Consumer complaint received 2025-01-17 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with your payment plan
Company: MOHELA
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
Complaint Against Mohela for Failing to Honor General Forbearance Agreement, Interest Accrual Correction, and Repeated Mishandling of My Case 1. Issue Summary I am submitting this complaint because Mohela has failed to honor the general forbearance agreement that was supposed to prevent interest from accruing on my student loans while the injunction for the XXXX repayment plan is in effect. Despite clear guidance from the Department of Education, my loan servicer has allowed interest to accrue, failed to correct the accrued interest, and is now demanding a payment. 

Additionally, I have made repeated attempts over several months to resolve this issue through Mohelas customer service, spending hours on phone calls, only to be met with delays, unhelpful responses, and multiple instances of being hung up on mid-conversation. This has caused significant financial and professional distress. 

I am a XXXX XXXX working an average of XXXX hours per week, earning a modest salary that makes it impossible to afford payments under the XXXX XXXX XXXX. This is precisely why I applied for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ensure my payments would be adjusted based on my income. Mohelas failure to follow federal guidance and place me in the required 0 % interest general forbearance has placed undue financial stress on me. 

XXXX. Relevant Loan Applications & Timeline : - Direct Consolidation Loan Application Submitted : XX/XX/XXXX ( See attached screenshot. ) - Income-Driven Repayment Selection ( SAVE Plan ) Was Part of the Consolidation Loan Application As part of the Direct Consolidation Loan process, I was required to select a repayment plan, and I chose the XXXX Repayment Plan at the time of submission. Because my application has been delayed beyond 60 days, I should have been placed in a general forbearance where no interest accrues, as per the Department of Educations directive. 

3. Mohelas Agreement to Place My Loan in Forbearance Without Interest Accrual The Department of Education clearly states : If the borrowers application is not processed by their servicer within 60 days, the borrower will be moved into a general forbearance that does not count toward PSLF or IDR until their application is processed. Interest will not accrue in this general forbearance. ( See attached screenshot from the Department of Education website. ) Additionally, Mohela acknowledged this requirement in their own communication, stating : Mohela is in the process of making the necessary system adjustments to your account to apply the 0.00 % interest rate forbearance to your loan. ( See attached Mohela statement. ) Despite this, Mohela has not applied this forbearance correctly, nor have they corrected the improperly accrued interest. 

XXXX. Evidence of Mohelas Non-Compliance & Poor Customer Service - Interest has continued to accrue on my loans, as reflected in my account balance. 
XXXX Mohela has not corrected the interest that already accrued, even though they acknowledged my forbearance should have been interest-free. 
- My Mohela account statement still shows accrued interest, contradicting the agreed-upon forbearance terms. 
XXXX Mohela is now demanding a payment despite my loan being in forbearance. ( See attached account summary screenshot. ) Repeated customer service failures : - I have made multiple phone calls from the summer of XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, spending hours trying to resolve this issue. 

- As a XXXX XXXX working XXXX hours per week, I have had to use my limited days off to make these calls, often spending my entire day off dealing with this issue instead of resting. 

- On multiple occasions, I have been hung up on mid-conversation, and I have proof of these instances. 

- I have received no resolution, only delays and unhelpful responses from Mohela representatives. 

This lack of customer service, failure to follow federal guidelines, and outright negligence by Mohela has made it nearly impossible for me to resolve this situation despite my continued efforts.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation