Consumer complaint received 2021-03-06
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Don't agree with the fees charged
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (AZ)

Dispute pertains to the wrongful assessment of penalties fees and fines from SallieMae/Navient failing to accept my Income Based Repayment Plan ( IBR ) application from XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. My dispute has been on-going since XX/XX/XXXX where my loan holder Sallie Mae now Navient refused to accept my income base repayment plan application or otherwise disclose any legitimate reason for its failure to accept my application until XX/XX/XXXX. Once finally approved on XX/XX/XXXX, payments due were to be {$0.00} from XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a letter to Sallie Mae detailing the history of events and the extraordinary impact their failure to assist me was causing. Multiple telephonic discussions with representatives occurred wherein I requested redress and removal of penalties fees and fines. Acknowledgment of inappropriate application of penalty fees and fines were made with retro-active forbearance, but forbearances provided kept listing incorrect dates. Specifically, a forbearance was provided on XX/XX/XXXX for time frame of XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. This did not fully account for the entire duration of failing to accept my application and granting me access to the IBR plan. I spoke to a representative again and on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a forbearance for time frames XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, which were the wrong years. ( By this time I was on the IBR plan specifying {$0.00} due each month : there was no need for a forbearance for those years ). Representatives seemed to never record the correct date. Also, representatives conveyed telephonically that the amount of {$590.00} could be submitted in settlement of this dispute. I remitted payment in the aforementioned amount with the understanding that I maintained my dispute of penalty fees and that remission of payment was made only to prevent further accrual of other fees. SallieMae/Navient applied this amount to private loans without my consent. As a result, I submitted a XX/XX/XXXX letter objecting to allocation to private loans and requested that the {$590.00} be credited to the appropriate account and that the amount of {$590.00} be returned to me upon resolution of disputed late fees. SallieMae/Navient applied the aforementioned amount to federal loans, but otherwise refuse to settle or address disputed late fees and persisted in assessment of penalty fees. At no time, has SallieMae or Navient informed me that penalty fees were associated with any other matter outside those resultant from their purposeful failure to accept my IBR application in XX/XX/XXXX. 

Please note that during years of XXXX and XXXX I was recovering from the passing of my husband. I had shared this with representatives during this time frame and asked them to help me and work with me. SallieMae and Navient did the opposite and purposefully denied me access to federal programs. They engaged in high pressure and deceptive tactics to deny me access to plans that would assist me and illicit payments outside of good faith understandings and my then existing IBR plan. They were predators at a time when I needed grace. 

Years have gone by with no recourse or access to dispute resolution. Impacts due to student loans have resulted in negative credit reports ; loss of an employment opportunity on XX/XX/XXXX directly related to student loan reports on my credit history ; significant emotional distress ; and compounded financial distress as Navient continues to assess and accrue penalty fees and fines on my account. Due to SallieMae/Navient, years went by before I was able to find an employer willing to hire me. 

Five attachments are included in support of this complaint. Attachments contain PII.