MOHELA Student Loan Borrowers Continue to Struggle

MOHELA is one of the largest federal student loan servicers—including everyone pursuing PSLF—but that doesn’t mean that its clients receive great service. If you’ve followed the news—or this blog—you know that millions of borrowers have suffered from a raft of abuses by the servicing giant and are (hopefully!) going to finally be held accountable for it. While borrowers hold their breath to see what the Senate may do about MOHELA, some continue to be caught in the quagmire of repaying on loans they can’t afford, endure pitiful customer service, and have to sift through misinformation. Thankfully, the office of Federal Student Aid has already taken actions to transition MOHELA out of the driver’s seat, and will completely take over management of programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 

Prepare Yourself for the MOHELA Transition

As FSA transitions some responsibilities away from MOHELA, the website changes over, etc., borrowers can take actions to prepare and protect themselves. First and foremost, save your records and do it fast.

We strongly recommend that borrowers pursuing PSLF download their PSLF records, take screenshots, and save all correspondence by April 30th.

Starting May 1st, all records will no longer be available on MOHELA’s website and will move to studentaid.gov. To make sure that nothing is lost or omitted in the transition, keep copies of messages, letters, receipts, etc. for yourself. If you see a problem, communicate with MOHELA—reach out to your student loan professional if you’re unsure how best to approach them—and continue to keep records of your communications. Take additional screenshots of your account on MOHELA’s website if anything looks fishy. If needed, you can escalate to the Ombudsman or the CFPB, which your student loan professional can help you do. 

And remember, you’re not alone! Millions of other borrowers are in the same situation, which means that things could take a while to get fixed. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to talk to your student loan professional, who can help you figure out how to get it rectified sooner and make sure it gets done the right way the first time.