Hi Heather, I’m getting very frustrated with trying to get into the 10 year IBR repayment plan. I’m starting to wonder if this is normal. It seems like with every form I submit I hear from Direct Loans Consolidation/Direct Loans Servicing of some problem that seems ridiculous and will take at least a month to fix/process. Do you know if this is normal?

When I consolidated I selected all my loans diligently. I called Direct Loans several times to ask questions to make sure I had everything filled in right. After sending in the forms and waiting for the 30 days they said it would take, I found out that they had not consolidated all of my loans because they sent it to Sallie Mae Federal instead of Sallie Mae private. So I had to submit another form to add the missing loan and wait another 30 days. In the meantime, I placed my Sallie Mae loans in deferment status so I wouldn’t be making payments that wouldn’t count to my 10 year forgiveness.

The second problem came with my payment type. When consolidating, the form asked what type of repayment plan I’d like to apply for and selected IBR. But after my loan finally consolidated after several months, Direct Loans servicing sent me a bill under the standard repayment plan. When I called them they said that Direct Loans Consolidation does not send the payment type information to Direct Loans Servicing. So I would have to apply online, which would take another 30-40 calendar days because they were backed up. But when I went online, their form did not give me an option for IBR. So they told me that I had to fax in the application.

After all is said and done I started this process in August and am still waiting for all this to get set up properly so I can start making payments that count. In the meantime, they placed me in a forbearance because I cannot afford the standard repayment option. After this is all done, I anticipate that I’ll have to spend another year working toward my ten year plan. Should I be waiting in forbearance while this is getting fixed?

I am sorry you are facing this situation.  I hear similar complaints from borrowers all the time.  Oversight and accountability over the operational processes in student loan servicing is shamefully poor.

To learn more about the extent of the madness read this post from the National Consumer Law Center: http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/2012/01/26/operational-problems-at-the-department-of-education-what-is-going-on/

Here’s what I suggest:
1) contact the student loan ombudsman’s and lodge your complaint: http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/
2) consider contacting your senator and representatives in congress and request that they contact the Dept of Ed for an explanation.

I’ve had the same drawn-out, frustrating experience.  I applied for consolidation and IBR in September of 2011, when I began an AmeriCorps position.  After many rounds with customer service and several months, I thought it was all worked out and my first payment towards PSLF would be April of 2012.  When no bill came due, I called.  I was told there had been an “administrative boo-boo” and not only had they lost some of my information in the final consolidation transfer, but somehow switched me to the standard repayment plan and set my first bill due-date in May of 2013.  It’s supposed to be straightened out soon, but I’ve lost yet another month where I could have had a qualifying payment.  There is a question here…

In all, I will have lost 8 months that would have counted towards my 10 years.  During this time, my IBR payments would have been $0.  Is there any way to get qualifying payments applied retroactively?  If so, how?

I hate this!  My suggestion is the same as above, contact the ombudsman (in writing) and ask for what you want (credit for payments).  I’m also recommending that folks let their congressional representatives know about the operational problems and the effect they have on us.  Let me know how it goes.