vivekkopthsd/cfpb-consumer-complaints huggingface dataset:
Consumer complaint received 2016-10-21 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Non-federal student loan
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
I am a single mother that went to college and got a degree. I am unable to afford the payments of my Private Loan which is through XXXX but American Education Services is the lender ( AES ). I have been in contact with them several times that the {$250.00} a month payment towards my private loan is difficult for me financially as I am a single mother. They have told me several times that they do not have any type way to help lower my payments. I was told no process is in place for income-driven repayment plans or any other type of payment plans. XX/XX/2015 I got accepted into XXXX University to pursue my XXXX studies then enroll into a XXXX. I had to quit school because AES told me that I had to repay my loan and I had exhausted all forbearances and deferments. I told them that I am XXXX to work towards becoming a XXXX and I would be in school for some years. I was informed that even when I am enrolled in XXXX I will have to make payments towards the loan. I had to quit school and I am a single mother who can not pay both a private loan and other loans on my salary. I would like to go back to school forcing me to work part-time, but it is impossible since they will not defer the private loan payments or even offer income-driven repayment.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-12-14 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I was told by FedLoans that my XXXX individual XXXX loan were consolidated, but I found out that was NOT true. XXXX of them are unsub and XXXX of them are sub. The starting balance and current balance are as follows ; Original XXXX current XXXX ( paid off {$67.00} ) Original XXXX current XXXX ( went up {$75.00} ) Original XXXX current XXXX ( went up {$260.00} ) Original XXXX current XXXX ( paid off {$130.00} ) Original XXXX current XXXX ( went up {$220.00} ) This has been over a FOUR Year period! The customer support are always very rude and unintelligent. I had to once go into forbearance due to loss of job, and they were happy to help me ( most likely due to interest collected ). During this time they reported to the credit bearueu that I was delinquent when that was not the case. There was XXXX other time earlier in the years that I had to go into forbearance due to no work. So just twice, both times approved. 

I am back to paying my loan again due to a great full time career. I just looked at my recent payment, and it was split up between the XXXX loans. More was paid to interest than principal, I 've even seen times where 99 % went to interest and 1 % went to principal. 

This loan company only wants your money. They will have you pay for decades, XXXX over your credit report, collect money on interest and never pass go. Over the years of paying this loan on time ( except for those 2 times ), I still have n't been able to decrease it below the {$8400.00} mark. {$470.00} has gone to principal, where as {$990.00} has gone to interest. I will never be able to be rid of these people, I feel like it 's a debt owed to the XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-02-10 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NE

Complaint narrative:
I am contacting you today to request a gesture of goodwill. I have several loans with Fedloan. I am currently on an income based repayment plan that does not require me to make a payment. I would like to actually repay my student debt. My education has served me well and because of it I have been presented with an opportunity to purchase an existing and successful franchise. However, the late payments on my student loan account are preventing me from obtaining an approval for the business loan I need to acquire the franchise. 

The late payments reflecting on my account are actually due to miscommunication on both ends. There were periods of time where I requested a deferment or forbearance due to my financial hardships but my requests were not initially honored ( Apparently due to a mistake made by the customer service representative ). In XXXX or XXXX of XXXX my family was struggling to make ends meet and were on public assistance. I communicated this to a representative at the time and they informed me they would request a deferment of my payments for 1 year. I thought my account was squared away and did not check my monthly statements, for a while. 

In the XXXX I received a notification via email that my loan was on the verge of defaulting which prompted me to call. It was then that I was informed that the deferment I requested had not been implemented. The representative was very polite and helped me resolve the issue through backdating the forbearance and deferment request. It was my understanding I would not need another deferment for at least 12 months if my financial situation did not improve. This was not the case and lead to additional late payments on my accounts. 

I take complete responsibility for not following-up and ensuring the initial deferment was implemented and for not understanding that I needed to make another deferment request, however ; I would really like to be in a position to repay my loans in full. The franchise I seek to acquire will allow me to repay all of my student debt within a matter of 36 months. I understand Fedloan is obliged to report payment history accurately. I ask that either Fedloan stop reporting the late information and make it " unavailable '' or better yet update my payment history to reflect the loans were in forbearance/deferment for the following months XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX of XXXX and XXXX and XXXX of XXXX and mark them as paid as agreed. Doing so will allow me to improve my financial position and repay my loans in full.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report — Account status
Company: Credit Karma, LLC
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Credit Karma is displaying invalid scores and this effecting personal credit applications. I contacted them and they have not answered another than run around of confusion. XXXX shows score XXXX and Credit Karma is displaying XXXX. Attached is copy of both and Credit Karma is violating my personal information with false accuracy. Since building website showing facts of inaccuracies of credit reporting agencies ( XXXX ) they are showing inaccurate information and this has been fight for three months.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-04-08 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report — Information is not mine
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
I tried to get my credit report from Equifax.com and in order to do so, I had to answer some security questions. None of them pertained to me. It said I had a mortgage in 2012 that I have never had, And also retail credit cards such as XXXX.. I 've never had any of the above. So I 'm not sure if someone has gotten these items in my name or what the issue is, Because I can not get in touch with anyone, There is only an automated system when you care Equifax. I 've issued a fraud alert.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-01-26 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Don't agree with fees charged
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
We were required to take out Parent Plus loans because of the FAFSA, we were required to take out parent plus loans to supplement our sons education costs. We borrowed a total of {$21000.00} and the loan has grown by 50 % over the last 5-6 years to {$36000.00}. Even though we have made monthly payments for the last 4 years

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
AES Success mishandled my loans in XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and consolidated all of my lower interest loans into XXXX higher interest rate loan. 

AES Success also never removed late fees and penalties on my loans after consolidation. 

AES Success capitalized late fees, penalties and interest on interest into the higher interest rate consolidation. 

AES Success also failed to properly account for principal paydowns in years XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, when I made multiple payments, most of which were directed toward reducing the principal balance. 

I suspect that my current loan balance is overstated by {$4000.00} to {$5000.00} because of too-high interest expense, because of penalties and fees that were capitalized and because of fraudulent calculation of principal and interest payments. 

I request that the CFPB conduct a comprehensive audit of my student loan accounts with AES Success. I first want my interest rate on the consolidated loan to be changed back to the lower rate initially offered to me by AES Success. My consolidated loan 's interest rate is at least 1 % too high. My rate should be much lower!!! 

AES Success mishandled, misadvised and fraudulently handled my student loan application. I have paid dearly for their unprofessionalism. 

I also want a comprehensive audit to calculate all of the late fees, penalties and interest that accrued on my loans prior to consolidation. I want all of the fees and penalties removed, since they were the result of AES Success ' mishandling. 

Lastly, I want a comprehensive audit to calculate the proper amount of principal reductions that should have occurred in periods where I made multiple payments.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-02-26 00:00:00
Product: Bank account or service — Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management — 
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I have an business account with suntrust, and i rarely use it due to the problems that always occur when i do. i am XXXX, and i was checking on my account and was shocked when i saw a negative XXXX charge. i learned from recent situations that i should call suntrust due to its incorrect online balances, so i did and each time i would call i was told that the computers were down, and i would have to call back in 2-3 hours. that would be XXXX my time, and i wasnt willing to stay up that late. i finally get a hold of them on XX/XX/XXXX and was told that my account went over XXXX dollars, and so i was charged XXXX dollars in overdraft fees! that charge absolutely shocked me. i spoke to several supervisors, and stated that this charge was unnecessary, and i was told that due to previous courtesy credits they could not provide me with another one. most of the previous credits, as i explained to these supervisors were also due to bank errors. she said that they were still considered courtesy credits, and that i would have to pay the XXXX in overdraft fees. all the representatives i spoke to seemed uninterested, and unwilling to help me. by the end of the call i simply stated that i would not be paying this fee because it was unnecessary, and the supervisors reply was i will notate the account! I honestly never use this account, due to problems i had with them before, but i was forced to due to some checks. All i want from suntrust is to take the fees off, so i can pay the XXXX i owe, and close this account. this bank is by far the worst bank i have ever worked with, and i have several accounts with banks much smaller than suntrust.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-08-03 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Can't repay my loan — Can't decrease my monthly payments
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I applied for a reduced payment plan two months ago and my servicer is yet to acknowledge it in writing. Whenever I call in they say the payment will be changed, but nothing ever happens.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-01-05 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: NM

Complaint narrative:
I am currently on an Income Driven Repayment ( IDR ) plan and I agreed to electronic and direct deposit. I firmly believe that these plans are created to lower payments to a more manageable XXXX ( of course interest still accumulates ). I pay XXXX a month and woke up this new year to a XXXX withdrawal. Not only was Fed loan rude but they put all the blame on me. I spent the afternoon stopping payment from my bank and dealing with Fed loan trying to still attempt to not default but was not able to reach any type of compromise. My only question is its 2017 is the best form of communication an email over the holidays with no marker of importance, no title in the email stating my rate would go up, not a prerecorded phone call or send a text ( they do of course offer texts for promotional services ). I understand of course as they stated this is all my responsibility but with such a significant increase in payment I definitely think a better effort on their side communication wise is definitely warranted. I feel the worst for the call center employees since they are forced to deal with unnecessarily upset customers. I mean where is the logic here I 'm on and IDR because I ca n't afford a regular payment so go ahead and instead of charging me XXXX charge me XXXX. I guess understanding of my situation was just to hard for them. I was not notified of forebearance till the 5th time I called TODAY! I am definitely reconsolidating and looking for a better servicer. After all was said and done I attest that this process took 6 hrs today and by the time I called back the calling center was closed!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-15 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Received bad information about my loan
Company: AES/PHEAA
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
My assigned federal student loan servicer is FedLoan Servicing. I have been attempting to switch my repayment plan from the IBR plan to the REPAYE plan since XXXX 2016. FedLoan has made numerous errors and has neglected to process my requests over a period of over 6 months. The original request to switch plans was completed on the XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX website ( studentloans.gov ). Over a month later, I had not received any correspondence from FedLoan Servicing. After calling several times and getting various misinformation, I was eventually informed that they had received the request but were n't processing it until I called them to request to be switched. After several more calls and more misinformation, I was finally placed on a reduced payment forbearance so that I could make the single payment to get out of IBR and switch to the REPAYE program ( request completed on XXXX XXXX, 2016 ). Most recently, I made XXXX reduced payments ( after having been told I only needed to make XXXX XXXX, on XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX. I then received a bill for XXXX, due on XXXX XXXX and was informed that its because FedLoan did n't process the request prior to the expiration of reduced payment forbearance. This issue required another set of calls to sort out, with more misinformation. So, its been over 6 months and more than XXXX calls to FedLoan Servicing, with lots of misinformation and mistakes along the way, and the process is still not complete! My husband has loans serviced by XXXX XXXX and he was able to complete the process in less than 30 days. I do n't understand how customer service can be so discrepant between the XXXX loan servicers and have been beyond frustrated by FedLoan Servicing and the amount of time and energy required to make a fairly straightforward change on my account. I have been so unhappy with their customer service, I sincerely hope to receive a different loan servicer. This is incredibly unfair to me and probably lots of other people who have had similar problems with FedLoan Servicing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-09-22 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account — 
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
My wife and I currently have a XXXX and XXXX mortgage on our home. The XXXX mortgage is with XXXX and the XXXX with Suntrust Bank, In XXXX my wife file for chapter XXXX and it was granted. We immediately contacted the lenders to ask for assistance, XXXX was a challenge but your agency assisted us and we were able to obtain a loan modification, we are current with XXXX and have no late payments. The second lender Suntrust was more difficult as they only offered to transfer the entire balance to interest only. for the past 3 years the interest only payment was {$110.00} and we would pay {$200.00} monthly. Today XXXX/XXXX/XXXX we received the monthly statement and the payment has increased to {$400.00}, W e received no warning to this change. We are asking for the agency 's assistance to investigate this sudden change and if Suntrust would look into another solution for us. We struggle each month to make payments but have been making them and on time. I am not computer savy but my wife did save the emails from Suntrust Bank from XXXX to XXXX XXXX - loan officer NML # XXXX that requested hardship notification. Suntrust in XXXX/XXXX/XXXX made XXXX XXXX from the Equity line Modification division the final point of contact sending an email stating that the entire balance was transferred to INTEREST ONLY OPTION.. That email was received on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. We have even attempted to refinance the mortgages to XXXX lender XXXX since the have the primary but after speaking to a loan officer we were told that due to my wife 's XXXX bankruptcy the loan was NOT REAFFIRMED. The bankruptcy attorney told us that a REAFFIRMATION was not necessary 6 years later and that XXXX was not interested in doing the refinance that would have consolidated the debt and made the monthly payment still within our budget. The SUNTRUST account no. is XXXX. The XXXX account no, is XXXX, We have received Dodd Frank packets from XXXX at least XXXX times and have completed and sent the documents XXXX times, We have never received those documents from Suntrust nor do we know that they should be in compliance with the act. all we want is to keep our home and with payments that we can keep managing. The best contact number for us is XXXX and the email is XXXXXXXXXXXX. We look forward to any helpful information/ assistance the agency can provide. Sincerely, XXXX and XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2016-10-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report — Personal information
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I have asked on numerous occasions for my address and Name be corrected on my Credit reporting account.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-11-29 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Loan modification,collection,foreclosure — 
Company: Seterus, Inc.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
About 2 years ago I became XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX I had to have a XXXX. My wife struggled to keep up with the mortgage and did so until XXXX 2014 when we started to fall behind. By XXXX we were about {$4000.00} behind and foreclosure was started on XXXX. I was awarded XXXX in XXXX and received back pay in XXXX. When we contacted Seterus we were told that it would cost us over {$11000.00} to stop foreclosure and make everything fine. After speaking to a few attorneys we agreed to pay them. They told us that the {$11000.00} would make us current including XXXX mortgage and would cover all legal fees. We then paid XXXX mortgage early. On XXXX we received another notice stating that we owe another {$3800.00} due XX/XX/XXXX. We probably will not be able to make that payment since Seterus took the majority of the back pay I received from XXXX. I believe these piranha will continue to extort money from us until they succeed in taking our home! PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-08-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Credit reporting company's investigation — Inadequate help over the phone
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
I asked Equifax if I could get the same availability of email that they give the reporting agency. The credit reporting agencies use " electronic '' communication with the reporting agency, but WILL NOT use : electronic " communication '' with the person being reported on. It is not within company policy to allow that. Consumers have to use the Postal System to defend themselves and they have no idea if the information is ever received. Equifax also does no investigation, they simply " electronically '' send a dispute statement to the reporting agency, wait for their reply, and send the consumer a notice that the reporting agency reaffirms their initial report. Instead of requiring proof from the reporting agency Equifax told me to call the agency myself to straighten the matter out. I would like to see the same level of benefit between the reporting agency and the individual being reported on. My dispute took XXXX months and XXXX different case numbers ( per call ) for the same dispute to finally get resolved by ME. Equifax still had it under investigation until I called to verify the item was removed as I had correspondence from the BBB between them and the reporting agency that they would drop the action and notify the credit agencies. I asked for a credit report showing that ... another case file was opened to send me the credit report. This was removed because the collection agency was rereporting old debt that was passed the statue of limitations. Equifax was told on each phone call, but it ultimately took the BBB to resolve the issue. Equifax still would not let me " attach '' a document as you have allowed here.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-07-27 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Credit reporting company's investigation — Investigation took too long
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
I wrote a letter to Equifax back in XXXX, asking them to investigate XXXX inaccurate accounts that appeared on my report with their agency. Over the last four months, I have sent countless follow-up letters to Equifax , but for whatever reason, they will not respond to my request.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report — Information is not mine
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NM

Complaint narrative:
Equifax is not responding to my requests to investigate, verify and remove some accounts from my credit report that do not belong to me.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation