Consumer complaint received 2024-04-11
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: MOHELA (CA)

I am writing to forward my request to MOHELA to adjust my eligible payments for the Public Loan Forgiveness based on the 3 reasons below. 

As background, on XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a written message to MOHELA about my concerns below. I then had several follow up calls to inform MOHELA about the incorrect PSLF and payment count, and even offered to walk them through line by line about how they should correct their errors. After a few calls, on XX/XX/XXXX, a MOHELA representative finally told me that my XXXX remaining concerns could not be resolved. 

Despite not addressing my concerns, I received the following message from MOHELA : " Thank you for contacting MOHELA. Thank you for contacting MOHELA. Our records indicate, that you spoke with a representative on XX/XX/XXXX, regarding this matter. However, we want to make sure that all of your questions and concerns have been addressed. If you have any additional questions or concerns, you may contact a supervisor on our Customer Advocacy Team at the number listed below and we will be happy to assist you. '' Given MOHELA 's insistence on not resolving my issue, and given that MOHELA 's errors will extend the number of payments I will have to make to get PSLF forgiveness this year, I am requesting assistance from CFPB to resolve these issues. 

Here are the XXXX concerns : XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX Administrative Forbearance : I am requesting that XX/XX/XXXX count as an eligible month for my PSLF count because my former loan provider placed me on administrative forbearance. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was placed on administrative forbearance while I switched payments plans. I did not request to be on forbearance, but rather was placed on it because my old loan provider was unable to process my change of payment plan request without placing me on administrative forbearance. I also understand that the XXXX XXXXXXXX adjustment of eligible payments was supposed to included months where a borrower was placed on administrative forbearance such as this situation. My request thus fits squarely with what the XXXX XXXXXXXX one time adjustment was meant to do. 

XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX Administrative Forbearance : MOHELA placed me on administrative forbearance during these months because, as was publicly announce, they did not send me a billing statement on time and did not calculate my monthly payment accurately. Yet, MOHELA has refused to credit these 3 months as qualified payment months for PSLF, when they clearly should count. 

XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX Payments During COVID-19 Uncertainty : My employer made XXXX payments of my loans in XX/XX/XXXX as summarized below : XXXX : {$3400.00} XXXX : {$1300.00} XXXX : {$3400.00} Total : {$8300.00} Those payments were made, with my permission, at a time when there was tremendous uncertainty with when payments will restart. Now that payments are going to restart for me on XX/XX/XXXX ( I am paid off until then because of a lump sum payment ), I am requesting that these XX/XX/XXXX payments of {$8300.00} be applied to my XX/XX/XXXX remaining bill of {$490.00}, and then for every consecutive month after starting with my XX/XX/XXXX payment. If done correctly, the payments should cover my remaining XXXX payments before forgiveness, which is until when my XXXX  month payment of {$1200.00} expires. Please note that a refund of these payments is not an option because my employer, a federal government agency, will not receive the refund even though I tried. Thus, my solution is the only equitable one given the uncertainty with the COVID-19 payment pause and payments just restarting for me on XX/XX/XXXX.