Consumer complaint received 2021-04-15
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NC
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Federal student loan debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Complaint:
In the United States of America, Student loan debt is the largest debt related To consumers of non-housing related debt. The federal government owns most of the student Loans in the United States. The U.S Department of Education or DOE is a Federal Agency Who manages and oversees Federal student loans. At the end of XX/XX/XXXX, student loan debt accumulated more than 3.4 trillion in consumer debt. PHEAA operates and handles the loan servicing and acts as a middleman for Colleges and the DOE. The DOE pays a fee for each loan interaction. PHEAA earns interest, Subsides and special payments from DOE. PHEAA acts as a collection agency for the DOE and the borrows of federal loans. 

PHEAA and the University implements a scheme beginning in XX/XX/XXXX to steal funds from low-income students at {$17000.00} per person. These actions constituted multiple unlawful actions with at least three means : First, AES decided to implement a Master Promissory Note scheme which Allowed PHEAA to make profit of {$17000.00} on each unsuspecting victim. Since myself and Other college students could not afford full tuition out of pocket, we had to take out loans. 

During the financial aid process at XXXX, I was told I would need to take out loans to pay for College. Instead of providing a legal MPN which should include the amounts loans and A school certification I was presented with a billing notes inserted on a Word document Instead of providing a MPN which is required by law. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received documentation from AES regarding my debt verification request. The letter was from AES and was signed by XXXX XXXX. The first pages displayed Federal Application and Promissory note. The XXXX was XXXX which includes a PO box XXXX in XXXX, PA XXXX. This document also included my name, address, dob, and SSN. This also Included reference information. The 2nd page included the loan code, lien holder which showed XXXX instead of XXXX, loan account number which ended with my SSN. It also notes the Interest rate and payoff amount. The pages are from 1 to 9 and the additional pages list additional Information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received documentation from AES that showed a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX the Guarantee is XXXX  or XXXX XXXX. I received 9 pages from AES however, the Most important missed document was the School Certification document which is required by Law. What I was given was a blank document. It has a blank Guarantor, Program or Lender Identification Missing school, lender, or guarantor mailing address Missing School Code and Information Missing borrower information Missing subsidized and unsubsidized certified loans amounts. This document violates Violations of Obtaining a Loan 34 CFR 685.201, the Higher Education ACT, and Violations of US. Criminal Code 20 U.S.C 1097. 

The legally owed Master Promissory Note for Federal Loans includes validate This debt I was sent an incomplete application for MPN instead of the legally owed note. Scholarships and funds. XXXX in state tuition was abnormally high. It was the same as the out of state. After withdrawing from XXXX, I began the responsibility of paying the loan back, As of XX/XX/XXXX, I still have not received a valid MPN, school certification, or loan check. 

Nevertheless, PHEAA still has reported fraudulent information on my credit reports which has Caused multiple cut credit lines, double housing deposits and multiple denied applications for Credit. 

Second, what AES provided included incomplete document which is an Application for Federal Stafford loans. It was signed in XXXX and was not signed before I supposedly Received the loans. However, AES has still tried to collect this debt from XX/XX/XXXX until present dates. 

Third, AES validated numerous attempts from XXXX to remove the trade lines from XXXX  XXXX, and XXXX. However, AES validated a loan that was not legally owed per ADD Citation. This action violates the FDCPA on multiple occasions and violates AES policies according to XXXX, AES is obligated to follow loan reporting Under the Fair Debt Credit Protection Act. 


The in-state tuition at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX  ) was extremely high compared to other private colleges. I felt skeptical regarding the loan process and had 2nd thoughts about getting a student loan because I did not have any income. While in the Financial Aid Office, the manager advised I was eligible for multiple scholarships, grants, and awards. 

However, there was a small amount that needed to be paid by applying for a student loan. 

The financial aid told me that I would need to get a small loan to cover the reset of the tuition. 

I was able to get tuition paid for with the exception of a small amount. 

I thought it was Strange that I received so much financial aid even though I was not an excellent student. 
XXXX persuaded me to proceed with moving forward. I enrolled at XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. I was not savvy regarding the financial aid process. I was excited about the possibility of getting a great job after getting a bachelors degree. I went through several semesters thinking that I would begin paying these loans after I finished my degree and obtained employment. I did not understand the importance of school Certification or Master Promissory Notes ( MPN ). 
According to the financial aid office, I was given a word document that showed the assistance and the charges for attending. Each year I was given this document. When I tried to get evidence of this later, the only information SAPC, AES, PHEAA, or XXXX XXXX could manufacture was an incomplete MPN. That could provide was an itemized document without a signature or an MPN. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I still have not received a copy of the certification or Master Promissory Note. While attending college between XXXX I never received l loan monies via check from the Department of Education XXXX DOE XXXX. I never received from Department of Education by Electronic Funds Transfer ( EFT ) three to five day after the disbursement date. I The financial aid office advised that I did receive loans which were included on a billing statement from XXXX. I never received a MPN, checks, or EFT. The only thing I was given as as far as checks were concerned were refund check. I asked them why I received a refund check when I had to obtain a loan to pay for college. This was the 2nd red flag I noticed. I did not receive a letter informing of the amount of the monies received from the Department of Education on behalf of XXXX the date it was received. It also should have included the rights to cancel all or part of this loan. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from XXXX, even though the loans I assumed where from XXXX XXXX or XXXX at the time. On this letter, it states I owed American Education Services who is a middleman between the DOE and colleges. Because I was not aware of the laws regarding loans, I signed this note after I withdrew from XXXX. At the time I was terribly upset regarding the situation. My hopes were to have a job, obtain a bachelors degree, then I could pay off my loans six months later. 
In XXXX I received a letter from AES stating they purchased the loans, and I need to consolidate those loans into two payments. At the time I did not understand the MPN  process, so I signed this document after withdrawing from school. I began making payment of {$110.00} per month and continued doing so until XXXX. The note I was given appeared to be multiple documents stuck together. Not the official MPN you would find at the DOE. After I realized this was some type of scam, I asked for the credit buraus and AES to remove the trade line from my credit report for not properly certifying and initializing the MPN. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received documentation from AES stating the loans were owed by XXXX. I continue receiving the billing statements each month. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification from XXXX XXXX that my loans had been transferred over to AES. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a notification that the loans were through XXXX XXXX loan trust. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to the DOE asking for validation. This included a certificated return receipt. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I still have not any received certification from the DOE that they received the request. 

I. DEBT VALIDATION PROCESS WITH CREDIT BUREAUS AND AES, PHEAA On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter disputing AESs trade line to XXXX with a return receipt on XX/XX/XXXX ensuring XXXX  has received the request for validation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received documentation from XXXX  to provide Exp is currently disputing the debt. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a validation from XXXX  that the trade line PHEAA dba AES is valid debt. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a confirmation that Equifax had received notification from AES the loans are valid. The dispute included : Disputed completed with XXXX  : loans validated with XXXX. This account has been updated. Additional information has been provided from the original source regarding this item. THE FOLLOWING FIELDS HAVE BEEN MODIFIED : *PAST DUE *TERMS DURATION *ADDITIONAL INFORMATION *ACCOUNT HISTORY. If you have additional questions about this item please contact : XXXX XXXX Education/Aes, XXXX Box XXXX, XXXX PA XXXX Phone : ( XXXX ) XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX, I attempted to dispute AES trade line from XXXX  credit XXXX  XXXX. However, XXXX  still states the loan is valid despite the validation request. 

Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I sent dispute letters to AES and XXXX. However, XXXX  still received notification that the debt was valid by AES. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification that the PHEAA trade line that states the default debt is validated by Transunion. 

Since contacting the credit bureaus directly did not resolve the problem. I contacted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau department to investigate if I could have the trade line Removed. After filing a complaint against XXXX XXXX, and XXXX between XXXX XXXX via the CFPB they finally removed the XXXX XXXX XXXX via XXXX XXXX XXXX 

However, PHEAA was added later onto the credit reports which is currently in default. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to AES requesting debt Validation. In this request, I asked for AES to provide a valid promissory note, school certification and any loans check that are available. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a monthly bill without a validated XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a response from AES with an invalidated promissory note. It did not include the Certified loan amounts page which is required for all federal student loans. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the results of the disputed trade line and debt. What I received was not a completed MPN that is required for a loan. The request from AES included no school certification, loan check, electronic funds transfer authorization or XXXX XXXX XXXX  which Is required for all student loans. 

XXXX. MISSING XXXX  FROM FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS WITHOUT PROOF OF AGREEING TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS The XXXX  must contain eight pages which include an itemized record of the total amounts distributed during college student enrollment at a college or university. AES furnished copies of the front end of the two-sided Application and MPN, and separate copies of what could be the back ends of any persons documents. Nothing links these copies reliably together. There is no information on the separate copies of the back ends that relates them reliably with the front ends of the application and MPN documents. The MPN provided appears to be fraudulently combined together as one. 
The MPN combines separate notes as if it were the original copies, appearing as one MPN. The information provided by AES, displays an MPN from Educaid endorsed in XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Ordinarily, MPNs  include the principal amounts loaned. 
however, the 2nd part displays an application for an MPN  signed in XXXX with XXXX principals amounts. The XXXX, AES, claims it holds legally binding MPN. Consequently, AES is responsible for validating such claims and the corresponding monetary demands. 
Based on the available information, the records were created after I withdrew from college without the existence of the corresponding lending and borrowing transactions or any other relevant documents. Such internal record creating does not create liability, the partial, front-end copies of the Application and MPN, AES has furnished, are financial aid applications. 
Based on the available information, qualifying MPN in this case do not exist at all, and AES does not have even the original two-sided financial aid Application and MPN  documents in its possession. Based on the available information, AES has partial copies of irrelevant documents, created internal records, and now claims ownership of an alleged debt, these documents do not contain the following information that is necessary for a document to qualify as a legally binding MPN : 1. The exact principal amount that has to be paid. An MPN must be an unconditional promise to pay. 
2. The endorsed partial duplicate of the Application and MPN financial aid document on its own is not an unconditional promise to pay, since the financial aid applicant may possibly not collect any loan at all or may obtain the loan in the future at an unidentified point in time, in which circumstances the loan amount will be disclosed to the debtor in the Notice of Loan Guarantee and Disclosure Statement. 
The Application and MPN financial aid document do not affirm with certainty that the financial aid applicant will receive or has received any loan amount at all. If the applicant does not obtain any loan amount, then there is no responsibility or debt obligation. If AES maintains that lending and borrowing transactions occurred, AES must supply relevant signed documents that amount to legally binding debt instruments and unconditional promise to pay. If AES is the concrete legal owner of the alleged debt ; moreover, AES must have the original, fully qualifying MPN documents in its possession that includes my signature with agreeing to the terms of conditions. AES client has yielded copies of the front end of the two -sided Application and MPN documents, and separate copies of what could be the back ends of any persons documents. Consequently, nothing connects these copies reliably together. There is no data on the separate copies of the reverse ends that correlates reliably with the front ends of the Application and MPN documents. I do not accept the unidentifiable unconnected back ends as portions of the same documents. Any person who processed these records could have created a copy of the front end of my financial aid applications, and the back end of another persons financial aid applications and put them next to each other either accidentally or intentionally, claiming that these two copies belong together as one document. AES must furnish exact duplex copies of the original Application and MPN  documents as requested above. However, during the 4-year long debt validation dispute, AES has not been able to furnish exact duplex copies of the original Application and MPN  documents. Instead, AES sent partial copies of documents, that were made from partial copies of documents. Such copies can be prepared by putting together two sheets of paper and photocopying both sides as if it were one document. Such exploit is equivalent to forgery. 
XXXX. FINANCIAL AID AT XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX During the period I attended XXXX XXXX XXXX, I did receive financial Aid which including scholarships, loans, and grants. In addition, according to my Award letter from XXXX, it does disclose I had Stafford Subsidized and unsubsidized loans. However, it is not deemed a valid award letter, due to it not indicating the total amount of assistance which includes the total amount of income. Moreover, it also does not include my signature. I received a breakdown of the payments from XXXX ; however, it does not appear the award letter is valid. It seems as if XXXX XXXX billing provided an award letter without a signature, which included the Stafford Subsidized and unsubsidized loans. However, I did not realize that there was a requirement to sign this letter at the time. It appears as if XXXX XXXX indicates I accepted these funds for education, then AES retrieved the information and started collecting payments for which I did not obtain at college. 
In addition, I did not receive an acknowledgement from AES that XXXX XXXX provided payment. Also, not included in the request, was a loan origination record. Moreover, XXXX provided an award letter that was not drafted correctly. This award letter included a financial aid letter without a signature. After I left college, I received a letter from XXXX requesting to sign documentation to confirm the loan will pay for college. I signed the document because I thought this was the document to sign for the Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. 
The service at that time was XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. For the past several years, I paid XXXX XXXX a monthly amount. I demanded an MPN  from the company. They furnished information : however, this was endorsed after I departed college. I asked AES to eradicate this trade-line from my credit report ; nevertheless, XXXX  and XXXX  allowed the aforementioned on my credit report. I requested signed loan information before I started school in XXXX AES failed to provide a signed School Certification or MPN. 
For the above reasons, I would like to have my loan cancelled, reimbursed fees and have all trade lines on credit reports removed. Accordingly, I request that AES client furnishes copies of the following documents : 1 ) Exact copies of the original documents that demonstrate that student loan lending and borrowing transactions did take place and the resulting debt exists. Therefore, please have each document notary certified, stating that : 2 ) The document is the exact copy of the original document, not a copy of a copy 3 ) The copy was made in the presence of the notary who certifies it. 
4 ) Which company or organization currently holds the original document. In summary, the information provided by AES does not provide a valid Master Promissory Note, Award Letter, School Certification letter, Notice of Loan Guarantee, or disbursement, nor a receipt from American Education Services paid to XXXX XXXX XXXX, and no receipt from XXXX XXXX. 
IV. XXXX ADDS DEFAULTED TRADE LINE IN CLOSED ACCOUNT SECTION On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from PHEAA stating AES contacted Them regarding the loans. This document was from the default prevention services and it I Included no signature. 

