Consumer complaint received 2025-05-20 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: Servicer under contract with Federal Student Aid
State: RI

Complaint narrative:
Good Afternoon, I am reaching out in a last ditch effort to report the misguidance and misinformation I was given by the Department of Education and how it has negatively impacted my life and the lives of my veteran family. I am hoping that you too will recognize the serious mistake made by the XXXX and guide me to a resolution. The information provided by the XXXX hindered me from consolidating my loans prior to the XX/XX/XXXXXXXX deadline to achieve One Time IDR Account Adjustment, despite the eighteen years of payments I have already made. The EDs unwillingness to accept responsibility and hold themselves accountable for their misguidance is evident in the statements below. 

In XXXX of XXXX  I contacted my student loan provider at the time to gain advice and assistance on consolidating my loans to make them eligible for PSLF. The representative I spoke with stated that I would first have to unconsolidate my current loans before I could consolidate them into Direct Loans. Unsure, I then contacted studentaid.gov by phone on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to gain further information. I spoke with a representative for more clarification as I could not understand why my current loans would have to be unconsolidated. I received the same misinformation, that I would have to unconsolidate my loans before they could be put into Direct Loans. Further, I was told that I could file a complaint with the Ombudsman Group because the process for unconsolidating loans was currently on hold by the XXXX. 

On that same evening, I filed a Feedback Case, the first of many feedback cases I would file, stating that I was looking for guidance on Discharging, Canceling or Forgiving My Loans. I stated that I had been paying on my student loans for the past eighteen years and that I had spent countless hours on the phone with representatives trying to receive accurate information and assistance through the PSLF process. I stated that I had paid over {$120000.00} toward my XXXX loans, {$47000.00} in interest alone, and that I still owed close to {$50000.00} to be repaid over the next thirteen years. I requested that someone please contact me urgently as I wanted to make sure all of my responsibilities were taken care of in a timely fashion. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received correspondence from studentaid.gov through an email stating that they received my request to separate your joint consolidation ( spousal ) loans into individual Direct Loans. The correspondence also stated that the XXXX was still developing this process and that my request would be held until the process was available, I then would be notified. At this point it is crucial to note that my spouse never had student loans and at no time did I ever once state that I had joint loans. 

In addition, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received further correspondence from studentaid.gov acknowledging that they were aware I began the consolidation process but discontinued it as I was advised by their representative. 

The information I received, in addition to the multiple other times I had been misadvised by a representative, is the sole reason I was unable to consolidate my loans into Direct Loans and meet the deadline to have my previous eighteen years of payments count toward my loan forgiveness. In fact, I was given the complete opposite information by multiple representatives on a number of different occasions as well as through the email correspondence I received from studentaid.gov on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Over the course of the next several months, I made numerous phone calls and sent several emails to XXXX I was calling to gain information regarding my open Feedback Case, which is still in review, over fifteen months later! I was often told that they would add information to my file to help make my case or that they would expedite my request to a supervisor ; however, phone calls and emails were never returned. Additionally, I began working with a compliance manageXXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to help guide me in this process. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I called Federal Student Aid again and spoke with a supervisor, XXXX, who advised me I would be able to qualify ; however, since I would need to transfer my XXXX Loans to Direct Loans to qualify I should continue with the consolidation process and I did so immediately. Unfortunately, she did not consent to me recording the phone call ; however, I did document the day/time ( XXXX at XXXX ). 

Following that advice, and the fact that no one at studentaid.gov was owning up to the seriousness of the error on their part, I submitted additional Feedback cases on the website. The Feedback cases I submitted were regarding the customer service and misinformation I had been given, which directly impacted my ability to be eligible for the One Time IDR Account Adjustment and to achieve PSLF. Looking back at the claims a day later, these cases would just be closed before they were even reviewed and I was never even notified through email that they were closing them, essentially just ignoring the complaints. 

Recently, in XXXX of XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX unsuccessfully interceded on my behalf receiving an undated closing response from the XXXX to my request to receive the One Time IDR Account Adjustment qualifying my previous eighteen years of payments. Upon recommendation to submit a Reconsideration Request by the Senators office I did so immediately only to receive an email from the XXXX XXXX week later with XXXX explanation as to why I was not approved despite the evidence I presented which proved that the XXXX provided me with inaccurate and false information. 

I further pursued my case and therefore I responded to their denial email. In addition to responding to their denial correspondence, I called studentaid.gov immediately to express my disgust for how they have handled my case over the last fifteen months and to dispute their decision. The representative I spoke with assigned me a new Feedback case to which a supervisor was to call me. I was never called.

I again contacted studentaid.gov and was told that I could file another reconsideration request as they are typically reviewed by different representatives and they may see my case in a new perspective. I received a denial letter on XX/XX/XXXX stating that they closed the case as I am not eligible for PSLF. I am aware that I am not eligible because of their error and what I was asking for is that I be allowed to qualify for the One Time IDR Account Adjustment despite missing the deadline because of wrong, ill-advised information they provided me. 

In the interim, I contacted XXXX XXXX office and asked them to intercede on my behalf. In addition, I have been in contact with the Attorney Generals office as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I recently sent letters as well to the EDs Inspector Generals office.

Lastly, it is important to mention that my husband is a service-connected, 100 % XXXX military veteran who served our country for 20 years, eighteen of which I served alongside of him as his dependant. I would be remiss to say, the times we were on XXXX XXXX and the government shut down operations, my husband was not provided a paycheck, and I continued to pay my student loans as to never be delinquent in my responsibilities. 

My new XXXX XXXX now has my loan back up to paying another {$82000.00} over the next 25 years. I will not be done paying this loan at this point until I am XXXX years of age. My previous XXXX loan had a balance of {$45000.00} and it would have been paid off over the next thirteen years. These numbers seem daunting as I have already worked in the public school setting with the special needs population for over 20 years and the EDs misguidance hindered all of my previous payments from qualifying. 

The XXXX refusing to accept any responsibility and hold themselves accountable for the misadvice I received on multiple occasions and by advising me not to consolidate my loans to Direct Loans prior to the XX/XX/XXXX deadline has negatively impacted me significantly in the PSLF process. In conclusion, I am writing this letter in the hope that my case will be heard and my previous payments toward my student loans can be credited toward my loan forgiveness. I estimate that I have made at least 110 qualifying payments, if not more, eligible for PSLF. 

I appreciate your time and attention to this matter. Thank you. 

Attn : I have a packet of evidence to submit and would be willing to at a later time as it has personal information such as account numbers. I also have all of the emails from the XXXX as evidence, including the initial email they sent me stating I was looking to separate joint loans I did not have,

Company response to consumer: Untimely response