach it to my account, but entered only some of the financial information into their system to make it look like I could afford to make payments on the accounts. They did the same for my co-signer. 

- I spoke with a manager who asked me to email her the paperwork. She pretended not to be able to open the email. She then made me upload the documents to Navient 's website. I received confirmation that the paperwork was uploaded to my account through Navient 's automated email system. The manager again told me they did n't receive the paperwork. I told her that was impossible since I received the confirmation emails. She then told me they would review the documentation and respond to me with payment plan options. When I call her department, the representatives refuse to let me speak to her and start from the beginning explaining my account as if I was not in the middle of working with the to obtain a payment plan. 

- The collections department has used my co-signed loans as extortion to make me pay all of my loans or none. They offered a reduced rate on all my loans, which I could not afford, but told me I could not just pay my co-signed loans- I would have to pay the full amount on those if I only want to pay my co-signed loans, even though my co-signer hardship paperwork was also provided. 

- The ombudsman was supposed to review a complaint I made and get back to me to resolve these issues. They have not contacted me. I contacted them and they do not return my calls. 

- Because Navient has continually delayed this process, my loans will report as delinquent on my credit and my co-signer 's credit in 4 days. 

-Navient 's collection processes are deceptive and they have no intention of working with hardship situations. They appear to stall the process and make it impossible to obtain an affordable repayment plan. The only plausible explanation for their actions is that they hope it becomes so difficult to work with them that you give up and make payments that you can not afford on your student loans.