Much like another commenter here, I ran into problems with AES when my student loans were sold to them by XLS, my prior loan servicer. I had been on the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR) with XLS and had just mailed them my renewal paperwork when the transfer occurred. I was assured that my paperwork would be forwarded to AES.
So imagine my surprise when my payment amount jumped from $250 to over $750 per month. I spoke to several customer service reps and emailed AES but was told my paperwork had not been processed, and that my current payment due was $750. I was not able to afford this, so instead made my regular payment and then received a delinquency notice.
I very fortunately found the US Department of Education's Ombudsman office while researching this problem online. I filled out their online form and heard from a representative one day later. He assured me that my problem was not unique AND not my fault. Within 2 days he had spoken with AES and I have been granted an "administrative forbearance" - which is proper procedure for when someone's payment amount needs to be recalculated on the IBR plan.
I recommend that others who are having problems with AES look into this. It really helped me and saved me from what could have turned into a negative credit report as well as losing credit for all the payments I'd already made under the IBR plan. Trust me, I will keep a close eye on my student loan information from this point forward. Had I not been able to have someone intervene on my behalf, I am certain AES would have never answered my requests.
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