Consumer complaint received 2016-11-30
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: MN
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:
Hi. I am a XXXX on the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in northern Minnesota. I have worked with tribal communities since I graduated from XXXX XXXX University in 2006. After graduating from college, my mother consolidated my student federal loans for me so I was only making one payment ( thinking she was doing me a favor ) Without realizing, she apparently consolidated my loan into an interest only loan. For the past 10 years, I have only been paying on interest. I have not paid one cent towards the principal and owe the exact amount I did 10 years ago. I began my loan payments with XXXX XXXX but about 5-6 years ago, they were bought out by American Education Services ( AES ). When AES bought my loan out, I noticed that my loan was the same amount it had been since the day I graduated college. I thought that was odd so I called AES. I talked to a gentleman who told me that I was in an interest only loan. He basically told me I could not pay off my loan and that all my payments will only go toward interest. I asked him if I could take out a different loan from the bank to pay off the loan and he told me that was not an option. I asked him if I could switch my repayment plan to get out of the interest only plan and he told me that I can not get out of the current plan I was in. He told me the only way I could pay it off was to pay big amount ( {$5000.00} at a time ). I could not afford to do that and it seemed absurd but continued to pay thinking I was doomed. I even payed double my payment once and they applied it to my next months payment. He told me I was locked into this loan and there was no way out. I felt and still feel defeated and wronged. How can I pay over 10 years ( and would almost have the loan paid off ) and still owe the same amount? I recently talked to some local senators in my area and they told me to get in touch with XXXX ( MN XXXX ). I contacted his office and his secretary got back to me with a couple options. He told me to contact the XXXX ( XXXX ). Last week, I contacted AES and told them I wanted to know exactly what type of loan I was in and wanted to know specifics. They told me once again it was and interest only loan. I told the lady from AES, I wanted to know everything about my loan because I was planning on talking with XXXX soon. As soon as I mentioned XXXX, AES put me on hold. I thought it was odd. When the lady came back, she all of the sudden was saying I could change my loan to a different repayment plan. I had asked to do that years ago and they told me it was not an option. Why all of the sudden was it an option? I have paid between $ XXXX already on a {$20000.00} loan. With this new repayment plan, they told me I could start over fresh and make higher payments to pay off this {$20000.00} loan I have. They are telling me i need to disregard all the money I have paid already. I feel this is completely fraudulent and illegal on so many levels. I am planning on going back to school for Speech Language Pathology but am scared to take more loans out when I am having so much trouble with my current one. Could you please help me? This loan I am in should be illegal and is not ok to be offering to college students. 
P.S. I also tried to do the Public Service Forgiveness plan but they told me that my type of loan did not qualify. Although, I still recognizes my loan as a federal loan.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation