Consumer complaint received 2023-05-17 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: MOHELA
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
To Whom it may Concern. 
I have a complaint I would like to file against the Department of Education and MOHELA for the Public Service Forgiveness program. 
I have been working in XXXX XXXX for 17 years, since XX/XX/XXXX. I graduate college and consolidated my education loans in XXXX and began the 10 year pay off with the public service forbearance program at that time believing I would be paid off after satisfying my 10 years of payments. All along I would receive updates telling me when my debt would be paid off. The employers I worked for that qualified in the program included : - TXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX When I first changed employers to XXXX  in XXXX of XXXX, I submitted a PSF and in XXXX of XXXX received an email stating the employer indeed was eligible for the purpose of the program. The updated chart sent stated my payoff would take place in XXXX. Then XXXX hit. I continued to submit my yearly PSFs for XXXX, XXXX and XXXX and like usual waited for updates but they never came. As you know, during COVID we recd notifications stating we were deferred until further notice and deferred months WOULD count toward the payoff months. Three years went by and I waited for updates as well as instructions on how to proceed. Nothing came and in the meantime MOHELA over the loans. 
Now for the complaint. 
In XXXX of XXXX, about 6 weeks ago, I recd the responses from my previously submitted PSFs. XXXX YEARS AFTER BEING SUBMITTED. The letter stated, my current employer is NOT an eligible employer. This came from MOHELA, 3 YEARS after the DOE emailed me ( see attached ) stating they were. In addition, MOHELA backed out the last XXXX XXXX or so YEARS of payments that were until now applied toward my 10 year payoff. This has DUMPED a {$250000.00} hardship that is unjust, unprecedented, indecent, and unprofessional and XXXX  as a tax paying XXXX Citizen. This was supposed to be paid off in XXXX and by now. As an upstanding and responsible XXXX, I count on those that implement loan offerings and payoff programs to know better and those in place to monitor those entities to protect CONSUMERs. Below are the following reasons that this was unjust. 
- The DOE wrote and told me my employer is an eligible employer for the purpose of this program. I was told this in an email ( attached ) THREE YEARS ago which secured my decision to remain employed by them. The defining reason I chose to remain working at this employer was because of information I received in XXXX of XXXX in an email from the DOE. Had I been told differently I would have left ; and option I can not reverse or undo. If this decision is not reversed in my favor I will have lost 3 years of payments and the completion of the 10 year program. 
- Had I known they were not an eligible employer ( AS IN 3 YEARS SOONER ), I would have been left with options I was not afforded to have not knowing until now they were NOT an eligible employer. This stripped me of my Right to Know so I could have implemented a plan that worked for me not against me. 
- Had I BEEN TOLD BY THE ORIGINATOR OF THE PROGRAM they were NOT eligible, I may have elected to become employed by an employer known to pay higher than non-profits or even one that pays less but would have been eligible toward the 10 year pay off. Since this program led me to believe my employer was an approved employer, I was misled into believing I didnt have to look elsewhere to be in compliance with program guidelines. 
- An entity cant LEAD a consumer to believe one thing and then 3 years later change their mind leaving a mislead consumer then leave the CONSUMER in a {$250000.00} debt they believed was to be paid off shortly if remaining employed ( in this case ) with the current employer that supposedly was an eligible employer. 
- The Fair Credit Billing Act protects consumers from unfair billing practices and I have been unfairly treated here by entities that should know better. There are laws that require entities notify CONSUMERS they have a debt within a reasonable timeframe ( usually 30 days ) THE DOE, now MOHELA waited 3 YEARS after the XXXX and - XXXX PSFs were sent in timely and yearly before notifying me my employer was no longer eligible resulting in not only no longer counting but reversing 3 years of qualifying payments counting leaving me in a hardship and career quandary. 
- The last sneaky practice demonstrated by MOHELA AND THE DOE is that without notice, they took down the XXXX website that held a folder of all back and forth correspondence that transpired over the years that included that previous charts showing my loan was going to be paid off in XXXX. THEY DID THIS WITHOUT NOTICE, WARNING OR NOTIFATIONS SENT TO THE CONSUMER. 
- And one final note I would like documented is that during the 10 years of payments, deferments were initiated by the DOE that were supposed to count toward the 10 year pay off that were not. For instance, there were times, I would call to dispute an apparent error in the monthly calculations. 
On more than one occasion with more than one agent, I was told I would have to go on deferment while they were looking into the solution that turned out to be the DOEs error. While having to be deferred I asked if the deferred months would NOT count against me since most of the inquiries were not my error resulting in monthly payment changes. I was told I would not be penalized only to find later when the payoff charts were sent to me, I was in fact penalized the months the DOE needed to defer me. 

Please help me and respond that this is an unforeseen error on MOHELAs part and agree that MOHELA can not reverse the DOEs decision of XX/XX/XXXX discounting my current employer to be an eligible employer for the purpose of the PSF program. This error will leave me with a {$250000.00} debt after my proving that I satisfied my end of the agreement working 10 years in public serve oriented positions and submitting yearly proof all along. For many years, I dedicated my career to helping many XXXX  ( that included our Veterans, Homeless, those impacted by Super Storm Sandy and COVID ) find affordable housing, avoid evictions, avoid foreclosures and save their homes using the hardship funding and grant programs. Please dont let my career end by throwing me in to a {$250000.00} debt ( after completing my obligation ) for reasons perpetuated by an error by the powers that be that would ironically send me into my retirement with hardship that will destroy me financially after a dedicated career of helping so many others out of theirs. 
I look forward to your response. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation