Consumer complaint received 2025-07-09 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: MOHELA
State: WI

Complaint narrative:
1 ) Make a request for education award disbursement on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Institution Information Institution Name Department of Education - MOHELA Correspondence Address : MOHELA - Department of Education XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MO XXXX XXXX Payment Address : XXXX XXXX Government Lockbox ATTN : Department of Education MOHELA XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MO XXXX XXXX Citizenship Status : U.S. Citizen, National or Lawful Permanent Resident Alien Loan Information Amount Authorized : {$6100.00} Loan Type : XXXX XXXX  ( Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized ) Loan Number : -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - Payoff amount : {$7900.00} Comments : [ Institution ] Status : Accepted by Institution Last Modified Date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ) In XXXX I submitted a message with the note of : " Similar payment situation to the last message I sent on the account. I submitted my americorps payment to Mohela at the beginning of XXXX and it still has not been reflected in my account. If interest continues to accrue on the full amount I will need to look into disputing the loan. '' [ This message refers to the following Message I sent the last time I applied my grants to my student loans : Subject : Payments or Bills Received Date : XX/XX/XXXX Thank you for contacting MOHELA, Please be advised, It may take 2-3 weeks for an XXXX payment to be received. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact us toll free at XXXX. Our hours are Monday XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX  Tuesday through Friday XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and Saturday XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX Thank you, MOHELA Phone : Phone XXXX ( Toll Free ) or XXXX ( International ) TDD Dial XXXX Fax : XXXX Hours of Operation Monday : XXXX XXXX. to XXXX XXXX Eastern Time ( ET ) Tuesday through Friday : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Saturday : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, MO, XXXX Payments Department of Education MOHELA, XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX XXXX, MO, XXXX This message, from a debt collector, is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. 

MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS : If you are struggling with your student loans, please fill out the form located at : XXXX XXXX XXXX to get help from the Ombudsman 's Student Loan Assistance Unit .

California residents : The state Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act require that, except under unusual circumstances, collectors may not contact you before XXXX XXXX  or after XXXX XXXX  They may not harass you by using threats of violence or arrest or by using obscene language. Collectors may not use false or misleading statements or call you at work if they know or have reason to know that you may not receive personal calls at work. For the most part, collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt. Collectors may contact another person to confirm your location or enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at XXXX or www.ftc.gov. 
Original message : Hello I made a payment through an XXXX XXXX back on XX/XX/XXXX ( Payment ID XXXX, Schedule date XX/XX/XXXX, Request ID XXXX ) for {$2500.00} that has not been applied to my account resulting in extra interest than should've transpired. I would like that amount posted and any additional interest taken off my account that shouldn't have transpired in the last 11 days. ] 4 ) On XX/XX/XXXX I received the following response : Subject : Payment Processing Received Date : XX/XX/XXXX Thank you for contacting MOHELA, We apologize for any inconvenience in this matter. 

Borrowers must initiate payment requests at the XXXX website : XXXX XXXX XXXX 

Borrowers must select/enter the payee/recipient of the payment : MOHELA -Department of Education XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, MO XXXX There are multiple payee/recipient options on the XXXX website for MOHELA when a borrower is submitting a payment. Selecting the incorrect MOHELA option or entering the incorrect address will result in the payment being rejected. 

Borrowers may contact XXXX for assistance with their XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX payments ) online at XXXX XXXX XXXXcontact or call XXXX. 

If you require additional assistance, please contact us at the number below. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact us toll free at XXXX. Our hours are Monday XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Tuesday through Friday XXXX XXXX. to XXXX XXXX and Saturday XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX  XXXX Thank you, MOHELA Phone : Phone XXXX ( Toll Free ) or XXXX ( International ) TDD Dial XXXX Fax : XXXX Hours of Operation Monday : XXXX XXXX. to XXXX XXXX. Eastern Time ( ET ) Tuesday through Friday : XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX XXXX Saturday : XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, MO, XXXX Payments Department of Education MOHELA, XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX XXXX, MO, XXXX This message, from a debt collector, is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. 

MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS : If you are struggling with your student loans, please fill out the form located at : XXXX XXXX XXXX  to get help from the Ombudsman 's Student Loan Assistance XXXX XXXX 

California residents : The state Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act require that, except under unusual circumstances, collectors may not contact you before XXXX XXXX XXXXr after XXXX XXXX. They may not harass you by using threats of violence or arrest or by using obscene language. Collectors may not use false or misleading statements or call you at work if they know or have reason to know that you may not receive personal calls at work. For the most part, collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt. Collectors may contact another person to confirm your location or enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at 877.FTC.HELP or www.ftc.gov. 


5 ) On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to call and message Mohela Call Results : Get in touch with initial representative who referred me to a specialist ( XXXXXXXX XXXX  ) ( XXXX hour wait time ) Message : Subject : Payment Processing Received Date : XX/XX/XXXX Original message : As my last message stated, I have already uploaded the payment to the correct institution where it was accepted on XX/XX/XXXX ( Request ID # -- -- -- -- - ). I have submitted a screenshot as documentation. I require that payment to be reflected in my account, and for a refund to be made on the interest that accrued on that amount over the last 31 days. Should that not occur I will need to take further action in accordance with consumer protection and the FSA standards for loan servicing. 


6 ) Representative tells me that they haven't received the payment from XXXX during their expected time period ( XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ) - MOHELA recommends Contacting the Corps.

At this time I also made a request to pause and refund interest because the issue of the lack of payment processing was not on my end. I took the correct steps to get this paid timely.

" We can't do anything about the interest until we see what prolonged the process. '' 7 ) Called XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and they say that they mailed a check on XX/XX/XXXX and that it should have arrived in 2 weeks. They clarify that Mohela specifically asks for a check rather than an e-payment which is something the XXXX can do and does with other institutions. 

They advise that they can not do a check trace until XX/XX/XXXX ( 1 month after the payment ) and to call back then to check the status. 

8 ) Called XXXX again on XX/XX/XXXX and they put in a check trace. I now find that the check was cancelled on XX/XX/XXXX meaning that MOHELA never cashed the check that was sent to the correct address. 




Overall : What is being indicated to me is that MOHELA is intentionally delaying processes that could be much faster such as the electronic receipt and processing of payments, and with that they've been able to assign additional interest to my account making the loan harder to pay off and keeping me in a loop of repayment when I come off of the grace period. The assistance from MOHELA has been of little help because they assumed I did not take the proper steps, and pushed me to XXXX who had also already taken the proper steps. This has been an extremely stressful and time-consuming situation.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response