Consumer complaint received 2017-02-03
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NY
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about my loan

Complaint:
This letter serves as a formal complaint regarding the serious errors, misrepresented acts and negligent practices in the management of the above-referenced student loan account by FedLoan Servicing ( " FedLoan '' ), as well as with the processing of my Income Driven Repayment ( " IDR '' ) recertification applications. These actions and inactions by FedLoan have resulted in a purported delinquency on his student loan, which has caused actual and significant damage to his once excellent credit standing and on his ability to obtain credit, all in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Specifically, despite FedLoan 's knowledge that I was experiencing long term financial hardship, it engaged in specific practices designed to lead me into forbearance and the ensuing incorrect report to all XXXX major credit bureaus of a default on his part. FedLoan refused to supply me with information regarding the various repayment plans that were available to him and the corresponding benefits that each plan entails, failed to provide notice and requirements for recertifying an IDR he was participating in and confirmed that he had signed up for " paperless communication '' through which he would allegedly receive information from FedLoan. Although I received this confirmation on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I received no correspondence to his " in-box '' on the FedLoan site until XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I contacted FedLoan inquiring as to how he should proceed with recertification of his IDR. It was at that point that the afore-mentioned " paperless communication in-box '' was established by FedLoan. Despite assurances that he would receive communication from FedLoan, I did not hear from them. 

Having received no correspondence or information from FedLoan I telephoned FedLoan on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. The FedLoan representative informed me that FedLoan required an update of his tax return information and instructed him to file the IDR application electronically. The FedLoan representative then sent an e-mail to me which provided the link to the IDR recertification application. This e-mail was sent to my regular e-mail account - not to the " paperless communication in-box ''. The FedLoan representative told me that his application would take several weeks to process. I completed the IDR recertification application electronically, and forwarded it along with the requested documents on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 

Thereafter, FedLoan sent no correspondence to me, did not contact him via e-mail, regular mail or telephone and made no electronic debits from my bank account. I made the entirely reasonable conclusion based on the lower income he reported, and in conjunction with XXXX loan guidelines, that his IDR was set at {$0.00} pending the next IDR recertification application. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I was reviewing his bank account statement when he inexplicably found a XXXX, XXXX debit in the amount of {$220.00} from FedLoan. I immediately telephoned FedLoan regarding this error, and was provided with no explanation for the sudden debit. Rather, the FedLoan representative, eager to get him end the call stating 10 minutes is beyond the normal time a rep is instructed to speak with a concerning customer, sent another link for the IDR recertification application, along with a fax number. Once again, this correspondence was not sent via the " paperless communication in-box '' which was the method of contact that I had selected months before, but by regular e-mail. Once again, the representative told me by telephone that it would be several weeks before the IDR application would be processed. 
Unbeknownst to me and with complete disregard for the fact that I had done everything requested of him and despite the fact that his requests for answers and information went unfulfilled, FedLoan placed my account into delinquency.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief