Consumer complaint received 2017-12-15
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Problem lowering your monthly payments

Complaint:
XXXX has recalculated my plan to {$320.00} a month, I 'm past due due to errors in the calculation of my monthly payment, and the representative I just spoke to told me I should sign up for direct debit so that they can bring my account current. 

Up until XXXX XXXX, I was paying {$80.00} a month on a revised PAYE plan. I missed the annual recertification date because I was n't given proper notice and payments jumped to {$160.00}. The only notice I might have received was a generic " You have a letter in your XXXX inbox ''. I receive these a lot and it has no meaning to me. Had I received proper notice, I would 've recertified on time and continued to pay a reasonable monthly rate. 

I emailed XXXX many times about missing the re-certification date and they only responded to me once. It was a generic response of no help. 

I married in XXXX ; my wife works part time for supplemental income, so our household income is 90 % mine. After getting married, I applied for a new XXXX plan in XXXX and was denied. I called and spoke with a XXXX representative and she told me that I needed to apply for a recalculation of my payment rather than apply for a new plan. She provided me an estimate of {$110.00} a month, which I found satisfactory. 

I followed this representative 's directions explicitly and filed for a recalculation of my monthly payment. Yesterday I received word that I owe {$320.00} a month. My household size doubled, my income increased by a very small amount, yet I go from paying {$80.00} to {$320.00}. 

I called and spoke to a representative tonight ( rep. # XXXX ) and he told me that a miscalculation occurred. I sent in supporting documentation for my wife 's income, because her income this year is much lower than the previous year. He told me that my payment should have been calculated to about {$230.00}, not {$320.00}. Regardless, he suggested placing me into forbearance until XXXX next year so that when we file taxes jointly, there would be a hard number for the monthly payment to be calculated on. 

I used my forbearances immediately after graduating college in XXXX. I was n't able to find a stable job until XXXX. Because I have no forbearances available, the representative suggested that I apply for direct debit so that my past due balance would become current. He has recommended that I sign up for a {$320.00} payment that even he has admitted was calculated incorrectly. 

I was on the phone for 50 minutes, 20 of which was on hold, trying to find a resolution to this. I want to pay my loans and be current, but I want to pay something that is fair. I would 've stuck with the XXXX XXXX monthly payment had I not been told that my payment would be recalculated to {$110.00}. 

I am constantly lied to when I speak to a representative on the phone, I am ignored when I email, my repayment requests are either denied or calculated incorrectly. I do not want XXXX as my servicer. I want to pay my student loans in a reasonable monthly payment and with a loan servicer that is not corrupt like XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief