Consumer complaint received 2025-08-21 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: Servicer under contract with Federal Student Aid
State: UT

Complaint narrative:
To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to formally dispute conflicting and unclear information I have received regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) program and the IDR payment buyback process. I am also raising concerns about the quality and security of support provided during recent customer service interactions.

I have been employed full-time as a public school teacher at a qualifying Title I school since XX/XX/XXXX. I have submitted my Employment Certification Forms ( ECFs ) regularly, and as of XX/XX/XXXX, I will have completed 10 full years of qualifying public service. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I entered the SAVE income-driven repayment plan. Due to my income level, I have had {$0.00} scheduled monthly payments under this plan.

Recently, I spoke with a PSLF representative named XXXX, who informed me that : My {$0.00} payments under the SAVE plan do not count toward PSLF ; and I am not eligible for the IDR payment buyback program to reclaim those months.

In addition, I was told that it could take 5 to 7 months to review my PSLF and/or IDR buyback application. When I asked whether I should continue making payments during this waiting period, I was given no clear answer only that it was up to me. This lack of clarity is especially troubling, as it could directly affect my loan forgiveness timeline and status.

During this same call, I heard a baby crying in the background multiple times, and at one point, while this was happening, I was asked to provide my Social Security number. This made me feel very uncomfortable and raised serious concerns about whether the representative was in a
secure and private environment appropriate for collecting and handling sensitive personal information.

The call felt unprofessional and undermined my confidence in the guidance Ive received not just during this call, but in prior conversations with other PSLF representatives as well. The inconsistencies and lack of transparency have made an already stressful process even more difficult.

Based on all of the above, I respectfully request that the FSA Ombudsman Group : 1. Review my account and confirm that my {$0.00} payments under SAVE ( from XX/XX/XXXX onward ) do count toward PSLF. 
2. Clarify my eligibility for the IDR payment buyback program, including whether any past periods may be reclaimed due to forbearance, deferment, or servicer error.

3. Provide clear guidance on whether I should be making payments while waiting for PSLF forgiveness or buyback approval, or whether continuing {$0.00} SAVE payments is sufficient.

4. Ensure that my PSLF qualifying payment count is accurate and reflects my 10 full years of qualifying employment and repayment compliance.

5. Investigate the professionalism and privacy practices of the representative I spoke to, to ensure that borrower information is being collected in secure and appropriate environments.

All relevant documents including my ECFs, SAVE enrollment, and PSLF tracker are available in
my StudentAid.gov account. I am happy to provide any additional documentation upon request.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and a resolution.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response