MOHELA

In short

MOHELA services federal student loans for the Department of Education, which owns the loans and decides many outcomes, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Put every request in writing through the online account and keep copies. Do not rely on a CFPB complaint alone: in the 12 months to June 2026, 70.5% of MOHELA's CFPB complaints were not answered on time. Use the Federal Student Aid Feedback Center and the FSA Ombudsman, and a state student loan office if your state has one. Never pay anyone for student loan help and never share your FSA ID.

How complaints actually go

• MOHELA's home page warns of longer hold times due to high call volume. MOHELA
• A CFPB complaint goes to MOHELA for a response within 15 days, or 60 days if it asks for more time. In the 12 months to June 2026, 6,293 of 8,925 MOHELA complaints (70.5%) were not answered on time, and 5,364 (60.1%) carry the status "Untimely response". CFPB complaint database search
• Across all student loan companies in 2025, companies did not give a timely response, or any response, to 31% of CFPB complaints; they said pending litigation over federal repayment programs and changes in servicing caused this. CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report
• When servicers do answer, they often say the Department of Education controls the outcome: they could not set up a payment arrangement without the Department's authorization, and after forwarding a PSLF application to Federal Student Aid they must wait for its confirmation. CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report

What tends to work

• Escalate to the Department of Education, which owns the loans: MOHELA's own advocates page points to the Federal Student Aid Feedback Center (studentaid.gov/feedback-center) and the FSA Ombudsman Group, P.O. Box 1854, Monticello, KY 42633. MOHELA: student loan advocates
• If you live in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Nevada, Virginia or Washington, use that state's student loan ombudsman or advocate; each office helps only residents of its state. MOHELA: student loan advocates
• If you still file with the CFPB, attach your timeline and documents and also send the same complaint to Federal Student Aid, since only 2,632 of 8,925 MOHELA CFPB complaints (29.5%) were answered on time in the 12 months to June 2026. CFPB complaint database search

Traps and fine print

• Check every billing statement and due date. In October 2023 the Department of Education withheld $7.2 million in payments from MOHELA after it failed to send billing statements on time to 2.5 million borrowers; the Department said more than 800,000 borrowers became delinquent as a result. Missouri Independent, February 29, 2024
• Forbearance can cost PSLF credit. Borrowers told the CFPB in 2025 that loans were placed in forbearance without their request, which hurt their PSLF payment counts, and that servicers miscounted qualifying payments or delayed PSLF applications. CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report
• Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan reported to the CFPB in 2025 that servicers ignored requests to switch plans or placed them in the wrong forbearance; servicers said litigation had stopped SAVE and temporarily stopped processing other income-driven plans. CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report

By the numbers

• CFPB complaints received July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 for "MOHELA": 8,925. Products: student loan 6,704, credit reporting 1,812, debt collection 391. Top issues: dealing with your lender or servicer 4,681, incorrect information on a report 1,714, struggling to repay your loan 1,189, the company's investigation into an existing problem 492. CFPB complaint database search
• Of those 8,925 complaints, 5,364 (60.1%) have the status "Untimely response", 3,188 (35.7%) closed with explanation, 280 (3.1%) were in progress, 84 (0.9%) closed with non-monetary relief and 9 (0.1%) with monetary relief. Data retrieved 2026-10-12. CFPB complaint database search
• MOHELA told U.S. senators it received 36,309 complaints in a year, of which almost 4,000 were still marked unresolved in its internal system; the June 2023 Federal Student Aid report showed a backlog of almost 890,000 PSLF applications. Missouri Independent, February 29, 2024

Scams that target customers

• MOHELA says you never have to pay for help with your student loans, and that MOHELA and Federal Student Aid will never ask for your FSA ID or any other log-in information. Debt relief companies often impersonate, or imply they are affiliated with, the Department of Education or MOHELA. MOHELA: avoid student loan scams
• Warning signs MOHELA lists include someone telling you to stop or redirect your student loan payments, official-looking envelopes, letters and emails, and calls from spoofed phone numbers. Check that a servicer is on the Department's list of approved servicers. MOHELA: avoid student loan scams
• The FTC says never share your FSA ID, never pay an upfront fee, log in to StudentAid.gov to see your servicer and its contact details, and report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. FTC consumer alert, May 21, 2025