Consumer complaint received 2019-04-18
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: OR
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:
XXXX reported seven of my loans to the three major credit bureaus as being in default and ruined my credit. This is false as I have made every payment I was supposed to make under my IDR plan at that time. I am on a new recalculated IDR plan to repay my loans. I had all my loans that XXXX services in forbearance ( they didn't offer me deferment ) from XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX because I had a substantial drop in income. I was on an IDR at that time and could not pay the {$190.00} for that seven months. When my forbearance ended XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from XXXX that my XXXX payment for {$190.00} was due which I paid. In XX/XX/XXXX I received another email from XXXX that it was time to re-certify my IDR. I mailed the paperwork to them on time and two new IDRs were approved for the different loans for a monthly payment of {$140.00} which I paid for XX/XX/XXXX. 

Since I have been consistent with my payments ( I have to make my payments at the end of each month for that month as that is when I get paid ), there is no way my loans can be in default. I have followed all instructions for my payments and I have made all payments per my IDRs and none have been over 15 days late. It is not right that I was reported to the three major credit bureaus as being in default and that my credit is ruined now to the point I can't do anything. I received default notices in my XXXX paperless inbox that I don't understand, nor do I understand how I can be in default on loans that were in forbearance for seven months. How can my payments be 120 days overdue when I've made all payments as required by my IDRs when my loans weren't in forbearance? 

When I made my XX/XX/XXXX payment, my account said I currently owed {$1000.00} - plus my IDR payment of {$140.00} for a total of {$1200.00}. Where did the {$1000.00} come from? I had not received any notices about it and all of a sudden it appears. It wasn't there when I made my XX/XX/XXXX payment, and how can I owe that much for a payment? If I could make payments that size I wouldn't request and IDR each year. When I logged into my account XX/XX/XXXX, the balance due was {$920.00}. Apparently the XXXX payment I made went toward that balance that came out of nowhere. I called XXXX the same day and and spoke to a customer service rep who said she could put a forbearance ( again I wasn't offered a deferment that doesn't cost me more money ) on that amount and my account would show only the {$140.00} that is due each month. Now my account shows I have a balance of {$680.00} that is past due. This can't be correct because I have made all payments per my IDRs as agreed. The forbearance the customer service rep I spoke with on XXXX apparently was from XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX and I made payments for both months. I do not understand this. 

I am being jerked around and I was given incorrect information on XX/XX/XXXX when I called and talked to the XXXX customer representative. I am unable to pay anymore than the {$140.00} ( I can barely scrape that amount up ) per month per my two new IDRs, and that is all I can pay for my XXXX payment which will be made XX/XX/XXXX when I get paid. I work only part-time and my income varies by the number of credits I am given to teach each term. My family and I are barely scraping by. During the XXXX call, I also asked if I could change my payment date so my payments wouldn't be 15 days late ( a different XXXX rep told me at a different time during a different call that it is okay for my payments to be less than 30 days late as they won't be reported as being late ) and the customer rep I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX said I'd have to call back and ask for a due date change. The rep put me off - why should I have to call back?

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief