Consumer complaint received 2017-07-21
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CA
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
My loan was rehabilitated with XXXX XXXX of XXXX, Texas. The signed agreement with them was that once I completed rehabilitation ( which I did in XX/XX/XXXX of this year ) I would be able to choose between different lenders, and different repayment options, in particular the income-based option. I never heard from anyone. Then just a couple of weeks ago I heard from Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency that payments were due. I never received any prior communication from PHEAA. They did not mail, email, or phone call me about the loan, different repayment plans or options ( as agreed when I signed up for rehabilitation ) or anything. They did not send me a contract for the new loan. I never signed a contract because, obviously, it was not sent. This amounts to Unfair Lending Practices, as well as Predetory Lending, as the total amount of the loan has gone from around {$120000.00} to {$160000.00} - PHEAA has added {$35000.00} to the loan, which amounts to Inflated Fees and Charges. By not informing me, not sending a contract, not giving me the original agreed upon option, PHEAA has committed Inadequate and False Disclosure. And in taking the loan from XXXX, and adding usurious fees, PHEAA has committed Loan Flipping. The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is also liable. They sold part of my loan to XXXX. They never informed me, XXXX also failed to inform me. I was paying the loan off at the time through the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, but neither informed me that part of it had been sol, and then it went into default. This was a Predatory Loan as well, as it was designed to fail. When I tried to rehabilitate the loan with XXXX XXXX and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, twice my papers for rehabilitation and reconsolidation were never completed by them. In roughly four years, my student loan debt has gone from around {$57000.00} to {$160000.00}, due to the above detailed circumstances, and the new policies of the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which favor Predatory Lending and Unfair Lending Practices. I will be seeking others in my situation in the interest of potentially pursuing a Class Action Lawsuit, a process that the PHEAA is more than familiar with, as is the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have attempted to the best of my ability for the past four years to keep in touch with the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX and now PHEAA, all four of which have engaged in sloppy mismanagment of my account, which has allowed the debt to almost triple in size. Note in the attached documents that there is no contract or papers from PHEAA, as I never received any, nor signed any. Their loan, and attempts to collect it, are illegal, for the reasons cited above. However I will repay the loan as I do not want it to go into default. The fact that I am repaying the loan should not be taken as an indication that I agree to the terms : I simply have no other option at the moment, other than letting it go back into default.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation