Consumer complaint received 2025-04-29 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Don't agree with the fees charged
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email saying my credit score dropped. When I opened my banking app, I saw that my credit dropped XXXX points overnight. I saw that the Department of Education was named on the loans, so I called the Dept. of Ed. on the XXXX. I talked to XXXX, asking about the loans, as I was unaware of any more student loans linked to my account because I did not see any loans on my Firstmark Services account where I had been paying off {$30000.00} in student loans. I made my last payment in XXXX of XXXX to pay off the {$30000.00} debt. XXXX told me it could be fraud and suggested I ask for forbearance until I could get the loans disputed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Firstmark Services to see if I could get any information about the other student loans that seemed to be causing the drop in my credit score. I saw no additional or unpaid loans on my Firstmark account. XXXX at Firstmark Services said that the loans causing the issue may be linked to the federal student loan servicer Nelnet. I then called Nelnet to ask about the loans and to verify if they were legitimately my student loans or if this was a case of fraud. XXXX from Nelnet told me the loans were linked to XXXX XXXX and XXXX University, both institutions I attended. She verified the dates the loans were taken out, which match the dates of my attendance. She told me I owe {$33000.00} total according to the Nelnet account. She said {$2800.00} of interest has accrued at this point. I also have late fees attributed to this account, which is why my credit dropped. She said the payments were due on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked her why I had never received a notification from them. She said they had sent an email, but upon further investigation, we found that the email was incorrect. I asked her why she never sent me a piece of physical mail or called my phone number to inform me about the loans, and she said she could only send an email despite having my home address and phone number. She then told me there was nothing they could do to help me, so I filed a dispute with Nelnet on XX/XX/XXXX. After filing an initial complaint through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I received a generic response from Nelnet on XX/XX/XXXX claiming they had reached out to me via phone and email prior to my payments becoming late. However, the response did not clarify where these emails were sent, or which phone number was called. I request that Nelnet provide proof of these communications, as I had never received any phone calls, emails, or letters from Nelnet until I shockingly discovered my credit score had dropped dramatically last month for what seemed to be no reason. Nelnet had not notified me of the late fees, and I do not know when they would have ever notified me if I had not investigated my credit score issue. By the time I uncovered the cause of my credit score drop, late fees and interest had already accumulated on my loans. Let me be clear : I received no communication from Nelnet until after I filed my complaint in XX/XX/XXXX, and as a result, I had no way of making timely payments on these loans. For context, I can provide proof of my history with Firstmark Services, where I consistently paid my loans on time and early. I can also provide evidence that I have always paid my car payments in full and on time I submit these facts as supporting evidence that I had no access to my student loans held with Nelnet, and if I had, they would have been paid on time. Additionally, since Firstmark is a division of Nelnet, I would also like an explanation as to why Nelnet did not send communications to the active email address associated with my Firstmark Services loans, which were being properly paid. If Nelnet had access to my Firstmark loan information and contact details, it is negligent that they did not use this information to ensure I was contacted through methods I would have received. I am employed and have no intention of avoiding my student loan responsibilities. However, Nelnets failure to provide me with access to my account has led to the accumulation of late fees and interest, significantly impacting my credit score. If I had been able to access my loans, I would have made timely payments, accrued less interest, and avoided these late fees. Nelnet did not respond to my complaint with adequate information and again was negligent in providing me with the information needed to access and pay off my student loans. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a new response from Nelnet. Unfortunately, this response failed to address any of the concerns I previously raised. I would like to outline the shortcomings of the response in addressing my claim below : " XXXX authorized the transfer of your federal student loans from Great Lakes XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) to Nelnet, on XX/XX/XXXX. We have included a copy of the Welcome Letter that was sent on XX/XX/XXXX. '' This portion of the letter does not clarify the address to which the Welcome Letter was sent. I am requesting the specific address to which this letter was dispatched, as well as confirmation that I received it. Additionally, I want to highlight that the Welcome Letter Nelnet attached to the claim response appears to be from a webpage or email, but there is no proof that it was actually sent to any of my addresses, either physical or email. " While your loan was in repayment, we sent you billing statements each month. When your account became past due, we also tried to reach you in other ways such as calling and sending both email and postal mail to help bring your account up to date. '' This section fails to specify which email address, phone number, or mailing address was used to contact me during the repayment period and when my account became past due. I have previously requested dates of contact, proof of the addresses used to reach me, and evidence of my acknowledgment of the billing statements. " Per your promissory note, it is your responsibility to update your contact information to ensure that you receive important communications regarding your student loan account. '' I would like to emphasize that I was unable to update my contact information on an account I was unaware of, nor did I know that such a website existed for this purpose. Finally, the latest response I received claimed to attach a Master Promissory Note stating my responsibility to make payments despite never receiving a bill. The Master Promissory Note was never attached to the response. I have never seen this Master Promissory Note and have yet to receive such a document from the company.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation