Consumer complaint received 2016-09-24
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: DC
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:
In XX/XX/XXXX I received a notice indicating that i needed to recertify my income to continue on the PAYE program by XX/XX/XXXX. I submitted my documentation before the deadline and waited for FedLoan Servicing to process my application. I followed up because it seemed to me taking a long time for them to process. I was informed that it would be processed within the normal 3-4 week time period. I informed them that they needed to be sure they certified it timely because I could not afford my payments if they were not based on my income. On XX/XX/XXXX - a month after the deadline and well after I submitted it- they notified me that my application was incomplete because I did not check off the single borrower box. I reviewed the document that I submitted and confirmed that I did fill it in. I called to ask and they told me to just resubmit and fill it out again, so I did. They drug their feet again on processes the reapplication and I again emphasized that it should be processed quickly because I could n't afford the full loan payment amounts. They took even longer to review this. I called several times to see what the delay was and they said it took a while. Even in XX/XX/XXXX they still had not reviewed my resubmission of an application I previously submitted as complete. I had to call several times. In a XX/XX/XXXX phone call they told me that the application normally took 7-10 days to process, so I was unsure what the delay was. I called again on XX/XX/XXXX because it still was not reviewed. They FINALLY said they would run my application expedited. In the meantime, my payment was due at the full amount since they drug their feet so slowly and put me through the ringer on getting this application processed. I got an e-mail to pay at the full amount and called to see what was happening with my application. They informed me that that same day I got my bill I was approved, but that I would have to pay the full amount since it magically did not get approved until then.During this call, they said they I would have to pay the full amount ( almost triple what I owe on PAYE ) that month. They suggested that I forbear on the account, saying that many consumers like this when they are in PSLF because it makes their payments lower because the loan will be bigger compared to income. I said I would prefer to pay based on my income. Also, I asked told them that the forbearance was not good because it would tack my interest onto my principal. They never informed me of that, but I knew. I asked if I could get an exception since I did n't want to forebear, and I was in this situation because of their negligence. They said that treasury controls that and they would submit a request to them. It was radio silence and eventually I decided that since they were n't informing me about whether the exception would be granted, I would have to forbear because I could n't afford it. After I finally did this, almost a month after requesting the exception that they said normally took 9-10 days, they contacted me saying I was approved for an exception, but it was too late to reverse the forbearance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief