Consumer complaint received 2016-10-07
Company: HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS INC
State: KY
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Don't agree with fees charged

Complaint:
I am making payments to ECSI and I am trying to understand the " fees '' or " charges '' associated with paying my loan. My concern is specifically around " Service charges '' that are applied when you pay your loan using certain payment methods. Financial institutions are to disclose all " fees '' or " charges '' in accordance with UDAAP to the consumer. I do not believe ECSI is doing this and should be held accountable ( although " Federal '' ) to the same standards as all other lenders. 

If I log into my bank and pay my loan with the institution I should first be aware of all fees associated and these fees should be fair to me. In regards to my student loan and I am a young professional trying to get on my feet. I took the loan because of the interest rate and I did n't have many other options. I am now paying on my loans and everytime I go to make a payment I am being charged a " service charge ''. This service charge appears to be different depending upon the payment method I choose. In addition, the charge seems to go up depending upon the amount I pay on my loan. The greater the amount I pay the more the " service fee '' goes up. My questions I would like answered : 1. Why is there a " service charge '' being applied to student loans each transaction a when a young professional is trying to pay their loan off? This seems unfair and does not keep the customer first. 
2. Why is this " service charge '' not disclosed online and why are the details of how they come to the " service charge '' not disclosed online? This seems deceptive and unfair. 
3. Why does this " service charge '' go up based off of me paying more on my loan? If anything the service charge should go down when I pay more. I was charged {$4.00} sense for paying a {$100.00} amount with my Debit card. The fee goes down to {$2.00} when I pay {$40.00}. This seems unfair, deceptive, and abusive to the consumer. 
4. Why is the " service charge '' different for each different type of payment method and why is this not disclosed to the customer as to why each different type of payment method is different and how they come to the charge? This seems unfair and deceptive. 
5. The Federal Government should be held to the same standards as any other Financial Institution due to them becoming a money lender. When a student who is trying to do the right thing and pay off their loans is being nickeled and dimed in addition to the interest that they are paying and any other late fees just to make a payment it is not right. Every time I make a payment I am being charged almost {$5.00} dollars in addition to the money I already owe. Does this compare with the standards regarding how banks process loans? 

In conclusion, the volume and likelihood of this happening to all other students is very high. The amount of money being collected from " service charges '' appears to be unfair, deceptive, and abusing to the borrower.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation