Consumer complaint received 2025-06-29 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: OH

Complaint narrative:
My loans with the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX account was included in the Borrowers Defense case under Case # XXXX, * My school misrepresented the repayment terms or total cost of the loans that it arranged for me, provided to me, or that were provided to me by a lender the school recommended * Other acts, statements, or omissions related to program cost and nature of loans, please identify : They misrepresented my loans by stating they were being went back to the federal loans but never sent them back and then stated I owed them a balance to stay in my classes. 

What did the school say, write, represent to you, or conceal, suppress, or omit from you? Please be as specific as possible. What did the school 's actions lead you to believe? 
Yes they told me the degree could be earned online and concealed the fact that I would be required to attend in person in Arizona 2-3 times for the degree. They knew I wasn't able to do this due to living in Ohio. They also stated I was getting a refund, then said they were sending it back but my student aid balance kept increasing, then demanded payments to stay in my classes. This happened because I wasn't able to travel to Arizona. 

Who or what provided you this information, or concealed, suppressed, or omitted this information from you ( include the person 's name and title, if known, or the source of the information such as a television advertisement, e-mail, or brochure )? 
My academic advisor, named XXXX XXXX stated the entire degree was completed remotely and never mentioned anything about going to Arizona. When in class we were in break out groups and everyone was surprised by the requirement to travel because they said they would have never attended if they knew When and where were you told this information ( for example, the approximate date or time of year and whether it was during a campus tour or interview, in a meeting, or over the phone )? If the school concealed, suppressed, or omitted information from you, please explain when and where you should have received this information. 
When I first enrolled in the school. Then for the loans being sent back I can't recall If this occurred in XXXX as well but definitely occurred in XXXX. 

How was the information communicated to you or concealed, suppressed, or omitted from you ( for example, via e-mail, in person, through an advertisement, through the school 's website )? Please provide examples of the school 's communication, if possible. 
Through communication with academic advisor, their student website and through emails How was the information provided to you, or concealed, suppressed, or omitted from you, false or misleading and how did you determine the information was false or misleading? 
They told me I was getting a refund for my loans, then when it came time to receive them they said they sent my refund back to the student loans, but this wasn't true because my loan amounts kept increasing on the federal student loans website. After they told me they sent my loans back they then proceeded to demand payments stating I owed a balance. Because I couldn't to Arizona XXXX times, I would have never enrolled If I knew that was even a requirement. 

Why was the information provided to you, or concealed, suppressed, or omitted from you, important to you when you decided to enroll or remain enrolled ( for example, you chose to attend this school over others or take out student loans because of the information you were provided )? 
Yes, I would have ever applied to this school if I knew I would be forced to attend in person in Arizona. I explained this to my academic advisor and my professor that I couldn't afford to do so but they didn't care. They acted like it wasn't a big deal to fly to Arizona 2-3 times for the degree. This information came out of nowhere and several of my classmates had to drop the class because they couldn't afford to go to Arizona or had positions that made it impossible for them How has the information provided to you, or concealed, suppressed, or omitted from you, caused you harm ( for example, have you suffered financial harm, lost opportunities, or experienced other harm as a result )?

When it came to telling me I would receive a refund, this cause financial harm because they never sent the money back and now I am expected to pay loan amounts that I never got to use. They also caused emotional harm by demanding payments after supposedly sending my student loans back. When it comes to being pressured to go to Arizona this causes a lost opportunity because I was forced to drop out of my degree. They said they were sending my loans back because I couldn't go to Arizona because it was a hardship but my loan amounts with student aid.gov never went down Please provide any other information you believe is important to this claim. 
I have provided emails showing them sending my funds back apparently and then stating I owed a balance due to sending funds back, even though the only reason this happened was because I couldn't go to Arizona. The last time they tried calling me was XX/XX/XXXX How much was awarded to you in the judgment or court order? 
This borrower defense is how i hoped to get the loan forgiveness especially since some of the funds I owe didn't even get used for my classes because of their deception. I couldn't afford to take them to court or I would have. They told me the degree could be completed fully online and failed to tell me I would be forced to fly to Arizona to complete my degree. My academic advisor, XXXX XXXX, never told me about the travel requirements. They made me believe it was fully online. It was this deception that lead them to withdraw me, state they sent my loans back even though it never reflected on the student aid.gov website and then demanded payments Who or what provided you this information, or concealed this information from you ( include the person 's name and title, if known )? 

Advisor and correspondence with school after enrollment When and where were you told this information ( for example, the approximate date or time of year and whether it was during a campus tour or interview, in a meeting, or over the phone )? If the school concealed or suppressed information from you, please explain when and where you should have received this information.

When I enrolled and I can't recall if this occurred in XXXX  as well but definitely in XXXX How was the information communicated to you or concealed from you ( for example, via e-mail, in person, through an advertisement, through the school 's website )? Please provide examples of the school 's communication, if possible.

Email, phone calls and schools website How was the information provided to you, or concealed from you, false or misleading and how did you determine the information was false or misleading? 
It was misleading to tell me it was fully online and then come out of nowhere telling me I had to travel to Arizona. They didn't care that this was a financial hardship and proceeded to withdraw me in response. The funds they stated were sent back never reflected in my federal student aid account and then stated I owed them money Why was the information provided to you, or concealed from you, important to you when you decided to enroll or remain enrolled ( for example, you chose to attend this school over others or take out student loans because of the information you were provided )?

I would have never enrolled at the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. If I knew I had to attend in person. this information was never provided to me upon enrollment and didn't even come up until I was enrolled in the class that required it. 

How has the information provided to you, or concealed from you, caused you harm ( for example, have you suffered financial harm, lost opportunities, or experienced other harm as a result )? 
This Caused financial harm because they stated that they sent back funds that never reflected on my student aid website account, it caused emotional harm because they then demanded payments and withdraw me from my classes and it caused a loss in opportunity because I wasn't able to finish my degree because of the travel requirement. 

Please provide any other information you believe is important to this claim. 
All other information has been provided on the previous screen regarding the emails and screenshots provided in this case. 

What harm did you experience as a result of the school 's statements, acts, or omissions? ( For example : because your credits did not transfer you had to start over at a different school ; you were unable to find a job when you graduated ; you do not have the certification the school promised you would obtain and are now unable to enter your field of study. ) Because they omitted Information I now owe a balance for a degree. I was never able to obtain. not only this, but a portion of the funds that I owe was supposedly sent back to the federal government But never reflected on my student portal. There is a chance. I wouldn't even be able to transfer the credits from the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. Because I owe them a balance. Even though the balance should have been covered by the federal student loans that were apparently sent back. They are still trying to charge me {$2500.00} as well. For a class I didn't even get to attend How did the school 's statements, acts, or omissions cause you this harm? 
Yes, because my academic adviser Stated the full degree would be obtained online and never stated that there was a travel requirement that led to the issues with my student aid How has your life been impacted by this harm? 
Yes, that has caused severe emotional distress. Because they constantly called me For a payment I shouldn't have even owed due to them sending my Student loans back for requirements they didn't even tell me about. it also harmed my life because now I owe money To the federal government that was apparently sent back, and I owe even more money to even use the credits obtained from this University. So they're completely useless when it comes to transferring to a different school and for a class I didn't get to take.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response