Consumer complaint received 2025-05-07 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Private student loan debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Servicer under contract with Federal Student Aid
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am a former XXXX of XXXX XXXX in XXXX, XXXX After I was dismissed from the XXXX XXXX XXXX, the school returned a portion of my federal financial aid to the Department of Education and is now trying to bill me directly for that amount. I never consented to this reversal and was not informed that I would be personally responsible for this balance. 

When I received the refund, I was still actively enrolled. I even asked the programs didactic director what would happen to my financial aid and was told I was still considered a student at the time. My advisor also confirmed I was still in XXXX  status. This matters, because the money I received was not fraudulent or mistakenly disbursedI was a XXXX  when I received it, and I used it for living expenses while preparing for upcoming coursework. 

After my dismissal, I called the financial aid office directly to ask what had happened to my refund. No one clearly explained the process, and I was not told that I would end up owing the school money. I signed a Title IV Credit Balance Authorization form to receive aidnot to have it returned. Now the school is using that form to justify creating a personal balance, claiming the funds were unearned. This is a gross misrepresentation of what I signed and why.

They also failed to provide : A clear breakdown of what I allegedly owe Any advance notice that they were returning aid on my behalf Transparency on how they calculated the amount now billed to me Instead, I received threatening emails stating that my account is delinquent and that the balance could be sent to collections, which would hurt my credit. This has caused me significant XXXX  and financial XXXX. I believe XXXX XXXX is being deceptive by : Misusing a financial aid form to justify a debt I never agreed to Misleading me about my XXXX  status during the refund Failing to disclose their internal policy that makes students liable after dismissal Using coercive, vague language to intimidate me into payment While federal law may require the school to return funds to the government, it does not require XXXX XXXX to bill me directly. That is their own internal policy, and they never made it clear. 

I am requesting the following : Full cancellation of the balance Written confirmation that no collections or credit reporting will occur A formal review of how XXXX XXXX handles financial aid disbursement, reversal, and communication with students I have provided an example that can be foudn on XXXX od the deceptive practices of this school from a student : " If I could give no stars I would. They are liars and thieves. I attended this college for a week and told both my advisor and admissions representative via email that I needed to withdraw due to an emergency situation that occurred. After about XXXX weeks of constant calling and being transferred back and forth between different staff the advisor finally responded back saying she would withdraw me from classes. I inquired if I would be held accountable financially because she took to long to respond back and I was told no. Well three months later I get a bill for over {$6000.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I immediately called the school and again it took a month for someone to call back. When they called back the financial aid person was very dismissive and even laughed at me regarding my dispute. I called my admission representative and upon voicing my frustration he hung up the phone on me and during those interactions I was told the director would get in touch with me and two months later no call. Please look for another college this school is over priced and they are scamming students out of money. The staff appear to be nice at first to get you in the door but after that they are rude, dismissive, immature and liars.

I advise anyone to not waste your time and LOOK ELSEWHERE!!! ''

Company response to consumer: Untimely response