Palmdale, CAWhen Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) was purchased by Xerox in the fall of 2009, the company had already been the subject of inquiries by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and grand jury proceedings pertaining to stock option grants and the accuracy of certain customer records, according to the New York Times (9/28/09). At the time of the sale, a spokesperson for ACS said that the events leading to SEC scrutiny had been "put behind us," according to a spokesperson. Three years later, it's apparent that for students holding loans managed by Affiliated Computer Services, ACS complaints are still common.
The angst also extends to Access Group, which in one student's case involves a loan originally held by Access Group but having since been taken over by ACS. In a posting on ConsumerAffairs.com, Matt from Studio City, New York wrote on October 9 that before ACS acquired the management of Access loans, "I was under the IBR plan for about a year with Access Group. Once my year was up, my loans had been sold to ACS. I submitted my application to renew my IBR status. I never heard back from them. After waiting and waiting and seeing that they had not accepted my IBR application, I placed a call (even though their paperwork says that they will contact you, acceptance or rejection). They told me to re-submit. Fair enough. In the meantime though, they had to put me in forbearance, during which time, additional interest would accrue that would be compounded into principal. How convenient for them."
There are several complaints in kind, and one student from New York noted she has started a class action lawsuit against ACS citing ACS unfair business practices.
Student loans can be the bane of many a student and their respective families. Government loans, which are forgivable in some circumstances, are limited to $7,500. However, given the rising costs of tuition, students in greater numbers are turning to private sector sources in order to fund an education.
Tracking such loans gets complicated, given that student loans are often sold to other investors, much like mortgages were at the time of the mortgage meltdown.
One heartbreaking story involves Francisco Reynoso of Palmdale, California. He co-signed student loans for his son to study music at Berkley. According to a ProPublica posting in the Huffington Post (6/14/12), Reynoso has been living a nightmare since his son, Freddy—having graduated and actively seeking employment in his chosen profession—rolled his car returning from a job interview and died.
His government loan was immediately forgiven—loans through the feds are wiped from the books should a student die—but the remaining loans are held privately and difficult to track.
Apart from ACS complaints, Freddy's original private loans were handled through Education Finance Partners (EFP), which is no longer in business after settling allegations that EFP advanced payments to colleges in exchange for steering students to EFP loans that were described as 'high interest,' according to ProPublica. EFP never admitted to any wrongdoing and filed for bankruptcy a year after the settlement.
One small loan, originating through Bank of America, was at $7,400 as of the end of March this year. The other loan was originally facilitated through EFP with credit advanced from UBS, a Swiss bank, which extended $160,000 in credit to Freddy Reynoso. ProPublica reported that a lending disclosure document from 2009 projected that were Freddy to make all payments as scheduled, the final bill for the now-deceased student's education would be $279,000.
The loan is now serviced by ACS Education Services, which as of June 14 had not responded to Francisco Reynoso or his legal team, citing privacy reasons in spite of Francisco's full consent.
Could ACS's refusal to deal with, or comment on Freddy's unpaid student loan described as ACS unfair business practices? And how would his grieving father, Francisco, pay such a looming debt based on his fees as a gardener? His income for 2011 according to tax records was $21,000.
Meanwhile, there continues ACS student loan administration complaints from other camps. Student Sarah, from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, posted to ConsumersAffairs.com on September 10 that "when my student loans started getting serviced by ACS within the last year, they unilaterally consolidated four of my federal consolidation loans into two.
"Every year while in law school, I consolidated my student loans from the previous year in order to lock in the interest rates. This resulted in four consolidated federal loans (two subsidized and two unsubsidized). For over five years, I made payments to Kentucky Higher Education and The Student Loan People without any issues. I knew which loan correlated to which year in school and could see the specific loan amounts for each school year. I kept my own records at home and would track my payments as they were applied to each loan.
"When ACS started servicing my loans, they immediately consolidated the four federal consolidation loans into two larger consolidated loans, without asking me or telling me. Despite my repeated requests and demands over email and phone (five, to date) that they "unconsolidate" the loans and their eventual agreement to do so, they still have not. From my perspective, this is an attempt to obscure the details of my loans and avoid transparency. Moreover, they have lied to me multiple times by telling me that they will separate out my loans but are failing to do so."
If you or a loved one have suffered losses in this case, please click the link below and your complaint will be sent to a financial lawyer who may evaluate your ACS Access Student Loans claim at no cost or obligation.
My student loan as affected my credit and credit score,with little or no knowledge about how to go about maintaining my credit when I was in college ,the loans I took has come to badly impact my credit even though have paid them off this loans with interest they still showing up in my report,wrote series of letters to my lender and even the reporting service,nothing was done , A lawyer I spoke with requested for $1000 before he could help,credit repair companies couldn't help get my score of 518 close to what i need to get a loan.my accountant gave me an off the record advice to contact hackhempATgmailDOTcom who was able to help me clean my credit profile and also got me a score of 710 in less than six weeks,I couldn't believe it till i got my car loan .don't let your credit be a problem,If i can be above it,you can!
Posted by Amanda Renee Coleman
on
Hello, hi yes I attended UEI in 2011 for medical Assistant. I had no clue that my classes were actually. Higher education. And the teacher Dr. Camacho used my past history in Education. To start a networking insider add on to the intel and not an individing academic diploma program. Also my there was a bangoroa that is under a sponsor four. That enrolled the same day as me ony paper work. Now this has called me alot of suffering and missing the last eight years of my life. Also under my MPN.my family had use my loan information to falsely enroll as my students in order to receive loans from the fed. Also I dropped out of that school 2 months later and the place where I had to pay payment was Nel Net.. Also I never receive a loan from y'all. Also ur not allows to copy people
Posted by Andrew Weber C.S.L.C.
on
The student loan system is an absolute mess. I've managed to settle private student loans for well under 50% for many clients. It helps to have a negotiator on your side who can level the playing field. If you get any settlement on a private loan - make sure you get it in writing.
Posted by Kathryn M
on
I received a 1099 from ACS, for $5,300.00-claiming that they had forgiven that much in debt, and that I needed to claim it as income (and that they could write that off as a company). I would be more than happy to pay taxes on debt forgiven! But they did NOT forgive 5,300 in debt. They simply corrected their accounting errors on my calculated FUTURE INTEREST to be paid!
They had assumed I would be paying in $5,300.00 more in INTEREST in the FUTURE, they re-visited my account and re-did the math, and found that they were doing the math wrong, and decided to 1099 me, so they could write off their own accounting mistake as if it was my gain.
I have requested in writing, the exact nature of the forgiveness and they keep saying they will send it to me but they have not, in 3 months.
Posted by Frustrated Co-Signor
on
It has been nothing but a nightmare with this company. I have been asking for an itemized list of all my payments (online does not include them all). I've asked a few times while making my monthly calls to tell them they have not applied my payments correctly. Most recently, I've been getting dozens of calls both on my landline and my cell phone demanding my late payment. The frustrating part is the "late" payment is 18 CENTS. That's correct, 18 CENTS. Due to their screw up on how they apply my payments, and send new statements (two statements for one account that does not include all accounts or the correct amount) they are charging me 18 CENTS as late payment and have HARASSED me with phone calls and emails. I had spoken with 3 representatives telling them they will receive the 18 cents with my next payment but that was not good enough. They continued to call and email demanding that I send 18 CENTS to them. The government needs to check into these people!
Posted by Martha
on
Shortly after ACS took over my Federal Student Loans, I started receiving monthly bills for late charges in the amount of $72.44. These late charges originally occurred prior to 2008, which was during the time period that my loans were handled by Wells Fargo. I recently paid the late charges, but much to my surprise ACS has continued to bill me for those late charges. When I inquired why I was being billed for late charges that I had already paid, ACS told me that since my loans were in repayment status, my payment of the late charges was applied to the interest on my Unsubsidized loans because it was processed as a loan payment. [I currently have an IBR Repayment plan, that doesn’t require me to make a payment.] The CSR told me that even though I included the statement that clearly stated that my check for $72.44 was for payment of the late charges I owed, & not a loan payment, per Department of Education guidelines the payment would be processed as a loan payment because my loans were in Repayment status. I am not going to pay the late charges again.
Posted by Stacy
on
What I don't understand is how they continue to get away with this completely unchecked. I don't ever recall "consolidating" with them - I believe they bought my loan - never sent me a single statement, and now I find that miraculously after paying 10 years the principle hasn't moved much at all. I asked for the history on this loan since ACS acquired it - I was told to send them something in writing stating why I wanted it. This seems prime for a class action suit - can't believe some law firm hasn't taken it on.
Posted by Evelyn JAckson
on
The customer service people have told me inaccurate information. They told me that if my payment was a couple days late, I would not lose my low interest rate. I called them again and the guy told me that no one ever told me that? How does he know? These people are not trained at all, give curt advice that is not based on my account information.
Then, they told me I qualified for an income based repayment plan....I fill out the entire 16 pages to find on the final page that I am NOT qualified...
These people just say stuff to get you off the phone.
THERE IS NO ONE TO COMPLAIN TO!!!
Posted by Nathan
on
I'm hoping to get some answers from them too. My original loan amount was $20,000. Over the past decade I've paid over $15k. Yet my remaining balance is over $13k. How is this possible when my interest rate is only 3.5%?
Posted by joseph
on
I AM PAYING A OLD STUDENT FROM 1984 ( $2,000) AND ONE IN 1990 OF $4,000 . I PAID FOR A WHILE ON THEM AND THEN I STOPPED MAKING PAYMENT DUE TO SEVERAL DIVORCES I HAD. OVER THE YEARS THESE LOANS HAVE BEEN SOLD AND TRANSFERRED TO AT LEAST 6 DIFFERENT BANKS. THEN 5 YEARS AGO ( ACS) BOUGHT MY LOANS . THEN I OWED $16,500 . I BEEN PAYING FOR 5 YEARS NOW AND ONLY TOOK IT DOWN TO 13,300
I HAVE BEEN PAYING ALMOST $200 A MONTH. THEY HAVE SOME REAL QUESTIONABLE ACCOUNTING PRACTICES. THEY DEFINITELY
HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA IN THEIR FAVOR. ( ISIS TERRORISTS WOULD TREAT YOU BETTER THAN ACS .
Posted by Dawn Starratt
on
I am a public school teacher. I found out this year I have made almost 120 payments on my student loan and my owed amount did not budge. It seems I have sent them almost $20,000 over the past 10 years and my account balance has not moved. I feel disgusted that this is even happening, to add insult to injury I thought this was a FederalConsolidated Loan service and it is not. I can get Public Service Forgiveness but only if I reconsolidate then I have to go on a new 10 year repayment plan if there is even going to be a program left. Student loans should be to help people get ahead in life not hold them down for most of it.
Posted by Byron Still
on
ACS is by far the worse financial related company I have ever attempted to work with or have heard of, and I have 30+ years of Financial Work Experience at various levels of Banking. The biggest problem is as a "Loan Servicer" they are not required to abide by "any" Federal Laws created to protect Consumers. I have had 3 Parent Plus Student Loans being serviced by ACS. No matter when I make payments on either of those loans or how specifically designate to which loan I want those payments applied ACS applies them however they see fit and claim it is their right. Although these loans have different Lenders (CLC & Wells Fargo), and different Guarantors ACS will apply a payment specified for a WF loan to a CLC loan and visa-versa as they see fit. WF and CLC should be as troubled by this and I am but they insist I need to work with ACS! Then ACS makes negative Credit Reporting based on their mis-application of my payments. This, along with many other ACS practices, should all be criminal and Class Actionable Suits!
Posted by d morrow
on
ACS EDUCATION SERVICE is the worst company I have ever dealt with. There customer service is a joke. Any request you asked is never addressed or corrected. I tried to pay extra payment on principal only. NO WAY. They take principal and interest out on an extra payment meant to pay down principal only. This is their scheme. They process extra payments (which a borrower usually makes to pay down principal early) in a way that maximizes interest rate for the server, to the detriment of the borrower, or so that the payment pays principal and interest, not just principal. Is their a class action suit against this company? Please let me know.
Posted by Andrew Weber Certified Credit Counselor
on
ACS is a loan servicer for several private lenders. While people are often told that they won't settle, it's only partially true. ACS as a loan servicer cannot settle, but many times the original lender will (after a period of delinquency).
Posted by M.B.G.
on
Started out with a consolidation loan of 36,000, paid for 6 years, 26,000+, got sick, notified ACS, loan went to 42,000. Hired attorney, total is now at 50,000. I am 60, loan was for my two youngest children. Feeling used by our banking industry. MBG
Posted by DJ
on
Hello, I see ACS has been at this for a long time. I am another one of many who has been treated badly and had a loan go crazy with the way they do their interest.
I called and asked about a possible settlement and the L1 phone agent said they do not do settlements. I politely asked escalate the call and she asked me back if I wanted to talk to a supervisor. I said yes please.
After about 4 or 5 business days I received a call. I was provided the name and phone number of a lady who claimed to be a supervisor. I attempted to call and I left a message stating why I wanted to speak with someone. At no time did I imply or say I was going to default on my loan. After playing phone tag for several days with this person, I finally realized she was not going to answer her phone and was not going to call me when I would be available. I went ahead and paid my loan in full to get away from the stress.
She sent me an email via [xrxencrypt]ACS/XEROX Education Services. After I received her email, I went to the ACS website and filed a complaint - not that I think it would be read or even considered but I had to get my frustration out somehow. This is what I wrote:
Against Jennifer Bostwick Customer Care Specialist Financial Services Group who claimed she is a supervisor ( p. 315.731.2731 501 Bleecker Street Utica, NY 13501) -
I tried to contact her and all I ever got was her voice mail. She always called during times when she knew I was not available and never bothered to answer her telephone when I called.
Instead of communicating with me via ACS/XEROX Education Services to find out what I was wanting to talk about, she automatically determined I was going to default on my
student loan. In no way did I ever say or imply I was going to default on my loan.
Her comment below was highly offensive regarding this. I don't care if she talks to 100 people who default. She should not automatically decide everyone is.
"Your Consolidation loan is regulated by the Federal Government and is non-negotiable. In addition, your lender has the right to pursue collection of this loan as agreed to in the terms of your promissory note. I do see that the loan in
question has been paid in full as of July 7, 2015 and currently has a zero balance remaining."
She needs to be told not to automatically think everyone who wants to talk to a supervisor is a thief by defaulting on the loan. When she saw the loan had been paid in full she should have simply apologized for not being able to get in touch with me.
She had NO business threatening me with legal action.
In view of how she made her decision about me without any substantiation, should I then assume everyone from New York or who works for ACS is an ignorant ill-bred lout with the manners of a pig?
I think not.
--- I work in customer service and if I treated someone the way she did me, I would be fired. Period. No discussion over it. By the way, in reading others' complaints, I see they did the interest the same on them as they did mine. The agent who got me to sign up with them told me I could place more on the principal - they would not add it to the principal even when I specifically wrote in the payment to do so. When I called, I was told they only put it on the interest, nothing else. Thank you.
Posted by Chuck
on
After 58 Months of Payments totaling $27,470, the balance continues to go up.
The original starting balance was $46,487 and the current balance is $53,889.13
This means after faithfully paying $27,470 over 5 years instead of going down, the balance keeps going up and increased by over $7,000.
Very demoralizing and there’s no longer any incentive for me to pay.
I live pay check to pay check and plan on retiring on Social Security and Medicare in 1 year.
I will not be able to pay when that time comes.
I tried to settle the unpaid balance for 20k but they will not settle.
Someone needs to do something, this is financial terrorism.
Posted by Dan Kelly
on
I am in the same boat as everyone else. Co-signed for my son in 2005. He had a federal loan and two private loans with ACS. My son let me down and basically defaulted. I received a call from acs saying I was 30 days late on the private loans. Subsequently learned they had been applying my payments to his federal loan. I can echo most of the aforementioned comments. Began with two 5K loans, now owe approx. 16K. I've read about the "total and permanent disability discharge application". I am totally disabled. I'm wondering if I request an application from acs, do I have a ghost of a chance of receiving one.
Posted by Cathy
on
Email I sent to ACS today regarding my student loans. It describes what they have communicated to me since yesterday regarding my student loan. Has anyone had a simuar experience with these people and what can I do or who can I talk to about this?
The mail you sent me on April 3, 2014 stated the forbearance had been processed. The forbearance would have not then ended on April 14th. I was never at anytime notified that the forbearance had ended nor was I ever sent any notices regarding any late payments or late fees. The only communication I have received from you since April 3, 2014 is your response to my email yesterday April 9th 2015. It has been over a year since you have communicated in any way with me regarding my account and had I not inquired about my account I would still have not had any communication with you. My account cannot be in default since the forbearance was applied on April 3, 2014 according to the letter you sent me. Again you never at anytime informed me of any forbearance ending. You say my account is 331 days past due and you have given me 3 different amounts that I supposedly owe. The first email you said it was 774.00, the second email it was 886.00 and then today you say it is 710.27. You have given me 3 different balances in a period of 2 days. I do not believe that any of this information could possibly be correct. Also, you claim that my forbearance ended April 14th just 11 days after you said the forbearance had been processed. If this were true which it is not, and if the forbearance had ended on April 14th 2014 then I would not be 331 days past due. April 14th 2014 until now April 10, 2015 is more than 331 days. Therefore nothing you have conveyed to me regarding to my account makes any logical sense. The email of April 3, 2014 confirmed that the forbearance was processed on April 3, 2014. I never at anytime received any communication from you that the forbearance had ended and never at anytime did I receive any communication regarding late payments or money due.
If this situation cannot be resolved and the forbearance applied as I was apparently mislead by ACS into believing had been applied I will be forced to seek remedy elsewhere. I will not allow others incompetence and nonprofessional actions ruin my ability to further my education by making false and inaccurate statements. I understand there are thousands of consumer complaints and numerous lawsuits against ACS Education Services.
I want to know the name, email address, and phone number of the supervisor, director of your company asI would like to contact this person directly.
So what can I do to stop this from happening? I want to return to school. My student financial aid has already been approved, so does this mean they have not reported a default?
Posted by John
on
Alright So I got my bill in Feb. that was due on March 14th and I made the payment on the 13th which i have proof with my bank statement. However ACS emails me saying they didn't proccess my payment until March 24th. So not only is that showing up as a late payment on my credit report its also 11 collecting 6.63% interest on the $300 I paid. I called them up and asked them about 20 times who submitted my payment wrong and finally they guy says our company submitted it wrong and I said you better adjust my interest accumulated past 11 days and he said it will be adjusted. We shall see. So I decided to look back at my past bank statemenst of my paments and compair them to the dates when ACS proccessed my payments and there is MULTIPLE times where they have not processed my payments for 3, 4, or even 5 days after the money was sent via internet from my accound to ACS. This is daily interest racking up and seems big time fradulent to me. I'm 30 years old been working 2 jobs six or seven days a week and I still live with my parents so I can pay off these faudulent filthy rich scumbags. I have been paying for 5 years now and my current proncipal ballence is just now bellow my original principal ballance. Very fishy.
Posted by Jason
on
Horrible customer service, very questionable practices. After dealing with this company for years, I finally decided to just dig into my savings and pay off my balance so I would not have to continue to deal with them. I made what I thought was the final payment over a week ago. I have confirmation from my bank that the payment posted. I check my account online today, ACS has not posted payment to my account, now they are applying a late fee and of course more accrued interest to my payoff amount. I contacted the customer service center, the representative I spoke to basically ignored my facts and stated, "well we have not received your payment yet". Absolutely can not wait until I no longer have to deal with these people.
Posted by Disgusted
on
The posts on this site only confirm some of my suspicions as well. I have been frustrated by the call center customer service, overall rudeness and what feels like a boiler room outfit of loansharks.
Add me to the list of those who submitted IBR paperwork, only to have them tell me they never received it. You know the rest....compounded interest, and new repayment rates that more than half my take home pay each month.
How are these shylocks getting away with all of this?
Posted by Ron
on
ACS holds my son's loans. I have been paying. I get a call they say they haven't received anything for two months. The "auto" pay I set up for some reason didn't happen. Now they claim two months behind. As I was looking over the payment history online. I noticed that back in August they applied zero to principal and all to interest. That payment was made on time? Something definitely is screwy here. I thank all of you about the heads up on getting paper work. Why the feds have not shut this company down is beyond me.
Posted by JennyCat
on
I figured out what they are doing...If your payment due date is the 28th of the month, and they get the payment processed by your bank (bill pay) 3 days later, they cannot charge you a late fee. HOWEVER, they are charging interest for each day beyond the 28th! I want to know how they can add "capitalized interest" to your loan balance and then charge 10% (or whatever it is) on your monthly balance. Isn't that charging interest twice which is illegal?
Posted by Inthesameboat
on
I too have student loans through ACS. I have experienced a lot of what many writers are indicating. It's hell. It's deceptive. the schools and lenders are predatory and results in the borrower being an indentured servant. I started with $150k in loans. But Now, almost half are paid. The only way I have done this is by taking charge and micromanaging the process, which includes stopping auto payments and manually making payments weekly or biweekly NOT MONTHLY. When interest compounds daily, the only way you can beat it is by paying more frequently. PAY OFTEN. Don't wait to pay your $800 at the end of the month, pay $200 each week. Pay daily if you want, but don't sit back and wait for your account to be debited monthly. I didn't understand this concept when I first went into repayment, but someone shared it with me and I am forever grateful. If you too pay frequently you will see the principle go down.
For those of you who feel ACS have engaged in abuses of the law, consult with an attorney. Together we can change this horrible practice.
Posted by Jessica
on
I am in the same boat...You guys all ready to hear a whale of a tale?
Once upon a time, my mother went on the good ol' internet to take out student loans for me for college. How? Great question. For how much? You tell me! Wait, what about the date? Beats me. How many loans do I have? That's a funny one. You see, unlike Fedloans and Sallie Mae, ACS tells you nothing. Gosh, they don't even tell you your interest rate! Mine is at a 14.240%VARIABLE. How so high? Good luck getting that one out of them. Do they know any other word besides "delinquent". Nope! What if you're not delinquent at all, and haven't been? Well, then forget them even formulating words through their headset 10,000 miles away. Sometimes I wonder if I'm even talking to a human being. Maybe it's an elephant on the other line. Or a koala. That could explain!
Now, you would think this would be my mother's problem, right? Well, she put these loans in MY NAME! Best part? Never even told me! Oh snap! She didn't even tell me this existed, and it was a treasure hunt earlier this year to slowly untangle most of this enmeshed financial MESS.
This was a college I never wanted to go to. A college I HATED EVERY SECOND OF. However, she said that if I transferred, she wouldn't pay for me to go anymore, and that I would have the burden of all the loans. Whatever. Sounds pretty nice that she would be willing to pay in the first place, right? So, boy, did I make sure to get two degrees and a minor and do a bunch of activities on campus AND start up a student organization to make her proud! Why, I was going to study hard, go to my classes, and really PROVE IT that I was going to squeeze every penny out of this school's tuition cost. Even if I hated it with an UNDYING passion.
So I finish the 4 years at this institution to make her happy, and knowing she makes 100k a year, it seems like all will go well. I most certainly fulfilled my end of the bargain. She said I didn't need to know the where or what or why of the loans. I followed the rules, she was paying them.
So off to graduate school I go! I mean, she must be paying them, right? No worries! I'm in graduate school full time until October 2012 (thanks be to fed loans--no worries there!), but wait! Don't loans START repayment period 6 months after you are no longer a full time student? Even with her putting it in my name (as the Primary, not the co-signer--me not ever knowing how this was done or when this was done to this very day), repayment started October 2011. This makes NO sense. I mean, I graduated undergrad in May 2010. What?
So I started untangling the web in February, found out it was $68k and starting chipping away making decent money from working two full time jobs back to back. Mom also forged Sallie Mae and a lot in fed loans. Sallie Mae was about 10k (paid her off-debt snowball program) and Fed loans is about 13k (in regular repayment, not including grad loans). Okay, so 68k+11k+13k=Yeah that sounds about right for this fancy place that wasn't worth it (like most really are). But this just in, apparently she has THOUSANDS from Sallie Mae, and pays them $377 a month (sent me a screenshot to prove it). So...if my tutition was 20k a year and didn't go higher than 25k a year...how much was originally taken out from ACS?
So if I paid ACS 12k this year, starting from 68k, how on planet Earth is it currently at $64,804.51...? Yeah, screw it. Let my credit score just plummet. I'm not paying these loan sharks anymore. I'll throw everything at Fedloans and hopefully it will get better from there.
HOW has this company not been seriously penalized in court by now? I have NEVER heard of this stuff from ANY other company.
Posted by Playing Offense
on
I am going to sue ACS, the Trust, the Bank, and the original bank. I was forced into an interest rate without an opportunity to cancel the loan. I am going to be filing a federal action pro-se.
I do not believe that phone calls, letters, or dealing with these entities do any good. They will only take you seriously when their registered agent gets served upon a well pled Complaint.
The alternative is to file for bankruptcy. Yes, they say that student loans are non-dischargeable but these private lenders need to defend an adversary proceeding. They are many ways they can mess up procedure. Do not assume that you are dealing with competent people.
I will fight them in Court until I am dead. Don't get mad, get your justice.
Posted by Karen
on
I finally worked up the courage to try to figure out how it is possible that I owe more now than I did after paying 20000. I owe 117000 -20 years out of law school and with an initial stafford subsidized loan of 22500 and sls loans totaling 12500. Probably like most others I have taken periodic forbearances when, for example I had a baby or was in a car accident, have never defaulted, and generally make payments timely. While there are so many atrocious acts - the single holder law which locked me in to 8.25, the continual ping ponging of my loans between sallie mae the lender then sallie mae the servicer to deutsche bank as the lender and acs as the servicer and at one point no one seemed to own it while acs held themselves out as direct loan servicers but my principal went way up. But nothing has appalled me more than when I called acs on Friday asking for my balance each month for the last two years .to make sure they are appropriately allocating my payments and I was told that their computer cannot do that and she would just add the principal amounts from the record on their web site just like I coukd. But, I said, that is assuming you have appropriately allocated since daily simple interest is calculated based on the balance at the beginning of each month and owed at the end of each. She said it would take weeks and she would have to send it via mail. There is no way she coukd send it electronically. I also emailed them and they replied but I can't access their response since I needed to set a pass phrase - distinct from my password for their website- and yet the link keeps expiring after only minutes.
As for paying interest ahead - as someone noted above- they cannot apply excess payments to a debt that hasn't accrued and they don't know what the interest will be then.
This is like being stuck in a maze with no exit doors.
Posted by Raul Rodriguez
on
I am very upset as this company damaged my credit because they reported my loan past due, after I told them time and time I was still in school part-time. They promised me it would not affect my credit each time they called, but they still called me every week to collect. Finally, I decided to check my credit by purchasing a credit report and found out that they damaged my credit by reporting my loans late. I was planning on getting a vehicle as the one I have now is falling apart; however, I will have a hard time getting approved for a loan now. I called ACS after finding out what they done and a supervisor, who sounded like she was from the Philippines, said that it wasn't their fault, but they will fix it. However, I remain very skeptical that it will get fixed, considering they have a track record of making false promises.
Posted by Kitten Lyric
on
Will anything every be done about the malfeasance of this company? Anything...2 yrs now, 2 yrs trying to get anyone to call me back and nothing...nothing...
Posted by Christina
on
I recently received a letter from ACS stating two loans with them are to begin payments in 06/2014. I contacted them to tell them I am in school part-time, and they stated I need the school(s) to complete part-time enrollment status. The problem is the paperwork they give you requires the college to state you are in part-time, and this is not possible if it is cumulative. Ex. I am taking 6 credit hours total: 5 at one university and 1 at another. Therefore, each college cannot verify I am in school part-time. I went through the same problem with Great Lakes, and I finally had to file a BBB, Attorney General, and Ombudsman report. Great Lakes cleared up the problem quickly, and the person that communicated through the BBB's office stated they frequently have students who are cumulatively in part-time status between universities, and they stated they should have advised me to have each college sign the agreement and to have them each provide a letter showing how many hours enrolled. And since I had such a problem with them, they physically picked up the phone and contacted each college to verify enrollment. Then they placed my accounts in deferment status. The problem is ACS is refusing to do this; rather, they are requiring nothing but the part-time signed paperwork which will fail to show part-time status. Moreover, when ACS has answered my BBB report, they have sent over 5 replies stating they cannot discuss my account with the BBB unless I sign a privacy statement. First of all, Great Lakes provided the BBB with a response without this agreement, and they are under the same regulations. Second, they are not releasing private information. Rather, they are simply being asked to investigate why they are refusing to accept the same paperwork that other lenders accept, especially when they are all under the same regulations. Moreover, despite my complaints, they have never physically picked up the phone to contact me. As of today, I also filed a complaint with the Ombudsman and sent a letter to the White House because I have to keep rejecting their response from the BBB. On a side note, for people having problems with them getting paperwork, I'd suggest you sent it certified mail, return receipt requested. And make a copy of the paperwork.
Posted by Clyde
on
So, ACS has a very strange process which basically gives you a ten or so day window to call and not get a late fee. It really is set up to discourage IBR. You have to keep an eye on them. They make it an extra job just calling them to keep them honest. SUPER SHADY COMPANY!
Posted by Alex P
on
"They have lost my IBR forms 3xs- despite the email confirmations from them stating they were received."
Haha, they haven't "lost" anything. They don't want you to be on IBR. They are stonewalling you. They want you to default, but first they want to tack on as many late payments and interest as they can before they say you defaulted. The government will make pay them and they will have washed their hands of a less profitable borrower.
"Lost"...hahaha
Posted by Jim
on
I think ACS wants the borrower to default rather than go into IBR with a high loan balance and are prepared to subvert IBR requests, pushing the borrower over the edge.
Posted by Joanne
on
ACS has been nothing but a headache for me. I've been submitting forgiveness loan applications since October, 2012, emailing, calling, resubmitting, etc.; being denied each time for a variety of different reasons. My latest denial, dated 01/06/2014 gives the reason as being, "Your school does not appear on the Title One list unitl 2011....," even though the agency I teach at has been on the Title One list since well before I began teaching in 2007. I've taught for the same agency, at two different locations, both of which are on the approved list for the years I taught.
Decided I'm going to send an application for each and every year I've taught AT THE SAME FACILITY, along with the Federal approval listing for my facility for EACH YEAR.
They also DO NOT allow money to be applied directly to the principle, no matter what they CLAIM you need to do for this to happen. Was told to send a fax indicating this is what I wanted for any advanced payments, which I did. In return, I received paperwork to apply for forebearance????
When I made a payment last month (I'm paid off 3 months in advance), my accrued interest was listed as ninety something dollars...my entire payment was applied to interest, nothing going to the principle?
I detest ACS. I find it interesting that almost everyone I work with is paying off student loans, yet not a one of them experiences what I experience with ACS. Then again, no one I know had their loans picked up by ACS when they graduated.
Posted by Kevin
on
ACS has only been a nightmare to deal with ever since Wells Fargo sold the loan to them. I have issues with Wells, however, they at least treated me with a level of respect. I have sent paperwork to ACS which they claim they never received. I spoke to them about my disability and they made the process not only difficult but also claim they never received the documents I sent to them for consideration for discharge.
They are a horrible company-I don't think I ever spoke to anyone on shore, most of the calls were sent off shore. Not that it is an issue within itself-however, when someone is in another country where they still think America is a the land of Gold...they may have some social bais.
Posted by Kris
on
When I fist took out my consolidation loan I was told the payment would be around $600, hen when acs took over my loan my payment jumped to around $800. For a few years I've been fighting with them saying I cannot afford this with my other loan payments etc, and they told me there were no options. Finally about a year ago they said I could no apply for income based. So I did that, but it only dropped my payment to $700, which I still couldn't afford. I called about doing economic hardship deferment and submitted paperwork, but they never processed it or notified me of anything. Now my loan is in default because I can't make the payments but funny thing is i haven't received any letters from them saying so or any letters/calls from the supposed creditor they sold my loan to.
I am not paying on the loan because I simply can't afford the outrageous payment, but if it was mor reasonable I would gladly pay something. However something just isn't good enough for ACS.
Posted by mad
on
I was making my loan payments to ACS under the terms of IBR.
Last time I submitted my income verification ACS took months to process the paperwork and claimed a payment at non-IBR level ($900) was incurred.
It seems ACS customer service is only allowed to tell you your account is delinquent. They do not give direction or advice of any kind.
An ombudsmen at the Department of Education directed me to submit an application for deferral, and I did so.
ACS rejected the application without an explanation.
After 3 months and 60+ emails and phone calls I have yet to get any explanation. My account continues to accrue late fees on the past due balance even though I am paying them each month the most recent IBR calculation requires. In fact they charged me a late fee on my January payment before it was even due. They are slamming my credit rating twice a month.
I have no idea how or when this situation will be resolved. The only response I get from them is that my account is delinquent.
Posted by Ron
on
Been paying on my student loan FOREVER but I FINALLY got rid of ACS! I refinanced at a much lower rate and have simple interest.
Posted by JA Williams
on
ACS is the absolute worst. Not just with managing loans, but everything else, too. You can't get customer service to save your life.
Posted by Jeff
on
I can't believe this fraud is still going on and is in fact accepted by most financial institutions. In july I wrote that I still had 2K left on my ACS loan. Since then I have made 5 payments between 250 and 300 dollars and I still owe 1200 dollars on the principle. The math just doesn't work! I guess it works for ACS. How could a 2k loan, over a 6 month period accrue over 500 dollars in interest at 7.5%
Posted by Kelly O
on
I have private loans with ACS who were initially funded by Education Finance Partners. Initially, I applied for 4 loans. Two are completely legetimate and I am paying them. The other two are interesting stories. The 3rd loan was initially for $2700 dollars but my school only dispersed to me $633. The returned the remaining amount back to the lender. However, ACS is stating that they never received it. That I owe the whole amount. I had my school contact ACS and they spoke with them and ACS agreed that the amount was supposed to be $633. Called them today...guess what...they are stating that they never received proof that the money was sent back and that I am responsible for the whole amount....My response was you have thirty days to clear up this matter and that I can show them proof of my dispersement and how much it was...her response...well you are still responsible until they provide proof. They are using my credit to blackmail me into paying for something that I don't owe! But wait it gets even better! The forth loan, i applied for but never took the dispersment. So it was initially 4000 dollars. Called ACS told them, I have no record of ever receiving this funding. They stated that they sent it to my school. Again I called my school, they stated they have no records of this money, they contacted ACS and then stated that oops sorry the check was sent to me! I called ACS again. ACS stated that I signed the check. I told them I have no records of depositing a 4000 check into my bank account and can prove it. They stated they have a check signed by me. My response please send me a copy of that check. They said ok I will send it out in the mail today. 4 weeks later, nothing. Called back again...they state oh the lender hasn't sent it to us yet. Asked them why would someone state they had a copy of the check...they stated they never said such a thing. They will request a copy of the check and when they get it they will send it. Call back today...oh it looks like the lender never responded to our request. But you are still responsible for paying for this. Again they are using my credit to blackmail me into paying for something I don't owe. I have contacted a lawyer, they stated oh well try and resolve it yourself because we cost too much...this has been ongoing for years with trying to get ACS to resolve this issue. With all of the added interest...we are now talking almost $12000. I am at wits end...I really don't know what to do anymore...I have stopped paying ACS and have let this hit my credit....but its not right that I am being forced to pay for something I don't owe!
Posted by Steffani Pelton
on
I had two loans being serviced through ACS. One was a consolidated federal loan with an interest rate of 4.7%. The other was a consolidated private loan with an interest rate of 9.6%. I took out a new loan with a different lender to payoff the private loan because I was able to lock in a fixed rate of 5.9% which resulted in significant savings. When the payoff funds were sent, ASC applied it to the smaller federal loan with the lower interest rate, even though the payoff instructions clearly had the account number for the private loan and even though the it resulted in a $20,000.00 OVER PAYMENT of the federal loan. Then I was told it would take them two weeks to fix their mistake, and that in the meantime, interest would continue to accrue on the larger loan and that I needed to make the regular monthly payment on it. Fraud? I think so.
Posted by False Claim Act
on
ACS needs a class-action/False Claims Act lawsuit. They are allegedly manipulating loans to present false claims to the federal government for federal loan servicing. ACS should be put out of business for predatory lending, unfair business practices and fraud! Please file complaints with Dept. of Education.
Posted by Rick
on
I have not had the issues with payments but more in the way they report to the credit bureau's. in the past 12 months i have been moved to 5 different lenders (on the 5th one now). my problem started when they moved me from lender 3 to lender 4, each time the lender changed the would replace the trade line naming. example ACS/XXXXX to ACS/YYYYY. when they moved me from lender 3 to 4 in Oct of 2012 they did the usual name change for it but then left the SUNTRUST trade line with the ACS removed and the account still open. i called and got the run around being told it takes up to 30 days to be removed. i would call back after the 30 days and get the same response. i finally got a letter from them that the entry had been removed from all 3 CRA's and after checking it was removed from 2 of the 3, this was in May of 2013. i sent more letters made more calls and kept getting the it takes up to 30 days to have it removed. i finally went off on then and asked them how many 30 days does it take using a credit card i have as an example that was sold to another bank and 14 days after the buy out the trade line stayed with its historical data and the name changed. i have filed complaints with every entity i can think of and finally got a response from the Department of Education. they opened a FSA Ombudsman Case and we have been going back and forth with ACS. i finally sent the person in charge of my Ombudsman Case the credit report from the one agency that si still reporting it open and is killing my debt to income ratio. I informed my case worker they have until Nov 8 2013 to have it removed (shouldn't take 12 months to correct something as easy as a trade line entry) before i file suit (lawyer standing by) for the full amount they are reporting incorrectly plus damages. I so wish i could go back to BOFA things were some much easier when they had the loan.
Posted by Alana Jackson-Tunforss
on
I recently started to repay my student loan which was originally with sallie mae for approx 129,000 consolidated at interest of 5.875 % This loan was eventually sold to CFS and then to ACS. I paid initially income sensitive for a while and then put in deferment. I then paid at a 30 year plan of 805 a month with CFS and then they sold to ACS. I put in forberance when decided to go back to local community college and get RN degree. Recently started to repay this loan which is now 169,000 I paid first month what they requested which was 1029 and second month my husband sent in 1129. Third month he sent in 1229. I observed the bill as they were applying less and less of the money to the principal each month that I paid more. I then called and rep could not answer my questions. She said that applying excess payments to interest is how student loans work. Well, I explained to her that all my other loans (car, home) is not like this. I than asked her to apply excess to prinicipal. The next two payments same thing. Less and less to principal. The math does not add up at all. No one can explain why to me or give me any information regarding how they are appling my payments. I have phoned 3 times and emailed them 3 times. Telephone calls are useless and I only get more upset. Emails I get no response. I am at my wits end considering I am paying minimum of 1029 a month. I am questioning their veracity and ethics re: the loan. I orginally consolidated into one which on their website shows two seperate loans. Also, 4 months ago when I called the rep rapidly read a script in which I could not understand her foreign accent and ask me if I accepted it. I said no! I am not accepting anything I do not understand. Please! any thoughts or guidance on how to deal with this situation would be greatly appreaciated.
Posted by Briab
on
ACS problems continue! I am I the only one who cannot log it web site (no longer exists) or even get someone on the phone? What is the path forward to make payments? I am trying avoid a credit score impact; who do we pay now?
Posted by debtorslave
on
I consolidated for a lower rate in 2006 off of original loans from 1999-2001 principle of about $22k. Always paid on time and many years between 2001 and 2011 I paid more than due. Principle is still at about $18k after 12 years of repayments. I did get to the bottom of one issue that at 2006 consolidation ACS ran the loans out another 7 years (at least that's what I can determine). Anyway I have never been able to get them to smash both of my loans together on to one billing date so I have due 1st and 15th each month and half the time one goes past due because website will only allow payment on whichever loan is actually due. I only hope all those years of extra payments paid the future interest but I'm worried since they use daily calculations based on total principle and seem to apply funds in a way that best suits them not the debtor. My main reason for posting is does anyone know of any way to get these unfavorable loans redone into a 'normal' ammortized loan outside of a HELOC or private loan? I fantisize each month about being able to send a PIF payoff amout to these cockroaches. Our gov't complains constantly about student defaults (huge problem). Do they see that for a lot of people with a desire to repay there can be a lare incentive to just bail out on these preditory companies? We need to put pressure on our elected 'officials' to reform how private companies are able to service these loans for profit in the first place!!
Posted by Katrina
on
I have been on the IBR for the last year. When I started IBR they sent my the amount late so I had to make up the payment. I did and was ahead 1 payment so I over paid the amount. Then I submit my yearly IBR information and suddenly I have a late charge and on the bill it says that they were paid more then what my monthly payment was. I would like to know who to contact so that they can be investigated.
Posted by Alex
on
I have found ACS so obtuse that I simply stopped calling them with complaints. I wish very much that I could go back to Wells Fargo or have someone else handle my loan. After reading all these comments, I am going to try that again.
Posted by grandmag2
on
Wow...thought it was only me. ACS has reported what they has said are late payments and impacted my credit score. I find it interesting they can contact me if they "think" a payment has not been made, but the online system will not accept my username, password. Although I have documentation of the username and password, tried "forgot username and password"....hmm I'm not in their system. Go figure.
Is there anything that can be done other than venting frustration here? Never had problems with Wells Fargo who originated the loan.
Posted by Jeff
on
ACS has ripped me off for the past 12 years! I had 14K of college loans which I consolidated with ACS. I was hit with a "bait and switch" offer to consolidate student loans for as low as 2%! Which was better than the 6.5% I was paying around 2001. So I consolidated and ACS ended up being the servicer. They gave me a rate of 7.5% fixed which really didn't help. I called to complain that the rate was 5% higher than the offer I thought I was getting. They told me there was nothing they could do. I have been paying 2oo to 500 dollars a month for the past 12 years and still owe 2K which I am trying to scrape up 500 dollars a month to pay off but only 250 of that seems to go to principle. I called to complain about that and was told that it really depends on which day I make the payment. My payments are due on the 14th of each month. Make a payment too early and they apply most of it to interest. I have never seen such terrible practices. It has negatively affected my life so much and I just want out and am trying so hard to pay. I have never even made a late payment in 12 years of making payments. It truly is unbelievable.
Posted by George
on
I've been staring at this ACS loan for some time now. There are discrepancies in the numbers which simply do not add up. They're charging my a late fee although I've always paid on time and they won't tell me when that late fee was applied nor which billing cycle it refers to.
They don't make previous statements available online so I'm glad I keep good paper work.
I will be taking my business elsewhere. This is thousands of dollars worth of business and I want to know who I'm dealing with. I want to work with a business I can trust instead of this shady company.
Posted by Jackie
on
Wow, I thought it was just me. The bought my loan from a company that I set up auto payments. I didn't realize they stopped my auto payments because I was over paid (againist my principal. They let it run out until I didnt know I ran out of principal (so I didn't get it) then slapped me with a higher interest payment because I missed a payment because I thought I was on auto pay.... or should have been.
Honestly I take the blame for not noticing for so long but I have had this loan since 2002 on autopay. I never had to think about it.
They got me on my principal payments then jacked my interest rate.
And to top it all off they sold my loan to a company called AES, which informed they they didn't receive my last payment. When I called, I was told I was sold and ACS was getting my payments. They worked with me but now ACS owes me $450. I've been paying them wrongly since March... three months and havent hear a thing about a refund.
Now I'm afraid I'll never see the money again.
Posted by Nikki
on
I have ACS for my student loan from college and they are the worst! I used to work for a bank and after they got bought out someone stole an unencrypted disk with personal info on it from every employee that worked there so I had to close my bank account and open a new one. I IMMEDIATLY called ACS to inform them of my new bank information once I got it, the lady said I was fine and to go online and pay seeing as my payment was due the day I called them. I did that then 3 weeks later they try to tell me I owe them double because they claim I never paid my last payment. Funny becasue my bank has a statement that shows I paid and that they took it out of my account. I called in tears telling them I paid and the lady goes let me check and then says no. She didn't even check she just said let me check and then said no you didn't. I called back later to find out that it was a glitch in their system and that they would fix it. They held off my payments until Nov and then turned around and tried to say I was late again. I called and gave them a rath of me because I was wicked upset by this point. I threatend to sue them for 19,000 bucks because thats how much my loan was. I said you will be paying my loan off for me if you don't get this straight.
If you look they have a -F with the BBB. They need to be shut down.
Posted by Kim
on
I paid my loan one year ahead. Each month the online statement said there was not an amount due. Wonderful until I started making payments again and they applied all of my payments to interest. They said they compound interest DAILY so the interest balance was $1,200!! When I called all the stupid supervisor told me if it made me feel any better that at least the interest was paid in full now and they would start applying the payments to P & I!!!
ACS also has manipulated my loan so that now I still have at least 5 more years to pay on it!! I have been making payments since 1999!!
I sent a letter explaining that they are frauds and should not be allowed to stay in business. JP Morgan is also involved with these criminals! They won't send me any loan documents that allowed them to change my loan and won't even acknowledge my written requests! I am sending requests every week until one of the idiots at this company responds.
Posted by Amy Lundy
on
I have been working on my masters for a few years, and during my year of internship ACS continued to send me bills for monthly payments. Each month I had to call ACS and inform them that I was still in school working on my internship and that I had a year to complete my hours. Each month I had to agree to a forbearance and accept the late charges for non-payment. I was finally told during the last month of my internship that I needed to file internship paperwork in order to get a deferment on my loans. I have since graduated and tried to apply for an IBR with the federal government, but ACS is not registered with them. So, I filed an IBR with ACS directly and faxed the form and all proofs of income to them. They did not notify me when they received the paper work and when I called them 12 days later, they claimed that they received it two days before. I am hoping that they process the paperwork before I have to file for another forbearance. I have been looking into consolidating all my student loans with Sallie Mae, but am concerned about the response from ACS.
Posted by Lisa
on
I have had problems with ACS from beginning. They didn't notify me that my loan was sold to them until 2 months after they bought it, during which I continued to send money to the previous lender, don't know where that money went. Then I got a letter from ACS stating I was behind in my payments and was being charged collosal late fees and I had the privilege of absorbing $3000 in extra fees from THEIR transaction with the previous lender, without my permission thank you. I called them recently to inquire about the interest rate. According to ACS, I pay 9.25% PER DAY on my loan. I requested the documentation on the sale of the loan to them and all they sent me was one sheet of paper with the my signature on the back page of the loan from the previous lender. It has taken me 3 years to pay off their extra fees they added to my balance. They have put %75 of my payments regulary toward the interest each month and almost nothing toward the capital, regardless of when in the month I pay it. I have experimented with different payment schedules with them. I doesn't matter. They take what they want, when they want.
Posted by Jessica
on
They have lost my IBR forms 3xs- despite the email confirmations from them stating they were received. Depending on who I talk to, the emails can or cannot be found. The "processing time" varies from 10-14 days to 15-20 depending on what letter you read or who you talk to and their customer service is ridiculous "can you please hold while I check into that"- 15 minutes later!! I am more than frustrated and don't know what else to do. I've reported to the Better Business Bureau, my Reps., Senators and Attorney General. This needs to change!! I am in MN and ready to make a stink if anyone else is game. What is the next step? This is wrong and NEEDS to stop!!
Posted by Default Hero
on
As someone who works with defaulted student loans, I deal with ACS on a daily basis. While there are certainly some bureaucratic messes, a lot of what we deal with from ACS on a daily basis is simply silly. Delays in paperwork is only the tip of the iceberg.
ACS/Xerox is currently bidding to handle all of the defaulted loans through a contract rebid. There are other companies bidding against them, so I hope you all call your reps and let them know Xerox has no place in the process, based on these complaints. Just think about what would happen if they had (more) control over tax offsets, capitalized interest rates, social security offsets, etc.
In the meantime, Cheri Woods, call whomever is servicing your loans and ask for a Total and Permanent Disability Discharge application. As long as you have a doctor willing to sign off on the fact you are TPD, your loans will be discharged. SSA letters unfortunately won't work for the processes I know about, but I've seen thousands of loans discharged for this reason.
Posted by Chelsea Canning
on
ACS representatives have duplicity steered me into forbearance rather than unemployment deferment for years, so much so that I have used 36 months of forbearance when I've been employed at least part time since graduating. If appropriately assessed I would have qualified for unemployment deferment (working >30 hrs), under unemployment deferment my subsidized loans would not have interest accrued. That results in hundreds of dollars in late fees and accrued interest for me to pay ACS. And they have no record of my calls inquiring into the "late fees" for forbearance periods and deferment periods.
Convenient for them to have accrued interest and not kept a record of my phone call inquiries! Class action lawsuit is the only way to stop these people.
Posted by Lori
on
I too had very similar experiences as you are stating. I tried to pay off the debt quicker by making double payments. I was told that the only way they would apply the extra payment toward principle, was to call each month after making the payments and request that it be applied as such. This only worked for 2 months. Thereafter, the amount paid was always applied to interest. It got to the point that I couldn't even get anyone on the phone. I would be placed on hold then someone would simply disconnect the call. I have taken out a line of credit against my house to pay this loan to avoid any further fraudulence. Additionally, the account reps weren't even knowledgeable in the financial details of the loan. I could never get a straight answer about total amounts owed to specific loans (as I had multiple) and why the payoff amount doesn't change.
Posted by Student Loans
on
Ma Luci.....you cant pre-pay interest on student loan.....interest accrues every day.....the reason your due date isn't until 2017 is because you have paid THE PRINCIPLE up to that date...please read your prom note before taking out any more student loans!!!!!
Posted by MJ
on
I applied for IBR last year and was told that it was accepted and my payment was $0 because my income had dropped. About 3 months after filing, I received e-mail notifications stating I owed payments. I called them and was told that no, I was still in IBR status and that the e-mails were just a computer glitch.
This year, when it was time to file IBR paperwork, I e-mailed in my information (emailsupport@acs-inc.com). I received e-mail confirmation of my request. That *VERY SAME DAY* they sent me a snail mail letter stating that my account was now 248 days in arears and that I was in danger of going into default. I called and spoke with someone, told them what had happened the previous year regarding receiving the letter, the e-mails, and being told that everything was fine. No record of that. They told me not to panic, but that my IBR request this year would be retroactively applied, and they would also use it as the basis of determining my IBR payment this year.
I waited for a response. Last Monday I received a letter stating that I was now in default, and they were calling in my loan. That letter was dated 02/28/2013. Two days later I received a letter dated 02/25/2013, but postmarked/metered 03/05/2013, so received 03/13/2013 stating that they had received my request but that it was incomplete because I had failed to submit an application.
How would they know I even requested IBR status if they hadn't received an application?!! I called them. They stated that they had only received my W2. Also, the attachment was a 2-page document (i.e., they couldn't have received my W2, which was page 2, if they didn't also have my application, which was page 1).
So I asked them if I could just resubmit the paperwork again, since I had put it in before the deadline. The very rude customer service person told me no, now I was hosed because my loan had been put into default status since I "missed the deadline" to get my paperwork returned.
My paperwork did not come to me until 03/13/2013!! It came via snail mail and not through an e-mail notification, as all other correspondence had come through. This smells suspiciously like predatory practices because the delays put the account into default. Because it's in default, they are telling me that I cannot apply for IBR status. So I must accept a forbearance. Then I am supposed to reapply for IBR once the forbearance has run out.
All of it is wrong because my paperwork was submitted, acknowledged, and I was assured that I was okay. Now I'm in default, my credit is trashed, and ACS keeps conveniently losing paperwork. It is very suspicious for predatory lending practices.
Posted by Heidi
on
They sold my student loan to another company without notifying me and then received an auto payment from my bank and refused to return it. Co artists, plain and simple.
Posted by Ali Clark
on
I always pay my loans monthly payment on time. ACS claims they haven't received my last 5 payments. Interesting enough when I looked at bank statements I was able to see copies of ACS endorsed checks for all of the months that they've claimed no payment. I've forwarded all this to them and have not heard anything back accept for another bill with a late payment fee!!! They are so completely unorganized and are horrible with their record keeping. Also, it's very hard to understand them on the phone, that is if you're lucky enough to get through to them by phone.
Posted by st pauli girl
on
ACS is the worst kind of corporate cancer this country has ever seen and no one seems to be pushing the feds into stopping ACS or Xerox. Shouldn't someone do something?
Posted by cheri woods
on
When released from prison in 1989 i was informed that I was eligible for a FREE GRANT under the law. I enrolled in MARINELLO SCHOOL OF BEAUTY's 1600 hr. Cosmetology course. I was instructed to sign mounds of paperwork that I was not given the opportunity to read. It was not until 1 mo. prior to graduation I was called into the ofc. & forced to sign "loan docs" with threats that if I refused, I would not graduate. EXTORTION. I became permanently disabled after graduating, so never got my license or pursued Cosmetology. They have stalked me ever since w/ collection letters, despite the fact an atty provided them w/ copies of my SS award letter, etc. THIS IS FRAUD AND EXTORTION. MARINELLO PREYS ON ILLITERATE AND ILLEGAL FOREIGNERS WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES, of which I am neither.
Posted by Ma Luci
on
ACS is horrible with managing loans. We were always able to pay extra toward the principal of the loan online. On the payment page, you were able to designate how you wanted your money placed on the loan. Once ACS took over the loans of my husband, the loans were consolidated (both subsidized with unsubsidized) all extra money is put towards the interest as they see fit. We now have interest paid up beyond the year 2017. Despite phone calls, emails and even a request to the PA AG office, ACS refuses to put extra payments toward the principal of the loan. They stated by phone that the only way they will do this is with a letter each month and a mailed check; and because of the incompetence of this company, you have to double check each month to make sure it was processed the way you requested. It usually isn't. I am so glad others are speaking up.
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The angst also extends to Access Group, which in one student's case involves a loan originally held by Access Group but having since been taken over by ACS. In a posting on ConsumerAffairs.com, Matt from Studio City, New York wrote on October 9 that before ACS acquired the management of Access loans, "I was under the IBR plan for about a year with Access Group. Once my year was up, my loans had been sold to ACS. I submitted my application to renew my IBR status. I never heard back from them. After waiting and waiting and seeing that they had not accepted my IBR application, I placed a call (even though their paperwork says that they will contact you, acceptance or rejection). They told me to re-submit. Fair enough. In the meantime though, they had to put me in forbearance, during which time, additional interest would accrue that would be compounded into principal. How convenient for them."
