Consumer complaint received 2026-03-12 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: Maximus Federal Services, Inc.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Wanting to get information on a possible refund and or official status. I contacted my servicer Aidvantage Monday XX/XX/XXXX and they have initiated an inquiry but also said on the phone that once it's discharged there is no other data available. I want to make sure I document everything while all of my data is still active on XXXX. Please see attached supporting documents. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I had hit the 240 month repayment line for IBR. As of today I have paid in 279 payments so well over the 240 payments required. My concern is that since my loans have just been discharged, Aidvantage wont honor the additional 39 months I paid in ( 30 fully paid in cash, since XX/XX/XXXX I have been on XXXX due per month because of the IBR forbearance ) I had another servicer before I got on SAVE/IBR but was told all of that information had gone to the new servicer including all Legacy payment info. XXXX XXXX XXXX I'm super concerned about the following FAQ on the XXXX page How do I get a refund if this change resulted in me going over the number of months required in my repayment period? If this change resulted in you going over the number of months required for your repayment period, you automatically qualified for forgiveness. You received a notice that included an opportunity to opt out of the automatic forgiveness. " The additional payments made on forgiven loans were refunded back to one of these dates, whichever is most recent : The date you reached the required number of payments The date when XXXX acquired your loan In the case of consolidation loans, the disbursement date You were notified by your servicer when your loans were forgiven. Youll get any refunds through the same method you originally used to make your payments ( for example, by electronic payment or check ). Refund processing time is typically two months or less, although it can vary. To get credit for time in repayment on XXXX Loans or on XXXX Program loans not held by XXXX, you must have consolidated them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Just keep in mind that you cant get refunds for payments you made before you consolidated, even though you may get forgiveness credit for those payments. Can I get a refund if I already received forgiveness or paid off my loan? No. If you have already received forgiveness or paid off your loans, you are not eligible for a refund of prior payments. XXXX XXXX XXXX If you qualify for forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge of the full amount of your loan, you wont have to make any more payments on that loan. If you qualify for forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge of a part of your loan, youll need to pay back the remaining balance. For certain types of loan discharge, you may also receive a refund of some or all of the payments you made on the loan, and any adverse information related to your delinquency or default on the loan may be deleted from your credit record. If the loan was in default, the discharge may erase the default status. If you have no other defaulted loans, youll again be able to apply for federal student aid. '' Also I fully paid during Covid, but in all of my calls and my 2 Ombudsman cases, I was never told that I could apply for that back as a refund. I'm concerned the same thing may happen here with some random deadline if I don't act in time. From XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Support dated XX/XX/XXXX " No, you can no longer request refunds for payments made during the COVID-19 forbearance payment pause. The refund benefit ended on XX/XX/XXXX, regardless of whether your loan servicer has changed since then. If your servicer changed, all loan informationincluding payment historyshould have been transferred to your new servicer, but this does not affect eligibility for COVID-related refunds, as the program has ended. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] If you have questions about other types of refunds or loan discharge ( such as unpaid refund discharge or borrower defense ), those processes are separate from COVID-related refunds and may still be available depending on your situation. [ 3 '' I want to continue to advocate for myself while my data is still up on XXXX online and the XXXX XXXX XXXX. As of today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) they show 279 month count and the discharge deadline for me was 240 in XXXX of XXXX. Ideally I want to make sure I get the refund for my overpayment from their 240 month count to my current XXXX payment count. As soon as I was put on SAVE before the XXXX deadline, I was automatically put into forbearance and my payment due amount was at that point put to {$0.00} but before that time my payments were $ XXXX a month depending on the month as the rate was decreasing slightly with each payment. I have the XXXX email receipts as well as my downloaded student data and a screengrab from the XXXX XXXX XXXX of my payment count on XX/XX/XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation