Consumer complaint received 2025-11-21 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: MOHELA
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
Company : MOHELA I am a Public Service Loan Forgiveness ( PSLF ) borrower. MOHELAs servicing practices are deceptive, inaccessible, and directly jeopardize my ability to make qualifying PSLF payments. 
Key issues : XXXX. Unauthorized autopay withdrawal despite explicit assurance it would not occur, a MOHELA representative told me on XX/XX/XXXX autopay would NOT withdraw funds when no payment was due ( forbearance/processing period ). MOHELA nevertheless debited my bank account on XX/XX/XXXX leaving me with only {$6.00}. A second representative later admitted on XX/XX/XXXX the first rep misinformed me and that autopay withdraws every month unless I manually cancel it each time a policy never clearly disclosed. As a refund would have taken XXXX  days and impacted my PSLF, they agreed that I could cancel the autopay for XXXX and reinstate for the XXXX payment which is how today started. I called requesting verification that my payment would be made as my account showed {$0.00} due and I received an email saying if you have signed up for auto payment, you may still be required to make the first payment manually if autopay has not gone into effect yet. I was just trying to verify that my payment would occur ON TIME so that my PSLF would remain in tact as there is a XXXX % failure rate with PSLF. 
XXXX. Amount due and balance hidden until the exact due date. Both mohela.studentaid.gov and the MOHELA portal show {$0.00} balance and {$0.00} due until the morning of the due date, then suddenly reflect a payment owed. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to verify PSLF-qualifying payments in advance. They also begin processing the payment BEFORE a balance shows that it is owed. 
XXXX. Separate, confusing websites with no warning or automatic redirectI was repeatedly locked out of mohela.com and told my credentials were wrong because login only works on mohela.studentaid.gov a fact never communicated. 
XXXX. Chronic inability to reach a representative. Over the past XXXX months I have called at least XXXX times and faced a serpentine menu selection that does not easily connect you to a representative. Ex. ) For trouble logging into account ( my issue today, XX/XX/XXXX ) press XXXX. I press XXXX and I get a paragraph of unhelpful information and then I am sent back to main menu. While at the main menu, if you press XXXX it says to speak to a representative please select a valid option. I usually have to select that I need to change my payment plan or something to get through. While my hold time has only ever been XXXX seconds ( despite notice of high call volumes ) it takes me XXXX minutes to wind my way through the menu and get connected, usually resulting in having to hang up and try again. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX representatives could not explain the accessibility problem and one became hostile when I expressed frustration. The second woman was who told me unkindly the websites were different even though the insignias were the same. XXXX is blue and XXXX is green were her exact words. I replied, and this site has the apple beside the name? She responded they both have the apple. I told her that was my point, how do you know? I ended up having to hang up on her. 
These practices violate fair servicing standards, constitute deceptive acts ( misrepresenting autopay behavior ), and create a substantial risk that PSLF-eligible payments will be missed or deemed non-qualifying due to lack of transparent due dates and surprise withdrawals. 
I am requesting that the CFPB investigate MOHELA and require corrective action, including clear disclosure of autopay policies, real-time balance visibility, a unified login system, and accessible customer service. 
Desired resolution : Full investigation, policy changes, and assurance that my account remains PSLF-compliant with no negative credit reporting. 
Thank you. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX digits of MOHELA account number hidden on Mohela website, not in credit report, would need to call and again attempt to reach a representative. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Untimely response