Consumer complaint received 2021-02-11
Product: Debt collection — Private student loan debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (TX)

During the time period of XXXX, at age XXXX, I took out a private educational loan from Sallie Mae, which is now Navient. The original amount borrowed was {$16000.00}. I used this money for various educational expenses on my way to earning an XXXX XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX, a XXXX XXXX XXXX from the University XXXX XXXX  at XXXX, as well as a XXXX XXXX XXXX from the University XXXX XXXX  at XXXX. With my continuing education, my financial aid added up quickly. While I was attending school and in various forms of repayment status, Navient made it very difficult to work out a solution to my repayment needs. Early in the process, the customer service department at Navient continued to have me file deferments and forbearances, only to sink myself deeper in debt with no real relief in sight. At no point did any representative suggest programs or repayment options for public servant positions ( XXXX  ). After years of payments, they allowed me to create a situation where the minimum monthly payments no longer covered the interest and service fees that were being added on monthly. I feel that I was purposely misguided at a profit to them. As I graduated college and began working as a XXXX, Navient never once guided me toward XXXX  loan forgiveness plans or public servant aid that were available. They never suggested any plan to where I was on the road to consecutive payment forgiveness or a process to reduce my overall financial aid debt. Due to their negligence and misleading endeavors, the original loan amount of {$16000.00} had ballooned out of control to nearly {$36000.00}. Interestingly enough, this outrageous amount was the result of their qualified advice. In 2016, due to the death of my parents, I inherited an amount of money that would allow myself to get my finances in order so that I could be debt free. When I called to try and settle my account, no one at Navient would allow me to do so. The creditors were rude and told me they do not settle loans of my amount or of my type of loan. After getting forwarded to different managers and specialists, over a number of frustrating weeks, I was sent to a group that even told me settling for a one time, lump sum payment of {$25000.00} would not get my debt resolved. At that point, I was told that I could pay that amount toward my debt and move back to fixed monthly payments. Again, it was never suggested or advised by anyone that I should enter a plan so that the debts could be forgiven due to consecutive years of payments or because of my employment as an XXXX. Finally, they called me back with a settlement offer of {$31000.00} ( roughly 85 % of my overall debt ). They told me that this had to be paid in one lump sum and was non-negotiable. The way the interest was accumulating monthly, Navient representatives made this seem like it was the best course of action. Quite possibly the only course. So, reluctantly, I paid them a full, one time payment of {$31000.00} because they advised that this was the only way to keep interest from accruing and furthering injuring my credit. May I reiterate, there was no mentioning of the various plans of assistance available to me. In light of recent issues where Navient has been viewed as doing wrong to borrowers, I am hoping to have this amount paid back to me by Navient for their misguided & corrupt practices that went on for years. At the least, I would like the information to existing class action cases involving Navient 's ineptitude.