Nelnet is one of the nation's largest student loan servicing companies. What happens is that the United States Department of Education contracts with companies like Nelnet to provide servicing options for their student loans. Prior to 2012, when financial reform changed how student loans were originated, Nelnet was also one of the largest holders of student loan debt, topping over $25 billion.
What many student loan borrowers don't realize is that companies like Nelnet have as much power as the government when it comes to managing your student loans. Student loan servicing companies like Nelnet are contracted to:
- Take in and apply payments to student loans
- Administer the transfer of student loans
- Process student loan programs, such as forgiveness, forbearance, and deferment
- Report to credit agencies payments that are past due
- Seek repayment from defaulted loans
Plus, they do a whole lot more.
As a result, Nelnet is not a popular company among student loan borrowers.
Nelnet's Past Student Loan Servicing Problems
Nelnet has been mired in controversy for years regarding how it handles student loans. As early at 1993, Nelnet was accused of using a tax loophole to generate upwards of $1.2 billion dollars in profits from student loans that it managed.
In 2007, the states of New York and Nebraska accused Nelnet of industry kickbacks and gifts to colleges and universities that pushed students toward Nelnet loans. There were also more reports of settlements with student loan borrowers and program administrators throughout the last few years arising from claims of improper management of student loan subsidies and other programs.
Nelnet's Other Names
It's important to realize that Nelnet does business as more than 50 subsidiaries in the United States and Canada. As a student loan borrower, your loan may very well be owned by Nelnet and you don't even realize it. Some of the larger subsidiaries include: inTuition, infiNet, LoanSTAR, and TriCura Canada.
Student Loan Borrower Problems with Nelnet
Nelnet has been a popular discussion on this website, and that's why I wanted to devote an entire post to tackling problems with Nelnet student loan servicing. Too many times student loan borrowers get stuck in a place where they don't know where to go to vent their problems with their student loan servicer, and this is the place to do it.
Here are some past comments regarding Nelnet student loan servicing:
- Adam had issues when his loans were transferred from Nelnet to FedLoan. It appears that Nelnet never communicated the most recent payments when his student loans were transferred.
- Jenn was told she was delinquent from Nelnet after her student loans had been consolidated and paid off.
We also get emails from student loan borrowers who are having problems with Nelnet.
Samantha is a reader who reached out because of her frustrations with Nelnet. She graduated in 2010 and now lives in Mexico. This has made it a challenge to pay her student loans because Nelnet (and most other debt companies) do not allow you to pay your loans with credit cards — only checking accounts and debit cards. However, Nelnet advertises that they accept PayPal as a form of payment for their student loans, which would be awesome, except they didn't allow Samantha to use that option.
According to Samantha, “I asked if I could pay with PayPal and they mentioned that option is only available if I request it when I first set up my account. I asked, ‘Can I delete my account and re-instate it?' Their answer was no.” So much for following through on your commitments, Nelnet.
Warning
Remember, student loan servicing companies like Nelnet can and do report you to the credit bureaus for non-payment of your student loans. But, from the stories shared above, they sometimes make mistakes. That’s why I urge you to check your credit score for free using Credit Karma. They will show you your credit score for free, and then you can know if something is wrong. Plus, there are no gimmicks — it's truly free.
Get Away from Nelnet
If you’re struggling with NelNet and are looking for professional help, we recommend you get in touch with Ameritech Financial. They will be able to help you navigate your repayment situation, and will ensure that your student loan situation is in order – effectively minimizing your interactions with NelNet, or any of your loan servicers for that matter. You can call them at 1-866-863-3870 or check out their website here.
Finally, if you are able to, you should look at refinancing your student loans away from Nelnet. It doesn't always make sense to refinance Federal student loans into private loans, but for some people looking to save money, it does.
You can do this in a variety of ways, but I recommend looking using Credible, a student loan refinancing marketplace where you can receive offers from multiple lenders after filling out one short form.
Try it out: Credible. It’s free and you can get an estimate of how much you can save by refinancing in less than two minutes. Don't believe me? Just fill out this form and see for yourself:
Getting Help With Your Nelnet Student Loans
Before you go on thinking that Nelnet is a scam and you have no recourse, make sure that you take the steps below.
Contact Nelnet student loan servicing (they make it confusing, so make sure you send stuff to — or call — the right location):
- Phone: 888.486.4722
General Questions
NelnetP.O. Box 82561
Lincoln, NE 68501-2561
Fax: 877.402.5816
Documents Related to Forbearance, Deferment, Repayment Plan Options, or Enrollment Status
NelnetAttn: Enrollment Processing
P.O. Box 82565
Lincoln, NE 68501-2565
Fax: 866.545.9196
Documents Related to Student Loan Forgiveness or Loan Discharge
NelnetAttn: Claims
P.O. Box 17460
Denver, CO 80217-7460
Fax: 303.696.5518
Documents Related to Bankruptcy Claims
Nelnet3015 South Parker Road, Suite 400
Aurora, CO 80014-2904
Fax: 303.696.5518
If you aren't getting the help you need from Nelnet, or you think that their customer service is giving you the runaround, you do have other options to get your story heard. Check out these options for help:
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of EducationFederal Student Aid Information Center
P.O. Box 84
Washington, DC 20044-0084
800-4-FED-AID (TTY: 800-730-8913)
The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman
Phone: 1-877-557-2575The Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) toll-free
Many borrowers, if they don't have luck with the Department of Education or the Student Loan Ombudsman, have found success contacting their congressman. Most congressional offices have clerks set up to help their constituents deal with government agencies, such as the Department of Education. You should find your congressman's contact information and reach out to their office for help.
Share Your Story
Have you had a challenging experience with Nelnet as your student loan provider? Has their customer service not been of service? Please share your story below — and even better if you found a resolution!
If you are looking for information about FedLoan, check out our post: FedLoan Servicing – The Worst Student Loan Servicer.
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Student debt is a huge burden, but the servicing companies should not add more to the problem.
I’m glad that they are not my student loan servicing company. My loans were just transferred from Direct Loans to Sallie Mae which I’m not too excited about since Sallie Mae doesn’t have a great reputation. My loan balance did mysteriously go down by $5000 though so maybe the transfer will benefit me.
