Consumer complaint received 2025-11-10 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: Central Research Inc
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to file a formal complaint against Central Research Incorporated ( CRI ), the company that processes payments for my federal student loans, regarding improper handling of my auto-pay information, misleading assurances, and unfair damage to my credit history.

I have maintained this account with CRI for approximately three years and have never missed or been late on a payment. I have always been enrolled in the automatic payment program and ensured that sufficient funds were available in my bank account each month.

However, a few months ago, CRI switched payment processing companies for their auto-pay system. During this transition, my payment information failed to transfer correctly, even though I had taken no action to alter or cancel my auto-pay enrollment. As a result, my scheduled payments did not process. 

When I contacted CRI, I spoke with several agents including one named XXXX who all confirmed on recorded lines that this issue was not my fault. They acknowledged that this was the first time they had ever seen this type of transfer failure and that the information is supposed to carry over correctly 99.9999 % of the time. I was told directly that I was not responsible for the missed payments and that my account should not be negatively impacted. 

Despite this, I later discovered that my credit report reflected derogatory marks, and my credit score dropped by over XXXX points. This has had a severe impact on my ability to move forward with a pending mortgage approval. 

I was further advised by CRI to file a dispute with the credit bureaus, with assurances that CRI would support and approve the dispute. I followed their instructions, but to my shock, the dispute was denied.

Afterward, I was told that CRI would issue letters to the credit bureaus to correct or clarify the situation. I relied on this representation, but no such letters were ever received. When I followed up, another agent informed me that they could not send any such correspondence, contradicting what their previous representatives had promised. 

In summary : CRI acknowledged fault verbally, on recorded lines.

They promised corrective action that was never fulfilled.

Their failure to transfer auto-pay data correctly directly caused derogatory reporting.

Their actions ( and inactions ) have severely harmed my credit and affected my ability to secure housing.

I am requesting that the CFPB review the recordings and evidence from CRIs customer service interactions with me, confirm that CRI admitted fault, and require CRI to : Remove or correct the negative marks from all credit reports. 

Provide written confirmation acknowledging their system error. 

Ensure this issue does not recur for other consumers affected by their payment processor transition. 

I am willing to provide bank statements demonstrating that the necessary funds were always available during the affected months, as well as dates and times of my calls with CRI agents who confirmed their error.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation