Consumer complaint received 2025-01-21 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Private student loan
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Received bad information about your loan
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
This letter is to formally complain about the unauthorized refinance of my private student loans that occurred in XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted the company handling my private student loan, American Education Services ( AES ), to explore potential options for lowering my student loan payments. The private loans were taken out in XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX Currently, I owe {$43000.00}. The original loan amount was {$8500.00}. The principal has long been paid, and what is remaining is all interest. During this call, I specifically requested : A soft credit check : I did not authorize a hard credit check. 
An estimate of my monthly payment if I were to refinance my loans. 
A follow-up call to discuss the estimated payment and compare it to my current payment options before proceeding with any refinance. 

Despite these explicit instructions, a refinance of my loans occurred without my authorization. This action resulted in a higher monthly payment than I was previously paying via a letter when I logged into my account and was notated in my next invoice. 

I contacted AES company around XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX via phone to address this issue. During this call, a representative reviewed my account and confirmed that the initial call notes indicated my request for an estimate and a follow-up call. 

I believe that the representative who handled my initial call failed to follow my instructions, resulting in the unauthorized consolidation of my loans. 

I submitted my complaint in writing to American Education Services a few days later after speaking with the AES representative, expressing my displeasure with their actions of refinancing my loan payment without my consent. 

I asked for AES to immediately investigate this matter and take the following corrective actions : Reverse the loan refinance : I request that you rescind the refinance and return my loans to their original status. 
Remove the hard credit inquiry : I request that you remove the hard credit inquiry associated with the unauthorized consolidation from my credit report. 
Waive any fees associated with this error. 
Provide written confirmation of the resolution of this issue, including the reversal of the refinance and the removal of the hard credit inquiry. 

I let them know that I expected a prompt and satisfactory resolution to this matter. If the issue is not resolved within 10 business days,. I let AES know that I would be forced to explore further options, including contacting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) and seeking legal counsel. 

I received two voicemails after submitting my complaint from AES on XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I returned the AES voicemail on XX/XX/XXXX, and spoke with an AES representative. The representative read the notes and agreed that AES did refinance my loans without my consent and that the issue had to be escalated to a complaint with CFPB on their part. She asked that I not say anything because she was not supposed to admit that they made an error.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation