Consumer complaint received 2016-08-22
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: AES/PHEAA (NY)

I 'm having an issue w/ fedloan switching me from PAYE to IRB without a clear reason some time after I consolidated my loans with them last year. I 've spent hours talking to them on the phone and they do n't have a reason for why this happened and keep telling me they will look into it. No progress has been made and they basically stop responding to me until I contact them at which point they say they will do a review of my acount. Please see below for my most recent email exchange with them : From me XXXX XXXX XXXX : Hello. On XXXX I spoke with a representative about my repayment plan. I had qualified for the PAYE but for some unknown reason I was switched to the IBR plan ( this was months ago ). At that time I asked why I had been switched and there was no clear reason they were going to submit it for review to have me switched back. This did not happen. On XXXX I spoke with a representative about this again and I was transferred to someone more senior who said again that there is no clear reason why I was switched off of PAYE ( or why my review either was n't done or did n't result in any meaningful conclusion ) and that she would submit another request for review. I want to know what the status of this is and if/when I will be switched back to PAYE. If I will NOT be switched back I would like a clear explanation of why instead of " oh that is strange lets submit it for another review. '' Thank you for your time. 

From FedLoan XXXX XXXX XXXX Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience or confusion that this situation may have caused you. We wish to work with you to achieve successful repayment of your student loans. 
Unfortunately, due do the applications date of XXXX XXXX, XXXX, we are unable to reprocess this application to have the Pay As You Earn Repayment plan applied to your account. To have the Pay As You Earn Repayment plan applied to your account, you will need to request this on a new application. ( They then explain how to do that ) From me only XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I do not understand your explanation of why I was not on PAYE in the first place. Please elaborate. I can not make a standard payment X 1 month to switch plans. I would prefer to not request forbearance as I think it will probably end up costing me more money in interest ( on IRB there is some interest benefit right? ) I 'm sure you can understand my frustration as I have been told that I did indeed apply for PAYE and was erroneously placed on IRB without an explanation. If you are unable to resolve the situation I 'd like to speak with a supervisor. I recertified my current plan under the advice of the agent I last spoke with on the phone who recommended I do that while they sorted out why I was n't on PAYE. 

From FedLoan XXXX XXXX XXXX : At this time, FedLoan Servicing is comprehensively reviewing your account to address your concerns. We apologize for the delay in responding to your email. However, please be assured that a response will be sent to you once our review is completed. 

We truly apologize for the inconvenience and confusion that this situation has caused you.