Consumer complaint received 2025-03-26 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I began the process of consolidating and removing the in-school deferment status with MOHELA in late XX/XX/XXXX when I asked MOHELA to pull my student loans out of my in-school deferment status so I could make eligible payments towards my PSLF timeline due to my full-time status in both my XXXX XXXX  and my career position. I spoke on the phone with MOHELA and asked for their waiver 2 separate times and also requested it through their messaging portal. It took MOHELA more than 3 months to provide me with the In-school deferment waiver request. I finally received the form to remove the in-school enrollment deferment status and submitted it to MOHELA on XX/XX/XXXX and I was approved for the REPAYE plan and received notice prior to my payments going into effect. I received notice that my payments were scheduled to start on XX/XX/XXXX at {$270.00}. Just a few days prior MOHELA shut back off my loans and placed them into in-school deferment status ignoring the waiver I had submitted to kickstart my loans to count towards my PSLF timeline. 
A week or so later I then received a notice of my new monthly payment amount which removed me from my already approved REPAYE plan and reported my new payment would be {$540.00} monthly and in the same days mail a notice dated a day later I would be placed back into In-school deferment status. A couple weeks later I received a letter that I missed a payment as if my loans were never formally placed back into the deferment/in-school status although my online account reflected a XXXX payment amount. 
In an attempt to try to get my loans back out of a in school status and get on a IDR plan I resubmitted the paperwork through the student aid website with the intent to get back on the REPAYE plan and made several more call attempts to MOHELA. Not a single representative could explain why my amount double that was income based that did not change and why I kept being moved in and out of deferment. Despite the error on my online account I was notified I had to pay double my monthly payment to get back into good standing which I did despite their error and my documentation trail showing their error. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX I still have not had my in-school status removed and I was instructed to file a consolidation application as another way to bring my loans out of the in school status since I was only a few weeks away from graduation and did not require any more loans. However despite working with XXXX and MOHELA, all but 3 of my XXXX XXXXXXXX from my 5 year XXXX XXXX were consolidated. When I received outreach showing this would be the case I was told to submit the waiver again which I did 3 more times and MOHELA never pulled my loans out of in school status. XXXX processed the consolidation and left those loans out and despite filing for the IDR as part of the consolidation application MOHELA ignored the request and placed me on a standard repayment plan. I resubmitted another IDR application to MOHELA. My consolidation was submitted on XX/XX/XXXX along with an IDR application, my loans were consolidated on XX/XX/XXXX without some of my XXXX XXXX I proceeded to call MOHELA, wait for processing, and get on a IDR plan to count towards my PSLF. I finally graduated XX/XX/XXXX and finally got all my loans out of in-school deferment status which occurred naturally from graduation and not MOHELA. I was finally placed on an IDR and then I was told I needed to submit an addendum to get my other XXXX XXXX XXXXhat were not added on during my consolidation finally added in. I submitted the single addendum form and MOHELA took my entire account back out of an IDR plan and placed it back on a standard repayment plan. I have had to call MOHELA every XXXX weeks since because they have not processed my IDR application. They started to identify the lawsuits as the reason for not processing my IDR applications but they have been unable to situate this problem since XX/XX/XXXX. I have had several 8 hour or more phone calls waiting on hold for conversations lasting less than 10 minutes. MOHELA has cost me over a year of my PSLF and extra monthly payments on incorrect payment plans and with incorrect loans payment amounts. Something needs to be done about MOHELA.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation