Consumer complaint received 2018-03-18
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CO
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan

Complaint:
I have HEAL student loans through AES which they are servicing since buying them in XXXX, but disbursed between XXXX. I will paste a letter I sent them that summarizes my request to them. 

XX/XX/XXXX American Education Services XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : AES Loan # XXXX Dear Sirs, Due to circumstances which I can explain in any detail that is necessary, I relinquished my ( State name ) license to practice medicine in XX/XX/XXXX. I do not have a license in another state. While there was some hope if I should take courses, get a psychological and functional skills evaluation with favorable reviews, I could petition the XXXX XXXX for reinstatement. In XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I did as requested. However, my reviews would not support reinstating my license. I have been trying to forge my own medical practice management business, to make a living. So far, my income is 1/3 the amount it was when I practiced medicine. I was a primary care physician, board-certified in internal medicine making ~ $ XXXX. I have made ~ $ XXXX. for the past two years. I can provide tax returns which will confirm these claims, if necessary. Therefore, it is with some credibility that I am ready to suggest for AES to discharge my loan, entirely. While I've already paid {$160000.00}, the remaining unpaid principal is ~ {$53000.00}. The original loans dispensed totaled {$140000.00}. Loans may have been borrowed separately, but were eventually consolidated and taken over as one loan by XXXX XXXX. I attended ( Name of school ) XXXX XXXX school in ( City and State ) graduating in XXXX. This was a time when HEAL was still the main form of government funded loans for medical education. I also had some PLUS loans and XXXX types, I recall. Until XX/XX/XXXX, when my graduated payments ballooned, my payment record has been good. My XXXX credit score was XXXX, and reflects my efforts, overall to be a good consumer. Since I'm delinquent, it has gone down a little to XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX. [ Of late it has dropped even more to the mid-XXXX 's ] I've tried forbearance, deferment and the XXXX graduated plan until all repayment options were exhausted. I was denied the use of an income-contingent payment plan. Initially, I sought relief by writing an email in XX/XX/XXXX. I was told to wait until XXXX. When I got back in touch, the message I got was to sign up for an S-5 plan. When I questioned whether I could start right away rather than XX/XX/XXXX with the XXXX {$720.00} installment erased, I was told it was too late. I complained, because this was not explained back in XXXX. Then in XXXX, it was also disclosed that I wasn't even eligible for the XXXX plan, since I had used the XXXX, already. What was I going to do, I asked the customer service rep. over the phone? " Your best. Just do the best you can. '' So, I sent {$200.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. Maybe it sounds pathetic, but I am now facing the reality of not practicing medicine and not having the income commensurate with that profession, anymore. My suggestion to discharge this loan was not an impromptu decision. I've asked a customer service rep at AES to counsel me if it was even possible, and he indicated it is. With no license to practice medicine, I do not have the earnings and am unable to afford payments. My budget has to be curtailed and I continue to anticipate multiple expenses. I'm self-employed and had trouble saving for quarterly estimated taxes. Then, I will mention, there are my XXXX daughters, all in school at the University ( school name ). Personally, I've been avoiding the cost of dental work. Doing little things like a day trip for skiing or going out to a nice restaurant and a show or sporting event, just seems too exorbitant these days. Eventually, the practice that has been instrumental in getting me involved in gainful employment after I left clinical practice, is going to not need my consulting skills. I'm trying to shop myself to other doctor 's offices, but it isn't going well. I had applied to work for a think tank that does medical consulting to government agencies. While they did request supplemental information, I did hear their decision was to decline. I will close by saying, I can provide the State of ( name of state ) XXXX XXXX 's relinquishment document, as well as the unfavorable evaluations I mentioned, if that is necessary to corroborate my claims. 
Sincerely, Name, XXXX. 
Email xxxxx ( End of the XX/XX/XXXX letter ) This was rejected with a non-sequitur explanation, by AES with a nonsense offer to request my credit record dispute be appealed. I then tried to negotiate a lower amount buy-out and/or a lower income-contingent payment plan, but those were responded to with three types of letters : 1 ) Form letter rejections of a non-responsive and irrelevant description 2 ) Repeat of letters that were already sent 3 ) Demand for entire loan principal with notice of intent to  report delinquency to credit bureaus. 
I have records of all this. I have the ability to upload or attach supporting documentation. 
My last contact was with customer service to explain my situation, since the written responses were impossible to accept. After the lady listened to my explanation, she checked with her supervisor and came back to me with a definitive " NO, '' to all my suggested resolutions. ( Losing my license is not a good enough reason, being the explanation ). 
I disagree. 
I had been told on a previous phone call to customer service that I will be pursued by collections, which is a legal requirement. The phone calls should be identified by me, and NOT ANSWERED ( per their own rep )!! 
I was pursuing a personal loan through several private banks, so that my monthly payments were affordable with my budget ( $ XXXX $ XXXX. range ). If the amount I borrowed would buy-off AES, I could achieve the virtual equivalent of # 2. But those loans were rejected, not because of credit score, ( which was near maximal @ XXXX  ), but due to income-to-debt ratio. This was the exact reason I was not able to pay my loan at $ XXXX. Therefore, I'm facing a paradox. I cant pay due to lower income, while I can't borrow due to too much debt. 

I can't reinstate my license due to a combination of factors : 1 ) cost to go through measures of remediation : A ) Weeks, if not months, of iXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  for diagnosed XXXX  and XXXX XXXX XXXX with dependent and antisocial features. 
B ) Weeks of paid educational activities followed by testing to generate proof of improvement to the medical board 2 ) Legal representation to prepare and present my case for reinstatement to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
3 ) Returning to practice costs A ) Obviously limited scope of practice ( due to confines to keep me supervised, likely to be applied, with costs such as a practice monitor ) B ) Applying for malpractice will come with exorbitant premiums, due to risk assessment C ) Being on staff at a hospital will be highly problematic D ) Keeping insurance credentials will come with strict sets of acceptable solutions E ) Not to mention, open disclosure on license websites creating a stigma to be hired for a position F ) As in E, constricted patient care opportunities, given people 's preconceived opinion of my reputation. 

I have already been told the chances are slim, even with these measures, due to an on-going record of problems in my 20 year career and the general climate at this time towards medical license issues. Specific problems are being published frequently in the media, all around the country. The board is giving itself unchecked powers at an 'ex facto ' level, to produce a supervisory role for the appearance of community protection.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation