Consumer complaint received 2022-07-22
Company: Account Control Technology, Inc.
State: GA
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:
In XXXX of XXXX I received a call from a company stating they were the Department of Education to complete a loan consolidation. I spoke with a representative named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) who gave me the fax number and information that I needed to submit with my application. And I also spoke with a manager named XXXX ( XXXX ) as well. When I called back to make sure I had noted all of the requested documentation. I was mailed an application for the Federal Direct Consolidation loan application packet and I faxed it in on XX/XX/XXXX, with my check stubs from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX. I completed the application that was already pre-populated with an account number of XXXX in the amount of {$22000.00}. I added the XXXX  account number XXXX in the amount of {$66000.00} to be added to the 4 small loans I already had with XXXX. 
In XXXX of XXXX, I received a letter from XXXX stating that my consolidation application had been completed in the amount of {$110000.00}. I immediately started calling XXXX and the Federal Student Aid to try and figure out how my loan amount got to be so high. XXXX kept stating that they received their information from the Department of Education. Federal Student Aid could only give me loan amounts that they had noted in their system. My college XXXX XXXX College lost its accreditation in XXXX and had been erased from the Federal Student Aid system and the college itself doesn't have any records on file. So trying to get a complete breakdown as to why the total was so high was like hitting a brick wall. 
In XXXX I received a call from XXXX XXXX with the Department of Education stating that I had a loan in default from XXXX. I asked if they had a promissory note and they said they did not and I advised that I would not pay it until they could prove that it was mine. I advised that when I completed my loan consolidation I added all the loans that I was aware of. 
This going back and forth went on for years trying to still figure out how the loan amount was derived. Finally, in XXXX I requested a breakdown of each loan from XXXX. They mailed me a copy of my Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Verification sheet that showed the date of release and loan amounts all totaling {$110000.00}. There was a sheet in between the two pages that stated that an error in the amount of approximately {$30000.00} was made but could not be retracted at the time making the total {$130000.00}. 
My application was completed by an employee at Account Control Technology by the name of XXXX XXXX. ( agent # XXXX ) was XXXX by XXXX XXXX and Authorized by XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. all of their initials are o the certificate. 
On the spreadsheet, there was a loan for one semester XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$41000.00}. That was an immediate red flag. I called XXXX to try to dispute it and they repeatedly stated that they received that information from the Department of Education. I called Federal Student Aid and tried to get them to explain where they got their documentation from. I advised that I never received on loan for {$41000.00} ever. A representative stated that something was definitely wrong because the maximum one can receive a semester is {$25000.00}. At first, I thought XXXX had processed the loan consolidation and made errors ; but they stated they recieved the information form Department of Education. I then made a complaint to Ombudsman with the Department of Education advising that someone had made up loan amounts that were not correct. 
An Ombudsman representative investigated and responded stating that since I signed the loan consolidation I was responsible for it. I advised I never signed anything that looked like that. I would have never signed something stating that I received {$41000.00} for a semester. 
This made me angry and I went through all of my paperwork. That thankfully I had always held on to. I still had a copy of my original application that was in my handwriting, along with the check stubs that I submitted via fax in XXXX. XXXX XXXX mailed me a copy of the application that they had received from Account Control Technology. When I opened the envelope page 1 was a copy of my same page one except someone had scratched out the address that I resided at when I submitted the application and they listed my current address where I still reside now. This was odd because I didn't move to this address until XX/XX/XXXX. So my address should have been the same as when I applied. When I turned to page 2 that is when I saw for myself that my application had been altered. Someone at Account Control Technology had removed pages 2-4 and submitted a typed consolidation application, complete with the account numbers that only the Federal government had access to. After all these years I had finally figured it out, Looking at the application the person who processed it had noted that I had requested to not add XXXX loan to that application. They listed account number XXXX with no amount listed at all. The amount field was completely blank. Now, why would I ask to leave off an account and not enter the amount? I have never had access to the account numbers that Federal student Aid has for my loans. You can't access those numbers online, They are not anywhere on the Federal Student Aid website. This loan that they stated that I requested not be added, is the loan that went into default and was with Debt. Resolution. That is how they received it because it was not consolidated with the remainder of my loans. So page one was in my handwriting, they slipped in what they wanted to and they slapped the last page my handwritten signature page. Why would a legitimate application be half in handwriting and typed? 
I could not get any assistance with trying to figure this out, I had to reach out to an Attorney Generals ' office in another state for help. 
She submitted it back to Ombudsman for re-evaluation. The representative after months of reviewing came back and said the same thing the original representative said. I was responsible for it because I signed the original application. I was already angry that someone had violated me by submitting a fraudulent application, caused me to have a defaulted loan on my credit and I am having to prove this was a fraudulent document. 
I called the Department of Education in Washington DC and spoke with an administrative assistant in their office who stated that Student Aid and the Department of Education does not work with 3rd party vendors. She advised me to call the new Chief Operating Officer XXXX XXXX XXXX. I left him a voice mail and he had the same representative that the Deputy from the Attorney Generals ' office had reached out to contact me. I advised her that this is not what the verification certificate sheet said. It clearly had Account Control Technology working on behalf of the Department of Education processing this consolidation, they even mailed the payment to the Department of Education in XXXX, GA. So I began to research some more. And what did I find? The actual contract that Account Control Technology had with the Department of Education stating the contract started in XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. There it was in black and white a spreadsheet of all of the contracts held with Federal Student Aid, I even came across an article where Account Control Technology and another company came together and sued the Department of Education for not doing business with small companies. I am guessing this contract was part of the settlement. 
I immediately called the representative from Ombudsman back and advised her that I found the contract and then asked her how could she not see that there were XXXX separate applications. And she stated she never saw the original application and only saw the one that XXXX XXXX  had on file. I advised that I had attached to all documents, I resubmitted it and they reviewed it and saw that there were unexplained discrepancies. And that I could not be responsible for the defaulted loan and they discharged the defaulted loan in XX/XX/XXXX. I advised that no one knows the true amount of the loan listed for {$41000.00}, the pre-filled account number XXXX for {$22000.00} was really for {$2800.00}. Account number XXXX {$4500.00} is not mine. They are still trying to figure out the true amount of the {$41000.00} that loan. XXXX XXXX only has the falsified application that Account Control Technology submitted to them. 
I am still in shock that a company could do this especially if they were working with the government and handed all of my information. How does a company mess up so bad and break the law by falsifying applications? How many other people have done this to, don't have a clue and think they are really responsible for the outrageous amounts in school loans. My rights have been violated, my credit scarred with a defaulted loan. I couldn't even apply for some jobs because I knew I had a defaulted loan. I ended up paying a higher APR on my car because of it. Just think, if I had paid that just to make it go away I never would have known how it originated. And the reason XXXX XXXX couldn't provide a promissory note was because they got if from my consolidation application which they never stated. 
Account Control Technology has some explaining to do and needs to have charges brought against them for falsifying a federal document and submitting it with my signature as if I approved it and I never saw it before requesting a copy from XXXX XXXX. and XXXX XXXX representatives have verified that something crooked was going on because noting was matching what they could see. Some reps would tell me others would hang up on me. This became my third job. Hours of phone calls for answers. 
This has had me stressed out and luckily for me, I am a fighter who never gives up. I was going to find answers and I did uncover a very huge problem. Account Control Technology owes me some answers and this is truly a fraudulent business practice that is going to continue to haunt me because no one knows the true amounts of my loans.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation