Comments on: Covid-19 Relief: Refunds on Federal Student Loan Payments

By: June

June — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 20:04:16 +0000

In reply to Michael P. Lux, Esq.. Thank you!

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 18:03:47 +0000

In reply to June. That is a great question June. I don't know what the best procedure is in this circumstance. If it was me, I'd start with a call to my current servicer. I'd ask for the refund and then ask if I should call the previous servicer too.

By: June

June — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:59:36 +0000

Refunds During the Payment Pause. My loan was transferred to Mohela. Do I need to call both service providers to initiate a refund or just my current service provider?

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 15:03:17 +0000

In reply to Gregory R. van Liew. Correct. For example, if you paid an extra $800 during the pandemic and requested a refund, the current balance would increase by $800.

By: Gregory R. van Liew

Gregory R. van Liew — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 21:54:05 +0000

We have been paying Our daughter’s loans (presently serviced by AidVantage) throughout the pandemic, and have paid lots extra. If she were to get refunds for these payments, would her present loan balance be reset to reflect the givebacks?

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 17:59:05 +0000

In reply to Karen. The furthest back they will go on refunds of previous payments is March of 2020 (when the Covid relief started).

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 02:33:16 +0000

Yes, I paid off some of my loans as well and was wondering the same. I paid 20 grand off in or around 2018 when I thought I’d qualify for the public service loan forgiveness, but they said I didn’t transfer all my loans in to Direct Loans. I worked for a non profit for over 10 years thinking I’d qualify. I refinanced my house and paid off my 20 grand debt. about 4 or 5 years ago. It was too stressful to deal with them. I wish I knew that this would happen and I would have just made minimum payments.
-Over the past year? I paid off some of my most recent loans from 2021-2022. I still owe some, but would they credit me for what I’ve paid off when I didn’t really have to? Probably not.

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 18:01:04 +0000

In reply to Chris.

Hi Chris,

That is an excellent question, and you are the first person I’ve connected with who is requesting a refund on payments that paid off a loan in full. My hunch is that you won’t be able to get a refund, but it is definitely worth the effort to request one and see what they say. The worst they can do is say no.

Please let us know how it goes for you!

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 17:41:24 +0000

Can you receive refunds for pandemic loan payments if the loan was paid in full before you requested a refund?

I made monthly payments to my consolidated loan between March 2020 and March 2021. In February 2021, one of the four loans (the one that the bulk of my payment was going towards) was paid in full. In March 2021, I realized that I might be eligible for TEPSLF (after being told many times that I did not qualify for PSLF), submitted an application, and paused my loan payments. Later in 2021, my remaining three loans were forgiven. I have requested pandemic and overpayment refunds (to the tune of $41k) from FedLoan, but it’s been a nightmare trying to actually get the money (or a solid answer from FedLoan). But am I even eligible for pandemic refunds for the loan that was paid off before I made the request?

By: Michael P. Lux, Esq.

Michael P. Lux, Esq. — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 14:06:57 +0000

In reply to Kyle Hagen.

That sounds awful Kyle.

It’s also common for one servicer to try to tell you that the other servicer has to resolve the issue.

I think your refund will be even more difficult to get once repayment starts and they are no longer issuing refunds, so I think an aggressive approach might work best.

You can consider the following options:
– Call each servicer again, and ask them to escalate your call to speak with someone with the authority to help. Explain what the other servicer is saying. Perhaps you could try arranging a 3-way call with both servicers on the line at the same time.
– Contact the Department of Education. They may have an opinion on which servicer should process the refund.
– File a complaint with the CFPB. In many cases, these complaints lead to a high-level review that can result in the solution you are looking for.
– Contact your Congressional representative. An email from your rep’s office to the department of education or your servicer can really get the ball moving.

As a final thought, MOHELA is about to become the servicer that handles all PSLF borrowers. In the coming months your loans will be transferred back to MOHELA. This may help your situation, but it could also make things more complicated. Just another thing to keep on your radar.