V. MULTIPLE CREDIT LINES AND CREDIT REQUEST DENIED DUE TO DEFAULT TRADE LINE FROM PHEAA PHEAA actions to add a trade line to my credit report cause multiple credit companies to Decrease credit limits or deny credit applications. Ive listed those below : 1. On XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for a lease at XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, NC. I was approved for the application but the deposit was doubled because of the Trade line from PHEAA. 
XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I had a credit line with XXXX XXXX that was set at {$4000.00}. However due to PHEAA actions, XXXX decrease my credit line from {$4000.00} to {$1000.00}. 
XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX cut my credit line from {$5800.00} to {$1200.00} due to XXXX. 
4. In XXXX, XXXX XXXX cut my credit line from {$500.00} to {$320.00} due to PHEAA. 
5. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX decided to decrease my credit line from {$8800.00} to {$2300.00} 6. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX decided to reduce my credit line from {$4000.00} to {$1000.00}. 
7. On XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX reduced my credit line from {$2000.00} to {$0.00} without an explanation. 
8. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX decided to reduce my credit from {$8000.00} to {$1200.00} 9. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  XXXX denied my credit application due to PHEAA credit denial XX/XX/XXXX. I ve listed the other credit denials : 10. -XXXX  XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. -XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX credit denial XXXX. -XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX denial XXXX. -XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Credit increase denial VI. LAST ATTEMPTS TO REMOVE INVALIDATED DEBT Later, I decided to confirm that this debt was legitimate. I contacted AES and asked for them to verify my debt. What I received was not signed during my college time and included mismatched documents claiming to be an MPN. I attempted to get the trade line removed from My credit report by sending complaints to the credit reporting agencies, CFPB, XXXX, The department of Education and Threating to proceed with a lawsuit. I sent a complaint to the CFPB on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX I asked the AES to remove all trade lines and reimburse funds, but they stated it was legitimate on several occasions. I finally must have convinced the CFPB because AES removed the payments made on the credit report and removed the balance. However, they added PHEAA to the trade line on the closed section with a default status. Even though, they did not have a valid MPN between XXXX XXXX and the mismatched document claiming to be the XXXX was signed in XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Fed loan Servicing which is a DBA or AES and PHEAA. This letter thanked me for the inquiry but stated they did not have my acct #. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notification from PHEAA that my loans had defaulted And due to Covid 19 they were suspended collection activities until XX/XX/XXXX. The letter Advised of repayment options. 

I've included the fraudulent MPN  and school certification.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation