Consumer complaint received 2025-02-07 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: MOHELA
State: OR

Complaint narrative:
This letter is a statement of dissatisfaction with the XXXX XXXX XXXX servicing company MOHELA. My son was the recipient of and unneeded loan as a result of the XXXX process. He inadvertently signed up for a non-subsidized loan to cover college tuition expenses that he did want or need as XXXX moneys cover he tuition costs making a loan unnecessary. As a result he was rewarded a refund at the end of his first term by XXXX XXXX XXXX thus notifying us of the loan 's existence. 

We attempted to use MOHELA 's website to make a payment in XX/XX/XXXX to so we would not accrue any interest against the balance owing. The payment never posted to my son 's account and at the end of the second term we discovered the initial disbursement showed unpaid and that {$XXXX} of interest had accrued. There was also a discrepancy in the Principal amount of the loan disbursed compared to the amount XXXX XXXX XXXX reported receiving. The difference of {$XXXX} for each disbursement had no explanation attached to it. I have since learned that the {$XXXX} was a loan service fee but no where on my son 's account was that indicated and I had to learn that by scouring the XXXX XXXX XXXX website. 

In XX/XX/XXXX we again used the MOHELA 's website to pay off the principal balance to include the {$XXXX} of interest that had accrued since the first disbursement in XX/XX/XXXX, which we had tried to avoid by attempting to make the payment in XXXX. The payment transaction posted to our bank account on XX/XX/XXXX but after a week we did not see any indication that MOHELA had received the payment and interest was still accruing on the new principal balance that should be {$XXXX}. We then tried to contact MOHELA via both email and telephone to inquire about the difference in the outstanding principal balance versus amount of money disbursed to XXXX XXXX XXXX and about the lack of documentation on whether or not the payment had posted to my son 's account. The initial email contact was submitted and received through MOHELA 's web portal and did not answer any of our questions posed to them about the loan status but appeared to be a XXXX response indicating that they are only a loan servicer and to contact the school FA department if there are issues with the loan. We responded again through the web portal advising our plan to not pay the amount in question ( {$XXXX} for each disbursement ) until an explanation could be provided. I left our phone number for them to call ... ... no response was received. 

On XX/XX/XXXX we were on hold with MOHELA customer service for XXXX hours without speaking to a company representative. On XX/XX/XXXX, we were on hold for XXXX hours prior to speaking to a customer service representative that answered XXXX of my questions, regarding the difference in the outstanding principal compared to money disbursed, but could not answer additional questions as to why my payment had not posted to our son 's account after XXXX  days of the money being withdrawn from our bank account and how to stop further disbursements. I was put back on hold and waited and additional XXXX hours on hold so speak to an Advanced Customer Service Agent but was unceremoniously hung up on at XXXX XXXX  ( XXXX XXXX ) without any notification. They simply closed for the day and did not acknowledge that I had been on hold all day. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX we again attempted to speak to MOHELA customer service via phone. After XXXX hours we spoke to a customer service representative and again were told we needed to speak to an Advance Customer Service XXXX and were put on hold. This time we chose to receive a call from MOHELA customer Service by providing them our phone number within their automated phone tree. The recording indicated that MOHELA would return the phone call in their order they received it. It is now XX/XX/XXXX and we have not received a call from MOHELA and thus the reason for this letter. 

MOHELA is supposed to be servicing loans through the federal government financial aid system and all they appear to be doing is making sure they make as much money off of a students as they can by nickel and diming their customers. The lack of response to any of our inquiries made to MOHELA clearly show that they are not a customer service based entity. Students deserve better as they try to navigate a confusing collegiate experience only to be compounded by uncertainty and exploitation at the hands of a financial institution that his supposedly there to help and service the student. 

Our experience with MOHELA has been awful and ours is a very simple loan of only XXXX disbursements that we did not even want or need. I could not image being student with financial hardship and having to try and get information from MOHELA that XXXX be vital to their financial advancement/well being only to get nothing in response when they need the information. MOHELA is not a loan servicer worthy of being associated with the XXXX student aid programs. 

I will be sending a MOHELA a check for the {$XXXX} outstanding but will not be responsible for any additional interested accrued on the already paid balance that MOHELA may try to add on to my son 's account. We have canceled the scheduled third disbursement to XXXX XXXX XXXX via the school 's XXXX XXXX department. This should have been easily available through MOHELA themselves. MOHELA 's lack of response to their customers is deplorable. 



XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX

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