Consumer complaint received 2019-09-07
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: PA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan
Sub-issue: Problem lowering your monthly payments

Complaint:
AES services two of my student loans. I am currently struggling to pay these due to over $ XXXX in federal and private student loan payments per month and had a very difficult time dealing with AES. I have a few issues that need to be addressed and currently AES has not responded to my inquiries through the website in months. 

1 ) I have made multiple request to AES customer service through their website ( via their online email ) but have not received a response in months. I have taken a screenshot of the most recent dates requested and is attached. None of these, to my knowledge have been responded to as shown by my AES paperless inbox. AES does have another message site but they delete the message after a week and we as customers do not have access to these. I have not received a response through this means either. I also think using this temporary message system is suspicious as customers are unable to view message history to accurately document communication with this company that is clearly taking advantage of consumers. Recent dates that help was requested through the site but NO RESPONSE WAS PROVIDED include : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ( there are others but I may have deleted the confirmation of submission email ). 

2 ) I have requested assistance from AES for help in lowering the monthly payment amount in the past but they offered no help. In XXXX of XXXX I asked if the company could contact the lender ( currently NCT but not the original lender ). They said they sent a letter to NCT but I have never been given proof of that request nor have they indicated whether a response was provided as there is no follow up. I wanted to send my own request as I presume the lender would prefer that a customer is paying but AES has not provided the appropriate contact information and suggest they should be the primary point of contact despite the fact that AES has not responded to my multiple requests. Since my credit is poor ( due to these high payments ) I am unable to refinance and am stuck dealing with this terrible company ( AES ). 

3 ) NCT was not my original lender and I am unsure if the balance or the loan is truly their as no documentation was provided and recent lawsuits suggest many loans during the time I received one, were mishandled. I have requested chain of custody documents from AES for the NCT loans but AES says they do not have to provide them and it is not their duty. When I request NCTs contact information, AES does not provide the information. I should have the proper information to know if my loans were handled correctly and are the correct amounts from the lender. AES has not helped in this matter at all. 

All in all this company is truly terrible and they make no attempt at helping the customer. I have not had these issues with other student loan services as they are more willing to assist their customers. AES should be investigated for their practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation