Consumer complaint received 2017-09-23
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: AES/PHEAA (IL)

I am filing a complaint because I have been trying to get my IBR payment plan renewed since the end of XX/XX/XXXX, and it has been denied 4 times even though I have submitted exactly what has been asked for each time, according to XXXX customer service reps and managers. My student loans are now delinquent and I have had to suspend my auto-debit payments. I can not seem to get a straight answer, and have been assured multiple times that what I 'm submitting is correct. However each time I submit, I call again to double check and am always told something different. 

I received a notice on XX/XX/XXXX that my IBR plan needed to be renewed. I called XXXX to check and see what I needed to send in to show proof of income. I let them know that I no longer had a full-time job with an employer, and that I was now a self-employed XXXX. I was told to submit a statement that listed how much I had made each month for the past year, and how much I expected to make for XX/XX/XXXX, plus any documents that would show my income. I did this in a timely manner, and was denied on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I called and asked what I needed to change. I spoke to a rep named XXXX and she told me to submit : Gross income from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, expected to make a set amount in XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX and therefore my expected gross income will be X amount. 
# employee id numer XXXX I did exactly that and then was denied a second time on XX/XX/XXXX ( I will note that after each of these subsequent phone calls I have re-submitted requested information the day-of and it has always taken an incredibly long time to get a response ). 

I called again. This time speaking to XXXX. She told me : XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX XXXX She will submit a review for IDR plan. Reference letter and indicate that I did what I was supposed to do in terms of supplying income information. 
Need to do this for my XX/XX/XXXX renewal. 

I waited for over a month with no indication of the outcome. I called again and found out that I had been denied for third time. I spoke to XXXX and she said : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX # XXXX Letter rejected again, no notification, XX/XX/XXXX Need to delete income XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX, just put gross income Include the company name, address and phone number State that it is my first year as a new business Include projected gross income I did resent the information as requested the same day. I called again the next day to double check that what XXXX had told me was correct. I spoke to XXXX this time and he said : XX/XX/XXXX  XX/XX/XXXXXXXX # XXXX Suspend my direct debit forXX/XX/XXXXXX/XX/XXXX to ensure it doesnt pull a larger amount. Once the adjustments are made, thats when my bill will be due. Will go past due - risk of negative credit reporting. Dont come too close to 90 days. Call a week or more before XX/XX/XXXX to suspend direct debit if needed. Readjustment will bring account back to a current status automatically, and past due bills will no longer be due. 

I called again on XX/XX/XXXX to check the progress of my resubmission and spoke to XXXX who told me that what I had submitted was wrong. She said : XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX XXXX XXXX will talk to someone who processes the loans, will call me by Friday with exactly what I need, and will leave a message for me on my account as well. 
Re-scanned application to XXXX, with signature and new date I contacted XXXX again through the chat option to see what the status of my resubmission was because I had NOT received a call from XXXX regarding what an IBR specialist would tell me about my documentation. The chat person was XXXX XXXX and she told me that she would send me a copy of our chat log and then did not. She told me I would get a call the following Monday on my international number- she had checked with the manager to see if that was possible, and they said it was. 

I called XXXX again on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm that there was a call scheduled for me on Monday. I spoke to XXXX and he said : XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX - XXXX confirmed that there is a call scheduled for me today. They did not have my international number so I gave it to him for the notes again. Confirmed that once the IBR goes through, will bring the account current. 

On Monday, I waited by the phone the entire day and still did not receive a call. I contacted XXXX through the chat option, and had a conversation with XXXX : Session started between XXXX and XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX : Repayment Options XXXX : Thank you for contacting XXXX XXXX! May I  ask who I am speaking with? 
XXXX XXXX : Hello XXXX, you are speaking with XXXX XXXX : Hi, XXXX. My name is XXXX and my employee ID number is XXXX. How can I assist you? 
XXXX XXXX : Last Wednesday, I called to confirm what I had been told about my most recent submission was correct, and I reached XXXX, employee number # XXXX. She told me that she had an IBR specialist who sat next to her who she could speak to directly about my documentation and application. She said she would either call me or leave me a message which I could retrieve if I called back by last Friday. I did this, and there was no message on my account. I spoke to another rep, XXXX XXXX, who told me that someone would call me today, most likely XXXX. I have still not received a call XXXX XXXX : sorry, XXXX was supposed to call me on Monday, and she did not XXXX XXXX : I have been trying for 4 months to get my IBR approved, and I am extremely frustrated at this process, and I want it sorted immediately XXXX : Oh, I 'm sorry to hear that. Give me a second to research your account please. 
XXXX XXXX : ok thank you XXXX : You 're welcome. I do apologize again. 
XXXX : You have been idle for some time now. Is there anything further I can assist you with? 
XXXX XXXX : I 'm just waiting for you to respond XXXX : Sorry. I 'm still researching. 
XXXX XXXX : that 's ok- I 'm assuming that was an automated response or something XXXX : I  am currently working on your request, sorry for the delay. 
XXXX XXXX : that 's ok XXXX : We 're reviewing your account now, I 'm hopeful I can get this resolved for you. I do apologize again for everything. 
XXXX XXXX : that 's ok, it 's not your fault. but I do want it resolved as soon as possible. 
XXXX : Oh, I definitely understand how you feel. It 's a frustrating process. 
XXXX XXXX : yes it has been XXXX : I am currently working on your request, sorry for the delay. 
XXXX : Here 's what I know this far : I did found that one of our reps has attempted to call you back recently, but did n't get an answer. However, we 're still researching your account right now - please bear with me. 
XXXX XXXX : ok I will XXXX : I am currently working on your request, sorry for the delay. 
XXXX XXXX : ok XXXX : I am currently working on your request, sorry for the delay. 
XXXX : Still researching. I apologize that it 's taking so long. I just want to make sure that we 're able to get this all taken care of for you. I do see that you just uploaded a new IBRapplication on XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX : yes there was, along with new documentation XXXX XXXX : it 's the documentation that 's been a problem because I 'm a XXXX now. it 's my first year of being one and it 's caused a lot of issues on your end XXXX : I understand. 
XXXX : You have been idle for some time now. Is there anything further I can assist you with? 
XXXX XXXX : just waiting XXXX : I apologize again ... but I do have some more information for you. 
XXXX XXXX : ok XXXX : We 've been reviewing the letters that you have been sending along with your applications. Are you self-employed, or are you an XXXX XXXX? 
XXXX XXXX : I am self-employed XXXX : Perfect. Would you be willing to send some copies of the checks you 've received from each income source? 
XXXX XXXX : I do n't receive checks, I get payments online through XXXX or bank transfer XXXX XXXX : additionally, the first time I sent information, i did send that as evidence of what I was getting paid XXXX : I understand. Copies of a bank statement would suffice. 
XXXX XXXX : and I was told I did n't need that XXXX XXXX : I was told I did n't need to submit copies of a bank statement either because both things would n't accurately reflect what I make XXXX XXXX : is this something that has been requested from an IBR specialist? 
XXXX : I see. Yes, it has. In a situation like yours, where you 're self-employed, copies of bank statements are acceptable. 
XXXX XXXX : ok, so how will they be able to tell what it is that i make from my bank statements though? I have a certain amount of money in there, but not all of it is from my income. most of it is savings at this point. would I need to highlight what has come in? and how far back do they want my bank statements? 
XXXX : I would recommend that you highlight the incoming income, or at least black out the information that does n't pertain to this issue. I also recommend sending the most recent two. 
XXXX : Also, would you still like for someone to call you back? 
XXXX XXXX : ok. I can do that. so is it with the understanding that if i provide this information, that is what they will need to finally approve my IBR? 
XXXX : That 's exactly correct. 
XXXX XXXX : because I 've submitted information at least 3 or 4 times now based on what I 've been told XXXX XXXX : and it 's been different every time XXXX : Right, I understand. I do apologize again, but this is the last little piece of needed information. 
XXXX XXXX : so they need this to correlate with what I 'm saying is my gross income on the letter I sent in? 
XXXX : Yes. 
XXXX XXXX : so if I can get this to them by tomorrow, will this be expedited? because I ca n't have this drag out any longer XXXX : I 'll see what we can do for you. 
XXXX XXXX : ok. I will submit this information tomorrow, and then I will get back on chat to alert someone that it 's been submitted XXXX XXXX : I do n't want to wait another 10 business days for this to be approved or denied XXXX : No problem. Would you still like for someone to call you back? 
XXXX XXXX : no I 'm ok with that for now. I would like a copy of this chat though. the last time I did chat, i asked for a copy to be emailed to me and I never received it XXXX XXXX : will you be able to do that? 
XXXX : Definitely. 
XXXX XXXX : ok will it go to my personal email or my inbox in XXXX? 
XXXX : Most likely, it 'll be sent to the e-mail on file, but it never hurts to keep an eye on your Paperless Inbox, just in case. 
XXXX XXXX : ok. I think that 's it then. I hope all of this information will pan out as promised. 
XXXX : Oh, me too. I really appreciate your patience today. Is there anything else I can assist with today? 
XXXX XXXX : no that 's it. thanks for your help XXXX XXXX : You 're very welcome! Please do n't hesitate to call or message if you have other concerns. Again, I do appreciate your patience today, and I apologize this is taking so long. 
XXXX XXXX : thank you I was told that what I had submitted was correct. Then, yesterday I received my FOURTH denial for my IBR. 

This is completely unacceptable. I am CLEARLY not at fault at this point, and have done my due diligence with submitted what is requested of me. It is CLEAR that your customer service reps and managers have no idea what I need to submit as a new XXXX, and I feel I am being punished for being an XXXX. I am also definitely concerned that I will reach the 90 day point of being delinquent on my payments and that will negatively affect my credit. I have never been delinquent on my payments, and I have been paying my student loans diligently for years now. 

What I 've been told that I need to submit has been different each time. I 've been told to include bank statements, to not include bank statements, to highlight what pertains to my income on those bank statements, to include what I 'm making each month, to not include what I 'm making each month, to put only my gross income for XX/XX/XXXX, to put only my income for each month because it 'll be what I 'm paying for the following year, I 've been told to include it on official letterhead. NOTHING HAS WORKED. I do n't know how many more ways I can show you that I have had a significant drop in my income, that I am a XXXX with a smaller expected gross income and that I DO NOT HAVE AN EMPLOYER ANYMORE. 

This is completely unacceptable. I am CLEARLY not at fault at this point, and have done my due diligence with submitted what is requested of me. It is CLEAR that your customer service reps and managers have no idea what I need to submit as a new XXXX, and I feel I am being punished for being an XXXX. I am also definitely concerned that I will reach the 90 day point of being delinquent on my payments and that will negatively affect my credit. I have never been delinquent on my payments, and I have been paying my student loans diligently for years now. Your company and its lack of consistency, protocols and clear answers have been causing me serious emotional distress for months now.