Consumer complaint received 2023-09-25
Company: Maximus Education, LLC dba Aidvantage
State: IN
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
This is the second complaint I've made about Aidvantage due to their sloppy record keeping and multiple instances of giving inaccurate information. I've tried to do my due diligence and follow the chain of command and even waiting close to 2 hours to speak to a supervisor to no avail. 
on XX/XX/XXXX I called and spoke to an agent and was told my payment would be {$360.00} which is the same payment amount I was told in XXXX. I asked the agent if this was the lowest amount available and she seemed to dance around the question and told me that when I submitted my income driven repayment request I should've selected the cheapest option. Its been a few years since student loan payments have been paused but I remember the servicer placing me on my current income based repayment plan. The agent made no mention of there being a possibly cheaper alternative by applying to the save program. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I submitted my application for the save program online but I mistakenly choose the option for new borrowers. 
on XX/XX/XXXX I realized my mistake and submitted the correct application for borrowers wanting to switch to the SAVE program. 
on XX/XX/XXXX I decided to call Aidvantage to make sure the correct application was processed. The agent told me not to worry and Aidvantage is offering for a limited time self certification over the phone and she'd be able to process that for me. After answering a few questions I was told that I am eligible for the SAVE program and I'll have a payment of {$0.00}. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called Aidvantage about a correspondence sent to me on XX/XX/XXXX saying I needed to make some sort of payment to switch plans from my current income based repayment program to my requested Save program, but did not disclose what that amount would be. The agent told me because my new monthly payment would be {$0.00} I don't need to pay anything to switch plans. She went on to say my application should take 15 business days to process. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a document saying my income based repayment plan was approved and my new payment will be {$120.00}. I also saw something saying they were waiting for a form. 
When I called Aidvantage again on XX/XX/XXXX the agent told me that a formal exit procedure needed to be done by Aidvantage. He told me that self certification still applies and I have plenty of time before my repayment starts on XX/XX/XXXX. He then asked me the same self certification questions I was asked previously and told me I'm authorized to be on the Save plan. He went on to tell me my paperwork should be completed by XX/XX/XXXX and my new payment amount of {$0.00} should be reflected on my account. 
on XX/XX/XXXX I called Aidvantage because at this point its now a week past the date I should've received correspondence confirming my new payment amount of {$0.00}. After waiting close to an hour, when I finally got an agent on the phone, I asked for the amount of my payment and she said its {$120.00} due on XX/XX/XXXX. She told me my application is still being processed and asked to put me on hold so she can read the notes on my account. She then informed me that I'd have to pay either the standard payment amount of approximately {$900.00} or a reduced rate of {$5.00} and enter into a voluntary forbearance to enter the SAVE program. I asked her if I agree to this can she guarantee me my application will be processed and approved because I've been told something different each time I call and this is the first I've heard of having to pay anything to switch plans. This is now the 5th time I've had to call about the same issue and have been getting different information and I'd need to speak to a supervisor. 
After waiting for over 30 minutes to speak to a supervisor I spoke to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. She repeated the same information as the previous agent but told me she could expedite my application so instead of it taking over 30 business days to process it would only be 24-48 hours. Otherwise I'd have to pay the {$120.00} of the income based repayment plan. I didn't get the impression that she really wanted to help me due to how long it took for her to take my call and when asked for her contact info I was told I could call back in the XXXX number and speak to an agent. This is counter intuitive when I had already told her I felt as if I had been getting the run around. 
I told her I'd have to talk to my husband to see what he wants to do and for the time being I'm going to leave things as they are.

I dont trust any of the information given to me verbally by Aidvantage at this point. It's unacceptable to have to call 5 times about the same issue with no resolution. I shouldn't have to enter into a voluntary forbeance and have additional interest added onto my loan because of the inaccurate information I was repeatedly given. I don't trust that my application will be processed correctly at this point and I may even be stuck having to pay the standard payment amount of over {$900.00} once my forbearance ends. My resolution to this matter would be to give me a new servicer.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation