Consumer complaint received 2025-07-10 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: MO

Complaint narrative:
New CFPB Complaint Subject : Misleading and Incomplete Response from EdFinancial Failure to Disclose Consolidation Option and Pressure to Reaffirm Potentially Invalid Loan Summary of Complaint : This complaint is submitted in direct response to the inadequate and evasive reply EdFinancial provided to my earlier CFPB complaint. The original complaint concerned my XX/XX/XXXX, phone call with EdFinancial, during which I specifically requested information about all available relief or repayment options for low-income borrowers. 
Despite those direct and repeated inquiries, the representative did not mention the option of federal Direct Loan Consolidation, an option I am eligible for and which would open access to the Income-Contingent Repayment ( ICR ) plan. The omission of this critical information led me to believe that consolidation was no longer available, especially in light of recent federal policy changes that might affect loan programs. 
Only after doing my own research following the call did I discover that consolidation remains available. During the call, only options that were financially unworkable for my low-income situation were discussed. Consolidation, the most viable option for me, was not included at all. 
EdFinancials written response to the complaint failed to directly address this core issue. It instead referred to documents mailed in XXXX, a document package containing out-of-revision forms, especially irrelevant in light of federal law, or student loan, changes implemented in XXXX that might have resulted in further revision. And despite raising this issue in earlier communications, no up-to-date or corrected materials have ever been sent. In addition : The response misrepresents the content of the XX/XX/XXXX call by suggesting options were provided when key options like consolidation were not ; References to older XXXX mailings do not resolve or explain what occurred during the recent call ; The response appears designed to sidestep responsibility rather than acknowledge a failure to provide full and accurate guidance. 
In XXXX, the CFPB issued a Consent OrdeXXXX ( XXXX XXXX. XXXX ) finding that EdFinancial misrepresented borrower eligibility for programs like XXXX and consolidationconfirming that servicers are legally obligated to avoid deceptive omissions and representations under 12 U.S.C. 5531, even in the absence of specific implementing regulations. The Bureau may use the practices described in this Consent Order in future enforcement actions against Respondent and its affiliates, including, without limitation, to establish a pattern or practice of violations or the continuation of a pattern or practice of violations... 
The underlying federal servicing contract with EdFinancial that might contain specific implementing regulations remains inaccessible to the public, raising serious concerns about transparency and whether meaningful oversight is occurring.

I am also deeply concerned that I am being pressured to consolidate a loan that may not have been legally originated. At the time of the Parent PLUS loan application, I was subject to an active foreclosure proceeding within the previous five year time frame, a condition that may constitute adverse credit under federal regulations ( 34 CFR 685.200 ( c ) ). If this loan was improperly approved, being pushed to consolidate now may result in waiving defenses I could otherwise assert. This appears to be an unfair and coercive practice under federal borrower protection statutes, including 12 U.S. Code 5531, which prohibits unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices ( XXXX ) in consumer financial services.

I have not been provided with a statement that brings sufficient attention to the fact that if I consolidate the loan I waive my rights to defenses I could otherwise assert. Failure to disclose that consolidation involves waiving certain defenses can mislead borrowers into consenting to terms they do not fully understand, harming a large vulnerable population.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation