Consumer complaint received 2016-06-17
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: WA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Can't repay my loan
Sub-issue: Can't decrease my monthly payments

Complaint:
I have been approved for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have written XXXX letters XXXX in XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX contesting FedLoan Servicing 's denial of an Income-Based Repayment plan and assignment of my XXXX school loans to an Income-Contingent Repayment plan, but have received no reply. 
The denial of my application for Income-Based Repayment is based on XXXX a fraudulent Parent Plus " loan balance '' of XXXX cents from XXXX ; and XXXX ) the incorporation of that " loan balance '' in my student loan consolidation in XXXX XXXX because of misleading and improper advice by FedLoan Servicing representatives. 
XXXX ) A fraudulent Parent Plus " loan balance '' All XXXX of the Parent Plus loans I took out for my son 's education at XXXX University ( XXXX date : XXXX ) were fully repaid in XXXX. I was never told there was ANY balance remaining on the {$36000.00} loan from XXXX. I never received a bill. I never received any accounting of where a XXXX " loan balance '' might have come from. I did not even learn of the XXXX cent " loan balance '' until XXXX, when a FedLoan Servicing representative informed me of it. 
I consider this " loan balance '' fraudulent. In addition, I was told by a FedLoan Servicing representative on XXXX XXXX, XXXX that it is customary to write off loan balances under {$5.00}. Therefore, I question the basis for this " loan balance '' existing. 
XXXX ) Misleading and improper advice This XXXX cent " loan balance '' was included in my XXXX University XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX date : XXXX XXXX loan consolidation due to misleading and improper guidance by FedLoan Servicing customer service representatives. 
When I sought the loan consolidation for my XXXX school loans, which I was incorrectly advised was necessary to obtain XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a customer service representative told me about this XXXX " loan balance '' from XXXX. It was the first I had heard of it, and I had no idea how to repay it since I had never received a bill. But he said I could include it in the loan consolidation. He knew I was applying for Income Based Repayment as part of my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
He did not inform me that including the XXXX Parent PLUS " loan balance '' in the loan consolidation would completely disqualify the loan for Income Based Repayment, hence requiring me to pay 5 % more of my discretionary income for 10 years towards my loan repayment. 
This is a highly misleading act by a FedLoan Servicing representative and a violation of Fair Lending standards of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 
On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, I received a notice from Fed Loan Servicing that I had been assigned not Income-Based Repayment but Income-Contingent Repayment. As you are aware, Income-Contingent Repayment uses a different formula : 20 % of discretionary income to set monthly payments. 
I have made multiple calls to Fed Loan Servicing to attempt to straighten out the inclusion of a fraudulent loan balance in my loan consolidation and the invalid denial of my application for Income Based Repayment. 
I request that this situation be addressed so that my Income-Based Repayment may proceed as provided for in federal law.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief