Consumer complaint received 2024-11-18 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: MOHELA
State: ND

Complaint narrative:
I qualified for PSLF XXXX  years ago, but because my federal loans were sold multiple times without my knowledge or consent, they are now considered private and I no longer qualify for any loan forgiveness. I've mailed paperwork showing that my loans originated as federal loans and that I had no say in them being sold to multiple companies, but I still don't qualify. I want to register this complaint in hopes that someone will finally hear what I'm saying and do something to help forgive my loans. I know that there are thousands of people out there in the same position, and it feels like we're being punished for something that's out of our control.

Below is the letter I've sent to Mohela and other PSLF agencies for over ten years.

Dear MOHELA, Im writing to ask for your help in getting my application for Public Student Loan Forgiveness approved. As you can see, Im providing extensive paperwork to show a few things : Ive worked for a non-profit private college for 20 years.

Ive been paying my student loans back every month for that entire time and then some.

Ive applied for PSLF several times.

My application has been consistently rejected because I do not have federal loans, but my federal loans were moved and sold several times without my permission.

The paperwork Im including shows that indeed, I started with federal loans and Pell grants, and over the years those loans have been sold and consolidated, often without my consent or even my knowledge. Trust me when I say that first-generation college students with no student loan experience have no idea what theyre doing. I certainly fall into that group and can tell you that I never felt I had any control over what was happening with my loans, at least until recently.

I did consolidate my loans with my local bank in XXXX because my loans had most recently been sold to XXXX, a company that did its best to ruin me financially. They mistook my account for another persons account and, long story short, it took several banking officials, the Department of Treasury, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to untangle the mess and get my loan away from XXXX. Not only did I feel like I barely escaped with my sanity, I saved {$10000.00} by consolidating with my bank at the time. Since Id been rejected by PSLF I figured this consolidation was my last option to save any money at all. After all of that happened, PSLF opened up to more applicants, but Ive been rejected again.

Yes, I understand that these consolidations technically disqualify me for PSLF, but Im hoping you will see how unreasonable this disqualification is when, as I mentioned, so many loan sales and consolidations happened without my consent or knowledge and frankly, even if I had known about them, as a first-gen student in my twenties I wouldnt have known any better than to agree with what was put in front of me. Nor could I have predicted that PSLF would become more widely available after I moved my loans to my bank in XXXX. Loan companies have undoubtedly taken advantage of borrowers and so here we are today, with thousands of people unable to take advantage of a program thats supposedly designed for them because of an entirely dysfunctional loan system in this country. 
I got my first student loan XXXX  years ago and have faithfully paid them every month since I graduated, yet I still have over {$44000.00} left to pay. My husband and I are both XXXX, so we were both required to go to college in order to get our jobs. I XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  so I was required to get a XXXX in order to even get my foot in the door of this job which isnt paying me enough to pay back my student loans any faster. I work at a non-profit institution and should have qualified for PSLF over a decade ago, but was rejected on the technicality that I do not have federal loans. As I said, these loans started as federal but were sold without my permission.

We chose careers that were personally fulfilling and allowed us to give back by helping XXXX. We have both XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX by now and we dont
regret the career choices, only that this country pays lip service to respecting and honoring XXXX  without actually paying XXXX  what they are worth.

I now work a second job because we want to pay back
these loans, help our kids have fewer loans, and put money aside for retirement and care because my husband has XXXX XXXX, which is going to require extensive medical care, probably before he even reaches XXXX XXXX. Its very likely that he will have spent his lifetime XXXX XXXX XXXX and never receive his full pension because of this XXXX. We need to save as much money as possible now, and these student loans are keeping us from doing that.

Please help me and others like me. Theres a generation of people that are being overlooked by the current loan forgiveness programs. Again, the paperwork provided shows the records of my loans, proving that they did begin as federal loans and Pell grants.

Im happy to provide more information as needed.

Thank you, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation