Consumer complaint received 2023-10-06
Company: Maximus Education, LLC dba Aidvantage
State: VA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I am fortunate to work for a company that has agreed to assist with my student loan payments. For them to do so, I am required to submit a copy of a current billing statement. One might imagine that this would be a simple request for Aidvantage to fulfill ; but the past month or so that I've spent trying to contact them to secure this document seems to suggest otherwise ( and also seems to reflect a larger, more concerning trend of incompetence and complete lack of ability to effectively service their " customers '' ). The following paragraphs contain a brief rundown of events : On XX/XX/XXXX I received email correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education with information about preparing for the continuation of student loan payments. In this email, I was advised that I could expect to receive a current billing statement from Aidvantage at least 21 days before my payment is due ( XX/XX/XXXX ). Upon receipt of this message, I registered an account online with Aidvantage, and took care to ensure that all of my personal information was correct and up to date to ensure that there would be no issue in receiving further communication from the lender. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Aidvantage which indicated that they were to have started sending out billing statements on XX/XX/XXXX. I had not gotten anything in the mail by that point, so I waited for a few days to accommodate mail delivery service times. A week later, on XX/XX/XXXX, I still had not received any correspondence, so I attempted to call Aidvantage customer service during regular business hours in hopes of getting some kind of update. I sat on hold for over an hour before needing to get on with my day, so no contact was made. 

Later that day, I logged back on to my account to see whether any of this information was available for me to access electronically. It was not. I did, however, notice that Aidvantage advertised a Live Chat feature built into their website, which presumably would connect me to someone who may be able to assist with my request. But when I tried to use this feature, I was met with an error message which prevented me from making any kind of contact. I figured that there was some kind of technical issue going on, and resolved to give them a couple of days to fix it before trying again. 

The following day, XX/XX/XXXX, I received another email from Aidvantage with the subject line : " Your monthly billing statement is ready. '' I opened the email and saw that it contained a link that said " View Statement. '' This was great news -- problem solved, right? But when I clicked on the link, I was directed to a broken webpage that did not allow me locate any useful information ( I've attached a screenshot of the page that I took this evening. It's still broken ). I tried again to call customer service and utilize the non-functional chat feature, neither of which yielded any kind of response. At this point, I'm starting to wonder whether this company actually has anyone working for them On XX/XX/XXXX, I had a bit more time to spare, so I tried to call in again. I waited on hold for nearly 2 hours this time before giving up, and checked the website again to see if the Live Chat function was back online. I repeated this process over the next several days ( with varying hold times ) while keeping a close eye on my physical mailbox in hopes that I would still receive a statement as promised. No success. 

Fast forward a bit, and it's XX/XX/XXXX, and my payment is due in less than 2 weeks, and I still haven't gotten any information or communication from Aidvantage. Everything is still broken. Incredibly frustrated, I started combing through their website to find any kind of useful information. I finally located a link that would allow me to email their customer service team, so I did. Upon submitting my request, I received an automated email which advised that I could expect a response within 1-2 business days. It's been about 5 business days, and I still have yet to hear back. 

Today, XXXX, I found myself stuck in traffic, so I decided to try calling customer service again. I wasn't hopeful, but it's become apparent to me that my options here are pretty limited. After an hour, I was finally connected to a representative. 

I spoke with the gentleman on the other line, and repeated my original request for a billing statement. He was a nice guy, but didn't seem to have a clue as to what I was actually looking for. It took me about 15 minutes of explaining, but he was finally able to confirm what I was needing and let me know that a copy of a statement will be mailed to me within the next 5-7 business days. I asked whether he could just send me an email instead, but he advised that would not be possible. Doesn't make a ton of sense to me, but I didn't bother asking why. I was mostly just happy to discover that Aidvantage actually has employees. 

Now, assuming that a billing statement has actually been placed in the mail and I can actually expect to receive it this time ; I will not be able to access it or submit it my employer until after my first payment is XXXX XXXX XXXX. My recent interactions ( or attempts thereof ) with Aidvantage have not inspired confidence that they will actually follow through on their commitment, which is why I wanted to ensure that a formal complaint was documented. 

I know that this is a relatively minor issue, but if my recent experience is indicative of " the norm '' in dealing with this company, then I can only imagine what other customers have had to go through while preparing for repayment. The financial stress of repayment is enough of a burden on the consumers, and it's only been magnified by Aidvantage 's utter lack of care or respect for their clients. Frankly, I'm amazed that this firm has been allowed to take on the responsibility of administering something so impactful to the lives of thousands ( millions? ) of people. I'm not sure whether there is a standard of care for these kinds of organizations, but I'm certain that Aidvantage has no interest in establishing or adhering to it.

Also, the Live Chat is still broken.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation