Consumer complaint received 2022-08-15
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NC
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Private student loan debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: You told them to stop contacting you, but they keep trying

Complaint:
I stopped paying on my private student loan due to the fact that there is legal precedent that the owner of the loan, National Collegiate Trust ( NCT ), purchased my loan and many others in a manner that does not provide the legal ownership or the right to collect. 
The loan service provider and debt collector, American Education Services, has been giving me the runaround for over two years regarding this issue. 
American Education Services ( AES ) maintains that they do not originate loans and are not involved in the changing of hands when debt is bought and sold, yet somehow they are the same company who I originally set the loan up with in XXXX. 
I have been trying to get AES to provide me with proof of ownership from NCT, or at the very least provide me with contact information so that I could negotiate a settlement, for over two years. They refuse to give me any contact information or even speak to NCT on my behalf. I have spoken with many, many different agents at AES about this issue and even sent them the publication on the CFPB website about how NCT has been fined millions of dollars by the CFPB for false debt collection practices. 
AES provided me with several different " account management '' companies that service NCT accounts, a XXXX XXXX Co, and XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
As far as I can tell these are just shell companies, as I have contacted both several times to inquire about my loan account with NCT, and neither of them have any record of my loan even existing. 
American Education Services also works as the debt collection agent for the companies they service, and as such, have been calling me nonstop for months trying to get me to pay on a loan that they can't even prove is legal. 
I flexed my rights, and sent them via certified mail a cease and desist letter and a request for debt validation. A copy of the letter is included below. 
Despite the receipt of a debt validation request and a cease and desist contact, AES continued to harass me with debt collection attempts, and I informed every agent on every call that they were contacting me illegally as I have issued, within my rights, a cease contact order and a legal verification of debt, which must be provided within 30 days in accordance to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 
They also sent me a letter stating that despite my " request '' to cease contact, that they were obligated to continue contacting me anyway. 

Cease and Desist [ person information redacted ] XX/XX/XXXX American Education Services XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX Re : American Education Services XXXX Account Service Provider for NCT ( National Collegiate Trust XXXX Account # [ redacted ] I am writing in regards to the account above. Please verify the above-reference debt as required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

I have called in and explained many times that I have reason to believe that NCT does not have legal ownership of this loan, and that they have been collecting on it illegally and fraudulently. There is a significant precedent for the loans acquired by NCT in XXXX not having been property registered or signed over in a legal manner. Furthermore, the guarantor of the loan, XXXX, very quickly went bankrupt in the months after the procurement of these loans. I have already submitted documentation verifying all of this information to American Education Services, along with links directly to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website explaining the illegal practices. 

I have asked for documentation regarding Proof of Ownership several times, documentation that I am legally entitled to, and must legally be provided within 30 days of request under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I did not receive this documentation, despite multiple requests, for over eleven months, the fourth time I requested it be sent out. Since American Education services refuses to give me direct contact information for NCT, and will not contact them on my behalf, I am holding American Education Services responsible for past and/or future breaches of the law regarding this account. 

I have already mailed in a similar letter in XXXX, which your company chose to disregard. 

I must be provided Proof of Ownership Documentation from NCT. Simply sending another copy of the original promissory note will not suffice. Furthermore, this documentation must be sent in a timely manner. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if I am not provided with this documentation within 30 days of receipt of this request, the debt must legally be removed from my credit report. 

Aside from verification of the debt, in the form of Proof of Ownership, do not contact me about this debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC Section 1692c requires that you honor this request. Any attempt to contact me will be recorded, documented, and submitted to be used against you in court. Any correspondence other than the requested documentation will be considered harassment. 
I have repeatedly explained the situation, asked for you to cease harassing me, and will no longer tolerate it. Copies of this letter have been forwarded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and the North Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. 

RESPONSE FROM AES Dear [ name redacted ] : WHY WE ARE CONTACTING YOU We are responding to a recent request to stop contacting you regarding your educational student loans serviced by American Education Services ( AES ). 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Notwithstanding your request, we are required to continue servicing the account for the loan owners. This means we must continue communicating with you regarding the status of your account until it is either paid-in-full or transferred for nonpayment. In addition to communications from us, if your account is past due, you may receive communications from third-party collection vendors that are engaged by or on behalf of your loan owners. We will forward your request to such third-party collection vendors, which may honor your request to stop contacting you. Please note that when we contact you, the representative will always indicate who the call is from. Please note that your request will only be communicated to a third-party collection vendor with respect to your account. If you have a co-signer, your request will not apply to your co-signer, and if you are a co-signer, the request will not apply to the borrower. Any other party to your loans may submit a separate, written request. 
ACTION YOU NEED TO TAKE When we communicate your request to no longer be contacted to the applicable third-party collection vendors, it will continue to be communicated until revoked by you in writing. Because you may no longer receive communications if your loan is past due and outsourced to a third-party collection vendor, it is important for you to closely monitor the status of your account and to contact us to discuss any repayment options and alternatives that may be available to assist you in managing your education loan obligation. If you would like to revoke your request, please email us directly through your online management tool, Account Access or submit a written request to the correspondence address listed below : American Education Services XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX Note for Federal Trade Commission XXXX Consumer Financial Protection Bureau XXXX and NC Department of Consumer Affairs XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : The cease and desist letter above was sent via certified mail and received by American Education Services XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 
I received a debt collection call at XXXX the next morning, XX/XX/XXXX ; and another at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, as well as emails notifying me of delinquency. I received further calls on XX/XX/XXXX at both XXXX and XXXX. I have repeatedly told every representative as well as an account manager that the cease and desist was sent, received, and that all collection calls made inside of the 30 days pending receipt of my debt validation are all harassment and illegal. When I originally sent the letter I called them to inform them what it was and that it was on its way, and explained to the representatives that called me that they have received a cease and desist letter, therefore the calls are harassment. The representative that called on XX/XX/XXXX confirmed that they had received the letter but it had not been processed yet. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, they sent me a letter to my paperless inbox stating that they would only communicate the cease of contact to their third party collection vendors, but they themselves were obligated to stay in contact. I have only received collection calls from American Education Services, and no third party vendors ever, to my knowledge. 
American Education Services contacted me yet again on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. I called back and explained to the agent that they were now not only violating the cease and desist, but also past the required 30 time frame to send me debt verification. The agent was under the impression that I was recording the conversation ( I was not. ) She stated that American Education Services policy is that they do not consent to being recorded, despite the fact that they record all phone calls. I later spoke with an account manager, who refused to answer any of my questions ; why are you still contacting me? Why havnt I been sent the documentation Ive requested? Why does your company think they are above the law, referencing the letter sent on XX/XX/XXXX, copied below? I also asked about the recording policy, and he stated that while they only record for quality assurance and training, customers who call in and record are most likely using the recording for legal purposes and therefore they are not allowed to discuss anything on a recorded line. 
Im no lawyer, but from my understanding of the law regarding informed consent, only one party has to be aware of a phone call being recorded, and being that AES holds my sensitive personal information, and I as a consumer have a right to information regarding my contract, this seems very shady.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation