Consumer complaint received 2018-08-16
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: OR
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2018 my car was broken into and wallet was stolen out of the glove compartment. I immediately contacted my bank, deactivated my debit cards, and made a police report. On XX/XX/2018 I noticed a number of fraudulent checks cashed from my checking and savings account ( over {$14000.00} ). I worked with the bank, their fraud department, the Federal Trade Commission, and the police to dispute the charges. I subsequently was forced to close my checking account ending in XXXX. Around XX/XX/XXXX I contacted The XXXX XXXX XXXX Department and updated my direct debit details to reflect my new bank account information ( checking ending in XXXX ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a confirmation that my monthly loan payment would be withdrawn from account number XXXX on XX/XX/2018. On XX/XX/2018 I noticed that my loan payment was not withdrawn. I logged into myfedloan.gov and all of my loans were listed as " delinquent '' and I observed that the direct withdraw was attempted on the closed account ( XXXX ). I contacted customer service at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and spoke to a representative who immediately stated " You are delinquent, would you like to make a payment? ". I explained the situation and she stated that the new direct withdrawal information would take a month to become active. Due to her explanation and my desire to never be late on a payment, I provided my new bank account information and agreed to a onetime payment of {$300.00}. I then emailed customer service and asked why I was provided the attached letter confirming my new direct debit for XX/XX/2018, if it would take a month to activate. I received no response. On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that a duplicate charge of {$300.00} was withdrawn from my new checking account for a total of {$610.00}. I contacted customer service and spoke to supervisor, XXXX ( employee ID XXXX ) I explained the situation and requested that the duplicate payment be refunded immediately. He offered no explanation for the mistake -- and went on to report that a refund would have to be issued via the Department of Treasury and could take up to 30 days. He suggested that I dispute the duplicate charge with my bank. I explained that I do not wish to dispute my federal loan payments, but that I will not pay in duplicate. He stated there was nothing more he could do. I inquired if a double monthly payment would satisfy next month 's dues and count towards the 120 needed for the Public Service Forgiveness program I am diligently pursuing. He stated that I could make a double payment this month and that it would still count towards the 120 needed. I asked that he document everything he told me in the conversation and send me an email indicating that 1 ) I remain eligible for Public Service Forgiveness 2 ) That I am in good standing on my loan payments 3 ) That I was charged twice this month for a loan payment which I made every attempt to ensure were paid on time and in full. and 4 ) that I will not be charged for next month 's loan payment. He stated that he would take 7-10 business days to provide me this documentation.

Thank you sincerely for your assistance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation