Consumer complaint received 2018-04-05
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
Company: AES/PHEAA (VA)

I am drowning in student loan debt, and believe there is something wrong with the method in which these student loans trick the young and struggling youth into obtaining these private students loans and don't provide adequate education on them. I was in a difficult situation in my early XXXX and did not have my parent 's financial assistance to attend college. In trying to complete my degree and requiring to pay tuition, I got a private student loan for {$29000.00} and was not made aware of the interest rate or the kind of rate it would be ; or any information on the loan in general. I was sent a check in the mail, and I was not advised of any of the terms of the loan and can't even place where I got the loan, originally. I was not given any education on the repercussions of taking this loan. On my own, and educating myself on how these loans work, I learned that I have a variable interest rate that has fluctuated between 7 and 8 %. At the end of this loan, I'll have paid more than {$80000.00} on a {$29000.00} loan. I firmly believe that I was not properly educated on this loan and I was taken advantage of when I was struggling to make ends meet and trying to get an education with no help. It is ten years later, and I am still struggling to make ends meet, provide for my family, and still no help from the folks of AES. 

I have done everything I could in these 10 years to ensure I pay the loan on time and have done my absolute best to work with American Education Services ( AES ). I am only told that I've exhausted all of my options when there were only options available made to me when I was still in school and barely able to keep a roof over my head. 

Within these years, I went through some difficult times outside of my finances. A single parent to a XXXX victim of XXXX XXXX, and losing everything. In getting the advice of a non-profit financial organization, I was only told that the doable option for me was bankruptcy, and even then this private student loan continued to seek payments. I fell into collections, and now my credit was ruined. After several months, the collection agency that AES sent me to was able to offer me 3 months of a payment of {$50.00} while I worked on getting myself back on my feet. Of course, this took longer but the collection agency was only able to offer me an additional 3 months of a {$50.00} payment with continued negative reporting on my credit and continued growing balance. This was not helpful in a situation where I tried to work with them, and I could not obtain any relief from this in bankruptcy. My only option was to pay the {$50.00} a month payment and get penalized for it anyway. How am I supposed to get myself on my feet when my credit is spoiled and continuous inability to get true help when it is necessary? Since my mother cosigned on this loan without being given any education on this either, they often threaten to pursue her if they can't get the funds from me. My mother is not in a position to assist and is getting older, and I have never been given the opportunity to take her off of this loan, even after years of sending good payments. There is absolutely no end in sight for this loan. 

I am now a parent, still working very hard to make ends meet, poor credit ( which is an improvement ), 2 years out from a bankruptcy, and limited resources. If I don't pay the monthly payment of nearly {$500.00} a month, AES will hunt for me and continue to ruin the little progress I have made in my finances. There's no opportunity to get ahead in life, when there are predators such as private student loan lenders preying on the young and not properly educate them on what they are getting. Instead, they gauge your earnings on a monthly basis and make a profit off of people like me who just wanted to get an education. 

I don't think any of this is fair or just. I was not educated or empowered by whomever the loan was with originally. I know I've seen XXXX XXXX 's  name on past paperwork, and AES. I just know that AES has been the current organization I speak with. I have no options and no resolve. Just a mountain of bills, and a future student I will want to help with college someday, but literally can not afford to do.