Consumer complaint received 2026-04-20 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: MOHELA
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/XXXX : Received notice of Administrative Forbearance. XX/XX/XXXX : Resubmitted my Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) Certification and Application. XX/XX/XXXX : Received notification that my loans were reported as paid in full. I subsequently requested formal confirmation of payment ; no confirmation was ever provided. XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX : Following the reported payoff, the loans were reflected as satisfied on my credit reports. However, I was unable to obtain verification from either MOHELA or the U.S. Department of Education. In response, I initiated a formal inquiry through XXXX. During this time, repeated attempts to access my MOHELA account resulted in being informed that no account existed, while the Department of Education continued to direct me back to MOHELA. I received no information from MOHELA or the United States Department of Education. In the spring of XXXX, I received notice that my loans were past due ( documentation pending retrieval for exact date ). Acting in good faith, I attempted to establish automatic payments to ensure ongoing compliance. Given my professional and personal obligations, including extensive work hours in public service and the care of multiple elderly family members, autopay is not a convenience but a necessary mechanism to maintain financial reliability. Despite multiple requests to enroll in autopay, I repeatedly encountered the same pattern : confirmation of enrollment requests followed by subsequent notification of delinquency, additional accrued interest, and the absence of active autopay. Each time, I brought the account current including paying the additional interest assessed and requested re-enrollment, only for the cycle to repeat. This pattern ultimately resulted in negative credit reporting, significantly lowering my credit score. The sole driver of this decline was the reporting associated with my student loan accounts. This has had tangible consequences, including impairing my ability to secure financing to modify my home for the long-term care of dependent family members. To be clear, throughout this process I made sustained, proactive efforts to verify my loan status and fulfill any obligations owed. When it became evident that payments were being inconsistently processed and additional charges were being applied despite my attempts to comply, I paused payments in anticipation of resolution through direct engagement. During this time, I received communication stating that autopay enrollment could not be initiated unless the account was current ... despite my repeated attempts to maintain it as such ... and further suggesting that autopay is a discretionary convenience rather than an essential financial tool. Ultimately, in order to protect my credit standing, I was compelled to take out a mortgage on my previously paid-off home not for its intended purpose of supporting family care, but to resolve an outstanding loan balance, including disputed accrued interest. This experience raises a broader concern about the role and responsibility of government institutions. A government can not operate on a premise of give me what I want, how I want it, when I want it particularly when the burden falls on individuals acting in good faith. Systems of public administration are designed to function within clearly defined limits guided by transparency, accountability, and respect for the individuals they serve. When those guardrails fail, and processes become inconsistent or unresponsive, it begins to erode trust in the system itself. History consistently demonstrates that the durability of any governing structure depends not on authority alone, but on its willingness to exercise that authority with discipline, fairness, and restraint. When individuals are left without clear answers, without recourse, and without accountability from the institutions they are required to navigate, it raises legitimate concerns about whether those foundational principles are being upheld.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response