Consumer complaint received 2017-01-19
Product: Student loan — Non-federal student loan
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company: Navient Solutions, LLC. (VA)

I 've had a large balance, close to $ XXXX, with Navient since I graduated XX/XX/XXXX. That 's what happens when you finance XXXX % of out of state tuition for five years. In fact, my balance has only recently begun to decrease because for the past several years I was unable to make anything but interest only payments. Not only is Navient unwilling to allow me to consolidate my loans ( I currently have XXXX loans with interest rates varying from 2.5 % - 5 % ) but they are also unwilling to allow me to reduce my payments going forward. I received a letter in the mail that I thought was actually a sign that things may be changing. The letter advised me that XX/XX/XXXX, my interest only program would stop and I would then be on a normal payment schedule. It also stated that my payments would increase from approximately $ XXXX/month to $ XXXX/month. The letter went on to say, " this is an almost 80 % increase in your student loan payments. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can work out another payment plan with you to lessen the financial impact of the increase, you may be eligible for other programs ''. Sounds great right? They 're willing to work with me right? Wrong. I called about a month after receiving the letter, which was still about six months prior to the payment increase and was told ( by three different call reps on three different attempts ) that I can not do anything until the payments increase XX/XX/XXXX. They said I 'd have to wait until then to call back and do a financial analysis to determine what I was eligible to pay. I told them how the letter said to call as soon as possible to set something up and they told me that was incorrect, even though I was holding it in my hand. I then had to call back two more times before finally speaking to a supervisor. You 'd think someone higher up would be more understanding and would be more willing to help but this person was insulting and unhelpful. At first he told me the same thing, that I 'd have to wait until the payments went up before we could discuss other payment options, which does n't make any sense. I then had to basically demand that we do a financial analysis during that call so that I could determine if I was " eligible '' for a lower payment. I told him I was in the process of applying for a mortgage and would appreciate a monthly payment increase that was not close to 80 % for budgeting purposes, as an increase that large is quite a shock. You 'd think this would be a good thing for the company because by lowering the payment, you extend the life of the loan which means Navient gets more money. Wrong again. His quote to me was " we are n't going to lower your payment just so you can buy a house ''. I found this to be very insulting. Also, this supervisor advised me that my new monthly payment XX/XX/XXXX would be {$610.00} per month, not the approximate {$570.00} that was written in the letter I received. He could/would not give me an answer about the disparity. He then went on to ask why I ca n't pay the higher payment, I said because I have other obligations and life gets in the way, an 80 % increase is quite ridiculous. He then asked me why my co-signer ( my XXXX year old grandfather ) could n't make a part of the payments. I understand that he is the co-signer and is legally responsible for the debt if I default, but I am not going to ask my co-signer to pay for a part of my loans, he 's done enough by applying jointly with me. We finally did the financial analysis and he basically said " from what you 've told me, you can afford the new monthly payments, there is nothing we can do for you ''. I 've attempted to consolidate with other companies, solely for the purpose of getting away from their terrible customer service, but I 've had no luck finding a lender willing to take on that high a balance. The way they operate is sickening but unfortunately, I do n't have any other options at this time.