I’ve actually had really good experience with Nelnet (so far, knock on wood). My real problem is with Brazos loan servicing. My undergrad loan was transferred from ACS to Brazos and brazos just seems so unprofessional. The website looks like it was made yesterday and the info is not very clear. I actually miss ACS. I can’t wait to be debt free and not deal with third party companies.
Fantastic article! I often hear people complaining about Sallie Mae, but it is important to note that there are LOTS of lousy student loan servicers out there.
I had student loans through Graduate Leverage/Brazos and never had an issue. Last year my loans changed to Nelnet, and they are really terrible. I had set up automatic payments online, paid the first month since there is some lagtime, then a few months later, I got a notice that I had a late payment. I called them and tried to resolve it, but had to pay a fine anyway. I re-set up online payments, and realized that there was a problem on the website- the last line asks for a date, and it kept “auto-correcting” what I was entering, but actually messing up the date. I had to type it in multiple times and keep correcting it until it stopped auto-correcting me. Now this month, i received my statement, and my fixed interest rate has magically increased! What the heck? I have to call them again, but I’m really starting to think they do this intentionally. Errors on the website that prevent online payments from going through? Let’s say they make $20 per person x 100,000 people- that’s a lot of money. And I don’t even know how they can change my interest rate.
I too would like to know what can be done about this company. I have tried having my student loan forgiveness done and everytime I call they need another piece of information. It is very simple. I have worked in a low income district as a highly qualifed teacher for 8 years. I have had letters from HR, my principal, as well as the application required filled out. I call every few weeks and they say “oh we need another piece of information”. That was not in your last letter? Why is that? No one has any answers. I have filed with the DoE and the FTC. Waiting for a response. These people do not care. They say ‘you have not met the criteria’ What is the criteria because I NEVER receive correspondence saying I am deficient with another piece of ‘minucia’ detail that is NO WHERE in the directions.
Did you ever get your loan forgiveness? They are screwing with me on mine too. Are telling me the Ph.D that certified my disability (and has been legit for everything else in my life) is not qualified to certify my disability on the loan forgiveness application. So while I’m on SSI disability already, Nelnet nevertheless refuses to recognize the same physician qualifications from that case — in theirs. I.e., my certifying physician is acceptable to the Social Security Administration, but not acceptable to the Department of Education’s contractor, Nelnet. I’m at a loss as to what to do about their refusal to recognize my physician.
I have applied for a disability discharge three times. I have been on ssi for seven years, and my doctor has signed papetwork. I have recently been turned over to a collection agency.
I don’t know if it will help, but you might try contacting your Senator (not State, Federal).
This may be a bit late, but they may not accept a PhD. They probably want a MD or a DO to sign off on the disability.
I am in the same boat. I have given my award letters from social security and doctors have filled out their paperwork and signed it and every single time they send forms back saying I have not met their criteria to be discharged. They are not following the law! It’s very discouraging. I’m guessing I need to contact an attorney and sue them but that should not be necessary. The government should be going after them.
I have been lied to by custom service reps . I have names, dates and times . Every time I call I get a different story. I was told I was in the ten year standard repayment plan. Then I found out that was wrong information. It’s a thirty year plan. I tried to speak with a supervisor and they got me another customer serveice rep. Nobody in that company cares!!!!
Yes, you can consolidate your loans at any time, but I would wait until you’re done.
If you are considering it, make sure you do it the right way: http://thecollegeinvestor.com/11616/consolidate-your-student-loans/
Nelnet is absolutely terrible at communicating a potential problem loan situations to the “endorser” of a loan.
In the no good deed goes unpunished category, I “endorsed” or co-signed 3 student loans for the children of a friend who was going through financial difficulty and did not qualify for the loans under FAFSA. She was making payments on one of the loans that required them at that point but fell behind. I got one letter from NelNet after the payments fell 30 days behind. I made a phone call to the borrower, was assured that the payments would be brought up to date and received no further notices from NelNet. Just recently I was sent an alert from Credit Karma indicating that a loan on my credit report was120 days past due and now listed as delinquent. It was the student loan and I had not gotten any further communication from NelNet. My credit score dropped 75 points instantly.
Shouldn’t NelNet be responsible to notify loan co-signers when action is needed?
Hi,
I have a student loan with ACS (Lender: NELNET EDUCATION FUNDING TRUST / GUARANTOR is NATIONAL STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM). I have been paying on my loan faithfully since December 2008; I have the following problems:
1) My balance remains the same. I have been trying to speak with a manager at ACS which is near to impossible to discuss my problem. My full amount of the loan of owing is $25,000 give or take. I have been making paying faithfully since Dec. 2008 and there records show me making the following (Payment $16,188.61 / Principal $6,705.74 / Interest $9,317.96).
2) My payments are due the 14th of every month; however I usually make my payments between the 3rd – 8th of each month. Maybe a couple of times I made the payments around the 13th. Majority of the payments are around the 3rd thru the 5th
3) When I make a payment the principal and interest rate which is fixed at 5.470 is applied different each month.
4) I am also unsure of when my loan will be paid off since the balance does not change and I am unable to speak with someone.
5) There site is not user friendly, I am unable to locate a main person (VP someone up top) to get any help.
6) I would like to switch over to someone else but I am afraid of what Nelnet would do with my loan.
While I was searching the internet for information regarding Nelnet, I found a number of people in the same position as myself. I would like to pay this off by making extra payments but from what I see from others who are with this company their payments are not being applied correctly and they seem to lose their money. I know each person is different but I don’t want to pay extra until I get things straighten out. If you can offer me any advice, I appreciate it very much as I would like to pay this loan off quickly. Just a side note, I am also paying on my son’s parent student loan with salliemae on time and the payments / interest rates are applied in a matter that I see my balance going down each month.
Signed: No end in sight for this madness.
Any extra is always applied to interest first. They don’t put anything on principal.
I think I can offer a little advice. I too had Nelnet as my servicer and have experienced nearly every single problem mentioned in this forum while they serviced my loans.
I suggest you consolidate your loans and choose a different servicer. That’s what I did and I now have mine serviced with FedLoan. So far so good with them, as they provide much more clear and detailed account info and are excellent with communicating the terms of your account. Go to https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action and you can fill out a consolidation application completely online (which I did and it was quick and easy) or you can download the application (pdf) and submit it however you prefer- you can even choose Sallie Mae as your servicer If you like since you get to pick the servicer of your choice. By the way, If you do mail your application, I highly suggest making copies and sending it certified. If there’s 1 thing I cannot stress enough, it’s to keep detailed records of everything. They will be the only thing that will save you if you ever have additional problems like the ones you’ve mentioned. I hope this helps you! I actually know it will so please at least check it out! I also filed a complaint with the CFPB and its currently under investigation. I encourage everyone not to just give up and give in with these companies- the absolutely despicable things they’ve repeatedly done to multiple people is unbelievable. The extreme and often unwarranted actions they take can ruin a person’s financial future and cause irreparable damage in many areas… and for them to target young people who are trying to better themselves is absolutely criminal and we all have to expose this issue or it will continue and they will come up with new ways make us pay.
My student loans were forgiven due to permanent disability when I was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Nelnet tried to reinstate my loans falsly and later retracted it but reinstated a new probation period. They are now trying to issue me another Cancellation of Debt form after already issuing me on 2 years ago in which I was taxed 10k for. I am not looking forward to arguing my way out of this one again. They are an unbelievable company to deal with and have no compassion for the terminally ill.
Student loan is like cancer, you need to stop it when you can. Your loan will be transferred between companies for their benefits. They hide their dirty work and no body check.
Is it legal for student loan debt to accrue interest daily? I had been making significant extra payments to be applied toward principle (in writing). After a year, my overall principle was the same. After reacting quite inappropriately, I finally found out that because the interest accrues daily, all extra payments went to interest and fees. The only way for my extra payment each month to be applied to principle was to make that extra payment on day of due date. But then it takes 3-4 days to “process” that extra payment….HIGHWAY ROBBERY!!! I don’t mind paying my debt, butbi NEVER saw anywhere that interest would accrue daily. I was told then (in college) that student loan debt is the best debt to have and that it won’t hurt my credit and better than a house loan…HA!!! It’s killing my debt to asset ratio. I have dealt with ACS, Brazos, Sallie Mae, etc…now I’m with Nelnet. I love how they sell your loans without telling you…right as you are approaching an interest rate reduction for 24 on-time payments!!! All of it….SOOOO WRONG!!!!!!
I just looked into my Nelnet loan and was told I am charged around $12.00 daily in interest!!!! $12.00 a day! I busted out in tears. This is disturbing and distressing. I’ve been paying since 2003 and was told I still have 20 years to go!! How is that possible? My balance also seems to increase rather than decrease!! I’ve been paying nearly $600 a month and it seems there is no end in sight. This can’t be legal. My rate is 5.5% which isn’t terrible but how can interest accrue DAILY???!!!
Interest does accrue daily, and your balance can rise on income-based repayment plans. However, remember, on income based plans any remaining balance after the repayment period is forgiven.
I also received a total discharge from Nelnet because of a disability although in my case it’s very thankfully not terminal. Sarah Merchant, if you are still with us, and you happen to read this my prayers are with you. Anyway, in my case after claiming that I did not complete,and return a form I never got they reinstated my loans, and then essentially forcing me to get my doctor to complete the forms again because the documentation they had on file was too old they finally discharged my loans. Well, not exactly. One thing Nelnet had to do was to request that my loans be sent back to them from the lenders. Well, they claim that they never received the loans. The lenders tell me that they were never asked. So now I’m told that my case at Nelnet has been escalated to management level to resolve this. The irony here is that six months ago I was forced to enter into a very minimal repayment paln with what I just found out is one of my lenders. Had I not agreed they would have attached my Social Security benefits. I told them what Nelnet was doing but they didn’t care. They did say that once the loans were actually closed out they would refund my payments. I’m not holding my breath. The really frustrating point for me is that I am on a very limited income. As a result I am trying to refi my home for a lower payment. my refi counselor tells me that the derogatories from Nelnet and the lenders is keeping my credit score from letting me qualify for a new mortgage. Nelnet has told me that they will in fact remove the negative info from my credit report but not till they actually finish with the paperwork as it were. So who knows. Try and deal with a more reputable agency if possible.
Nelnet is awful. I am paying 2x my payment and my loan is not going down it actually has gone up!! How can I find out what I signed? They tell me they have no way to get them to me. I need to find out why and all they tell me is I had deferred payments for a years and that is why. So what can I do? I need help on this!! I make $250.00 per month for the last 4 yrs and still not going down. I am being ripped off!! Its worse than a credit card!
time for a class action law suit….they are worse than banks and mortgage ripoffs!
I agree. My son cannot find work after being laid off. He went back to school to try to accrue more skills to find work. He had to take out student loans with Nelnet. He still cannot find work and nelnet just increased amount of his payments! They have yet to explain this. There will be a lawsuit!!!!
Nelnet student loan billing statements that are delivered by mail are dated on the 2nd of every month with a due date of the 23rd of the month. A reasonable person might assume that the bill would be processed and delivered shortly after the statement date in order to give enough time to make a payment within that period and before the due date. But, Nelnet delivers student loan statements late in this 21 day billing cycle. This delay can be called “short cycling.” Delaying delivery by even one day will make Nelnet more money. The balance they charge interest on won’t be lowered until a payment is posted at Nelnet. This late delivery also increases the likelihood of late payments. Nelnet billings will never come before the 8th of the month and sometimes as late as the 15th only 8 day before the due date. Adding 3-5 days for postal delivery and processing, a payment may not be posted until just a few days before the due date. Even a short delay in making a payment may leave the student borrower with a late payment.
Nelnet targets their statement bill delivery for the second Friday of the month, after the statement date. Why the second Friday? The answer goes to the deeper target date of Sunday. Receiving a bill on Friday that is not responded to and in the mail system within 24 hour will shorten the billing period an additional 2 days. Who is going to stand by their mail box waiting for a Friday mail delivery so they can pay their Nelnet bill? Sunday the post office is closed, it is a non-delivery day. On average the 21 day billing cycle is effectively reduced to 10 days. Interest charged on the previous month’s higher balance will continue every day the delivery is delayed and will not be reduced until the payment is posted at Nelnet. Nelnet does not include the date a payment is posted on the billing statement.
Short cycling also accounts for why monthly interest payments might appear higher than the month before. The second Friday is different every month. For example September 11, 2015 will be the next 2nd Friday and then October 9, 2015 and November 13, 2015. These are the next 2nd Friday’s and the day Nelnet loan statements are scheduled for delivery. Unless Nelnet changes their delivery date, billing statements will be delivered on or after these dates.
I filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
My desired resolution: If Nelnet uses the 2nd of the month as their statement date, they should be required to deliver statements with 5 day of that date, more clearly by the 7th of the month. That would allow the student borrowers a reasonable amount of time to make a payment before the due date. By using the 2nd Friday of the month as their delivery target Nelnet is forcing student borrowers into a position of vulnerability to late payments. Using the 2nd Friday of the month is a predatory practice and an attempt by Nelnet to collect interest payments on the previous month’s higher balance.
Nelnet has turned the 21 day billing cycle into a 10 day billing cycle. The question that arises is how close to the due date should Nelnet be allowed to deliver a billing statement by mail to a student borrower?
Nelnet updated its website and intentionally removed important information about interest. They completely removed the pay off feature that used to show how much interest accrued in ten days and they now bury the accrued interest information on an obscure part of the site. You can only see total interest accrued there now anyway. Makes it hard to calculate what you need to pay to avoid accruing further interest. It used to be directly on the payment page. They are such a shady servicer.
I have had zero problems with a private student loan, but for some reason, I have had multiple issues with my federal student loans through Nelnet. I have made large payments to fully pay off a student loan before its original due date. Three years ago, before everything went electronic, I mailed in a check to pay off two student loans. I specifically wrote on the check which loans to pay off and even stapled the check to a note that also was specific in which loans to pay off. Nelnet ignored my written request and dispersed the payment over multiple loans. As I did not catch the wrong doing right away, the loans were not paid off and interest continued to accrue.
Now that everything is done electronically, I thought I would have no problem paying off a loan. I logged online, clicked on the payment option, clicked pay now, then selected the option to pay by group. I wanted to pay off a specific loan so I scrolled to that loan group, put in the pay off amount, and clicked pay now. I logged in online to look to make sure that specific loan was paid off and of course it wasn’t and additional interest had been applied in the 4 days since making my supposed pay off payment. When I contacted the customer service department, they informed me the payment amount had been applied throughout all of my loans instead of the specific one I had paid towards online. What is the point of giving the option of making a payment towards a specific loan if you are not going to follow those directions? We will see if this issue is handled in a professional and timely manner or if it is going to turn into a nightmare issue to deal with.
My loan was transferred from Greatlakes to Nelnet. I was paying ($20 extra), I’m trying to buy a house, get my credit report. Nelnet reported me for a loan they have that they have never given any info on! The customer service reps I get there never seem very well trained. I don’t think its fair at all they reported late for a bill they didn’t tell me I had! ugh.
In order to save over 10 years of payments amounting to over $40,000.00 we agreed to pool our resources and terminate this loan. The goal was to achieve a payment ratio of 95% to principle and less than 5% to interest (use a mortgage rate calculator). To achieve this 95% to principle we shortened the number of months to 18. The 18 month payment would be high but we would save an enormous amount of money and years of payments. Important: To avoid Nelnet from applying your payments to future payments (the end of your loan) check all the appropriate boxes “do not advance due date” as well as send them notice:
Nelnet, Inc. Date: XXXXXX
Account Number: XXXXXXXXXX
Please do not advance due date and apply extra payment toward the principle.
Thank You.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
I hated SallieMae, I now hate Nelnet.
I just wish the for-profit college fraud fiasco would be fixed and past students would be made whole so I wouldn’t have to deal with any of these scamsters.
I was injured in an Industrial accident in 2000. Since my injury was work related I went through years of Workers Comp and Industrial Commission process. When it became obvious that my life was drastically changed I decided to try and further my Associates Degree into a Bachelors Degree and hoped for further. Physically this became impossible. After all the BWC stuff I had to apply to SSA for disability. In 2008 an Administrative Law Judge for SSA ruled that I was Permanently Disabled and had been Permanently disabled back to 2004 since that was the furthest back the law would allow. I had to end my pursuit of my degree in late 2002 due to my deteriorating condition.
I first began the Loan Forgiveness Shell Game with Great Lakes. Their ability to lose paperwork became sadly laughable.
Last year I found out I could try again through Nelnet. I applied and supplied the required documentation from SSA. I received a written denial that stated I had not supplied any supporting Documentation. This was erroneous as the application and SSA documents were in the same envelope and stapled together. I also learned long ago to send things “Signature Required, Return Receipt Requested”. Immediately following the Denial Letter I received a Secured Email with a Denial but for a completely different reason. Not an additional reason, a different one that stated my SSA Award letter and QWERTY and copy of the findings of the Judge from SSA were not enough for approval. These were the very same documents that the letter said I never supplied. I would have to reapply using the Physician Statement forms (shades of the Great Lakes Run around again). Both the letter and email stated that I could call the supplied phone number to find out what additional information could be submitted. Since I have 15yrs worth of documentation I called the number.
The CS I spoke with the FIRST time was polite and tried to be helpful. She even read, word for word, the reason for denial that was in the computer file. Funny enough it was stated as another different reason for denial, This one was that it was unclear how many years were in between my SSA Medical Reviews. ALL the documents state that I am not review-able due to the length of time I have been disabled, the deteriorating nature of my disability and that it is irreversible. They also state that the last Medical Review was for the Permanent Determination and that I have none scheduled in the future. All pretty clear language.
When I told her about the 3 conflicting denial reasons she suggested that I obtain a letter from a SSA Supervisor, on Official SSA Letterhead that states the above reasons I have no review date, but to have it worded in very SMALL words so anyone could understand it. This I did to no avail.
I received another Denial email a couple weeks later stating the reason for denial this time was that Nelnet does not accept any additional documentation, in direct contradiction of their policy, Congressional Rules and DoE Rules. That there is no review of additional supporting information. This also is in direct contradiction of Their Policy as stated in the Application Packets, DoE Rulings etc. That the only option is to reapply (also a contradiction their written statements in packets) by using the Physician Forms.
The problem with this is my previous Ortho, Neuro and Pain Management combined Group moved their business out of my area. I have recently started with a new Primary Physician and am in the waiting process for appointments with new Ortho and such. Legally NO PHYSICIAN can declare you disabled. They can give their opinion to SSA or VA but those agencies are the only legal authority that can declare someone Permanently disabled because that is determined by LAWS. Very strict and specific LAWS.
I have just recently discovered that NELNET is also ignoring the Federal LAW that says that these DEBTS MUST BE FORGIVEN if the applicant has been declared Permanently Disabled by the proper Authority and that Disability has lasted 5 years or more. This is very cut and dried. It is also in a Congressional ORDER. This is MANDATORY.
So the simple fact is that I was declared Permanently Disabled 12 yrs ago. It is an undeniable equation that 55. I even checked the Math with 4(four) local 2nd graders who were able to understand this simple concept. But Nelnet cannot. (Oh if only those 2nd graders worked for Nelnet the process might even WORK) Chuckle, Chuckle.
Frustrating? Yes. Infuriating? Absolutely! But people who have had to go through all the 10 levels of He&# that is the disability process and during one of the lowest points in life you can be involuntarily thrust into already have experience with this stuff. Its just a repeat of the usually demeaning, humiliating and depressing attitude of entities that consider every Disabled Person to be Dishonest, lazy and undeserving of being treated as they were when they worked and PAID TAXES to SAA for the PROTECTION of Social Security Disability Insurance( Which you cannot receive unless you have worked long enough to earn the credits required by SSA Regulations) This means being treated in a HUMANE manner. Better known as Being treated EQUALLY.
I have heard all the comments and horror tales about the ALL POWERFUL DoE and NELNET. How there is nothing you can do except keep trying to appease their ever changing wants and needs and how helpless it can make you. Been there, done that with Unethical Employer who fired me for going to hospital when I was injured. Lawyer for filing Workers Comp told me that was technically illegal but a battle not worth fighting. Done that with never ending wrangling with BWC and Industrial Commission over every band-aid. Done that while going through the SSA Disability process. Been there, Done that, Wore that T-Shirt and have finally decided to burn the scraps.
Nelnet and the other powers that be, appear to be all powerful but like the “Great and Powerful Wizard” of a certain fictional city they rely on our desperation and belief that they hold our lives in their smarmy hands. They rely on our needing something so badly that we overlook the “Man behind the Curtain”. They act like the idea of ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY and TRANSPARENCY (PC buzz words) only apply us.
This is not true. There are MUCH stricter LAWS and regulations that they MUST adhere to. Some of which are Federal CRIMINAL laws, Banking (ie. SEC Regulations), Congressional Rules and Oversight and the list goes on for quite a bit. But we must complain often and loudly to the DOJ, Congressional Representatives, the SEC (remember that no corp is Too Bog To Fail), any Candidate running for Election and even the Boss in Residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And we must demand or insist that the LAWS be enforced.
Am I going to try and Apply again? Sure thing. I am going directly to the DoE (which is an actual option) since Nelnet has disregarded the 5 year rule. BUT i will NOT use their Website or email or online application or online anything. I have learned that the US Postal Service makes a great third party paper trail that WILL be backed up by the Post Master General as long as you use the proper forms. Insist that these agencies respond to you in WRITING with a SIGNATURE. No convenient 800 customer service calls as that is an unverifiable trap. Put it all in writing and the only ORIGINAL Document they need is the Application. So make a COPY of that for your records and note on the bottom cc. file. send it all so it has to be signed for. No matter what they tell you they have NO LEGAL right to any other ORIGINAL Documents due to potential Identity Theft Hazzard as there is no way for you to know how many hands have touched your documents. It could be multiple persons in the mail room, someone just walking by, an overzealous janitor that accidentally knocks over a pile on a desk, disgruntled employee that is quitting and makes paper airplanes of everything because they are mad or someone who takes work home and the neighbor kid walks off with it.
This happened to me through my Health Insurer at one time. Some walked out of the office with a briefcase containing hard drives….with ALL my Information still inside, along with a bunch of other people. I now have Some extreme Identity Protection as Ordered by a Federal Court free of charge. I also apparently applied for a new Birth Certificate and passport and tried to leave the country. That person is now in prison.
Nelnet will get away with whatever they can as long as they believe we will keep jumping through their hoops. Go over their heads as high as possible. After all “IT” rolls downhill so you might as well start “IT” rolling from way up.
Belinda,
This may be late and sorry for what you went through, but there are a few things you said that were inaccurate.
Only an SSA can declare you disabled to qualifty for SSDI or SSI. However, that’s not the definition used for student loans. For student loans, it is EITHER that you have an SSA determination that has at least a 5 year review period, OR a physician declares that you are do not have the capacity to work. A physician CAN deem that. It seems that Nelnet could not determine that your SSA letter was more than 5 years; you said it was permanent, but they didn’t see it. Since you didn’t have a physician certify it, that explains why they denied you.
My spouse applied and first time around, they wanted a bit more information, so we sent the medical record. It was then approved a few weeks later. Spouse also got SSDI, but it is only a 3 year review, so we can’t use that student loans.
I think we all need to file a class action lawsuit against these crooks. It’s like you can’t ever get out from under these loans no matter how much you pay extra…its so frustrating I’ve paid $21.6k toward my loans for the balance to be $9k lower than I started. WTH??
WTH??? Is there a class action lawsuit in progress?
I’m in a similar boat with my husband’s loans– we’ve paid $204/mo for years and the balance hasn’t budged. We fell behind last summer, and NelNet turned the account over to collections. They still continued to cash my automatic payments for 2 months though. Now they refuse to refund those unapplied funds (paid after collections began). So now we are back to square one, and the collections agency wants more than the original loan. I would be thrilled to sue.
Here are the steps towards rehabilitation, which will help you get your loans out of default: http://thecollegeinvestor.com/15577/student-loan-rehabilitation/
I have proof and supplied everything that Nelnet has requested to show that the loans were paid off and satisfied in full. I have even traced the checks. Nelnet refuses to admit the loans were satisfied. They claim there must have been additional loans, although they have no records of such. Looks like I will need to sue Nelnet. Anyone know of a lawyer who can take this up? They are falsely and severely impacting my credit.
There are reputable student loan lawyers that could help. But I would also look at filing a complaint with the CFPB and the Student Loan Ombudsman and see if they can help.
And are you sure you confirmed everything via the National Student Loan Data System: https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/
I am in the middle of fight with Nelnet. I was forced to withdraw from Walden ( that’s a story in itself) and immediately submitted an unemployment deferment application with my contact information clearly written in the correct space on the application. Soon after, I submitted an income based repayment application to protect myself from delinquency or default. Nelnet failed or refused to change the contact information and also refused to process my IBR because “I was already in deferment.” I didn’t know that was their choice. Now, they report me 8 months delinquent at $1550. per month. My credit score dropped over 200 points from this reporting. They, of course, stand firm that they have done nothing wrong. I am considering a lawsuit. Anyone like to join me? Nelnet paid out $1.2 million last year for illegal collection efforts with robocall. Seems like they set a precedent for fraud.
Hi Nancy,
I would like to join your lawsuit. I had been making small manageable payments. Nelnet still reported me to the Credit Bureau for 90 days of non-payments. When I called them I was told to dispute it on my own and self-certify my income with them. They refused to acknowledge the Federal forms and programs. There are Federal forms to complete with rights, protections, and guarantees associated. If you self-certify with this company you waive those rights (a fact they do not disclosed by Nelnet). The company is refusing to set my payments at or below the 10% of discretionary income mandated by the Federal government. Many people do not realize that discretionary income is the money left over after your bills, groceries, and day-to-day responsibilites. Your bills are not taken into account with this company. I am having a horrible experience with this company and want to sue.
I have just read all these terrible stories of what happens when dealing with Nelnet and now I understand, for it is happening to me. Yes, as stated in all these posts, find a way to get away from them and document and keep copies of everything. File complaints against them and also with your Congressional Reps.
I paid for my daughters college and ended up 78K in debt and after paying on it for the last five years, find I have not made a dent. They are crooks who should be sued and the company disbanded, and all the company officers imprisoned.
Just to update my above rant with a new wrinkle…If dealing with the incompetence of Nelnet was not bad enough I also have the additional task of dealing with Great Lakes Higher Education. Who had been assigned as a Servicer on the loans in 2008. Three Years after they had been Permanently Assigned to the DOE according to my 3 Credit Reports from 2008. In September of this year I started receiving calls from someone from TransWorld saying they represented DOE about my Defaulted Loans and Rehabilitation. I had already researched this because I really do not want to be in Default.
So when they caller started in on the spiel about how the Department of Education would Garinshee my SSDI check because its the law and can do it, I politely listened and then informed them that I was aware of that law but that they may want to ask their supervisors for additional information. Yes SSDI can be levied an offset but only if the entire income exceeds $750.00 a month which mine does not. Not even close. And it is my ONLY Income.
The caller kept trying to get me to say I was refusing to pay the debt but I kept correcting him that I was UNABLE not UNWILLING. After the 6th call in two weeks I reminded him (the same man) that we had already discussed this and things had not changed. He got a bit rude, snidely remarking that even panhandlers could raise $5 a month. I then informed him that I would no longer accept calls from his company and that I would deal directly with the DOE.
All this happened without any letters from DOE or TransWorld. I had to Internet Search Transworld to see who they were. The last letters I had received (other than Nelnet) was a 2015 form letter from Great Lakes about a their new Privacy Policy (standard who we sell your info to).
On October 21, 2016 I received an email (karma) from a credit monitor that ONE (Transunion) Credit Reporting Agency had a new detrimental listing. I had missed a monthly payment on my loan account. Instead of running to the FreeCreditReport site I contacted my Identity Theft Monitoring Agency. I know I do not have any missed payment on any new loans because I CANNOT GET any loans and wouldn’t if I could. The Identity Theft Monitor Agency was assigned to me by a Federal Judge because of the Health Insurance debacle I mentioned in above post. They do not deal with CREDIT but they do deal with anything from anywhere that involves my name or SSN.
They ran a quick scan of their system and informed me that Great Lakes Higher Education had reported that I had a NEW OPEN loan that originated in 2013 and was now past due. Its not listed as a Student Loan, which are reported as Installment Loans but it listed the total amount as $83k and then listed it under 4 individual lenders. Only one of which I have ever heard of and one is apparently a German Bank. These are my FFEL Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loans that had gone into default long ago (which means TOTAL AMOUNT now due) and had actually aged off all 3 Credit reports in late 2015 and had been permanently assigned to the Government in early 2008. GLHEC did NOT report that they were in default. They appear to be active loans…
This is actually not the first time GLHEC has been an issue. These loans have been charged off/closed by original holder, permanently assigned to government, reported as new under GLHEC Affiliates or Subsidiaries, reported as revolving accounts, reported again as installment loans, closed again, defaulted and now NEW and all under the GLHEC Servicing. Not to mention the seven collection agencies they also were listed by.
And….I started getting calls from a female from TransWorld. At The first call I reiterated that under the law I would not accept any more contact from her company as I had told the previous representative. That I would only deal with the DOE. Since Halloween my phone has logged 3-4 calls daily from the 3 phone numbers that they are using. Usually starting at 8am. I just don’t answer but my son has when he has had the phone. After he tells her I am not available she goes into the “this call is being recorded and we are trying to collect a debt” spiel. This morning she even insinuated that I appear to be gone a lot for someone who doesn’t work. My son said “lady, my mom is asleep and so was I. Leave us alone.” He is grumpy when he gets woke up.
This evening I got another Credit Update email. Apparently Great Lakes had reported my loans in Collections then removed them from collections a few days later and were reporting them as late again. ALL only through TransUnion so far.
Yes Rehabilitation is a viable avenue for some people. But not in my case because at the time Great Lakes was first assigned as my Servicer These loans had already been Consolidated. You can only do that once. $5 a month rehabilitation to bring the loan current does nothing to fix the issue that when the $5 period ends I will go back into default because I am still not able to pay them.
So while Nelnet plays its shell game on one end, GLHEC just ignores all the laws of Consumer Protection and Fair Credit Act and the DOE blames outdated computer systems. All of them are banking on people not actually reading the LAWS behind all these issues. They are also confidant that if there is a big fuss they will only face a class action lawsuit that they will settle out of court without admitting any wrong doing. I feel its time to stop suing and start using the OTHER laws. Prison time is a great motivator and a deterrent to those that follow.
I have been totally disabled since 2003. I have been given the run around from every agency I have had to deal with. I was given the information that I could file for a discharge. I have been jumping through hoops forever on this. I have provided Dr.s signatures, I gave them copies of my award letters from Social Security which states I am less than sedentary and cannot work, nor will I ever be able to work. Every form I send them, I get the exact same forms back telling me its not enough. They have been taking a portion of my social security benefits for years! Even though it’s my only form of income and I am supporting children. It’s all a scam and even though legally this should be discharged and my money sent back to me, I am still jumping through hoops. I’m guessing an attorney needs to fight them but how does a person afford that on such a limited income?
