Consumer complaint received 2025-10-17 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Struggling to repay your loan — Problem with forgiveness, cancellation, or discharge
Company: Maximus Federal Services, Inc.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I enrolled at XXXX XXXX XXXX  in XX/XX/XXXX for an online XXXX XXXX  program. My federal financial aid award letter showed I was approved for {$18000.00} in aid for XXXX XXXX XXXX ( federal loans, Pell Grants, and institutional scholarship ), while XXXX XXXX tuition cost only {$14000.00}. My aid exceeded tuition by over {$4000.00}. 

I never received any refund from XXXX  XXXX, despite federal law ( 34 CFR 668.164 ) requiring schools to issue refunds within 14 days when aid exceeds charges. 

I withdrew from XXXX  XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, after completing approximately 7 out of 8 months of Year 1. My last date of attendance was XX/XX/XXXX. I decided to leave upon learning that several promises made by XXXX  XXXX were untrue or misleading : XXXX  XXXX advertised that alumni could return to take any course or class again for free after graduating, which I found to be false. 

XXXX XXXX claims that graduates are guaranteed job placement with specific companies in the chosen industry of the program were also false and misleading. 

On XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX sent me an " Institutional Withdrawal Calculation '' claiming I owed {$5900.00}. This made no sense because my federal aid had covered my tuition with a {$4000.00} surplus. The document included a mysterious {$2900.00} " balance from previous semester '' that was never explained. 

I immediately disputed the charges with XXXX  XXXX 's financial aid office but received no response. I called multiple times, left voicemails, and sent emailsnone were returned. 

In XXXX, I filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid office disputing XXXX XXXX XXXX charges and their failure to properly apply my federal aid. 

Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX reduced the alleged debt from {$5900.00} to $ XXXX reduction of {$3500.00} ( 60 % ). I was never notified of this reduction or given any explanation for it. I believe this reduction occurred because my Department of Education complaint revealed XXXX  XXXX had misappropriated my federal student aid. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX sent the debt to XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) for collection. I received XXXX 's letter on XX/XX/XXXX, claiming I owe {$2400.00} plus {$600.00} in collection fees ( totaling {$3000.00} ). The letter was postmarked XX/XX/XXXX, but took over XXXX weeks to reach me, arriving 6 days after their stated deadline. 

I dispute this entire debt because : My federal aid ( {$18000.00} ) exceeded my tuition ( {$14000.00} ) by over {$4000.00}. I should owe nothing and should have received a refund. 

I never received the federally required refund when my aid exceeded charges. 

XXXX  XXXX 's withdrawal calculation only shows {$4100.00} in Semester XXXX aid applied to my account, but I had over {$9000.00} in aid available for that semester. XXXX  XXXX appears to have failed to apply all my federal aid. 

The {$2900.00} " previous balance '' makes no sense since my Semester XXXX aid also exceeded XXXX XXXX tuition. 

XXXX  XXXX reduced the debt by {$3500.00} with no explanation after my Department of Education complaint, suggesting their original calculation was fraudulent. 

XXXX  XXXX has refused to communicate or provide documentation for 21 months despite repeated attempts. 

The {$600.00} in collection fees ( 25 % ) is excessive and improper on a disputed debt. 

XXXX XXXX made false promises about alumni course access and guaranteed job placement, which influenced my decision to withdraw. 

This appears to be a case of misappropriation of Title IV federal student aid funds. XXXX  XXXX received federal aid on my behalf but either never applied it to my account or kept the surplus rather than issuing the required refund. They then falsely claimed I owed money and sent it to collections. 

I am requesting : Investigation of XXXX XXXX XXXX  handling of my federal student aid Complete documentation showing what aid XXXX XXXX  received and how it was applied Explanation for the {$3500.00} reduction Verification that I actually owe this debt Removal of this debt from collections if it is invalid Recovery of the refund I should have received

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation