Consumer complaint received 2026-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: EdFinancial Services
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am formally escalating my dispute regarding inaccurate, incomplete, and contradictory guidance provided to me by Edfinancial Services concerning my federal student loans, the SAVE administrative forbearance, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ). This matter is not simply a disagreement regarding payment amounts. The issue is that I relied on servicing guidance provided by Edfinancial representatives and supervisors, and that guidance materially affected my repayment decisions and caused significant financial harm. While my loans were placed into the SAVE-related administrative forbearance associated with the ongoing federal litigation, I contacted Edfinancial multiple times to ask how the forbearance would affect my PSLF progress and whether I needed to take action. During those conversations, I was repeatedly advised that time spent in the SAVE administrative forbearance would not count toward PSLF and that I would need to change repayment plans in order to continue making PSLF progress. Based on this guidance, I changed repayment plans earlier than I otherwise would have. At the same time, I was advised that my payment under the new repayment plan would remain approximately the same or similar to my prior payment amount. My payment at the time was approximately {$210.00} per month. After the change was processed, my payment later increased to {$440.00} per month despite the fact that my income had decreased. When I contacted Edfinancial again in 2026 to question the dramatic increase, representatives themselves appeared confused and acknowledged that the increase did not appear to make sense based on my income situation. During one of those conversations, a supervisor specifically instructed me not to submit any additional paperwork while they attempted to figure out the issue internally. I relied on that guidance as well. After I formally disputed the matter, Edfinancial attempted to characterize prior payment discussions as merely estimates and stated there was little they could do regarding the repayment change. However, Edfinancial also admitted in writing that they failed to previously inform me about the PSLF Buyback program, stating : We apologize for not including information regarding the buyback program previously This admission is significant because I specifically contacted Edfinancial regarding PSLF implications and whether remaining in the SAVE-related forbearance would harm my long-term PSLF progress. Edfinancials later justification that I had not yet reached 120 qualifying PSLF payments is not responsive to the actual issue. PSLF Buyback is inherently a retroactive process intended to be utilized later once borrowers approach 120 qualifying months of employment. Had I been informed that periods spent in the SAVE-related administrative forbearance could potentially be bought back later once eligible, I would have remained in my prior repayment status rather than changing plans based on incomplete guidance. Instead, I was presented with changing repayment plans as the necessary path forward while material information regarding PSLF Buyback was omitted. Additionally, Edfinancial later blamed my payment increase on failure to recertify my IDR plan despite the fact that I had previously been instructed by a supervisor not to submit additional paperwork while the issue was being reviewed internally. This contradictory guidance further contributed to the financial harm and confusion surrounding my account. I believe Edfinancial failed to provide complete and accurate servicing guidance regarding PSLF and repayment options and that I suffered financial harm after relying on those representations.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation