Consumer complaint received 2024-04-04
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: EdFinancial Services (VA)

I called EdFinancial on XX/XX/XXXX to request a refund of all payments that I made during the COVID-19 payment pause. This payment pause lasted from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX and loanholders have a right to request any payments made during this time to be refunded. I made a total of {$47000.00} in payments between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. I will attach a copy of my bank statements to this complaint. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, EdFinancial added a balance of {$47000.00} to my loan balance. This balance included an interest amount of {$720.00}, which should not have been added back to my loan because interest did not accumulate during the COVID-19 payment pause. I am also attaching a screenshot of the loan adjustment they made to my account on XX/XX/XXXX as proof of the balance that they added to my student loan balance. 

I called EdFinancial in XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX to check the status of my refund since I had not received a refund check. Both times the EdFinancial representative told me that they can not track the status of my refund and to call the Dept of Education. I was also told I could possibly call the US Treasury Dept to check the status since they issue the checks from the Dept of Education. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the Dept of Education and was told that they do not have a public line. The person I spoke with informed me that I can make a complaint on the Federal Student Aid website and then follow up with a call to the Ombudsman office. On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a complaint on the Federal Student Aid website. My complain case # is XXXX. I received an email from Federal Student Aid, that I should receive a response within 15 business days. I never received an email or phone call from Federal Student Aid as of today. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I checked the status of my Federal Student Aid complaint online and it said " Pending. '' I still had not received a refund check from EdFinancial, so I called the Ombudsman Office. I spoke to XXXX. She informed me that my case was escalated to the Business Unit. XXXX put in a request for someone to call me from the business unit within 24 to 48 hours. I never received a call or email from anyone. I called the Ombudsman number again on XX/XX/XXXX and I was informed that they could not give me a timeframe for resolution. My FSA case was still showing " Pending '' as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the US Treasury Dept and I was informed by a representative that there has been no check issued to me from the Dept of Education. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the Ombudsman program again since I still had not heard anything back from my case that was created in XX/XX/XXXX. I requested a supervisor call back which they informed me that they would put a request in. I was never called from a supervisor. 

On XX/XX/XXXX ( 6 months after EdFinancial added this balance back to my loan ), I called EdFinancial again checking the status of my refund check. I spoke to XXXX who informed me that she would put in a request to reissue the check and would be sending this request to the Finance team. She said that she would update me via email once check was issued. 

I waited over 6 weeks and did not hear anything back so I made one last final call to EdFinancial on XX/XX/XXXX with my complaint. I was told they had previously issued my check but it must have went to the wrong address. I informed them that the US Treasury Dept had informed me that there was no check ever issued to me. The EdFinancial representative then stated that there was a note on my account on XX/XX/XXXX stating that there was an error with the calculation of my refund and that the amount would have to be recalculated. I explained to the representative that if this was the case, why have they not taken the balance off of my loan ; instead, I have been paying on this additional $ XXXX that has been added back to my loan for the last 7 months. I also informed him that the $ XXXX figure was correct and I have bank statements to prove it. I again requested for a supervisor to call me back. He told me they would call within 24-48 hours. I never received a call. 

So I am extremely upset with the handling of my student loans by EdFinancial. They have added almost $ XXXX back to my student loans 7 months ago yet refuse to issue my refund check. As of today ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I have not received a call or email with a resolution or update from Federal Student Aid, the Dept of Educaiton, or EdFinancial.