Consumer complaint received 2021-07-28
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: AK
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:
I am currently in the PSLF program to have two of my student loans forgiven. I have obtained a " qualifying '' status on 117 of the 120 payments required to achieve loan forgiveness. I completed the 120 necessary qualifying payments in XX/XX/XXXX, so there are only 3 payments on my loans that need to be certified as " qualifying '' before my forgiveness can be approved. The payments are for XXXX, XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. 

However, I am only employed by my qualifying employer until XX/XX/XXXX. If my loan forgiveness is not approved by that date, I will not receive the forgiveness I have been working towards for the past decade. Therefore it is crucial that these remaining 3 payments are certified as " qualifying '' and my loan forgiveness is received in the next 30 days. 

To that end, I submitted a PSLF application request directly after my XX/XX/XXXX payment date passed, which was as soon as I was able to submit it. At the time I submitted my application, there were 21 payments on my account that had not yet been deemed " qualifying, '' despite the fact that I had submitted an employment certification back in XX/XX/XXXX. 

After receiving an automated response that my application had been received and was being considered, I submitted a request for expedited consideration around XX/XX/XXXX. I received a response from FedLoan Servicing on XX/XX/XXXX stating that my PSLF application was currently under review to determine if I had been working for a qualifying employer for the required payment period. The response also stated that had I used the PSLF tool on the Dept. of Education website to apply for forgiveness that I might have received an automatic approval, but because I didn't do that, my application required a live representative to review it. 

But I did use the PSLF tool to submit my application! However, the tool did not recognize that I had made 99 qualifying payments that had already been deemed as qualifying! My current employer is also listed in the PSLF tool database as an approved qualifying employer, so the forgiveness decision should be quick and simple, as the remaining 21 payments that had not yet been deemed " qualifying '' when I submitted my application were made while I was employed at that employer. 

I am also discouraged because this week the results of my XX/XX/XXXX employment certification suddenly appeared on my PSLF payment tracking page. So, it took over 4 months for FedLoan Servicing to determine that my payments made between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX were " qualifying, '' despite the fact that my employer is already in their database as a qualified employer for PSLF purposes. What is baffling is why the representative reviewing my file did not also review my PSLF application at the same time they were reviewing my XX/XX/XXXX certification request. It simply makes no sense, considering my forgiveness application had been submitted for nearly a month! 

Additionally, several years ago, the only way I was able to receive a response from FedLoan Servicing about my qualifying payments ( after attempting multiple times over 2 years ) was to file a CFPB complaint. I received my requested response in about 10 days after filing my complaint. 

In summary, I am in dire need of assistance with expediting my PSLF application to get the final 3 payments ( out of the 120 required payments ) classified as " qualifying '' and then get the loan forgiveness granted as soon as possible, but for sure before XX/XX/XXXX. This forgiveness is worth more than {$100000.00} to me and my family, so it is imperative that the process is completed in XXXX. Thank you for your help.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation