Consumer complaint received 2026-05-21 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: NV

Complaint narrative:
Date : XX/XX/XXXX Respondent : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Higher Education Loan Authority of MO ( MOHELA ) Account : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Award Year XXXX RE : Complaint- Systematic Forbearance Steering in Violation of Federal Servicing Standards I am submitting this complaint against XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX now serviced by MOHELA ) regarding the improper and repeated placement of my federal student loans into forbearance rather than income-driven repayment plans. This practice resulted in unnecessary interest accumulation, delayed forgiveness eligibility, and financial harm spanning nearly XXXX decades. Background My federal student loans originated through the XXXX program to attend XXXX XXXX ( later XXXX XXXX XXXX ) in approximately XXXX. These loans were serviced by XXXX for an extended period. Rather than offering or enrolling me in income-driven repayment plans- which would have resulted in lower payments and progress toward XXXX XXXX repeatedly placed my loans in administrative forbearance. This practice is consistent with the documented pattern for which XXXX reached a {$1.00} billion multistate settlement in XX/XX/XXXX, covering XXXX states and the District of Columbia, specifically including findings about improper forbearance steering of federal student loan borrowers. Forbearance Timeline ( From XXXX Record ) Period Status Servicer Impact XXXX Origination/In-school Deferment Original FFEL Lender Loans originated at XXXX XXXX Post-graduation Repeated Forbearances XXXX Interest accrued and capitalized rather than IDR enrollment Multiple periods Administrative Forbearance Navient Months/years of avoidable interest capitalization XX/XX/XXXX XXXX loans XXXX via XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX loans ( ~ {$5200.00} XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Remaining loans consolidated MOHELA XXXX loans rolled into XXXX at 7.75 % Current XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MOHELA Interest continues accruing ; payment date shows XXXX Specific Violations Alleged XXXX. Forbearance Steering : XXXX repeatedly placed my loans in forbearance without adequately informing me of, or enrolling me in, income-driven repayment options that would have resulted in lower payments and eventual forgiveness eligibility. This is the core conduct covered by the XXXX XXXX settlement. 2. Failure to Counsel on IDR : Federal servicing standards required XXXX to counsel borrowers about all available repayment options. Navients default practice of recommending forbearance over IDR violated this duty. 3. Interest Capitalization Harm : Each forbearance period resulted in unpaid interest capitalizing into the principal balance, permanently increasing the amount owed and the total cost of repayment. Over nearly two decades, this compounding harm is substantial. 4. Forgiveness Delay : Time spent in forbearance does not count toward IDR forgiveness timelines. Years of improper forbearance directly delayed my eligibility for income-driven repayment forgiveness. Relief Requested I am requesting that the CFPB investigate this complaint and : ( a ) credit all periods of improper forbearance toward my IDR payment count and forgiveness timeline ; ( b ) provide a refund or account credit for interest that capitalized during improper forbearance periods ; ensure my current MOHELA account reflects proper IDR enrollment rather than continued forbearance ; and ( d ) confirm the total forgiveness timeline I can expect based on corrected payment counts.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response