Consumer complaint received 2019-06-12
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: AES/PHEAA (OH)

Fed Loan services is a horrible company to deal with. I have actively been paying on my loans for 6 years. I have to call 3-4 times a year to correct mistakes they have made. Every time I call, I get incorrect information from every employee who answers the phone. I am actively working toward PSLF and have been making on time payments. My pay as you earn is calculated yearly and the amount each month has ranged anywhere from {$95.00} to {$520.00} which makes me wonder if they are calculating correctly. I have 2 years of qualifying payments from an eligible employer from XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX and they " lost '' my PSLF application. I have to go back to that hospital and have the HR department fill it out again ( I kept a copy so I will be sending that in, too ). I am now enrolled in a XXXX 's program and my employer is paying the cost of attendance. Fed loan received my enrollment status as half time inXX/XX/XXXX and placed my loans in deferment without my permission. I filled out a form saying I want my loans to stay in " repayment status '' and uploaded it to their system online. I was told by an employee that it was received and has that information has been posted to my account. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice that said my status has changed and I no longer qualify for my repayment plan that qualifies for PSLF. I call them on XX/XX/XXXX. I ask for my loans to be placed back in repayment status I do not want them to be deferred and they need to reinstate my payment plan. I make it clear I want ALL payments to go toward PSLF. As far as fed loan services is concerned, I am not in school. I am told ( by XXXX ) it will have to be reviewed. My request will be expedited and I should hear something in 1-2 business days and I will receive an email. 9 days later ( today ), I still have not heard back. I call back and speak with XXXX. who tells me that my loans are not in deferment, they are in " in school status '' and I can not change that until I have met my 6 month grace period and this is a rule set forth by the Department of Education ; I have no recourse, I just have to wait the 6 months. I inform XXXX that I have been out of school since XX/XX/XXXX and my grace period ended in early XX/XX/XXXX. I have financial documents that back this up. He puts me on hold. He comes back on the line and states my account does not indicate I ever had my grace period. I remind him that Fed Loan took over my account from XXXX XXXX when I filled out my first PSLF paperwork ( I am sorry I ever did that ). Their information is incorrect and we need to call XXXX XXXX right now and clear it up. I also tell him I am happy to send him my financial documents. He readily admits I have been given incorrect information by other employees. He states my deferment request that I uploaded in XX/XX/XXXX was  never been posted to my account because I uploaded it as general correspondence. I remind him that my loans came out of deferment so someone must have made the changes to my account. Now he states it is possible to put my loans back in repayment status but only after I have met the grace period of 6 months. They will have to review my account and make a determination to see if I really had a 6 month grace period and if I did not complete all 6 months, then I would have to wait another 6 months before my loans can be placed back in repayment status. XXXX said that there is no way I can pay on my account and have the payments count toward PSLF at this time. I remind him, rather loudly, that all I want is to pay my student loan bill. I find it astonishing that you have a willing tax payer who wants to pay their loans and they won't take my money. He states there is nothing he can do, it is the law and Congress will have to be the one to change that. I ask for contact info for the Department of Education and he told me that I can not speak to anyone there, I must deal with the loan servicer and that is them. I tell XXXX that Fed loan servicing is inept and by his own admission, gives out faulty information. nothing any of them say can be trusted. The entire company needs to be on the same page and if employees do not know what they are talking about they should not try to " wing it. '' He states the review of my account should take 7-10 business days to determine if I went through my original grace period in XX/XX/XXXX. I should receive an email with the information. XXXX is not able to provide useful information, nor correct my problem. He is the 5th person I have spoken to in 9 days. I strongly believe that Fed Loan servicing is putting my PSLF in jeopardy with their inept handling of my account and their across the board incompetence in providing correct and valuable information. I am considering hiring a lawyer to address this problem. I plan on paying them with my student loan money that Fed Loan services refuses to take and post to my account. I need guidance. I would prefer my loans be transferred to another loan servicer who has competent employees, however, I just read the PSLF is ONLY handled through Fed Loan Servicing which means my life is going to continue to be XXXX when dealing with these people. ALL I WANT IS TO PAY MY STUDENT LOANS ACCORDING TO MY INCOME DRIVEN REPAYMENT PLAN THAT WAS RECALCULATED IN XX/XX/XXXX AND FOR MY PAYMENTS TO COUNT TOWARD PSLF. 

I found this on Fed Loans website : Although it's not required, some borrowers like to make payments on their loans while in school. This is a great way to save in the long run and may help to create lower monthly payments and less to be repaid over the life of your loans.