Consumer complaint received 2026-04-09 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: Servicer under contract with Federal Student Aid
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
* * Subject : Formal Complaint Incorrect IDR Forgiveness Payment Count / Loan Classification Issue ( Case # XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting a formal complaint regarding what I believe to be an inaccurate calculation of my qualifying payment count toward Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ) loan forgiveness, as well as a potential misclassification of my federal student loans. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted StudentAid.gov support ( Case # XXXX ) to request clarification on my progress toward IDR forgiveness. During this interaction, I was informed that I currently have XXXX XXXX XXXX qualifying payments out of 240 required under the PAYE plan * *, and that none of my prior repayment history counts toward forgiveness. I respectfully believe this determination is incorrect. # # # Background and Timeline I have been in repayment and/or enrolled in IDR-related plans since XXXX. Based on my records, my repayment history is as follows : * * * XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( ~19 months ) : * * Active repayment under Standard and IDR-related plans * * * XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( ~42 months ) : * * XXXX administrative forbearance period ( which I understand should count toward IDR forgiveness ) * * * XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( ~10 months ) : * * Active repayment under the SAVE plan * * * XX/XX/XXXX Present ( ~1 month ) : * * PAYE plan enrollment Based on this timeline, I estimate that I have accrued approximately * * 72 qualifying payments ( 6 years ) * * toward the 240 payments required for forgiveness under an IDR plan. # # # Issue Identified The representative stated that my qualifying payment count is XXXX because : XXXX. I only recently enrolled in the PAYE plan ( XX/XX/XXXX ), and 2. My prior loans were allegedly * * commercially serviced ( FFEL ) * * rather than federally held XXXX XXXX and therefore prior payments do not qualify. This raises serious concerns for the following reasons : * My understanding is that my loans should have been XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( subsidized and unsubsidized ) * *, not FFEL loans. * If my loans were improperly classified or not transitioned correctly to XXXX XXXX, this represents a significant administrative issue outside of my control. * I was never clearly informed that my repayment history would not count toward forgiveness due to loan type or servicer classification. * The conclusion that I must restart at XXXX XXXX XXXX out of 240 payments * * effectively erases approximately six years of repayment progress, which appears inconsistent with federal guidance regarding XXXX credit and COVID forbearance eligibility. # # # Request for Review and Resolution I am requesting the following : 1. A * * full audit and review * * of my loan history, including loan type ( XXXX vs. XXXX ), servicer history, and repayment plan enrollment since XXXX. 2. A * * recalculation of my qualifying IDR payment count * *, including any applicable credit for : * Time spent in repayment under IDR or qualifying plans * The COVID-19 administrative forbearance period 3. Clarification as to whether any action ( such as consolidation ) is required to ensure my prior payments are properly counted. 4. Written documentation explaining the determination of my current payment count and eligibility status. Additionally, I would like to note that the removal or inaccessibility of the IDR payment tracking tool on StudentAid.gov has made it difficult to independently verify my progress, which contributes to this issue. # # # Conclusion I am concerned that there may be an error in how my loans have been classified or how my payment history has been evaluated. I am requesting a thorough review to ensure that my eligibility for IDR forgiveness is accurately reflected and that I am not being improperly required to restart the repayment timeline. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX DOB : XX/XX/XXXX Case # : XXXX

Company response to consumer: Untimely response