Consumer complaint received 2022-02-26
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: TX
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I previously tried to Fax my Public Loan Service Forgiveness application to required Fedloan Fax # XXXX and paid a fax service to fax but Fedloan fax number would not allow transmit after numerous attempts. I ended up having to mail my application. After awaiting weeks I received response from Fedloan that my application was " MISSING INFORMATION ''. The MISSING INFORMATION criteria they defined is truly " either missing or you submitted the form with an electronic signature '' and is then not in the right format. Fedloan needs a dictionary as having a signature is not the same as missing. To my understanding electronic and digital mediums are widely used and accepted methods of providing signature and exactly how I, and many, are able to agree to acquire student loans. It benefits the loan servicer to make any excuse to not correctly process applications as borrowers like myself continue to accrue loan interest. As if that is not enough, I was on phone over 1 hour on hold unable to reach a representative with Fedloan to discuss the validity and reasoning of Fedloan not accepting electronic signature. Additionally they make the process tremendous endeavor by not having working fax number sufficient to handle probably the volume and mounds of documentation Fedloan makes borrowers sift through and handle ... when email is the easiest most convenient easy to track solution. Additionally when trying to make complaint to US Dept of Edu about this issue they also make it difficult to even provide a simple complaint email as each of these entities from student loan provider to related agencies rather people waste time on the phone losing the desire to call the servicers and agencies out on their poor, lame, and shameful execution of customer service and do the complete opposite of what should be done to help borrowers/people navigate through the ridiculous processes, wait times, and excuses to be slow to help fulfill responsibilities of responsible loan service implementing a government sponsored program that essentially the same people who work pay through taxes, etc. essentially fund ... .ridiculous. Lastly, I reviewed an online copy of Code of Federal Regulations 34 CFR 685.219 - Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program available through govinfo.gov/ and nowhere in the document is mention of any forbiddance of " electronic signature ''. Fedloan with help of US Dept of Edu are making the process more challenging at the burden of borrowers and taxpayers as people need again to waste time having to jump through all the loops to even get the basics done such as having working fax #, using email, having somewhat decent wait time when calling for questions. Terrible experience and I hope things get fixed as this is silly and terrible that thousands of borrowers are likely facing the same challenges and issues with these agencies. There is too much financial implications to these transactions for large loan servicers to do as they please in making things difficult for borrowers especially when there are programs to help borrowers that the servicers again are implementing with little desire to make things easy.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation