Consumer complaint received 2019-01-09
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: PA
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:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I signed up for the Income-Driven Repayment plan with XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX  ), located in XXXX, PA. The IDR was accepted and my monthly payment was set at {$0.00}. I was enrolled in paperless notifications and provided only my primary contact phone number. This phone number was important : I had a {$0.00} dollar payment ( no monthly payment ), was enrolled in paperless notifications that I figured would get lost in spam, and wasn't familiar with XXXX 's website. If there were any issues, I was told that I would be called. 

In early XX/XX/XXXX, my credit score dropped dramatically. I knew this because I was in the process of securing a line of credit and checked my score regularly. I noticed that XXXX had reported all of my student loans were 90 days past due. Impossible, I thought. How could I have a late {$0.00} payment? Why haven't I heard from XXXX? Why didn't it show up as late, 30 days late, or 60 days late -- just 90 days late. 

After calling XXXX, they explained that I had not resubmitted my IDR for XXXX. I was told I was never contacted because the contact information on my XXXX account was incorrect. The primary phone number listed was a number I didn't recognize. My actual phone number was listed as the secondary. I was told that they do not call secondary phone numbers, in my case. XXXX  updated the info and helped me bring my account current. To fix the issue, I was placed in temporary forbearance ; I resubmitted the IDR form ; and I was later approved for {$0.00} dollar repayment, once again. To address the credit reporting issue, I was provided a Credit Dispute form to submit. The XXXX customer service representative explained that I should explain the error with the contact information. I submitted the dispute form about two weeks before XXXX, XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX to hear get an update on the dispute. It was deemed invalid. My credit score had dropped over 100 points because all of my loans were, for one month, reported as 90 days past due. I asked to appeal. They said the only way my dispute would ever be considered if I was in school at the time of the late payment ( a late {$0.00} payment, in my case ) or if the IDR would have been received by XXXX, but not yet processed. This directly contradicted the advice I got from the previous XXXX rep. The rep escalated the issue. The escalation rep stated to me that the reason the primary contact information was incorrect was because it was automatically loaded into their system from the Federal Student Aid system. Continuing, the rep explained that I had submitted my actual phone number to XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX via the Income-Driven Repayment plan form. Despite having this number, submitted in the most precise context of the previous year 's IDR form, I was never notified via the contact information I provided to XXXX, resulting in the subsequent late " {$0.00} '' payment. 

Thus, XXXX never notified me using the contact information I actually provided them. I was never actually provided real notice of the form needing to be submitted or the late {$0.00} payment. As such, less my appropriate reliance on XXXX 's presumed promise to contact me using the contact information I actually provided, there was nothing I could have done to prevent this situation. Yet, my credit score is wrecked and will take years to repair, all over a late {$0.00} dollar repayment.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation