Consumer complaint received 2026-03-09 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: MOHELA
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX [ XXXX ] ( XXXX : XXXX ) XXXX Date : [ Insert Date ] Consumer Financial Protection Bureau XXXX. XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Subject : * * Formal Complaint Against MOHELA XXXX XXXX, Failure to Correct Inaccuracies, Privacy Violations, and Request for Immediate Discharge of Federal Student Loans * * Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am submitting this formal complaint against the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority ( MOHELA ), the federal student loan servicer responsible for managing my federal student loan accounts. This complaint concerns serious servicing violations, failure to investigate documented inaccuracies, violations of federal privacy protections, and non-compliance with borrower dispute procedures. Despite multiple attempts to resolve these issues directly with MOHELA and through a Congressional Inquiry, MOHELA has failed to properly investigate my claims, correct inaccuracies, or take appropriate action regarding violations affecting the integrity of my student loan records. # # # Background and Data Privacy Violations I previously submitted a formal written complaint notifying MOHELA and the U.S. Department of Education that my protected educational and financial aid records had been accessed and used without my authorization. This included sensitive information such as : My academic records and personally identifiable information ( PII ) My Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ) data and federal loan information My IRS tax transcripts used in connection with my financial aid applications These records are protected under the * * Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ), 20 U.S.C. 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99 * *, which grants students the right to control access to their educational records. Additionally, federal financial aid data is governed by * * Title IV of the Higher Education Act * *, which establishes strict protections for the use and security of borrower information. Unauthorized access to my education records and IRS tax information represents a serious violation of federal privacy protections and raises significant concerns regarding potential identity theft, misuse of protected data, and failures in federal data security safeguards. # # # Failure to Investigate Disputed Inaccuracies After discovering these issues, I provided MOHELA with written notice disputing inaccuracies in my loan records and requesting a formal investigation. MOHELA failed to properly respond to these notices. Specifically : MOHELA ignored my written dispute and failed to conduct a reasonable investigation. MOHELA did not provide a substantive response addressing the violations I identified. MOHELA continued servicing and reporting the loans despite the compromised integrity of the underlying records. This conduct reflects a failure to comply with federal borrower dispute requirements and consumer protection obligations governing federal loan servicers. # # # Congressional Inquiry Ignored Due to MOHELAs failure to address these issues, I escalated the matter through a * * Congressional Inquiry * * requesting oversight and assistance. Despite congressional involvement, MOHELA failed to take corrective action and did not address the documented violations. The servicer continued to maintain and report the disputed loan accounts without resolving the underlying issues. # # # Recent Litigation and Investigations Involving MOHELA MOHELA has recently been the subject of multiple lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and congressional scrutiny concerning its loan servicing practices and treatment of borrowers. In XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX MOHELA * *, borrowers filed a federal lawsuit alleging that MOHELA failed to implement student loan discharges approved by the U.S. Department of Education and continued collecting on debts that should have been cancelled. In XX/XX/XXXX, a federal court denied MOHELAs motion to dismiss the case, allowing the claims against the servicer to proceed. Additionally, an amended federal lawsuit filed in XXXX alleges widespread misconduct by MOHELA affecting millions of borrowers, including systematic mismanagement of borrower accounts, improper servicing of federal loan programs, and failure to properly administer loan forgiveness and discharge programs. In a separate lawsuit brought by the * * XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX * *, MOHELA was accused of misleading borrowers, overcharging borrowers, delaying forgiveness processing, and failing to properly administer repayment programs. Furthermore, a United States Senate investigation found that MOHELA may have contributed to nearly * * two million credit reporting errors affecting student loan borrowers * *, raising serious concerns about the accuracy and integrity of borrower accounts. These legal actions and investigations demonstrate a broader pattern of misconduct and servicing failures by MOHELA affecting borrowers nationwide. # # # Harm Caused MOHELAs conduct has caused significant harm, including : Exposure of my personal and financial information Ongoing risk of identity theft due to unauthorized access to IRS tax records Continued reporting of disputed loan accounts Significant financial stress and administrative burden Because the underlying financial aid records supporting my loans have been compromised, the integrity and enforceability of these loan obligations is in serious question. # # # Requested Resolution Based on the violations described above, I respectfully request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau require the following corrective actions : XXXX. * * Immediate discharge and cancellation of all federal student loans serviced by MOHELA associated with my account. * * XXXX. A full investigation into : The unauthorized access to my educational and tax records MOHELAs failure to investigate borrower disputes MOHELAs handling of Congressional inquiries The accuracy of loan records being maintained and reported. XXXX. Immediate correction and removal of all affected loan accounts from my credit reports with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Written confirmation that my federal student loans have been permanently discharged due to servicing violations and compromised financial aid records. # # # Conclusion MOHELAs failure to investigate documented violations, combined with the unauthorized access to protected education and tax records, has compromised the validity and integrity of my federal student loan accounts. Because these issues remain unresolved despite formal notice and Congressional escalation, I am requesting immediate regulatory intervention and full cancellation of the affected loans. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I respectfully request written confirmation of the investigation and any corrective actions taken. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation