Consumer complaint received 2017-08-21
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Federal student loan debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
I consolidated my loans through FedLoan Servicing ( FedLoan ) after they reached out to me offering better rates than my previous servicer, XXXX, in or around XX/XX/XXXX On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted FedLoan about renewing my income-based repayment paperwork. I faxed in the approved Income Driven Payment Plan Request form ( IDPPR ) with a pay stub and called to be sure that they received my application. I never received an acknowledgment that FedLoan received my application. I called and emailed again inXX/XX/XXXX. I finally spoke with a manager who assured me that my application was under review and was told not to worry about making any payments during the review. The manager said that they would forebear or defer payments during the review process. Despite this assurance, I continued to receive extremely high bills. The manager also said that the email box doesnt work and nobody checks it. I called again inXX/XX/XXXX to check the status of my application after receiving another bill stating that I was late and that account was not in forbearance or deferment. I spoke with a representative who said that there was a note in my file that said that my payments should be on hold for review but that was never done. InXX/XX/XXXX nearly four months after submitting a complete package, I was told my application was declined because they were unable to read the scanned documents. The representative I spoke with said there was an internal error with scanning the documents into their system. She also said that the weather caused the four-month delay in reviewing my application. I have a copy of the scanned IDPPR application which is clearly legible. OnXX/XX/XXXX, I talked to XXXX ( employee number XXXX ) who said that my new application was denied because I marked that I was not on forbearance when I was. This is not accurate and not a valid reason for denial. I told her I wanted to do whatever I needed to do to start making affordable payments. OnXX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I re-submitted the IDPPR application again. FedLoan continually either did not process the application, or failed to provide a reasonable, monthly payment amount. At this point, a year after consolidation, FedLoan still had not appropriately processed my IDPPR application which forced my account into forbearance or deferment with interest added to the account. In XXXX XXXX, I submitted the online XXXXDPPR form through the Department of Education. Most recently, FedLoan sent me a bill for {$3800.00}, despite the fact that my disclosed paystubs show that this is what I net on a monthly basis. Today, FedLoan still has not appropriately processed my IDPPR application.
Substantial Interest has accrued over the past two years due to its errors. It is far easier to push a borrower into forbearance than tell them that there are plans available that would decrease payments and or actually process the IDPPR applications because of the staggering interest that accrues on  high principle loans. FedLoan has engaged in fraud, misrepresentations and omissions, collusion and conspiracy to achieve these ends in the hopes that the borrower grows tired of these tactics, moves it loans, and FedLoan is paid its usurious fees for its institutionalized behavior. 
Additionally, FedLoan reported these erroneous interest increases to the credit agencies and my credit score has decreased as a result. Please also consider this correspondence to be my formal notice that I disputes the accuracy of the alleged debt in accordance with XXXX of the Texas Debt Collection Act and 809 of the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Consequentially, your company is obligated to immediately cease all collection efforts until the debt is validated. According to Texas Debt Collection Act 392.202 ( b ) : Not later than the 30th day after the date a notice of inaccuracy is received, a third-party debt collector who initiates an investigation shall send a written statement to the individual : ( 1 ) denying the inaccuracy ; ( 2 ) admitting the inaccuracy ; or ( 3 ) stating that the third-party debt collector has not had sufficient time to complete an investigation of the inaccuracy.
In addition, 15 U.S.C. 809 ( a ) ( 5 ) ( b ) states : If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing... that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed... the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector. If you can not properly validate the debt, the both statutes cited above require your company to immediately cease collection efforts, notify each person who previously received a report containing inaccurate information, and correct the inaccuracy within five business days. Failure to comply with the requirements above may subject your company to civil penalties. Specifically, in an action for violation of the Texas Debt Collections Act, a victim in entitled to actual damages, defined as damages for loss of home, slander of title, harm to credit reputation, and mental anguish. See XXXX XXXX XXXX. v. XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Tex.App.-XXXX XXXX 1996, no writ ). In addition, a victim may also be entitled to exemplary damages, court costs, attorney fees, and interest. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 41.002 ; Tex. Fin. Code 392.403 ( b ).
Furthermore, violations of the Texas Debt Collections Act are subject to the so-called tie in provision of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act ; which carries with it much more severe penalties. Pursuant to Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 17.50 ( b ) ( 1 ), a victim may be entitled to three times the amount of the economic damages if the violation is found to have been made knowingly. If the violation was made intentionally, a court may award damages of three or four times the amount of economic and mental anguish damages. Id. Finally, a court may award damages of up to {$1000.00} per violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 15 U.S.C. 813 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( A ). As I am sure if you fully investigate this alleged debt as required by the TDCA, you will discover you are in error. Any continued attempts to collect this debt will constitute a violation of the above referenced statutes and may result in legal action. The statutes referenced above provide for significant penalties for violators and I am prepared to seek legal action to enforce my rights. I sincerely regret transferring my loans to FedLoan which is clearly fabricating reasons to deny my income-based application to collect unreasonably high interest amounts. This is clearly a payment shock and I fear that I will fall behind on my payments because FedLoan can not properly process an application. I have made payments for years and want to continue making payments. FedLoan is making that impossible.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief