Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Nelnet faces a class action lawsuit alleging the lender falsely represented affiliation with the U.S. Department of Education, violating federal and state debt collection laws in regards to student loans.
The plaintiffs in the case say representatives from Nelnet misled them to believe their Nelnet loans were backed by the federal government but in fact were not.
The lead plaintiff in the case, Kimberly Isner-Monticello, filed the class action lawsuit after learning the CARES Act’s deferment of payments would not apply to her Nelnet student loans.
Isner-Monticello says she’s a licensed attorney living in Florida. She allegedly financed her tuition through Nelnet, eventually earning her Juris Doctor degree from the Stetson University College of Law.
The plaintiff claims defendants left her to believe the Nelnet student loans were federally held.
“Throughout the time NelNet services the loans, it would represent to Plaintiff that it was associated with the United States Department of Education,” according to the class action lawsuit.
The Nelnet class action lawsuit contends that this kind of messaging left Nelnet student loan borrowers to believe their loans were federally held. The plaintiff points to a specific voicemail left in April.
That message began with the greeting, “this is Nelnet calling on behalf of the United States Department of Education,” Isner-Monticello said. Her belief that her loan was federally backed was “reasonable” as a result, the class action lawsuit claims.
Nelnet representatives went on to explain to the plaintiff why these loans do not fall under CARES Act provisions. The loans were owned privately by a “bank, credit union or other lender” but not the federal government.
“Clearly, the language involved in the voicemail is inaccurate, as the United States Department of Education has no involvement with the Plaintiff’s Student Loans,” the plaintiff said.
The class action lawsuit further claims that Nelnet violates both the Fair Debt Collection Act and Florida’s Consumer Collections Practices Act by “by threatening to collect a debt when such person knows that the debt is not legitimate and asserted the existence of some other legal right when such person knows that the right does not exist.”
Even more, the plaintiff alleges that Nelnet representatives were “falsely representing the character, amount, and legal status of the debt in question.”
The class action lawsuit claims damages in this case. Isner-Monticello “has lost work time while calling and inquiring as to her CARES Act deferment when it was not available.”
There are some $130 billion worth of private student loans in the U.S., according to the Student Borrower Protection Center. That report describes the growing privately-held debt as “an amount greater than the payday loan market and the total outstanding balance of past-due medical debt.”
“The private student loan market has less transparency, fewer mechanisms for oversight, and a smaller scale of substantive protections for borrowers than other areas of consumer finance,” the report from the Student Borrower Protection Center claims.
The class action lawsuit seeks to form a Class that contains “All student loan borrowers in the Middle District of the US District Court in the State of Florida who have NelNet account numbers that start with the letter D, who were left voicemails alleging that Defendants are calling on behalf of the United States Department of Education relating to that loan.”
“The exact number of members in the Class is presently unknown, can only be ascertained through discovery, and can easily be identified through Defendants’ records or by other means,” according to the class action lawsuit.
Do you have Nelnet Student Loans? Let us know in the comments below.
Counsel for the plaintiffs in this case are from Owen & Dunivan PLLC.
The Nelnet Student Loan Class Action Lawsuit is Isner-Monticello, et al. v. Nelnet, Inc. et al. Case No. 8:20-cv-02135-MSS-TGW, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
Commerce Department Will Enforce Trump’s TikTok Ban In the U.S.
IED Attacks in Iraq Traced to Big Bank Financing
KeVita Master Brew Kombucha Class Action Settlement
Study Shows 25% Drop in E-Cigarette Use Among High School Students
566 thoughts onNelnet Class Action Lawsuit Says Student Loan Borrowers Are Misled
Nelnet is difficult to work with over the past few years. Their website regularly glitches for me. For example, it doesn’t allow me to schedule a payment in time to meet the due date – even several days before the payment is actually due. This could force borrowers like me into late payments when I am trying to schedule the payment well in advance. When I reached out to Nelnet with this issue, it took 30+ days to receive customer service assistance. The information provided was not even relevant to the issue. When trying to get assistance with questions, there does not seem to be a reliable way to contact them.
I also have experienced a lack of clarity on Pandemic Loan Forgiveness like many others. I applied and never heard anything back. Nelnet redirected me to Mohela but they have not responded to me either.
When trying to figure out what I qualified for with an older loan, I found Nelnet was unable to produce any information regarding its payment history upon request. It seems that the loan processor should be able to provide the history of the loan, even after it is transferred from the original loan server. How else could a consumer know if the payment schedule and balances are in fact, correct? It does not seem right.
I would love to be included in the lawsuit. I have been deceived by Nelnet. They coerced me to switch borrowers after having them for years. They told me I would be eligible for forgiveness and I am not, among other things.
Yes I was a victim of EdFinancial data breach.
I was told to combine my loans and it made me unable to use time worked for a non profit towards a PSLF
Great Lakes sold out my loan to Nelnet. I currently have not made contact as my agreement was with Great Lakes. The only communication Nelnet has made was through email. If I’m reading correctly, their emails and communications are stating the above lawsuit mentioning it is supported by the federal government. I’m currently awaiting legal communication from them what my debt agreement is with them. I’m afraid if I make contact or open an online account, that they’ve been requesting, that I’m now legally bound and accepting my debt is with them. I’m not liking being forced to deal with a corrupt financial institution based on their long history of corruption and federal laws they broke.
Paid my student loan off with Nelnet over 3 months ago and they still haven’t applied the money to my loan. Would love to know if there is a lawsuit for this. I feel like they stole my money and still left me with a loan balance
My DOE loan was sold to Nelnet.
Although, they spelled my name wrong on my profile.
I don’t identify with that person.
So don’t they own my debt now?
Do I have to pay back my loan?
Nelnet is nothing but a bunch of vampires and vultures. They will take every cent you have and then expect you to be just fine with them increasing your payments — already more than you can afford and still eat –by $200 a month each year forever, apparently. They said to me one time that I “might” get a reduction after I had paid for 25 years without being late. I pointed out that at the time, that would make me 97 years old by the time they decided they could give me a break on the money they are forcing out of me. They have charged interest that is INSANE, and what my original loan amount has long since been outstripped by the interest alone. The interest on these loans is greater than my original loan amount in the first place. May they all rest in the hell they deserve. They are relentless and the worst thing that could happen to anyone who only wanted to NOT live in the same poverty that Nelnet has NO PROBLEM forcing you into as they take all your money.
nelnet is now resorting to symantics to sidestep the dept. of ed approved elimination of the 3 year monitoring post-discharge period for total permanent disability recipients.
Before COVID and the CARES ACT started, I had a deal with Navient and their collection group for a repayment plan. They were to take a large sum of the loan off. I just found out my loan was sold to Great Lakes and then Nelnet. I found out through an email that Nelnet sent to me saying they bought my Department of Education Loan. I looked at my account in Nelnet, and all of the interest is put back on, and I owe $4000+ higher than my original loan. I tried to log in to Navient, and their website doesn’t even acknowledge the existence of my loan???????