Consumer complaint received 2025-09-18 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: IA

Complaint narrative:
Dear EdFinancial, I am writing in response to EdFinancials letter dated XX/XX/XXXX regarding my student loan account ( CFPB Case # XXXX ). Unfortunately, the response I received does not resolve my concern and instead raises new questions about the accuracy and legality of how my loans are being serviced. 

Summary of Events : On XX/XX/XXXX, I made a lump sum payment of {$150000.00}, which reduced my total balance to {$150000.00}. At that time, 11 loans were fully paid off and reflected {$0.00} balances. 
By early XX/XX/XXXX, my balance had inexplicably increased to approximately {$170000.00}, and the loans that had been paid off suddenly began showing new balances. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, EdFinancial retroactively placed my loans into an In-School Deferment ( ISD ) effective XXXX, despite the fact that I had already made payoff decisions under the assumption my loans were accruing under the SAVE plan rules. 
EdFinancial claims that over a years worth of accrued interest ( XXXX ) was retroactively added in XX/XX/XXXX, which directly reversed my XXXX payoff and artificially inflated my balance. 

Additional Concerns : Negative and Inaccurate Balances One of my loans now shows a negative balance, and two loans are currently displaying 0 % interest rates. This strongly suggests that my account information is unreliable, and I can not trust that any of the balances presented are accurate. 
Contradictory Servicing Information When I was first placed into ISD, I immediately called EdFinancial to ask whether I would remain on the SAVE plan. The representative told me that yes, I would remain in SAVE, and said this was verified because my account showed 0 % interest rates. 
Ongoing Misrepresentation Throughout the period I was supposedly in ISD, my account consistently displayed repayment status as SAVE and showed 0 % interest rates across all loans. I have screenshots documenting this. The information I relied upon directly contradicted the retroactive interest charges later applied. 

Why This Response is Inadequate : Retroactive Interest Application It is unreasonable and misleading to allow loans to be shown as fully paid on XX/XX/XXXX, only to later reopen those loans by backdating interest. This deprived me of the opportunity to make earlier payments ( e.g., XX/XX/XXXX ) that would have saved me XXXX  of dollars in interest. 
Resurrected Paid Loans Eleven loans that reflected {$0.00} after my payment should not show new balances unless my payment was misapplied. EdFinancial has not provided an explanation for how or why these loans were reactivated. 
Failure to Provide XXXX I specifically requested a full transaction ledger beginning XX/XX/XXXX, showing principal and interest balances, all payments, accruals, fees, and adjustments. Instead, I was given an incomplete financial activity history letter, which does not satisfy the federal requirement to maintain and provide a full payment/interest record. 
Contradictory Account Information EdFinancials own system displayed SAVE status and 0 % interest for over a year. I made financial decisions based on those representations, and your staff confirmed them verbally. My repayment plan is STILL listed as SAVE, which makes retroactively undoing those representations unfair and misleading. 

I am simultaneously escalating this matter to the U.S. Department of Education Ombudsman Group, the CFPB, and my state senator. If this issue is not corrected, I will also submit a complaint to my states Attorney General for further review of possible consumer protection violations. 
I request a full written response within 7 business days. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation