Consumer complaint received 2025-11-12 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: PA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint regarding repeated mismanagement of my student loan repayment plan by MOHELA, which has caused significant hardship, excessive delays, and jeopardized my eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ).

I was enrolled in the SAVE program when the federal injunction placed all borrowers in SAVE forbearance. On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted an application to switch to the XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) plan. In XXXX XXXX, MOHELA issued guidance stating that borrowers who had applied early in the SAVE forbearance might need to reapply due to changes in the application process. Following this, I called MOHELA in XX/XX/XXXX, and after spending over XXXX hours on hold, I was told that I needed to reapply. I summited my application the next day. 

After XXXX months without updates, I called again on XX/XX/XXXX. I spent another after XXXX hours on hold before speaking with a MOHELA representative named XXXX. She informed me that I should not have been told to reapply, as my original application contained all necessary information and had already approved in XX/XX/XXXX. When I asked why that information had never been communicated to me, she admitted it was withheld because the rollout of plans was delayed. Nonetheless, the MOHELA agent I spoke to in XXXX should not have told me that I was required to reapply. She canceled my XX/XX/XXXX application and submitted a request to reprocess the XX/XX/XXXX application I had already been approved with. She assured me I would be placed into a processing forbearance that is PSLF-eligible for 60 days while the XX/XX/XXXX application was reprocessed. 

However, the next day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I received a letter stating that my plan request was not approved. I attempted to call MOHELA but was unable to remain on hold longer then an hour and had to disconnect. I logged onto my StudentAid.gov to see what the status was of my XXXX applications, and saw that they XX/XX/XXXX application still shows as closed, and the XX/XX/XXXX application no longer appears in my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I took the day off work to call MOHELA again ( as I am a teacher and can not make long calls/be on hold for hours when I am teaching students ). I spoke with XXXX who confirms that the service-notes align with my account of the events. He agreed that I should not have been told to reapply in XX/XX/XXXX, and also said XXXX was incorrect when she claimed the first application had already been approved. He didn't understand why XXXX would have canceled the XX/XX/XXXX application. Moreover, XXXX stated I was not moved into the PSLF-eligible processing forbearance period as XXXX had promised. He indicated he could not determine which applications were on file or what the status was. He escalated the case to a manager line. The automated message said I would receive a call back in the next XXXX days, and then was hung up on. 

As a teacher, I can not spend hours on hold or take unscheduled calls during instructional time. I have already had to take personal leave to deal with this, and yet I still have no resolution or clear next steps. 

All of this caused significant financial stress and hardship, and now threatens my ability to obtain PSLF. Before the SAVE forbearance, I have already made XXXX of the required XXXX payments for PSLF eligibility. MOHELA 's multiple processing errors, misleading information, and guidance to cancel valid applications are directly threatening my ability to complete the program. Each time MOHELA cancels an application due to incorrect information, I am pushed to the back of the processing queue, increasing risk of missing critical deadlines ( especially with upcoming PSLF changes in XX/XX/XXXX ), which could cause permanent financial harm. The difficulty of reaching knowledgeable representatives spending XXXX hours on hold, taking time off, still lacking resolution is itself unacceptable and burdens me unfairly as an educator.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response