Consumer complaint received 2026-03-15 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: Maximus Federal Services, Inc.
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this formal complaint against my federal student loan servicer, Aidvantage, for their refusal to honor my written request to opt out of automatic in-school deferment, which is my right as a federal student loan borrower. Borrower Information : Name : XXXX. XXXX XXXX : Aidvantage Case Number : XXXX Background : I am an XXXX XXXX XXXX military service member currently enrolled in a XXXX XXXX XXXX program at XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX University XXXX XXXX XXXX ). My graduate tuition is fully funded by the Department of Defense. I have federal student loans from my XXXX degree which I have been making payments on, and I am actively pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) based on my military service. In Fall XXXX, when I re-enrolled at XXXX XXXX for graduate school, Aidvantage automatically placed my loans into in-school deferment. I did not request this deferment. Because months in deferment do not count toward the 120 qualifying payments required for PSLF, every month I remain in deferment represents a direct financial harm to me. The Problem : I have made multiple attempts both by phone and in writing to exercise my borrower right to opt out of in-school deferment and return my loans to active repayment status. I submitted a XXXX XXXX enrollment certification letter documenting my enrollment history and current status. Despite this, Aidvantage has refused to process my opt-out, citing " missing or conflicting information '' in the National Student Loan Data System ( NSLDS ). Aidvantage 's stated justification is that NSLDS shows a re-enrollment date of XX/XX/XXXX, which conflicts with a prior separation date of XX/XX/XXXX. This is not a conflict XX/XX/XXXX was the start date of my final XXXX semester, which ended with my graduation on XX/XX/XXXX. I was then on active military duty continuously from XX/XX/XXXX until re-enrolling in graduate school in XX/XX/XXXX. There is no actual data conflict ; Aidvantage is misreading standard enrollment records. Furthermore, the NSLDS data issue does not legally or procedurally prevent Aidvantage from honoring a borrower 's opt-out request. Their refusal to do so while hiding behind a technical explanation is a failure to meet their servicer obligations. Harm Being Caused : Each month I remain in deferment is a lost PSLF-qualifying payment. I am an XXXX XXXX service member in good standing, making timely payments on an eligible repayment plan, employed full-time by a qualifying public service employer, and being denied the ability to accumulate qualifying payments due to my servicer 's failure to act. The automatic deferment also disenrolled me from my income driven repayment plan, forcing me to reapply once my loans are placed in a repayment status again. Requested Resolution : 1. Direct Aidvantage to immediately honor my opt-out of in-school deferment and return my loans to active repayment status. 2. Review whether any months incorrectly spent in deferment since Fall XXXX can be credited as PSLF-qualifying payments given that this deferment was not requested and has been actively disputed. 3. Investigate Aidvantage 's handling of this case for compliance with federal student loan servicer obligations. I am happy to provide any supporting documentation including my enrollment certification letter, military orders, and records of my prior communications with Aidvantage. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation