AES claims that I have two federal loans with it, one dated 1999 and the other 2002. My federal aid for graduate studies began only in 2003, and I have never borrowed for undergraduate study.
AES phones me five to ten times daily. I have spoken to them several times trying to settle this. About two months back they admitted to me that they had erred. The calls ceased until roughly two days ago, and now their loan default department is calling me.
Last night (12/18) I spent an hour trying to learn everything I could. A customer service rep and then a supervisor were both very rude to me, and then I was transferred to a person who said some help might be possible.
Someone had told me to ask AES to fax me the Master Promissory Note that a borrower would have signed to get a student loan. Interestingly, once I asked for it, the tone of the conversation shifted. (Also, if you raise the point that the Obama administration put the government in charge of all the loans, AES gets very nervous. So do your homework.)
The AES rep first said a copy of the MPN could not be sent until I faxed them a form requiring a lot of details. After talking it over, they agreed to search their computer for the MPN. This was rather strange, since at the start the rep claimed to have no access to the MPN. When the rep found it, they said some information was missing from the MPN, and even remarked that it looked to them like fraud and that a fraud packet should be sent to me.
I told the rep this was the first time in months that anyone had mentioned a fraud packet to me. I also said that the story changes every time I speak with AES, and that I cannot understand why AES treats fraud so lightly. Then, all of a sudden, the rep also agreed to place a hold on my account while an investigation takes place. Again, this was the first I had heard that such a service existed.
I called the US Department of Education, which advised me to distrust AES. I have also reached out to the Attorney General's offices in PA and Ohio. Since I am able to, I am bringing in a lawyer as well. At the moment I believe AES is responsible for the fraud, though I am not fully sure. I have never seen a company treat fraud or identity theft so casually.
For the sake of argument, I put a few more questions to the rep. (1) Suppose these loans are real: are they private or government loans? The rep answered that this could not be told from the information they have. (2) Again supposing the loans are real, why does AES insist on full payoff immediately? A payment plan should exist, so why has nobody told me about one? The rep said they could not answer that. (3) Both Sallie Mae and the US Dept. of Education claim to have all my loans and tell me not to speak with any other 'loan provider'. Why? The rep said they did not know. (4) Could I have the rep's name, so I could keep working with the same person to resolve this? The rep replied that it is AES policy not to give out any information. (5) Could someone annotate my account so my lawyer could discuss the matter with AES directly? I still suspect fraud. The rep said only I could speak with them, but they could mail me a form authorizing other people to talk to them, and that it would need seven to ten business days to reach me.
After dealing extensively with Sallie Mae, I find it striking how little AES knows about me. They cannot even say which graduate school I attended, although the school code printed on the MPN should make it obvious. It is also somewhat alarming that they brush off fraud and dodge my questions. I will keep pushing. Fraud in student lending is awful, and since I have the means, I plan to pursue AES as far as I can. This company has burned far too many people. Something has to be done.
0 comments