Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency

Although their calculations on my fixed rate educational loan through PHEAA are correct, the business uses their website to make your life difficult and charge you extra fees and interest. When I told them that I didn't qualify for the grant program and that my grant would have to be repaid as a loan (I got a job out of state and didn't meet the requirements for completion), they proceeded to ignore the fact that my address had changed and instead sent all the information to a 3 year old mailing address. When I called asking them about late fees and interest accrual, they said that I was responsible for the fees because the information was available online. Fast forward to today, and they show a balance due on my bill, but it doesn't include interest. That is only shown on my online account. They use the excuse that the interest is calculated daily so they can't send you an accurate figure on a paper bill. They should be required to list everything that I owe on the bill they send me with a date on which the information is accurate. Every person doesn't have internet access, so to effectively hide their interest information from them is just wrong.

November 7, 2014
Dear [redacted]:
This letter is in regards to the inquiry AES received from the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) regarding the status of the educational loan account, serviced by our office. Our records reflect that you cosigned this account for [redacted]. We trust...

the following information will be of assistance.AES currently services the privately-insured Alternative Undergraduate Program (ALPLN) Loan on behalf of the owner, [redacted] ([redacted]). Because AES is not the owner of the loan, it does not have the authority to alter or negotiate the terms of the Credit Agreement and must administer the loan in accordance with its terms.
The chart below details the loan.
Disbursement Date           Loan Program          Original Principal Balance      Current Principal BalanceJanuary 4, 2007                  ALPLN                          $31,746.03                                $39,915.55**The current principal balance is higher as a result of interest capitalization.
In your inquiry, you expressed concern regarding previous communication with our office in which you were advised that you could not obtain a copy of the signed Credit Agreement and Note Disclosure Statement without certain information being redacted. Please be advised that AES is required to adhere to a strict privacy policy when providing such documentation to guard against instances of identity theft/fraud, a serious issue for the entire banking/finance community and its customers. However, in light of the escalated nature of this inquiry, AES has agreed to provide this documentation with only the first five digits of the Social Security number redacted. Please thoroughly review this information upon receipt of our response,
At this time, the account reflects a current status with the next payment of $263.36, which is due on December 9, 2014,If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact our Customer Service Department at ###-###-####. Loan counselors are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., ET.Sincerely,Shelly B 
Assistant Vice President Graduate and Professional Services

November 24, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter is being sent to you regarding an inquiry AES received from the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) regarding the status of your son [redacted]’s educational loan account, serviced by our office. Our files list you as the cosigner for the loan. We trust the following information will be of assistance.AES currently services a privately-insured [redacted] College Legacy Loan ([redacted]), disbursed August 28, 2007, on behalf of the owner, [redacted]. As the contracted thirdparty service provider, AES administers the loan in accordance with the terms of the signed Credit Agreement. AES is required to perform billing, credit reporting, and other servicing-related activities.By signing the Credit Agreement, you and your son agreed to be responsible for maintaining a current account status by remitting payments in a timely manner. If you, or your son, are unable to remit a full payment, you are required to maintain the account in a current status by applying for an available repayment option in a timely manner. 
When the account reflects a delinquent status, AES is required to send letters and attempt calls, which provides an opportunity for AES to offer repayment alternatives, as applicable. AES is also obligated to notify the nationwide consumer reporting agencies when the loan reflects a designated level of delinquency. As the result of insufficient/late payments, your [redacted] Loan was reported as 60-days delinquent in October 2014.
AES understands that you are requesting a retraction of the unfavorable information reported to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Please be advised that, prior to the payments received on November 4, 2014 and November 5, 2014, the account reflected in arrears for the payments due August 6, 2014, September 6, 2014, and October 6, 2014 for a total of $324,36. As a result of insufficient payments and the absence of an application for any applicable repayment alternative, the loan exceeded 60 days of delinquency in October 2014. As a result, this unfavorable information was submitted accurately to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies.Therefore, the payments received on November 4, 2014 and November 5, 2014 satisfied the past-due installments due for August, September and October 2014, (totaling $257.46) in addition to the November 2014 installment. As there does not appear to be any dispute that the information sent by AES to the credit reporting agencies is accurate, AES cannot lawfully remove this reporting. However, to further assist you with your request, our office has forwarded your inquiry to the owner for review. This matter remains under review at this time. After a response is received, AES will notify you of the results in writing.
At this time, your account is current and the next installment of $85.82 for the [redacted] Loan will be due by December 6, 2014.To eliminate any routing or payment application issues between this privately-guaranteed [redacted] Loan you cosigned for Jeffrey, and your own federally-guaranteed Parent PLUS Loan, both of which would be identified by the disbursement date and loan type in addition to your 10-digit I.D. number, you may wish to make your payments thorough your online account at our website, aessuccess.org. In addition to saving you postage, you can utilize this free service to choose the specific loan to which you would likeyour payment(s) applied.
Another option, which would not only eliminate the difficulties you have been experiencing, but also save you money by posting the payments on or as close to the due date as possible, would be to utilize Direct Debit, our electronic payment program, The owner of [redacted]’s loan also offers a 0.700% interest rate reduction as an incentive for the utilizing this free service.
To qualify, a borrower or cosigner must complete the Direct Debit application and return it to our office. For your convenience, we are enclosing a Direct Debit application, Should you wish to apply for this service, please complete and return the enclosed form to the address or fax number listed on the following page. American Education Services - Direct Debit P.O. Box 2057Harrisburg PA 17105-2057 Fax; ###-###-####
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact our Customer Service Department at ###-###-####. Loan counselors are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., ET.
Sincerely,Shelly B. Assistant Vice President Graduate and Professional Services

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response...

because:The calls have not stopped and the fact that I keep explaining the same thing that Iam not working and don't have money at present time to make the payments at the current place in time leads to the same type of bulling and harassment by your representatives telling me "I better pay, that they don't care and will continue to call me no matter what, that they have the right to harass me" they called this morning and I told the mI don't have the money that I contacted the Revdex.com in regards to there harassment and was told by the representative " why did you call the / what are the gonna do? Your wasting there time just pay us now and stop wasting there time cuz now now your definitely gonna be receiving way more calls you'll see." I lost it I can't believe that these representatives think they have the right to harass and bully people like this, every time they call Im at the verge of tears with there belittlement. I just want to point out that the representative that contacted me at 10:45 am is the same representative that harasses and bullies me verbally incisively over the phone so bad thats me cried and made me start this complaint to begin with.... As I stated before Im not working and can't afford the payment plan designed as I have explained before and want nothing more than to defer or forebear my payments if that is not something available right now then what I need is for this company to STOP contacting me over the phone to contact me only by email and by mail, the harassment, bulling & belittlement from there representatives is extremely out of line and out of place, which I won't  and refuse to take anymore.
Regards,
Arabelis G[redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I truly appreciate your assistance. I feel that the Revdex.com is out to protect consumers against businesses who feel they can do what they want without repercussions. Thank you so much. 
Regards,
[redacted]

1/9/2016
 
Dear [redacted]:
 
We regret that [redacted] did not find our last response satisfactory, but we appreciate the
opportunity to continue to assist in resolving his concerns regarding an
anticipated refund.  Please know that an
additional review was conducted and AES will be re-issuing a refund check no
later than Tuesday, January 12, 2016.  In
addition, a formal response will also be mailed to [redacted]’s attention
which will contain contact information to our office, should any additional
concerns arise.
 
Best Regards,
 
Jessica N[redacted]
Research Specialist
Team Lead
American Education
Services

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business. It is a shame that they chose to ignore me in my 4 phone calls to try to straighten this out over the phone. I never received any help or follow up to my problem directly from AES. They are uncooperative and don't seem to care about the consequences for the people they are servicing. In reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

June 25, 2014
Dear **. [redacted]:This letter is in response to an inquiry AES received from the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) regarding the status of the educational loan account. We trust that the following information will be of assistance.AES currently services two, Alternative...

Undergraduate Program (ALPLN) Loans which were disbursed September 5, 2006 (Loan 3) and January 9, 2007 (Loan 4) on behalf of the owner, [redacted] ([redacted]).Because AES is not the owner of the loans, it does not have the authority to alter or negotiate the terms of the Credit Agreements and must administer the loans in accordance with their respective terms.
We understand from your inquiry that you are experiencing difficulties making your required monthly payments and are requesting that AES postpone your monthly payment obligations. As much as possible, we wish to assist you in establishing repayment arrangements that are ideal for your financial situation. However, AES is only able to offer repayment alternatives that are authorized by [redacted]AES’ records confirm that Loans 3 and 4 are currently on Temporary Hardship Forbearance from May 1, 2014 through June 30, 2014. A letter confirming this information was sent to you on June 19, 2014. During periods of forbearance, your obligation to make your required monthly installment payments is postponed; however, interest continues to accrue on a daily basis, and any unpaid interest will be capitalized (added to the principal balance) at the end of the forbearance period.At the expiration of the forbearance, Loans 3 and 4 will remain eligible for three months of Temporary Hardship Forbearance, as nine of the cumulative 12 months offered by [redacted] have been utilized. If you wish to apply for an additional period of Temporary Hardship Forbearance for Loans 3 and 4, we have enclosed the [redacted] forbearance request form for your convenience.
Furthermore, as the contracted service provider, AES is required to perform billing, credit reporting, and additional servicing-related activities. Specifically, AES is obligated to notify you and the cosigner, [redacted], should the account become past due a designated number of days by attempting telephone calls, generating emails, and sending letters. These activities provide an opportunity for repayment alternatives to be offered, when applicable.If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact our Customer Service Department toll-free at ###-###-####. Loan counselors are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., ET.

July 30, 2015
Dear [redacted]:
This letter is in response to your inquiry (ID# [redacted]) regarding the status of [redacted]’s educational loan account serviced by our office. We trust that the following information will be of assistance.
A comprehensive review...

of the account has been completed. Due to privacy issues, the client has requested for the response to be sent directly to [redacted]’s attention. Therefore, the letter response addressing [redacted]’s concerns has not been enclosed with this letter. If you wish to have the response letter uploaded to the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) website, please provide AES with an authorization form signed by [redacted]. This form has been enclosed for convenience purposes. You may be assured our response addressing the concerns has been sent to [redacted]’s attention under separate cover.We trust this information is sufficient for your needs. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Customer Service Department at ###-###-####. Loan counselors are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., ET.
Sincerely,
Shelly B. 
Vice President, Loan Operations

Please contact our office if you need any further assistance with this inquiry.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
First of all, AES failed to respond to my request for validation within the specified 30 days (Texas Finance Code 392.202).  Also They did not cease collection activity during the validation period([redacted]).  Credit bureau reporting is considered collection activity.  Therefore, the information provided by AES now comes too little too late as they have already violated state and federal consumer protection laws.  At this point my complaint has little to do with the debt and more about their collection practices. I am respectfully requesting that AES do the right thing and delete this account from my credit report.  I am making every effort to get this matter resolved without presenting this case in a courtroom before a jury in my community. Regards,[redacted]

10/5/2015
Good afternoon [redacted],
We recently received notification that the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) is closing [redacted]'s complaint because you have not received a response from American Education Services (AES).  When the initial inquiry was received on September 1, 2015, it was assigned to a Research Specialist Team member for a thorough review.  Our records reflect that the Research Specialist Team member was in direct contact with [redacted] on September 3, 2015 and requested that additional documentation be sent to our office to further pursue his request in being released as cosigner from the loans.  Upon receipt of the documentation on September 3, 2015, we forwarded the information and the Revdex.com complaint to the loan holder and requested a review for [redacted] to be released as cosigner.  Unfortunately, AES was not authorized to release [redacted] of his responsibilities as cosigner, and the Research Specialist Team member prepared a response which included the loan holder's determination.  On September 11, 2015, AES mailed our response to [redacted] and, on the same day at 2:58 PM, replied to the Revdex.com as follows:
"9/11/2015
Dear [redacted]:
While we regret the concerns received in this complaint, we sincerely appreciate the opportunity to resolve them. Rest assured that this inquiry has been assigned to a member of our Research Specialist Team who is diligently working toward a resolution. We take all concerns included in the complaint very seriously. Please be advised that the Research Specialist Team member will be providing a formal letter shortly, along with contact information to our office, should any additional concerns arise.
Best Regards,
Jessica N[redacted]Research Specialist Team LeadAmerican Education Services"
On September 22, 2015, AES received another complaint via the Revdex.com from [redacted].  The complaint was assigned to the Research Specialist Team member who had previously worked with [redacted] to resolve his concerns.  However, it was determined that the second inquiry was identical to the first complaint received on September 1, 2015.  We sincerely regret that a response was not provided to you regarding the second inquiry, but rest assured that [redacted] has been sent a formal letter which outlines the loan holder's determination in releasing him as cosigner of the loans.  To ensure that [redacted] received a response, AES has sent a second copy of the letter directly to his attention. 
Best Regards,
Jessica N[redacted]Research Specialist Team LeadAmerican Education Services

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Obviously the person who responded to my complaint has not read my complaint in it's entirety because they are simply repeating what their reps have already stated.  As per my original complaint, YOUR RECORDS ARE INCORRECT!!!!!  The reason that you did not receive my application until the date that was stated is becuase 1. I did not get the original application that I requested 2.  My second request, I was given the wrong application and 3.  Whatever copy of the missing signature that you have in your computer is not what I had originally sent over, you are copying a letter from a different issue, this application WAS sent with my signature,  I HAVE A COPY OF IT, TOO.  4.  I do not appreciate dealing with rip-off companies who do  not hire competent employees and then take the word over those employees over your customers, when your employees were not updating or notating my account accurately in the first place.Regards,[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Upon the initial rejection of my application AES told me they were able to read the application fine and did not understand why it was returned illegible. They told me to resubmit my application again because they had deemed it legible and it should be approved. I did it a second time and was denied again. I argue that they are misrepresenting themselves and trying to deny my forgiveness as Lon as possible so I have to pay more interest. 
The only party that gains from this forgiveness process taking longer is AES as they make money off additional interest from the portion of my loan that should have been forgive.  They are to blame for the drawn out process and the application form even gives permission for anyone to call me or the third party that completed my form. They should be responsible for the interest on the forgiven part of my loan that would have already been forgiven If they were an honest and reputable business. 
Regards,
[redacted]

May 4, 2016
 
Dear Ms. [redacted]:
 
We sincerely regret the delay in providing a formal response to Mr. Hawes and appreciate the opportunity to assist in resolving his concerns.  You may be assured that a formal response, which addresses the concerns identified in all complaints, was placed in the mail on Monday, May 2, 2016.  As indicated in our previous communication to the Revdex.com, we also emailed a copy of our formal response to the email address on file for Mr. Hawes.  As always, direct contact information to our office is contained within our response, should Mr. Hawes have any additional concerns.
 
Best Regards,
 
Jessica N[redacted]
Borrower Experience Advocate Team Lead
American Education Services

September 16, 2014Dear [redacted]:This letter is in response to your recent inquiry, ID #[redacted], regarding the status of [redacted]’ educational loan account serviced by our office. We trust that this information will be of assistance.A full review of the account has been...

completed by our office. A copy of our response letter is enclosed for your review. We trust that the letter satisfactorily addresses the concerns brought to our attention.If you have additional questions or need further assistance, you may call our office Mondaythrough Friday at ###-###-#### from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., ET.Sincerely.Shelly B
Assistant Vice President

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:both of my loans, subsidized and unsubsidized have been transferred as of October 2014 to FEDLOAN, see attachments for statements and payments made. Is illegal to pay both my loans to two different institutions twice every month!!!!!!!!!!!
Regards,[redacted]

-------- Forwarded message ----------From: Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC<[email protected]>Date: Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 11:59 AMSubject: Fwd: Response for Revdex.com re Complaint [redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]>
---------- Forwarded message ----------From: [redacted] <[redacted]>Date: Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 11:42 AMSubject: Response for Revdex.com re Complaint [redacted]To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>Just an FYI, I filed the exact same complaint as the referenced complaint # above with FSA Ombudsman and it was discovered there is an error and AES responses Revdex.com is forwarding to me aren't legit! I am glad my complaint will be resolved in my favor by teh FSA, with no help from Revdex.com, however!Complaint ID:[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
---------- Forwarded message ----------From: [redacted]<[redacted]>Date: Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 3:27 PMSubject: FW:To: "[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org" <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>
[redacted], here are fax send to Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. I did communicate with them and they told me to send in these forms to set up a payment plan
[redacted] - 
  
Regards,
[redacted]