Some student-loan borrowers are surprised to find their accounts are suddenly in forbearance. Here's why that might be happening.

• Some student-loan borrowers are logging into their accounts and seeing it in forbearance.
• It could be a result of errors the Education Department detected with servicer MOHELA.

If you recently logged into your student-loan account and were surprised to see it placed in forbearance, you're not alone.

Over the past few days, student-loan borrowers primarily serviced by MOHELA have logged into their accounts to see their loans were no longer in active repayment. A version of a notice from MOHELA reviewed by Insider stated: "We are in the process of updating your account. You will not be due for payment until after December 28, 2023, and your interest rate will be 0% through December 28, 2023."

"The months from September through December will count toward income-driven repayment forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, assuming all other requirements are met," the notice continued. "Please allow up to 30 days for the updates to be completed. We appreciate your patience and will notify you after your account has been updated."

The notice did not provide any further information as to why the account was placed in forbearance, or any details on the updates it would be making to the borrowers' accounts. But one reason for these forbearances is likely a response to the Education Department's announcement in late October stating that MOHELA failed to send on-time billing statements to 2.5 million borrowers, leading 800,000 of them into delinquency.

The department instructed the company to place all impacted borrowers on administrative forbearance, with 0% interest, until the issues are resolved. Federal Student Aid also outlined a range of other errors borrowers have faced across other federal servicers, like incorrect monthly payments and failures to disclose new payment amounts. The department instructed servicers to place those borrowers on administrative forbearance, as well.

One borrower who saw their account was placed in forbearance told Insider that upon calling a customer service representative at MOHELA, they were told the notice was a result of a number of behind-the-scene adjustments the company was making to borrowers' accounts, and the due date on their payment would be removed until after December 28. The representative also said she will put in a refund request for the payments the borrower made in the time period the forbearance is supposed to cover.

Still, the borrower's account continues to show a payment due with interest accruing, according to documents reviewed by Insider.

Another borrower on Public Service Loan Forgiveness told Insider they did not know their account was placed in forbearance until logging into their account and did not receive an email alerting them of the change. They said this was also after they received a notice that their October payment was late seven days ago.

While MOHELA is also transitioning its borrowers to a new online platform in the coming months, Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance — a group that represents federal servicers — told Insider those conversions have not started yet, and it's unlikely to be a reason for the forbearance notices some borrowers are receiving.

The confusion surrounding forbearance guidance has caught the attention of some Democratic lawmakers. On Tuesday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Chris Van Hollen, and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to MOHELA's CEO Scott Giles to request information on how the company is communicating account errors to borrowers.

"The notices MOHELA provided to borrowers regarding their errors fail to explain how or why borrowers were placed in administrative forbearance, including omitting any mention of MOHELA's error being the cause," the letter said.

"Without any explanation, borrowers may reasonably believe they were responsible and seek to end the forbearance," it continued. "In fact, MOHELA's notice tells borrowers that they may decline or request to end the forbearance. If that happens, resumed payment amounts may still be incorrect — due to MOHELA's error — and borrowers may face financial hardship."

Was your student-loan account placed on administrative forbearance without any notice? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@insider.com.