Consumer complaint received 2026-05-06 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to file a complaint against American Education Services ( AES ), the servicer for my XXXX student loans through XXXX XXXX XXXX, regarding a payment that does not appear to have been correctly applied and a delinquency on my account that I do not believe is accurate. BACKGROUND I have XXXX loans serviced by AES under XXXX account, with a monthly due date of the XXXX. In XX/XX/year>, I experienced a financial hardship and enrolled in an interest-only repayment plan, which brought my total monthly payment down to {$250.00} : Loan XXXX ( larger balance ) : $ XXXX Loan XXXX ( smaller balance ) : $ XXXX I had XXXX XXXX ( AES 's automatic payment system ) XXXX up on Loan XXXX. When I enrolled in the interest-only plan in XXXX, I believed I had canceled it. I've since come to understand it was only a temporary suspension likely a miscommunication on either end, which I have accepted. My concern is with what happened after. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS : XX/XX/year> : I made a manual payment of {$250.00}, covering both loans, ahead of the XX/XX/XXXX due date. This payment posted and was reflected in my payment history as {$250.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I considered my XXXX obligation fully paid at this point. XX/XX/year> ( Tuesday ) : I noticed {$83.00} had been automatically withdrawn from my checking account via XXXX XXXX, the automatic payment I thought was canceled. This put my account in the negative and caused immediate financial stress. I called AES the same day ( first call ) and was told they'd need to wait for the payment to post before initiating a refund. I called again that same day ( second call ), spoke with a different representative, and was walked through my options. Everything discussed below is specific to my XXXX billing cycle. The XXXX options presented to me : Option A : Refund the full {$250.00} from XX/XX/XXXX. The representative said this would make my account delinquent for XXXX. Option B ( agreed upon ) : Refund only the {$83.00} for Loan XXXX from my XX/XX/XXXX payment, and let the {$83.00} Direct Debit withdrawal from XX/XX/XXXX remain and post. That way, the XXXX XXXX would cover XXXX XXXX for XXXX, and the {$160.00} remaining from XX/XX/XXXX would cover XXXX XXXX. My account would stay current. I agreed to Option B. At no point was I told this could result in a delinquency. Avoiding XXXX was the entire reason for this arrangement. XX/XX/year> : I received an email from AES confirming that my XXXX XXXX payment of {$83.00} had posted. This is worth noting because the email specifically identifies it as a Direct Debit payment, making it clear this is entirely separate from the {$250.00} manual payment I made on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/year> : I received an email from AES stating my account was approximately XXXX days delinquent. I had already noticed a discrepancy in my payment history before this notification came in. My AES app currently shows the following for XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX : {$160.00} - this entry originally posted as {$250.00}, confirming that the {$83.00} refund agreed upon under Option B was processed and that the original XX/XX/XXXX payment of {$250.00} had fully posted prior to that. XX/XX/XXXX : {$83.00} ( the XXXX XXXX payment confirmed as posted per the XX/XX/XXXX email ) Those XXXX entries add up to {$250.00} - my full XXXX payment. Despite this, my account is showing a past-due balance of {$54.00} that I can not account for and have received no explanation on. CONCERNS : XXXX. Payment misapplication : My payment history shows {$160.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and {$83.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, totaling {$250.00} - my full XXXX amount. AES 's own XX/XX/XXXX email confirms the XXXX XXXX posted. The numbers add up, yet my account is marked delinquent with an unexplained {$54.00} balance. The XX/XX/XXXX payment does not appear to have been applied correctly. XXXX. Erroneous delinquency : The whole point of the arrangement I agreed to on XX/XX/XXXX was to keep my XXXX balance covered. The refund side was handled - my payment history confirms that. But the XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX was not applied correctly, resulting in a delinquency that should not be there. XXXX Credit reporting : I am concerned this delinquency could be reported to the credit bureaus. This appears to be an error on AES 's end and should not affect my credit. XXXX. General feedback : When a customer requests cancellation of XXXX XXXX, it should be a full cancellation unless otherwise agreed to. A temporary suspension that reactivates without clear notice is what led to this situation in the first place.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation