Consumer complaint received 2017-02-02
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: AZ
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are handled

Complaint:
I submitted my application for the IBR plan after being placed on a hardship forbearance due to my inability to work from injuries I sustained. I contacted FedLoan servicing so that a representative can explain my options and walk me through completing the application process. ( first time attempting this program ) This plan reviews your current income versus your current debt, specifically student loan debt, to make payments more affordable for the american consumer. After completing the app with the representative over the phone, I called 2 times in XX/XX/XXXX to ensure that my application was being processed and that my student loans were placed on a general forbearance so that my credit would not be impacted. I was assured that all of my loans were placed on a general forbearance until completion of the application process. This representative did not process all of my loans with Fedloan servicing, he processed XXXX of XXXX. I was told ( 60+ days later ) that IBR did n't not apply to all of student loan types and the representative should have guided me differently. I explained to the representative at the time of application that I wanted all of my loans included in this program and I completed the application according to his direction. A side note ; given this is an income driven program, and its specifically for student loans, I do n't understand how my application was processed as an income driven repayment plan measured against my debt, and my remaining student loans serviced by FedLoan were not factored into these calculations. I have called numerous times to resolve this for over 6 months and after speaking with the representative today, I was told that, " it was not the responsibility of the representative to explain and guide me through the application process, I should have read the document more carefully. '' I have attached the correspondence from Fedloan pertaining the initial income driven program and my application which was apparently processed 60+ days after submitting the initial application. 
If I am told 20 days after completing the application that all of my loans are under a general forbearance and I would be contacted upon completion of the application process ; and it then takes 60+ days for Fedloan to provide any additional information or correspondence pertaining to the status of my loans, I would already be 90 days late at the time I 'm notified of any discrepancies. Especially when all of my loans should be on a forbearance and they were not given the proper status. In this case FedLoan reported XXXX accounts, 90 days late prior to notifying that they had incorrectly processed my app. I was then called by Fedloan representatives on 2 additional occasions to complete application process over again. I initially submitted my application at the end of XX/XX/XXXX, I was blamed for the delays and the incorrectly completed application with the direction of FedLoan representatives. My income driven payment plan was finally completed XX/XX/XXXX. ( 6 months ) Given that it took XXXX different attempts for Fedloan to correctly complete my IBR plan, why am I being penalized when it is obvious that Fedloan had not properly trained its employees on facilitating the IBR application process properly or efficiently. In addition, I was told the forms and the process changed for this program after my initial application was submitted. Fedloan took 6 months to finally complete this process, which cost me interest fees added to each loan. Fedloan is profiting from their mistakes, at the cost of the consumer. This is consumer fraud. I have attached various documents received from FedLoan during this period and it will show how completely unorganized they are. You will see statements on XX/XX/XXXX of {$0.00} payment due, and {$9000.00} due on the XX/XX/XXXX. IBR approval doc, and a subsequent call verifying with the representative the info.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation