Consumer complaint received 2017-04-04
Company: ACS Education Services
State: MA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about my loan

Complaint:
My name is XXXX XXXX. I wish to make you aware of a deceiving practice that ACS, a loan servicing company, is engaged in. 
I am writing to you today to register a complaint with my former student loan servicing company, ACS and the PSLF program website. I am a casualty of faulty information from both ACS and unclear language on the PSLF website. According to XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) " The ins and outs of PSLF can be confusing at times ... .you are one of the unfortunate borrowers who thought you were progressing toward PSLF forgiveness only to find out that you have n't been .... '' On another website, XXXX it is disheartening to learn that our government is obstructive toward the student borrower. It states, " Because so much money is at issue, the federal government has a huge incentive to make the process difficult and complicated. '' On the PSLF website it states, " Contact your servicer to apply for ... student loan forgiveness and more. '' So several years ago, I contacted my loan servicer, ACS, and inquired whether my loans were consolidated so that I could take advantage of the PSLF government loan-forgiveness program after ten years of XXXX work. My loans were in the Family Education Loan ( FFEL ) Program, and I understood that they may become eligible if I consolidated them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. I asked ACS whether my loans were consolidated and they replied that they were consolidated in XX/XX/XXXX. So I left well enough alone and continued in my XXXX job and paid my monthly loan payments in good faith since XX/XX/XXXX. 
I understand that XX/XX/XXXX will be the first time loan holders will be able receive loan forgiveness through the PSLF program offered by the federal government. So, I began to gather all necessary employer paperwork and I sent it to ACS in XX/XX/XXXX ( see attached ). I made a follow-up call in XX/XX/XXXX because I had not heard from ACS about the next steps for them to process the loan forgiveness. 
It was only then that I found out from a customer service representative at ACS that " consolidate '' meant I needed to consolidate my loans with a federal loan servicing agency and that my loan repayments for the past ten years would not qualify for the PSLF program. Instead, during that call in XX/XX/XXXX, ACS finally told me to consolidate my loans with this federal agency so that I could begin the ten-year countdown for loan forgiveness. 
I am outraged and deeply disappointed in the loan servicing companies that the federal government chooses to sell its loans to. I am certain there are other people out there who have been misled by signing for a " federal student loan '' only to have it serviced by an inept and profit-hungry servicing company -- which by the way, charged me 6.625 % interest and would not lower this rate even after my many inquiries, while the rest of the country enjoyed low-interest rates for the past ten years. I am appalled how our country makes a lot money on the backs of young students and even us adult learners, who need an advanced degree for employment. 
Each time I inquired about a lower interest rate at ACS, they told me to find a bank to consolidate the loan. Again, if I would have taken their advice and gone to a bank to consolidate the loan, I would not be able to take advantage of the PSLF program at all. What sort of sound advice was that? They were essentially directing me out of a possible loan forgiveness option. 
I am registering this complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and ask that your bureau advocate on my behalf for loan forgiveness.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation