Consumer complaint received 2026-05-19 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with your payment plan
Company: MOHELA
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Beginning in XXXX, I repeatedly attempted to obtain appropriate repayment relief and account corrections for my federal student loans serviced by MOHELA. I submitted multiple requests for Income-Driven Repayment ( IDR ), deferment, administrative relief, and repayment assistance, while also providing enrollment information demonstrating that I qualified for full-time student status and deferment eligibility, including periods that were later recognized retroactively by MOHELA. Despite these efforts, MOHELA repeatedly placed my loans into contradictory and inconsistent statuses. At various times, MOHELA represented that : - my loans were not in repayment and therefore allegedly ineligible for IDR ; - my loans were in administrative forbearance with no payments due ; - my requests were pending review or processing ; - and my loans qualified for deferment status ; while simultaneously : - classifying the loans as REPAYMENT accounts ; - billing me for large monthly payments ; - escalating past due balances ; - reporting the loans as delinquent to the credit bureaus ; - threatening default and negative credit reporting ; - and continuing debt-collection communications. MOHELA repeatedly denied my IDR applications on the basis that the loans were not in repayment. However, during those same periods MOHELA simultaneously treated the loans as active repayment accounts by issuing billing statements, assessing delinquency, escalating the amount past due, and continuing collection activity. Between late XXXX and early XXXX, I received multiple delinquency notices stating my loans were XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and eventually over XXXX days past due. During this same timeframe, MOHELA also repeatedly acknowledged receiving my repayment and deferment requests and stated that my requests were under review or processing. I filed XXXX XXXX bankruptcy in XX/XX/XXXX and received a discharge in XX/XX/XXXX. During and after the bankruptcy process, MOHELA continued collection-oriented communications, delinquency escalation, and negative reporting activity. MOHELA later acknowledged notice of the bankruptcy/discharge status, yet collection-related servicing activity and delinquency treatment continued. Eventually, MOHELA approved a deferment effective XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. However, MOHELA did not retroactively correct the earlier delinquency treatment, collection escalation, or negative credit reporting that occurred during periods where my loans were simultaneously represented as not in repayment, under review, administratively forborne, or later determined eligible for deferment and full-time student status. Throughout this process, I made repeated good-faith efforts to resolve the issue directly with MOHELA by submitting applications, responding to correspondence, requesting assistance, disputing contradictory account statuses, and attempting to obtain accurate repayment relief. Despite these efforts, the contradictory servicing, delinquency escalation, collection activity, and negative reporting continued.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response