Consumer complaint received 2018-04-16
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (IN)

In XX/XX/XXXX, I began XXXX school to work on a XXXX XXXX Degree. I completed the coursework in XX/XX/XXXX and began focusing on writing my thesis in XX/XX/XXXX. I was enrolled at XXXX ( XXXX ) for the required number of thesis hours. Around XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from Sallie Mae telling me that it was time to repay my loan because I was no longer enrolled as a full-time student. I told them that I was still considered a full-time student because I was enrolled in XXXX school with thesis credit hours. They refused to continue the student deferment and told me that if I didn't begin repayment, my loan would be considered " in default ''. I told them that I couldn't start paying them because I was not working because I was working on my thesis. They told me that if I couldn't pay, my only option was Forbearance. They explained that it was like a deferment. They said that they could set it up for a certain period of time and that when that time expired, I would need to make arrangements for repayment or do another forbearance. I had looked at my balances a few months before they called me and they totaled around 60,000.00 around the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX. They also told me that because they didn't show me as being enrolled full-time, that my loan would be charged late fees. They would be rolling the late fees and interest from XX/XX/XXXXthrough XX/XX/XXXX to the end of my loan. This would bring the account current. They told me that I would still be charged interest during the forbearance and would have the option to pay it later. The forbearance would be for up to a six month period. They set it up for the six month period and rolled everything over for my two loans. When they finished with this process, they told me that I would need to call them at the end of the six months and set up my repayment plan or file for another forbearance. When I called them at the end of XX/XX/XXXX, I was told that my balance was around 87000.00 which shocked me. I asked how it went from around 60,000.00 to  XXXX and was told that it was because of interest and late fees that were rolled to the end of the loan. I told them that I was still enrolled with thesis hours and working on my thesis. I had a job by then, but wasn't making enough money to pay them back on top of rent, utilities and living expenses. They stated that I would need to do another forbearance. I told them that I had spoken to XXXX and that XXXX says that as long as I'm a XXXX student enrolled in thesis hours, I am still considered to be a 'full-time student '. The person I was talking to stated that Sallie Mae required that I be enrolled in no less than 6 credit hours to be considered 'full-time ' ... .even for XXXX students. Because I didn't meet their requirements and couldn't repay, I would have to file for another forbearance. They got it all set up. I quit arguing with them about my 'full-time ' status. I finally finished my thesis in XX/XX/XXXX. I was set up with a forbearance through the end of XX/XX/XXXX. I began repayment in mid-XX/XX/XXXX. Between XX/XX/XXXXand XX/XX/XXXX, my loan went from around 60,000.00 to around 160,000.00. My husband and I were both in shock when we saw the balance owed when we began repayment. It more than doubled in the amount of time. My loan should have been in deferment from XX/XX/XXXXthrough XX/XX/XXXX. If it had been in deferment, I would have been expected to begin repayment byXX/XX/XXXX. At the most, I should have only had one forbearance for a six month period and I wouldn't have owed what I do now. We are sick over the amount of money that has been charged to my loans and that I am now responsible for paying. We have been paying consistently and aggressively since XX/XX/XXXX. Just for context, I also had a loan through XXXX. It was in deferment until six months after I graduated. It was for XXXX and has been paid off since XX/XX/XXXX. Although I completed my thesis in XX/XX/XXXX, I was not able to graduate until XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX told me that I had to wait until XX/XX/XXXX ( that is the only time they have a ceremony ) because it was too late for me to be included in the XX/XX/XXXX graduation at XXXX   University in XXXX. My diploma would show when I completed my XXXX XXXX Degree. All in all, I feel that Sallie Mae/Navient took advantage of me. This was a complete disservice. I don't feel that I should have owed more than XXXX ( or whatever my balance would have really been had it been in deferment with one forbearance ) when I began my repayment. I feel that this needs to be corrected and that my account should reflect the true dollar amount that I owe. If they had not done all of the unnecessary forbearances, my loans would almost be paid off by now. We put a large sum on it when we began repayment. ( I have a reference number from XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX where the woman I spoke to stated that my current balance was XXXX. She said that one loan was XXXX and the other was XXXX plus interest of XXXX ) When I called to set up my repayment plan in mid-XX/XX/XXXX, that is when I found out that my balance was 160,000.00 plus. I don't understand how it is possible that it could have jumped XXXX in those months. I also checked my credit in XX/XX/XXXX and my student loans were showing as being in default. I called Navient about this and was told that they would show that way until I began repayment. As a result, I was unable to be on the loan for the home we were trying to buy because my credit was ruined. My husband and I would like to be included in this lawsuit. We want my account reviewed. I don't have the exact dates and balances, but I have given the above information as accurately as I can. As of today, my balance is paid down to XXXX and I still believe that this is outrageous!! XX/XX/XXXX, the interest rate on my loans jumped up from 2.320 % to 6.8 % without any notice. I am not sure how they can do that when the loans were consolidated and the interest rate was set at the 2.320 %. My repayment had me making smaller payment amounts through XX/XX/XXXX and increasing in XX/XX/XXXX. I can understand that the payment amount would change under the repayment, but I was never told that they interest rate would increase as well.