Please help me understand my personal student loan statement

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Here's the most recent statement for one of my student loans that I have been paying on time for last 10 years. 

Based on the statement, here's what I understand (let's ignore the decimals):

My original principal balance (the amount I borrowed from HSBC) was $14,889.

My total principal paid to date is $14,360.

Based on my conversation with AESuccess (who took over the loan from HSBC), the outstanding interest from last payment is $21.

And they said there's no penalty for paying it off early.

Based on all this information above, I can pay off the remaining principal ($14,889 - $14,360 = $529) and the interest rate so far ($21), so, a total of $550 and that should close my loan.

What I'm confused by is the "Current Principal Balance" of $9814 - where is that coming from? And how is it different from original principal balance and the total principal I have paid to date.

I asked AESuccess about it, and unfortunately they are also confused about this and I did not get a coherent response about what the difference is. Their suggestion was to write a letter to HSBC and take it from there.

Before I write a letter, I just want to check - am I crazy in thinking that the remaining balance that's left on my loan is $529? What am I missing here?

[Anonymous]

Is this a federal loan? If so, what is your repayment plan?
If you're have a federal loan, you can log into your servicer or into the National Student Loan Database (NSLDS) website and see what your balance is. It should be close to accurate.
Unless I'm mistaken, you still accrued interest on the loan. If at any point the interest accrued, it's possible it could have capitalized, it added to the principal. However it sounds like you've been paying off any interest as it accrues so you principal probably never increased. You should definitely check your statement though and make sure that no extra fees will be due. Also save copies.
If everything is as it seems.... congrats!!! Quite an achievement!

[Anonymous]

This is a private student loan, which makes me little more cautious. HSBC has a reputation of doing shady things and I just want to make sure that if my current remaining balance is $529, I just want to pay it off now.

I'm going to send them a letter, but I wish this was more clearer and transparent.

[Anonymous]

Ya, that's a head scratcher. Is the statement from HSBC or AES? Either way, if AES took over the loan, you should be able to call them and find out what the payoff amount is.