Consumer complaint received 2026-04-10 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: MOHELA
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
I have been on an income-based repayment plan for my federal student loans since XXXX, prior to the SAVE plan. In XX/XX/XXXX, as soon as I learned that the SAVE plans 0.0 % interest forbearance was ending, I promptly applied to recertify my income-driven repayment plan so that my loans could return to an appropriate and affordable income-based payment amount. Instead of timely processing my request, MOHELA immediately began charging interest on my loans in XX/XX/XXXX, even though the SAVE 0.0 % interest forbearance remained active through the end of XXXX. I then waited month after month for my application to be processed. It was not until XX/XX/XXXX that I finally received notice that I had been approved for income-based repayment. However, the approval notice I received is deeply troubling and appears plainly erroneous. It states that my new monthly payment amount is {$3900.00}, with a first scheduled due date of XX/XX/XXXX. That monthly payment amount is more than my monthly income and is not remotely affordable. It is also completely inconsistent with my long history of income-based repayment, inconsistent with what I have previously paid, and inconsistent with the payment estimates provided through the federal StudentAid.gov system when I submitted my applications. When I submitted my recertification in XX/XX/XXXX, the estimated monthly payment shown was approximately {$420.00}. When I resubmitted in XX/XX/XXXX, the estimated monthly payment shown was approximately {$430.00}. The StudentAid.gov repayment calculator also states that under the Income-Based Repayment plan, payments are generally limited to 15 % of discretionary income and will never be more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. A payment amount of {$3900.00} is not consistent with those terms and appears to reflect a serious servicing or calculation error. There is also a separate and equally serious problem with the timing of repayment. MOHELAs notice indicates that payments will not resume until late XXXX. That is unacceptable. I do not want to remain in a prolonged status in which I am prevented from making reasonable income-based payments and prevented from making progress toward applicable loan forgiveness. I want to begin making the correct, affordable income-based payments now. I anticipate that MOHELA may respond by noting that, when I applied for recertification, I selected the option to remain in forbearance rather than begin payments immediately. I selected that option for a very specific reason : I was concerned that MOHELA might miscalculate my payment amount and place me into an unaffordable payment status before the amount was correctly determined. Unfortunately, that is exactly what appears to have happened. My decision to remain in forbearance pending proper processing was not consent to an incorrect payment calculation, not consent to a multiyear delay in repayment, and not a waiver of my right to have my account accurately and timely serviced.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation