Consumer complaint received 2019-07-24
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (MD)

This complaint is about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) program. I graduated with my XXXX in XXXX XXXX in XXXX. For five years after I graduated my loan was managed by Sallie Mae ( XXXX ), then by Navient ( XXXX ). 

Starting on XX/XX/XXXX, I was hired by the State of Maryland Department of Health. I have been employed there full-time ( 40-45 hours per week ) ever since. After I started this job, I reached out to Sallie Mae to inquire about the PSLF program. I was told during a phone call to make sure I was paying on time with an Income-Based Repayment Plan ; then after 10 years of qualifying payments, I could apply for forgiveness. Thinking I needed no further action, I continued making payments through my Income-Based Repayment Plan. 

In XXXX my loan was transferred to Navient ( not my choice ; Sallie Mae transferred the loan ). I reached out to Navient through multiple phone calls throughout XXXX and XXXX to confirm I was still in the PSLF program. I was told, by multiple operators in numerous phone calls, that I qualified for PSLF. I was told, again and again, that I only needed to ensure I was making on time payments with an Income-Based Repayment plan. I re-applied, and was approved for, an Income-Based Repayment Plan every year from XXXX through the present day. I was told, again and again, that after 10 years of qualifying payments, I could simply apply for forgiveness. I trusted Navient and Sallie Mae, and thinking no further action was required, I simply continued to make payments to my loan. I was never told to fill out an application to get my employer approved by PSLF. I did not think to record these phone calls because it never occurred to me that I was being lied to. 

In early XXXX I happened across an article in the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX describing the PSLF program. It was only through this article that I learned my payments did not qualify for PSLF. The article described that loans had to be consolidated ( mine were not ) and they must be held by XXXX only. I immediately began the process of consolidation and transferring to XXXX, which took several months. On XX/XX/XXXX I was approved for PSLF through XXXX. Since then, I have continued to make on time payments through an Income Driven Repayment Plan. I now receive letters confirming my placement in PSLF and confirming the number of qualifying payments I've made. Per the recommendation of XXXX, I re-apply for PSLF every year to get my employer approved. 

My complaint is that for nearly four years ( between XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ) I was employed by a state government, making monthly payments, and believing I was already part of PSLF. I make significantly less money in the public sector than I could in a private job, and the Income-Based payments I make do not even cover my interest amount. During those four years, my loan balance grew. It currently lies at over {$270000.00}. 

I believe those four years of payments should count toward my completion of PSLF. I am a cautious person, and I made repeated efforts to communicate with Sallie Mae and with Navient about my loan. I was directly given false information. Had a single person at either of those lenders told me to consolidate through XXXX, I could have done so immediately. Instead, I kept my loan at Navient, believing I was already part of the PSLF program. 

Because of the lies I was told, repeatedly, I now have almost 8 years remaining on my PSLF plan. If I had been told the truth, I would have less than 4 years remaining. These years, and these payments, make a huge difference in my daily life. I am a married mother to a toddler in full-time daycare. I have another child on the way. I am a homeowner with mortgage payments. This is a time in my life I'm trying to settle down, establish my home, and start my family. Four additional years of payments ( currently at {$1100.00} a month ) is a huge financial stressor for me. The lies I was told by Navient have had a lasting impact on my life.