My wife consolidated her loans in 2000 and Nelnet was the only option for some reason. She made her payments as scheduled, original loan was 32K. After we got married in 2004 I started doing the bill paying. We had set up automatic draft payments thru Nelnets site. Now her interest is only 4.25%. When I started paying her balance was around 28k. I realized that we needed to pay more towards the principal. So I told her to up the auto draft from 250.00 to 300. Here is where the scam started. When she changed the auto draft, Nelnet would push her next payment 30 days. Now some people would think thats great. NO! What they didn’t tell her was they were still charging interest for that extra 30 days. So that when the next payment drafted it would be eaten up by the interest. So when I realized that the payment hadn’t been drafted I called nelnet and they told me that THEY automatically push your next due date 30 days any time you change something online. That is where I believe they are guilty of fraud. The other problem is, interest isn’t based on balance, its a daily fee. No matter how low your principal is the amount of interest you pay is the same each month. I did speak with an attorney in New York that said they where trying to put together a class action suit. But it has been a couple of years and I haven’t heard back. Bottom line, do not us auto draft. Its a pain, but I go in on the same day every month and pay online physically. I do try and pay during the week, because if you pay after 4pm on friday the payment doesn’t go thru until monday, and of course, they charged interest for the weekend. It is very frustrating and I get very stressed every time I think about it. Good luck folks.
Horrible. Just horrible. Just another example of predatory lending and greed. It’s a shame that credible schools even do business with a company like this…
Nelnet has been an absolute nightmare. My loans became due for the first time & I was never notified until it hit my credit 13 separate times & dropped my credit score over 200 points. All correspondence was sent to the school I was no longer attending & even though I was enrolled in E statement I didn’t receive a single one. They are not compassionate in helping even though I was eligible for multiple forbearance options.
Does anyone know how to transfer to other loan servicer?
My nelnet account is crazy… I want to get out of Nelnet.
You can’t because your loans are assigned by the Department of Education. Your only options to consider would be:
1. Pay a firm to help you sort the process out
2. Refinance into a private loan
Do you know which firms are available to help sort out the process. I took out Parent Plus Loans for my kids, that are now serviced by Nelnet. I currently lost my job and am working only part time. Nelnet says I am not eligible for a different repayment plan. Most of their plans keep accruing a ton of interest anyway, even if they are able to lower the payment. Looking for a company that could offer some debt relief.
There aren’t a lot of great options for dealing with Parent PLUS Loans. We break them down here: http://thecollegeinvestor.com/17101/options-if-you-cant-afford-your-parent-plus-loans/
If you want professional help, we partner with Ameritech Financial and they can potentially assist you. You can call them at 1-866-863-3870.
They’re A-holes- I graduated with a bachelor’s in Dec 2016, did the exit loan counceling, then decided to continue with the master’s program at the same school. I called Nelnet in March, about 3 months after graduation, wanting to know when I would be getting statements for the undergrad loan. I was told they show me as a full time student and don’t see that I graduated. I called my school and they assured me my information is on the National Clearinghouse as being graduated 12/22/16 as well as currently in school. My school even provided me a letter with the school seal to provide to Nelnet saying I graduated. Nelnet will not accept it so now my loans are not due to start repayment until August 2019. Because Nelnet is not seeing information available to them they refuse to allow me to set up automated payments or bill me, I have to go on their site every month to make a one-time payment. Oh, and they also told me that since I am in the masters program I would’ve been automatically deferred even if they did see that I graduated. I don’t know if that is correct but it sounds like it shouldn’t be. You should have to apply for deferment in my opinion, it shouldn’t be “automatic.” It seems like just a way for Nelnet to keep accruing interest on people while they’re in grad school. With all these complaints I am seeing all over the web, this provider needs to be investigated thouroughly
My name is Howard Ron Flenner. My daughter, Shelby Dalton, has a series of loans through Nelnet that were paid to Full Sail University, which is a ripoff school for profit. When she reacher her second year FSU did nothing to support her academic endeavors and finally she dropped out of school. Nelnet sent FSU money that we did not approve for payment and did not bother to tell us this. Shelby told us about the payments after it was too late. I have contacted Nelnet in writing 2 times and they have not replied. Shelby named me as a 3rd party person to get access to her records and Nelnet just passes us over. I really want to join a class-action lawsuit to end Nelnet’s reign of usury and criminal actions on the backs of college students. Please contact me ASAP. HR Flenner.
Hi Howard,
You might look into getting your loan discharged for the amount that was wrongly paid to the school. Learn more about False Certification Discharge here: http://thecollegeinvestor.com/the-definitive-guide-to-student-loan-debt-2016/#tab-con-8
Also, you can file a complaint with the CFPB: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
Thank you for the very informative article. I was wondering if you can help me with this inquiry. Right now I have a student loan under HESAA the state run loan program. My payments have been lowered from my usual payments for a year and a half due to the fact that I have been unemployed for almost 2 years and had a child during that time. This month is the last time I can have my payments lowered for 3 more months after that my normal payments will resume. They gave me the option to have my loan transferred to NELNET where they can help me with keeping my payments low or stay with them in the hopes that in 3 months I will have employment and be able to resume my normal payments. What do you suggest? Who is the worst company for my loan? Should I stay with HESAA?
Thank you
The real question is whether you can afford your loans or not. It might make more sense to re-consolidate and select an income-based repayment plan that you can move forward with and eventually/potentially get forgiveness.
Just tried to re-certify my Income Based Repayment with Nelnet. Uploaded the necessary documents. I got an email saying that they needed verification of my taxable income. I haven’t worked since 2001, not that I haven’t tried finding a job. So I called and talked to a female at Nelnet. Don’t remember her name. She told me that studentloans.gov were the ones saying that I had taxable income. I told her that I haven’t worked since 2001. She sent me a new form prefilled out. To have the box checked that I have no taxable income, a box had to be checked that states my income has significantly dropped. I am married and my husband and I file jointly. My husband’s taxable income hasn’t dropped significantly and in the first paperwork that I sent in, I stated that. So we signed the prefilled out form and uploaded it. Well that was a dumb mistake. I called Nelnet again this morning, because I received another email stating that they need paycheck stubs from my husbands employment. I talked with a loan manager name Cathy. She talked to the people in processing and said that even though the first uploaded form showed no change in income, they still need a paycheck stub or certified written note from my husband stating his annual income because the second one said that we had a change in income. She told me that there are regulations out that after the significant drop in income box is checked, they can no longer use our tax information. I haven’t ever had problems with Nelnet before, but this is crap. Luckily I can consolidate my student loans with another servicer. I just hope my new servicer doesn’t give me the run around also. Nelnet is the worst!!!!!!!!
