Consumer complaint received 2020-09-13
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: LA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I have been attempting to submit my annual recertification of my Income-Driven Repayment ( " IDR '' ) plan but have not been permitted to do so. 

All of my remaining loans are through FedLoan Servicing. I received a letter from FedLoan Servicing on XX/XX/XXXX informing me that I must submit my recertification application within ten ( 10 ) days of XX/XX/XXXX, or else my monthly payment would increase to " {$1300.00}, first due on XX/XX/XXXX. '' The letter instructed me to go to MyFedLoan.org/Recertifyto complete the recertification process. 

I went to MyFedLoan.org/Recertify to complete the process. That site redirected me to XXXX. There does not appear to be any way to submit recertification documentation to FedLoan Servicing. 

Upon following the link to studentaid.gov, I followed the instructions on the screen but was unable to complete the process. The website appears to not be functioning correctly and requires me to take the same steps over and over again without allowing me to complete the recertification process. Following is a detailed explanation of the process through which I have gone several times. 

First, I go to https : //studentaid.gov/app/ibrInstructions.action. Then I click on " Submit Re-Certification. '' Then I fill out the information on step # 1 ( " Application Information '' ). Then I am allowed to proceed to step # 2 ( " Income Information '' ), which instructs me to link my income information from the IRS. Then I click " Link to IRS. '' Then I am redirected to the IRS website. I fill out the requested information ( address, filing status, etc. ) and proceed to the next page on the IRS website. Then I click the box for " Transfer My Tax Information into the Application on Federal Student Aid '' and click " Transfer Now. '' At this point, I am redirected back to studentaid.gov and instructed to log in again. Once I log in, it brings me back to the very beginning of the process. I am unable to proceed to step # 3 of the process or otherwise complete my recertification. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I followed the instructions on studentaid.gov for submission of customer service inquiries and sent an email to XXXX. My email explained the issue exactly as described above. I also offered to send my XXXX tax return and any other required documentation by email, fax, or other means. 

Later on XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from " XXXX XXXX '' in response to my email. This email failed entirely to address my concerns or answer any of my questions and appeared to be an automated message. Both my original email and the response I received are attached. 

All I am trying to do is submit my annual recertification request, but I am not being permitted to do so. I diligently make all of my student loan payments and have made several large payments beyond what is required. I am entitled to have my IDR plan recertified based on my income. 

I have attached my XXXX tax return, which should include all of the information needed by XXXX and FedLoan Servicing for the recertification of my IDR plan. 

I filed a similar complaint with the CFPB against FedLoan Servicing in XXXX, when my IDR recertification was improperly denied and the company was similarly unhelpful. The complaint resulted in the issue being resolved and the company issuing a written apology to me. I greatly appreciate that the CFPB was able to resolve the issue, but I do not want to have to go through this process every year in order to recertify my plan. 

Thank you for your time and assistance. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation