Consumer complaint received 2026-01-19 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: MOHELA
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
I am a federal student loan borrower whose loans are serviced by MOHELA. I have a pending Borrower Defense to Repayment application based on school misrepresentation, as well as a pending request to pause payments while the Department of Education completes its investigation. MOHELA has explicitly stated that they are aware of my pending applications. 

I attended XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and earned an XXXX XXXX XXXX after being informed that this degree would allow me to pursue a career in counseling. After graduating, I learned this information was false, and that the program did not meet counseling licensure requirements. I later discovered that XXXX closed this program due to repeated issues with graduates being unable to meet licensure standards, a problem that affected multiple students and is well documented. Had I been provided accurate information, I would not have enrolled or taken out these loans. Based on this, I submitted a Borrower Defense application.

As part of the Borrower Defense process, I selected the option to pause payments during the investigation. Despite this, MOHELA has continued to engage in collection-style activity. On two separate occasions, MOHELA customer service representatives told me they would place my account on a temporary internal forbearance to bring my account up to date while my federal applications were pending. I was told I could make {$40.00} payments, which would be applied to interest as good-faith payments.

Despite these assurances, MOHELA continues to send at least three collection-style letters per week demanding payments of nearly {$1000.00} per month, which is completely unaffordable. I am a single parent earning approximately {$1200.00} per month. MOHELA is also reporting my account as approximately {$2000.00} past due, even though this balance accrued during a period when payments were supposed to be paused. 

I have continued making good-faith payments based on what I was told by MOHELA representatives XXXX yet the excessive communications have not stopped. Additionally, MOHELAs actions have caused significant damage to my credit score, creating further financial harm. This credit damage occurred while my Borrower Defense and payment pause requests were pending and while I was following the guidance provided by the servicer. 

The frequency, tone, and inconsistency of MOHELAs communications have significantly worsened my XXXX XXXX XXXX I have acted in good faith at all times, but MOHELAs conduct has been misleading, harassing, and harmful. 

MOHELAs actions appear to violate borrower protections by : Failing to honor a requested and acknowledged payment pause Providing misleading or inconsistent information about forbearance Sending excessive and repetitive collection-style communications Demanding unaffordable payments Reporting an improper past-due balance Damaging my credit during a protected review period I respectfully request CFPB assistance to : Require MOHELA to immediately cease collection-style communications Ensure my account is placed in the correct administrative forbearance Remove or correct the improper past-due balance Require correction of any negative or inaccurate credit reporting Require MOHELA to provide clear written confirmation of my account status while my applications are pending I am actively attempting to comply with federal student loan requirements and am seeking relief from servicing conduct that has become overwhelming, improper, and financially damaging. 

Thank you for your assistance. 

Servicer : MOHELA Loan type : Federal student loans

Company response to consumer: Untimely response