I’ve making payments on time and my principle only dropped several thousand through Nelnet. When I made payment earlier, I was penalized. NEVER get a student loan through NELNET. Customer service wasn’t much help.
I hate nelnet!! I originally took out about a $48,000 loan consolidation with Nelnet in 2004 (6.7 % interest) and have been making monthly payments of $350+ a month for 12+ years. I recently increased the amount to $200 biweekly to help with interest ( didn’t help at all). I haven’t missed a payment! I have paid over $60,000 and I still owe over $29,000+. How can this be!!!! I finally FIRED nelnet and refinanced with another company! The new company paid the $29,000+ and the total amount paid to nelnet was over $92,000. The new company estimated that I will pay around $7000 in interest when this loan of $29,000 + is paid off. I’ve paid over $40,000 in interest with nelnet. I basically paid about twice the amount of the loan that was borrowed. CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN??
THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!! They are crooks! LAWSUIT!!!!!!!
I have seen a lot of complaints (all too common to my own) about Nelnet… but I’m still uncertain of a real answer. I initially applied for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program in FEB 2016 and have been going back and forth resubmitting documents as every time they come back telling me something is wrong. They’ve even told me they can’t accept the form as the date was written with slashes instead of dashes… then they couldn’t accept it because it had 2 digits for the year instead of 4… things like that. Every time I triple check that all forms are completed ‘correctly’ (according to their definitions and requests), I receive another letter saying something ‘looks’ like it may have been altered (which it hasn’t) and I must begin the process over with new forms. Their response time has also increased to responding to my submissions with longer and longer waiting periods- clearly prolonging this process. I know what they are doing is fraudulent but not sure how to find a lawyer that would even know anything about this or if I could afford it.
Clearly from these comments, this has been going on for years – but what’s the solution? I have contacted the Department of Education as well as Federal Aid programs but they only direct me back to Nelnet.
You can file a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau – https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
Highlight exactly what you said above. Even better if you have it in writing.
You could also consider discussing this with a lawyer. Here’s a good article on Finding a Student Loan Lawyer.
This is exactly what is happening to me! I started this process May 2017 and that scares me that that you’ve been dealing with this for over a year. We will be looking into a lawyer. I just wish we could submit everything needed directly to the department of ed instead of dealing with Nelnet.
Hi everyone, I too am having trouble with nelnet. I am low income driven and I have filled out paper work 4 times, as nelnet told me.. I still have not gotten my lower payment and they keep threatening me and charging me interest I don’t even know what the original amount was..They are ruining my credit. I need to go to someone who can tell me the amount I truly owe and get rid of all the charges as I have been disabled and now low income..This is not a company I do not recommend.. If any one knows where I can get the true student loan information. I really need to straten this out. Thank you
If you want to pay for professional help, we recommend Ameritech Financial. You can call them at 1-866-863-3870.
You can always do it yourself on StudentLoans.gov.
If you think you’re being mislead, you can also file a complaint with the CFPB.
Too bad that as of today (Sep 5, 2017), The DoE is cutting ties to the CFPB which has been helping people. I still think CFPB can still go after these companies, but let’s see.
I had no issues with Nelnet while I was paying them . It wasn’t until I applied for loan forgiveness that I began having issues. I have submitted a couple forms multiple times because there’s always an issue on their end (i.e. the date isn’t legible or there’s a line through the document from when they scanned it). I get the runaround from them each time I contact them, which is at least weekly to make sure everything is received and ready to move this process forward. I have completed the form through Ombudsman hoping to hear back. Our next move will be contacting a lawyer as this entire situation is completely absurd. I would love to hear from anyone that has had luck getting their loan forgiveness application completed through Nelnet.
Margaret,
We had very few problems. They only asked two questions, Yes/No, for the doctor to fill out about whether disability was permanent, and inhibited work capacity. We were approved within 3 weeks of them asking that question, a total of 2 months after submitting the application.
CONSOLIDATION ISSUES
So I have a problem that I am just now getting to the bottom of. . .my student loans were transferred to Nelnet around 2012. By 2014 I had them consolidated and then shortly after, without my knowledge, they were then transferred to FedLoan. I graduated in 2006 and once I secured a full time job (within the first year) I started making regular payments. However, since 2011 I became a stay at home mom with limited income so I have been putting my loans on deferment for the past 5 years with occasional periods of making payments here and there (or an income driven repayment plan which for me means $0 since I’m not working), which I know adds interest.
The strange part is that about 2 years ago when I logged in to FedLoan’s site I saw something alarming: my total loan balance had DOUBLED. I had never received full paperwork from them when the loan was transferred and since I wasn’t actively paying on it I guess this little detail slipped through, but it shows one consolidated loan at apprx. $24,000 and then lists about 6 or 7 individual loans that total about 22,000 when added together. So I’m concerned that when Nelnet bought my loans, and consolidated them (I recall doing the paper work for this, but vaguely) they also left the other loans on the account, creating this doubled balance??
FedLoan can’t tell me anything other than “what their screens show”, however when I requested a full printed copy of my account, it sent over with just the $24,000 balance. (this would be accurate to the total amount I borrowed–$28,000–minus my 5 years of payments). Yet online it still shows all the individual loans still listed, as well as the consolidated balance.
I realize part of this is on me for not being diligent enough to keep track of this. It wasn’t until I looked up my credit score recently and saw it waaaay down in my past history that I even found Nelnet’s name, which is what brought me here. So wondering if this is a thing, or maybe I got tricked and signed some crazy consolidation agreement that doubled my balance, or if it’s somehow possible to accrue $21,000 in interest on student loans in 5 years.
That’s a terrible situation. You should honestly consider consulting a student loan lawyer to help you sort out what happened during the transfer of servicers: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/19516/lawyer-for-your-student-loan-debt/
Also, as a side note, stop deferring your actual payments – get on an income driven repayment plan and be diligent about certifying your income (or lack of income) to keep your payments $0. It’s 10000x better than deferment or forbearance.