Date Received: 2018-09-26
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: The XXXX XXXX company failed to accurately process my Income Driven Repayment plan. I sent in the recertification application almost three months ahead of the deadline but they only renewed 2 out the 10 student loans that they service for me. When I tried to call back two weeks ago, the lady on the phone said that they will recertify the application and run it again. I spoke to another man today to follow up and he mentioned that I need send in a form that the first lady never mentioned about to recertify my student loan payments for the IDR. While all this is going on, the XXXX XXXX reported to the credit bureaus about changes with my student loans that caused my credit score to go down by 20points.
Company Response:
State: IL
Zip: 604XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-25
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Problem with customer service
Consumer Complaint: My student loan, currently serviced by XXXX XXXX, has been in an Income Driven Repairment plan up until XX/XX/2018. On XX/XX/2018, I received a letter indicating that I had to submit a recertification to stay in the Income Driven Repayment program. This letter stated that the deadline for submission of all materials was XX/XX/2018. I completed a paper application which was received by XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2018, however, was notified that it was missing a specific piece of information ( the frequency of being paid ). I called on XX/XX/2018 and verbally advised that I was paid biweekly. I was told this would be added to my application and my application would be processed. On XX/XX/2018 I called to check on the status of application. At this time I was told that my prior phone call had been " noted '' on my account, however, the application was not forwarded for processing. I was then advised that the application would be now be entered into pending status as of XX/XX/2018 ( still well before the XX/XX/2018 deadline explained in the XXXX letter ). On XX/XX/2018 I called again and was assured that my application was complete and was being expedited for processing. Without explanation or indication my application had been reviewed, I called again on XX/XX/2018 and was told that it was too late, the bill from XXXX had been generated at the full 10 year repayment plan rate ( a monthly payment of greater than {$4000.00} compared to my income driven repayment amount of less than {$400.00} ). I was given no explanation as to why my application had been delayed despite being told previously that it was complete and on time. I submitted all my materials on time and was told multiple times that my application was complete and ready for processing. However, due to internal miscommunications and incorrect information given to me by XXXX XXXX, my Income Driven Repayment Plan application is delayed forcing me to either pay 10x my monthly payment ( which I can not afford ) or defer the XXXX monthly payment and thereby delaying my Public Service Loan Forgiveness repayments. I feel like I did everything right and due to their own mistakes I'm left owing thousands of extra dollars on my student loans. If any consumers are reading this - if there are any issues with any application of any type call two times per week and take notes on every phone call until your application is actually processed.
Company Response:
State: WI
Zip: 53703
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-25
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account information incorrect
Consumer Complaint: XXXX XXXX HAVE CHANGED THE TERMS OF MY LOAN IN VIOLATION OF LAW. MY PROMISSORY NOTE EXPLICITLY STATES THAT ONLY MY PRINCIPAL AMOUNT IS TO BE REPORTED UNLESS I AM REMOVED FROM IBR. I HAVE NOT BEEN REMOVED FROM IBR AND INSTEAD XXXX XXXX HAS DECIDED ON THEIR OWN TO CHANGE THE TERMS OF MY CONTRACT AND HOW THE REPORT MY BALANCE. XXXX XXXX REPORTING THE INCORRECT BALANCE HAS CAUSED ME TO OBTAIN A 40 POINT DECREASE IN MY CREDIT SCORE! FURTHER XXXX XXXX FAILED TO INFORM ME OF ANY CHANGES TO MY ACCOUNT AS REQUIRED BY LAW!!! I AM REQUESTING XXXX XXXX GO BACK TO REPORTING MY PRINCIPAL BALANCE ONLY OR I WILL BE FORCED TO SUE THIS INCOMPETENT COMPANY! THERE INTERNAL PROCEDURES DO NOT OVERRIDE THE LAW! THEY TRIED THIS SAME ILLEGAL TACTIC WITH ME LAST YEAR AND NOW RETALIATING BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO GET IT REVERSED.
Company Response:
State: MI
Zip: 48221
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-25
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Information belongs to someone else
Consumer Complaint: FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS are on only one credit report ( XXXX ) but has been removed from XXXX and XXXX. XXXX was breached as well as XXXX XXXX and my information was compromised. I filed an Identity Theft Report and XXXX has refused to remove the disputed accounts which is not uniform with the other 2 credit bureaus.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-25
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: Here we go again!!! I am still trying to fix the debacle that is my student loan. I have called and called and called and just get the runaround. I feel like my student loan is a complete and utter fraud and the student loan servicer is running a scam. My student loans are a disaster. The government garnished my income tax refund even though I'd been paying on my loans. I was assigned an ombudsman that was able to figure out the level of deceit these companies are willing to go through. The ombudsman discovered my consolidated student loans were unconsolidated and sent to separate servicers without my knowledge or consent. In trying to understand what's going on and why my fees are so high I called XXXX XXXX and they just XXXX with me. I'm going through the exact same thing as before where everyone I talk to sends me to talk to someone else so I'm stuck in this vicious, expensive, circle of XXXX. When I talk to them they just say they don't understand what's going on and 'oops, we can't find any of your loan information before XXXX ''!!!!!!!! Ummmmm .... I graduated in XXXX. The way they have it calculated, my approximately $ 50K worth of loans with cost me somewhere around $ 180K. So - they can XXXX up my loans, lose my loans, not give me information about my loans, but still charge me interest? They also set me up on some graduated payment which means my $ XXXX/month loan will go up by {$200.00} next year!!!!! XXXX? I am already dying trying to pay $ XXXX/month. How am I possibly going to come up with $ XXXX/month?!!!!! This is sheer lunacy and is financial XXXX. I can not believe XXXX XXXX has no responsibility to be able to look at my records and truthfully, tell me my options. Servicing has been inconsistent, funds were misappropriately applied, I have been repeatedly lied to, information has been obscured, I have been deceived, my credit has been affected and I feel their behavior has been illegal. Someone needs to stop them or sue them like they sued XXXX. https : //www.consumerfinance.gov/XXXX Please help me figure this out. This is ridiculous.
Company Response:
State: WI
Zip: 53704
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-25
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Trouble with how payments are being handled
Consumer Complaint: XXXX has been deceptively putting my loan in forbearance status even though I was never late in payment or requested forbearance status. Also, they are generating higher amount bill than it actually is due so that payment carries over to next month and it does not count as qualifying payment toward PSLF. This is a very deceptive and fraud practice. They are not listening to me and not fixing these issues. If they do not count all my qualifying payments for PSLF, I am going to take legal action against them. I hope they listen to you.
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 76712
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-25
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I received a letter from XXXX XXXX / XXXX XXXX ( I'm not sure which, both are included on the letterhead ) dated XX/XX/2018, advising me that XXXX XXXX is transferring the loan on XX/XX/2018 to American Education Services ( AES ). The letter states I need to begin sending payment to AES on XX/XX/2018. I sent my payment to AES on XX/XX/2018 using the account number provided on the letter I referenced above. In XXXX I began receiving past due notices from AES. When I called and indicated what I had done, they advised me the account I supplied ( which was the one on the letter I received ) did not exist. In fact, they said the account was not setup on system until XX/XX/XXXX ( yet I was told to begin paying them on XX/XX/XXXX ). They said they could not post the payment, were mailing me a refund check for the payment ( {$140.00} ), and that upon receipt I was to endorse the check and mail it back to them. I questioned this approach, and asked if I should just deposit the check and make another payment. The rep told me not to do that, and advised that by endorsing the check and mailing it back in that would assure me that the payment was applied at the original time I made it. I called back one other time to get the mailing address, and reconfirmed with another rep that I should endorse and mail versus depositing and making a payment, and the 2nd rep affirmed what I had originally been told, so I complied. Subsequent weeks pass and I continue to receive past due notices in the mail, past due notices via email, and so I called back to check on the status of the payment being applied. I'm told at that time no one could find record of the check I mailed back in, and that the advice I had received to endorse the check and mail it back was erroneous. I'm also told that I have a late fee. After multiple phone calls, I finally received the refund check again on XX/XX/XXXX for the payment I submitted on XX/XX/XXXX. I deposited that check and made the payment of {$140.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I called back today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to ensure any and all late fees have been removed from my account. I'm told I have a total of {$10.00} in late fees on my account, and that a request for the late fees to be removed has been in process since XX/XX/XXXX. The fact that after having been through all of the above which is documented on my account and the lender can't credit {$11.00} in late fees over the course of 30+ days is absurd. I also learned that through the transition of this loan, that my minimum payment due has been increased by $ XXXX/month. That also doesn't seem to be a fair practice. As a consumer, I did nothing wrong, I did not ask for this loan to be transferred to another lender, and yet I've had late fees sitting on my account for 30+ days ( likely accruing additional interest ) and also somehow had my minimum payment due increased by $ XXXX/month. This is not fair business practices.
Company Response:
State: OH
Zip: 43147
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: I have been asking FedLoan Servicing for a recount of my number of qualifying payments for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX program since XXXX. I call or email about once every other month requesting the recount. I've kept a record of all of these phone calls for the last year. And, I've also kept sent receipts for all of the email I've sent on the subject. Every time I call or email, XXXX responds that they will do a recount. But it's been over two years now, and I'm concerned the information will become more difficult to track as time goes on. When I have talked with a manager at XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX, he did agree that the number was definitely wrong, and we agreed on the correct number. But the change was never made to my account.
Company Response:
State: DC
Zip: 20008
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-24
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Subissue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Consumer Complaint: I am a parent borrower ( my daughter was a student ) and I borrowed {$41000.00} in total paid {$18000.00} so that left {$23000.00} unpaid. I am willing to pay base on my income I tried to apply for lower monthly payment with XXXX XXXX XXXX. They told me to consolidate the loan that in order I am able to lower payment. I thought that was I had been seeking and I applied for that option. Then they received email from XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) for consolidation and I replied back right after regarding withdrawing the application due to missunstood because of the principal balance go higher that I did not know. The XXXX rejected my request of withdraw the application. I do not think it is right because borrower has right to cancel the application. I keep paying what I owe XXXX as much as I can but I never agree with the term of loan I have addressed this to XXXX but they ignore. I am seeking for help to solve this issue I hope CFPB may help. Thank you for your help in advance. XXXX XXXX my last SS # XXXX resident of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Ma XXXX email XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: MA
Zip: 01824
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-10-10
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2018-09-24
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Subissue: Received bad information about your loan
Consumer Complaint: My student loans were consolidated in XX/XX/XXXX for the express purpose of getting on an income-based repayment ( IBR ) plan. I paid directly to the US Department of Education until my loan was transferred to XXXX in XXXX. In XXXX, my loan was transferred to XXXX, who I paid until my loan was transferred to XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I received an acknowledgement from XXXX regarding my Employer Certification Form ( ECF ), and in doing so XXXX reported only XXXX qualifying payments from my qualifying employment begin date of XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX years earlier. I called XXXX and spoke to a customer service representative named XXXX and was then transferred to her supervisor named XXXX. The supervisor pulled up what records she had access to, and here is a summary of what we determined before the phone call ended : XXXX : 3 qualifying payments made in XXXX, XXXX, XXXX. The XXXX payment was outside window and so didnt qualify. She would have this payment reviewed. XXXX : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX had qualifying payments. No qualifying payment for XX/XX/XXXX due to administrative forbearance. No qualifying payment in XX/XX/XXXX. Supervisor reported she would have these payments reviewed as well. During our conversation, she was not sure why these payments that appeared to be qualifying were not treated as such. She mentioned something to the effect about my being in forbearance while I paid them. If I was in forbearance, why would I make payments? This response didnt make sense. She said something like, If you submitted payments under umbrella of forbearance, they dont qualify. You can request in writing to have the umbrella of forbearance removed so they do qualify. Satisfied that my payments from the beginning of my qualifying employment WERE indeed in their records, and that there seemed to be an easy process to rectify the situation, the phone call ended with the supervisors assurances my payments would be reviewed and I would hear the updated count on qualifying payments in about 60 days. Note that it took nearly 5 months for me to hear my original, inaccurate count from XXXX after being transferred to them. After more than 60 days of not hearing anything about an updated count, I called XXXX again. This time I was told that my case had been referred to the Dept. of Education who apparently is responsible for reviewing my qualifying payments and to continue waiting. It is now 8 months later, and I still havent heard anything. In sum, it has been 10 months since a review was promised, and 15 months since the original error in payment count was made. In short, my payments to all providers before being transferred to XXXX are not being counted/acknowledged as contributing towards my PSLF, despite being at the same employer ( professor at state college ) the entire time. I have always been in an income-based repayment plan. I want XXXX to acknowledge my payments to XXXX, XXXX and the US Dept of Education, and to receive an accurate, updated count of my payments toward PSLF.
Company Response:
State: NY
Zip: 144XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2018-09-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A