Consumer complaint received 2021-12-17
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: VA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, American Education ServicesXXXX reported a " 30 days late '' remark to credit bureaus regarding my account. At the time, I had {$64.00} past due as I had not made my XXXX or XXXX payment. However, I have several previous overpayments that could be applied to my account. I immediately contacted AES and the following is a chronological timeline of correspondences : XX/XX/XXXX - I called AES and made a good faith request, asking that they remove the remarks from account based on my stellar payment history on my loan. I also asked for direct contact information for the loan provider as AES is the loan servicer. The representative advised me to send an email asking that my request be send directly to the loan provider. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I sent the aforementioned email/message directly through AES ' website. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called to inform AES that I had not received a response to my email. A ( different ) representative encouraged me to dispute the remarks on my report through the AES website. I immediately disputed the remarks and included a good faith request. I did not add much explanation to this dispute as I did not think I would need it. I did, however, offer to pay off the remainder of the loan ( for {$1400.00} ). 

XX/XX/XXXX - I received an email with the following statement " Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust credit reporting as a courtesy. Since we report to consumer reporting agencies, we are required to report complete and accurate information. Altering accurate information, even as a one-time courtesy, is not permitted as it would jeopardize the integrity of our reporting. " I also received the following response to my dispute in my AES account : " We received and investigated your credit dispute. Our investigation included the review of all relevant account history and documentation, including any information you provided to us. Based on this review, we determined the information reported is accurate ; therefore, no adjustments were requested for the loans listed in the Loan Information section of this letter. '' I called and left a voicemail message on AES ' consumer advocacy line. 

XX/XX/XXXX - I called a credit counselor for advice and explained to him that my partner was diagnosed with XXXX in XXXX and this led to a very chaotic following 2 months. I shared that I also had XXXX symptoms but luckily tested XXXX. The counselor encouraged me to share this information with AES ' as lenders have been encouraged to provide leniency with credit reporting when late payments are COVID-related. He also expressed that he was shocked with AES ' response to my good faith request given my payment history with AES and general credit history. I called and left another message for AES 's consumer advocacy line, informing them that my oversight of payment was COVID-19 related. I received an electronic letter in my AES account acknowledging receipt of my call and stating " We will review the information and take appropriate action within 10 business days. '' XX/XX/XXXX - No one from AES had responded to my phone call. I contacted a Student Loan Advocate from the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Ombudsman in XXXX, XXXX. He informed me that the COVID-related credit reporting leniency I referenced applied to federal loans and was at the discretion of private lenders to offer. However, we hoped they would be understanding of my circumstances. 

XX/XX/XXXX - My Student Loan Advocate spoke directly with AES and they reported the following : According to AES, you made a payment in XXXX which covered XXXX and XXXX and didnt make a payment again until XXXX, at an amount that sufficiently covered XXXX and XXXX. They indicated that they made multiple attempts to reach out to you when your payment was delinquent, but they have no record of you responding back. The 30-day late notice was made to the credit reporting agencies prior to the receipt of the XXXX payment. While they do make provisions for COVID-related issues causing late payments, they indicated that you waited too long to make that claim. They also indicated that they reviewed your credit dispute claim, and that the claim was denied. She did indicate that they reported the on-time payment for XXXX, but that does not remove the previous late notice. 

The claim that they attempted to contact me multiple times is false. I never received a call regarding this matter. A call/voicemail message could have helped avoid this situation. I later noticed one electronic letter dated XX/XX/XXXX in my AES account indicating that my loan was past due. 

Since XXXX, I have made at least 10 over payments of {$15.00} dollars. My monthly payment is roughly {$35.00} and I have chosen to pay {$50.00}. My most recent payment was for the amount of {$100.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. My next payment is due in XX/XX/XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief