Consumer complaint received 2019-06-27
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Federal student loan debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : XX/XX/XXXX I am writing this complaint in hopes that someone from your agency can intercede on my behalf with an ongoing problem with a debt collection agency. American Education Services is the company that bought my defaulted student loan on XX/XX/XXXX & have for almost a year been trying to collect on an alleged debt, even though I do not have a loan with them & they do not have accurate information on the alleged debt. The 1st repayment statement American Education Services sent on XX/XX/XXXX has an Estimated Unpaid Principle Balance of {$13000.00}, which means the balance isnt accurate. I have written to American Education Services twice, on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX to validate the alleged debt, but to no avail. On XXXX XXXX, American Education Services sent back documents ( Financial Activity Summary ) that does not have the correct account number nor the correct outstanding balance & are missing 13 years of payment history because it states the loan was disbursed in XXXX. They have been violating FDCPA which was created to alleviate abusive, deceptive & unfair debt collection practices. They even sent a bill dated on XXXX day. Instead of sending account level documentation on the alleged debt, they sent a form on XXXX XXXX XXXX requesting I furnish them with my information which violates FDCPA 1692e ( 10 ). False representation of the character or amount of any debt is a violation of FDCPA 1692e ( 2a ). They do not have account level documentation & they are reporting incorrect information to the major credit reporting agencies. American Education Services sends me letters/billing statements twice a month, & the payment summaries include a current balance of {$13000.00} thats never updated to reflect the present balance of the alleged debt. The current balance is always the same amount of {$13000.00} on all of the billing statements. The billing summary is confusing, misleading & deceptive. They are also charging late fees & interest on the alleged debt that has the incorrect amount which violates FDCPA 1692f ( 1 ). American Education Services sent a letter on XXXX XXXX that states : Efforts will be taken to recover this debt & also states that each consumer reporting agency & your grantor have been notified of your late or missed payments. The letter goes on to state they will forward the loan & that the new owner can garnish my wages, offset tax refunds or assign it to the government for litigation. This is a clear violation of the FDCPA 1692e ( 4 ) and 1692e ( 5 ), threatening to take action when no action will be taken. 
In addition to having incorrect accounting records, American Education Services has been reporting this information to XXXX, XXXX & XXXX. American Education Services started reporting on my credit report in XX/XX/XXXX, before they bought the defaulted debt on XX/XX/XXXX. I found these tradelines on my credit report in XXXX of XXXX. I have disputed this tradeline on all of my credit reports as it is incorrect. However, American Education Services always reports to the Credit Reporting Agencys that the tradeline is correct. This violates FDCPA 1692e ( 10 ) as a use of false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer. I have contacted the Credit Reporting Agencys numerous times to ask for the details of the investigation as it was not done thoroughly or correctly. Due to American Education Services incorrect accounting records that was furnished by American Education Services to the Credit Reporting Agencys, my credit score has dropped severely since XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX to XXXX as of today. What makes things worse is I am applying for a new apartment, & my credit score will get me denied. I have been trying to correct this matter with both American Education Services & the Credit Reporting Agencys and have become so stressed out due to the misinformation on my credit report. I have spent so much time, effort & money writing certified letters to dispute the incorrect information on my credit reports & am becoming emotionally despondent from the burdensome task. A poor credit score may deny me a better place to live, defame my character & severely limit employment opportunities. I have been losing sleep & my appetite has suffered due to the XXXX & XXXX because of this issue. American Education Services continues to take deceptive efforts to collect on this alleged debt by continuing to report incorrect information to the Credit Reporting Agencys which violates the FCRA. After almost a year of trying to resolve the matter, I am at my wits end. 

I have enclosed documents for your reviewI Thank you greatly for your time, energy & assistance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation