Consumer complaint received 2025-07-05 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: Nelnet, Inc.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding five 90-day late payments reported at once by Nelnet on my student loan accounts, which I believe was incorrectly or unfairly reported under the circumstances. 

The delinquency occurred due to a misunderstanding after a long, consistent history of forbearance including COVID-19 and natural disaster-related forbearances. For over three years after graduation, I had no required payments, as the account rolled into automatic or approved forbearance repeatedly. Nelnet has stated that they have reached out to me, via email, in regard to making payments and keeping up to date but those emails have been in a spam folder. This constitutes a potential failure to inform the borrower of options and made me unaware that the most recent forbearance required my manual action and the effects it posed to my credit. 

In XX/XX/year>, five 90-day delinquencies were reported. I was unaware that a payment was due. As soon as I saw the delinquency on my credit report, I made a payment and immediately contacted Nelnet in XX/XX/year>XXXX  to request a forbearance which was approved and documented by them. This demonstrates that I still qualified for forbearance and simply didnt know a manual request was needed this time. 

Furthermore, attached with this explanation, is my history of forbearances with Nelnet. You will see that Nelnet was able to retroactively apply forbearances in other periods even post-delinquency. This reflects a lack of due diligence on their part to maintain continuity of protection or offer resolution. Under federal servicing guidelines, they must act in the borrower 's best interest. This selective enforcement appears inconsistent and negligent, particularly given their own servicing pattern. 

I have never had a late payment in my life on any of my loans or credit accounts and have made on-time payments ever since this incident. I take immense pride in maintaining a flawless credit history. Throughout my life, I have been intentional and diligent in building and preserving excellent credit. Every financial decision Ive made, from paying bills on time to managing debt responsibly, has been with the goal of establishing a strong and reliable credit profile. 

That is why it is especially disheartening to see the significant negative impact of five 90-day late payment notations from a single loan servicer across multiple accounts. These entries not only drastically reduce my credit score, but they also undermine years of consistent, responsible financial behavior. 

This one situation does not reflect my overall creditworthiness or the level of care I have always taken with my financial obligations. These late payments discredit the time, effort, and financial discipline Ive invested in achieving and maintaining a tremendous credit history. The five late marks are now significantly impacting my ability to rent housing, apply for credit, qualify for a mortgage or even obtain a basic credit card to rebuild.

I have contacted Nelnet several times to resolve this issue and received a form letter response stating the delinquencies were accurately reported prior to the forbearance being processed, which they say disqualifies it from removal. However, I believe this situation qualifies as an unintentional and correctable reporting error caused by hardship and confusion, and that the forbearance history along with swift and persistent action supports my good faith efforts for continuing to pay as directed. 

I am asking the CFPB to help mediate this issue and request that Nelnet remove the five reported 90-day late payments from my credit report as a goodwill gesture or under FCRA fairness considerations. I can provide my forbearance history, payment timeline, and all related documentation. 

Lastly, on XX/XX/year>, I have sent Nelnet a goodwill letter to potentially mediate this issue one last time. Their site says they do not accept goodwill letters, but I know as a federal loan servicer, they do have the discretion to do so.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation