Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The original balance of my college education was around $46,000. They make this information very hard to find on their website so I don't have the original number. I have been paying on these loans for over 20 years. I have paid $81,858 toward my student loans. $33,006 of that has been interest. As this has been over 20 years I should be eligible for forgiveness, but I cannot find a way to apply for this through Aspire Student Loan. I have paid long enough on this predatory, criminal loan. My education has long been paid for and I don't want to pay interest only anymore. When I first got this loan I was told I was on a 20 year repayment plan. I was young, did not have infinite online resources available 20 years ago to learn about the terrible loan terms, and was told this was my only option to pay off my student loans. All predatory actions taken upon me upon my college graduation. It's been over 20 years and somehow my *********************************** with a $13,000 balance. I even paid on this almost all through the "pause" that's been on student loans through covid.

  Business response

  07/18/2023

  In the complaint, ****** asked that her student loan be closed out as paid in full because she believes the loan to be on a 20-year repayment plan,she believes it should be eligible for loan forgiveness and she feels she has repaid the loan balance.
  
  Private student loans serviced by Aspire Servicing Center in ******s name have been paid in full. Aspire Servicing Center is still servicing a single federal consolidation loan that was disbursed on June 13, ****. The original term of the loan was 300 months, or 25 years. However, ****** has used multiple periods of deferment and forbearance to delay required payments. The 41 months of assistance used has pushed the expected payoff date from June **** to September 2031.
  
  In addition, the use of assistance has increased the amount of interest ****** pays over the life of the loan. The original loan balance was $24,110.73, and the current balance is $12,882.28. With this balance and a fixed interest rate of ****%, the loan accrues approximately $1.31 in interest a day. Interest accrues daily during periods of assistance, and any unpaid accrued interest can be capitalized, or added to the principal balance, at the end of the assistance period. These terms are outlined in the loan consolidation promissory note.
  
  Any payments apply to interest before being applied to the balance,according to the terms ****** agreed to when the loan was taken out.
  
  Another factor is the repayment plan ****** chose at the time of consolidation. Making payments under the Select 2 repayment plan typically results in more interest being paid over time because the first two years of payments are generally applied only to interest. ****** later switched to the Select 5 repayment plan, which is similar.
  
  In the complaint, ****** mentions that she made payments through the pause on student loan payments. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act applied only to federally held loans, such as the ************************** Federal Direct Loan Program loans held by the U.S. ********** of ********** It did not apply to ************************ Loan Program loans held by private entities, such as ******s loan. In accordance with the terms of the loan, interest continued to accrue during the period the CARES Act was in effect.
  
  No 20-year forgiveness program is available for the type of loan Aspire Servicing Center is servicing for ******. ****** may be referring to the forgiveness offered after 25 years of qualifying payments under the Income-Based Repayment Plan. As ****** has not made any payments on the *** Plan, her loan is not eligible to have the remainder of her loan forgiven in that time.
  
  ****** may wish to consider a few options. She may apply for the *** Plan to make payments based on her income. The extended repayment term under *** may cause more interest to accrue and, depending on her financial situation, ****** may or may not have a remaining balance to be forgiven after 25 years of qualifying payments.
  
  ****** may make payments higher than her minimum required payment or make extra payments. There is no penalty for prepayment. Because her minimum payment would pay down outstanding interest, any extra paid at the same time would apply to principal, reducing the amount to accrue interest the following month.
  
  ****** may sign up for automatic electronic payments. This loan is eligible for a ****% interest rate reduction while payments are made via auto-debit.
  
  Loan consolidation or refinancing is also an option. If ****** chooses to refinance the loan as a private student loan, some federal student loan benefits would be lost.
  
  If ****** would like to pursue any of these options or needs more information, customer service representatives are available 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.(Central time) Monday through Friday by calling **************.

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a Federal Student Loan that was sold to Aspire. I have not made payments since the pandemic as student loans were on hold. No communication or issue from Aspire about no payments. Recently saw that student loan payments will start in the fall. Yesterday, I get a report from Credit Reporting that I am 80 days past due and it has hit my credit report. No notice from Aspire. When I called they said that my Federal loan isn't the same and that I was paid ahead, that is why I didn't have to pay. Huge hit to my very excellent credit rating. I have dropped 100 points due to their poor communication. As soon as I have found I am past due I have paid off the account in full. They said they didn't make a mistake and will not remove from my credit report. They told my sorry many times, but won't help me. They are very poor at communication and then report bad information.

  Business response

  07/17/2023

  In the complaint, ****** stated that he had not made payments on his federal student loan serviced by Aspire Servicing Center since the pandemic began because he thought student loans were on hold. His payment due in April 2023 was not completely paid and resulted in a past-due status and negative credit reporting on the account. ****** said he received no notice from Aspire Servicing Center and asks that his credit reporting be corrected.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center serviced a ************************ Loan Program loan that was owned by the ******* **************** Student Assistance Corporation. The payment pause for federal student loans applied only to federally held student loans, such as those in the ************************** Direct Loan Program. FFELP loans were not included, and Aspire Servicing Center is obligated to continue to service FFELP loans in accordance with the terms of the loans and the policies of the private entities that hold the loans. This information was available on the Aspire Servicing Center website throughout the payment pause.
  
  The loan had been paid ahead, meaning that previous payments covered future amounts due. The last payment Aspire Servicing Center had received for the loan was made in January 2021. That payment satisfied the amounts due through March 2023 and partially paid the amount due in April 2023. An amount of $48.02 remained unsatisfied for the payment due April 20, 2023.
  
  Because the account was paid ahead, the billing statements provided to ****** showed $0.00 due through March 2023 but showed the remaining balance on the loan. The billing statement for April 2023 showed that $48.02 was due on April 20. Per ******s preference, these statements were delivered electronically and emails were sent to ****** when a new statement was available for viewing.
  
  Beginning on May 1, 2023, Aspire Servicing Center began attempting to reach ****** by phone and electronic correspondence regarding the status of the account before negative credit reporting occurred. ****** was notified by email when a new electronic document was available for viewing. Contact was made on May 22, 2023, by phone at the number ****** listed on his BBB complaint and used by ****** to contact Aspire Servicing Center in July 2023. However, the person who answered the call on May 22, 2023, did not complete the identity verification questions; the Aspire Servicing Center representative was not able to share any account-specific information and asked that ****** return the call. The person stated they would check the account status online.
  
  No payment was made, and the account was reported to the national consumer reporting agencies as **** days past due for June 2023. This information is accurate and will not be changed. Later bringing an account current or paying the balance in full does not change previously reported accurate information.
  
  On July 10, 2023, ****** called Aspire Servicing Center and spoke to two representatives regarding the status of his account and the resulting credit reporting. The representatives explained that the federal CARES Act did not apply to privately held FFELP loans and why he did not have payments due for a long period of time due to the paid-ahead status. In addition, the representatives explained that the credit reporting for June 2023 would not change.
  
  Later on July 10, 2023, a payment was made to pay the loan in full.Future reporting for the loan will reflect the paid-in-full status.

  Customer response

  07/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 20297923
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  Their communication was not sufficient and did not reach me.  They also did not provide enough consideration given the status of federal student loans.  The agency has been paid in full and still will not assist in any good faith.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  07/21/2023

  The following is in response to *********************** rejection to our response to the BBB following the complaint he initially filed on July 10, 2023.
  
  In the rejection, ****** stated that the communication he had received from Aspire Servicing Center regarding the ************************ Loan Program loan that was owned by the ******* **************** Student Assistance Corporation and was reported as delinquent in June of 2023 was insufficient. He also stated the communication did not reach him.
  
  Beginning on May 1, 2023, Aspire Servicing Center made multiple attempts to contact ****** by phone and electronic correspondence regarding the status of the account before negative credit reporting occurred. Phone calls were made to the numbers on file for ******. Regulations regarding the servicing of federal loans prevent Aspire Servicing Center from making daily collection calls.
  
  ****** opted to receive electronic correspondence. Receiving correspondence electronically instead of by paper via mail is optional, and ****** had to request this feature. Therefore, billing statements and delinquency correspondence were sent to his Paperless Inbox per his preference.
  
  Emails were also sent to ****** when the correspondence was available for viewing in the online account access. Billing statements provided to ******showed $0.00 due through March 2023 but showed the remaining balance on the loan. The billing statement for April 2023 showed that $48.02 was due on April 20. However, no payment was made until July 10, 2023, when ****** submitted an online payment to pay the loan in full.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center made multiple attempts using multiple methods to notify ****** regarding the account status prior to any negative credit reporting that took place.

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I currently have a student loan that Aspire Servicing Center holds. The government automatically applied the Covid-19 National Disaster Forbearance to what I believed to be all Federal Student Loans. I have other loan servicers that automatically applied the Forbearance. However Aspire Servicing Centers did not. I never received anything in the mail stating they were not going to automatically apply this to my federal loans that they held. Now I have a huge ding on my credit because they DID NOT disclose this information to me. Now it will take **** business days for them to process my Forbearance request. I asked if they could revise the tradelines, on my credit report they say they can not do that. I feel they are using deceitful practices, by not disclosing the above information, about how they processed the ******19 National Disaster Forbearance. This oversight by them has hindered my ability to buy a home.

  Business response

  03/24/2023

  See attached response

• Initial Complaint

  09/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This company is negatively reporting accounts as past due to the credit bureaus when there is a freeze on student loan payments till January. I'm seeking to have all negative marks removed from my credit reports and for all collection activities to cease till the federal freeze expires.

  Business response

  03/24/2023

  See attached doc

• Initial Complaint

  07/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Aspire took over my loan servicing. Since then, they have:A) Caused difficulty in the payment and servicing of my account B) Failed to retain and/or provide me with requested tax documentation C) Delayed my payments due to technical errors with their website D) Provided a negative experience with their limited hours of availability I expect to be able to service my loan payments promptly and efficiently. I had no problems doing so when I worked with my previous servicer, *****. Since Aspire took control of my account, I have had nothing but issues and negative experiences. The one time I was able to reach a representative, they were unable to solve my problems and were generally unhelpful. Since then, I have had more issues but due to their limited contact hours, I am essentially stuck dealing with the problems by myself, since it is extremely difficult to reach them. Additionally, I am unable to solve the technical problems on my own, since the username/password retrieval system used by Aspire uses data that I believe to be incorrect (pretty sure at this point in life I know my SSN and DOB, so apparently they have it wrong...).

  Business response

  07/27/2022

  In the complaint, ****** asserts that since Aspire Servicing Center took over the servicing of their loan account, there has been difficulty in the payment and servicing of the account; a failure to retain and provide requested tax information; delay of payments due to technical errors; and limited hours of availability.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center is servicing two ************************ Loan Program loans that were purchased by Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation from the ******************************************. The servicing of the loans was transferred to Aspire Servicing Center on March 30, 2022.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center strives to provide excellent customer service and apologizes that ***** has not been satisfied with the service received so far.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center called and spoke to ***** on April 29, 2022,regarding the status of the account. At that time, ***** expressed frustration that tax information was not available online from Aspire Servicing Center. The representative offered to provide tax information, but ***** declined to receive it at that time. ***** stated that they had not attempted to contact Aspire Servicing Center about tax information because they were doing their taxes after business hours on a Friday evening.
  
  On July 21, 2022, Aspire Servicing Center received a call from the phone number ***** provided in this complaint. The caller did not identify themselves but said they were having difficulty logging in to their online account. Before any assistance was provided, the caller stated they were now able to log in. A review of the account history shows that the online account for ***** was accessed successfully on July 2, 2022, and July 21, 2022.
  
  If ***** has difficulty making online payments in the future, payments are accepted through our phone system 24 hours a day without extra charge. If ***** calls during business hours, payments may also be made on the phone through a representative.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center is sorry that ***** experienced issues logging in to their online account and that its current business hours are not suited to *****s schedule.
  
  If ****** has any questions or needs additional information, customer service representatives are available 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Central time) Monday through Friday by calling **************.

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My student loan was supposed to be forgiven after 5 years if I taught in special education, moderate, severe. I completed this requirement and was denied my forgiveness. The company consolidated my loans without my consent and changed the origination date so I wouldnt qualify. I paid back over $18,000 and feel I deserve my money in return. This is not the way to run a business. On the attached you will see St ******* on all of the loans. There should have been loans with ****************** as I went to grad school there.

  Business response

  04/01/2022

  In the complaint, Ms. ****** asserts that Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation consolidated her loans without her consent and changed the origination date so she would not qualify for loan forgiveness.
  
  ISL owned and serviced a federal consolidation loan for Ms. ****** that originated on Aug. 2, ****. The loan repaid a previous federal consolidation loan owned by ISL that originated in August **** and two ************************** Federal Direct Loan Program loans taken out in **** and ****. The most recent consolidation loan was repaid in full in November 2018.
  
  Because the underlying consolidation loan was taken out prior to Oct. 1,1998, the second federal consolidation loan did not meet the federally regulated eligibility criteria for Teacher Loan Forgiveness. ISL and its servicer, Aspire Servicing Center, must follow the eligibility criteria set forth by the **** ********** of ********************** information was supplied to Ms. ****** during a phone call on July 30, ****, before the second consolidation originated. ISL and Aspire Servicing Center did not receive an application for Teacher Loan Forgiveness from Ms. ******or speak to her again regarding the program.
  
  Aspire Servicing Center is sending Ms. ****** copies of the Promissory Notes she signed when she consolidated her loans in **** and ****. ISL did not consolidate the loans without her permission or change any origination dates.Ms. ****** should review the documents and contact Aspire Servicing Center with any questions.
  
  If Ms. ****** has any questions or needs additional information, she should contact *********************** at Aspire Servicing Center by calling ************* between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Central time) Monday through Friday.

  Customer response

  04/08/2022

   
  Complaint: 16951741
  
  I am rejecting this response because: student loan companies such as this are fraudulent as they will do whatever they can to get their money even when people go to school and work in high need areas only to get screwed out of forgiveness.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