Consumer complaint received 2025-09-03 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Don't agree with the fees charged
Company: Central Research Inc
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email indicating my student loan was being assigned to a new servicer - Central Research , Inc. ( " CRI '' ). Despite the fact I was already in the midst of repayment, and had not missed a payment since I started paying in XX/XX/XXXX, the email said I was required to set up a new account and enter all my payment information again. 

That very same day I set up an account on CRI 's website to ensure there was no disruption in my monthly auto-payments. After setting up my account and enabling auto-pay, it told me the next Auto Payment would be made on XX/XX/XXXX and it would not allow me to schedule a sooner date. This was in XXXX. I was concerned that if I did not make payments for XXXX and XXXX, I would be charged additional interest on the amounts due in XXXX and XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called CRI 's customer service line. The CRI representative I spoke to explained that they PURPOSELY disable auto-payment when loans are transferred to give the loan holder time to set up a new account on their website. I explained that I had already set up a new account and did not want to wait 2 months to make an auto payment. I asked if interest charges were paused while auto payment was disabled and the representative said no. I explained my concern about being charged additional interest for two months if I was unable to make a payment. The representative explained that if I wanted to make a payment during the two months that auto-payment was disabled, I would need to mail a physical che

ck to CRI to make a payment and online payments would not be possible. I explained this would not work for me as I have issues mailing checks and the representative said they would re-enable auto-payment for my account. He assured me I would not be charged additional interest as long as the auto-payment was made. I confirmed with him that auto-payment was enabled and he helped me make a payment for XX/XX/XXXX. 

As I feared, no auto-payment was made in XX/XX/XXXX, and when my auto-pay began in XXXX my first payment in XX/XX/XXXX was almost entirely interest due to the interest that had accumulated on the XXXX payment that was not made. 

I have never missed a student loan payment since I began paying in XX/XX/XXXX. The only reason I was unable to make a payment in XX/XX/XXXX was because CRI had intentionally removed the ability to make auto-payments. I relied on assurances from CRI 's customer service representative that my auto-payment would be made in XXXX. The only reason I was charged additional interest in XXXX for my XXXX payment was because CRI 1 ) disabled auto-pay and XXXX ) falsely confirmed that they had re-enabled it on my account. 

I would like a refund for the {$3300.00} worth of interest that was charged in XX/XX/XXXX and for the interest due on my loan to be calculated as if I made the XXXX payment. I am even willing to make a double payment in an upcoming month to account for the missing XXXX payment. I do not believe I should be charged interest for CRI 's interreference with my ability to pay my loan. 

I have tried calling them to speak about this but I am not able to get a live customer service representative on the phone. I have only been able to speak with AI/electronic customer support and can not resolve this issue. 

I have uploaded the email I received from CRI on XX/XX/XXXX indicating I needed to set up a new account because my loan had been transferred. I also uploaded my payment history prior to the transfer of my loan to show that I have never missed a payment. The only reason I missed a payment and was charged additional interest in XXXXXXXX XXXX is because CRI disabled my auto-payment after telling me it was enabled.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation