Consumer complaint received 2020-10-08
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Need information about your loan balance or loan terms
Company: DISCOVER BANK (NY)

I have had issues with Discover since the start when my loans were syndicated to Discover from XXXX. First, XXXX had offered a program where they would reduce your interest rate if you made XXXX on-time payments, which I did, but then at that point they were syndicated to XXXX. They refused to honor the program despite XXXX telling me that XXXX  had agreed to do so. I must have spent 25-30 hours printing out old emails from XXXX and fighting with XXXX about how they should honor the interest rate deduction. XXXX  finally agreed after MONTHS of fighting with them. 

Then another issue arose in the spring of XXXX when I tried to make a large payment toward my loan to get a lower monthly payment. I called the 800 number and spoke with someone who told me which loan to apply it to and the subsequent reduction in my monthly. Based  on that call I actually added another couple XXXX to the payment because the monthly amount the person had told me was a lot lower and I wanted lower monthly bills. A few weeks after that, I got my student loan bill and it hadn't dropped by nearly as much and something seemed off. I called and spoke to who knows how many people and eventually had it escalated to some higher-ups ( XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, but it seems neither of them work there anymore ) who were unable to, after hours of calls, tell me how my monthly payment was calculated. They sent spreadsheets that looked like XXXX documents and were not at all coherent and no one could explain then to me. I never knew what my amount was. Further, in connection with the large sum I had paid to lower my monthly payments, they took it upon themselves to extend the term of my loan ( which was part of the reason that the monthly amount hadn't gone down as much as I'd wanted it to ). I believe there are several Discover cases pending or in arbitration for this exact issue. They also would not honor the lower monthly amount the customer service rep had quoted me which had prompted me to make a larger  payment. So ... after all that, I basically had them refund me my money, go back to my regular loan term and by then was so fed up with it and also XXXX so could not handle the stress so that I dropped it. 

Then in the fall of XXXX, I noticed that my automatic payment was less than it had been previously. When I looked further it seemed that the interest rate had increased but my payments were lower. This confused me so I called the customer service line and was told that I had been overpaying previously on minimum payments and this had been corrected when the interest rate was adjusted ( because it was based on prime so had gone up ). When I asked by how much and for how long, again no one could tell me and no one had any information. A week or so after that, my minimum payment amount went back up and when I asked about it, they said there had been a mistake. At this time I again asked how my minimum was calculated, and shocker, they couldn't tell me. I was so fed up at this point I refinanced with another bank ( XXXX XXXX ) who offered a better rate, but had to extend the term of my loan for another 5 years to get it.

A couple of months ago I received a letter and check from Discover  Student Loans dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that my Minimum Payment Due amount was higher than it should have been on two loans. I was sent a check for {$330.00} which I did not cash as I see it a settlement regarding claims with respect to the amount they forced me to overpay. I knew all along my monthly payment was too high and this confirms it. It is criminal that no one could tell me how my monthly payment was calculated with all the effort I put in to find out and then they send a check - which is clearly a settlement check shamefully disguised as a windfall - years after I moved my loans from Discover to another lender because I couldnt handle dealing with Discover anymore. The check amount is also appallingly low and should cover ALL of my loans, not just two, so when I called Discover to find out how that amount was calculated, not unsurprisingly, no one could tell me. I spent 40-60 minutes on the phone on two separate occasions being passed from rep to rep with no results and ultimately a shallow promise that someone would call me back with the information. No one did. I also tried emailing the people who Id been in contact with in  XXXX ( XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX but no response. The check could not possibly cover the full amount I have overpaid, I had around $ XXXX $ XXXX in student loans with Discover. Also, the check does not at all take into account the lost opportunity cost of the money they essentially stole from me and held onto for however many years. Not to mention the hours and hours I have spent on the phone with Discover trying to find out how my minimums were calculated. Information that should be readily accessible. In addition, I wonder  how many people have cashed their meager checks not knowing they were accepting a settlement. 

Discover Student Loans is predatory and criminal in terms of the the interest rates they charge, their refusal to honor programs to reduce those rates and their lack of transparency as to how minimums are calculated and amounts owed.