Consumer complaint received 2024-12-13 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA
State: MO

Complaint narrative:
I filed a complaint with studentaid.gov - case number XXXX I am a joint consolidation loan holder and was promised by the DOE that I would be allowed to separate my loan so that I can qualify for IDR and PSLF. It has been two years of waiting, In the 2 years, I was finally in XXXX of XXXX able to fill out an application to separate my loan from my husband. Originally told it would be XXXX before they applications were separated and now being told XX/XX/XXXX. There has bee NO consistent communication and I don't feel that this process should be taking this long. 

Meanwhile, my loans are in an administrative forbearance gaining even more interest. I refuse to pay another cent until I can have what the DOE promised. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX  years. As a XXXX, we are expected to get advanced degrees or we stop getting raises and in my case, early in my career I wouldn't have been able to be a certified XXXX  ( not the case now ). I work in a low paying district, but have never been able to qualify for any kind of forgiveness. In XXXX, my husband and I decided to consolidate our loans to have ONE payment. ONE interest rate. At the time he worked for a non-profit and I was a XXXX  and we were struggling. That was the only option for us at the time. When we consolidated the loans were placed in my husbands name, all of the loans, even mine. If we divorced, they would follow him and not me. My balance was higher than his. I originally borrowed ( before interest ) around XXXX. When I consoloidated with my husband in XXXX, I owed around XXXX, My husbands loan was around XXXX. We currently owe XXXX MORE than we borrowed. We have paid XXXX in interest and only XXXX toward the actual balance! We have paid anywhere from XXXX per month. 

The DOE has made this promise and has still not carried it out. It shouldn't take TWO years to complete a promise made and a law passed. The information given to us that we could separate and qualify for PSLF is has been misleading, has been broken and is a violation of federal law. 

I have made a student loan payment for most of my working career since XXXX ( I did take have forebearance off and on due to financial struggles ). Enough is enough! My loan would have been forgiven already under the PSLF. I did make 10 years of payments ( without missing any ), I have been a public school teacher for 28 years. 

DOE needs to honor their promise. They need to stop misleading us XXXX borrowers and come up with a plan and communicate and execute it! Their practices are unfair and this violates the consumer protection laws. Finally, their hesitation and delay in implementing the XXXX  separation is a violation of federal law. 

Please make this right. I've got kids in XXXX  and would love to be able to help them instead of continuing to pay on these criminal loans. 

XXXX XXXX

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