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Top Student Loan Scams

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Student Loan Scams

Right now there is over $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. With billions of dollars being loaned to students each year, there is no doubt that there are scammers trying to get your money that are offering services that they do not follow through on, or have no real idea about.

In fact, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has even issued multiple warnings about what to look out for when it comes to getting help with your student loans. (For example, this one and this one).

Here are some common scams that are happening right now that you should be aware of when looking for student loan help.

This article is pretty long - we cover a lot of ground here. If you're looking at a specific company, jump to our section on "Is There Any Company You Can Trust To Help You".

Quick Navigation
What You Need To Know About Student Loan Debt Help​
Advanced Fee Scam​
Loan Consolidation Scam
Law Firm Lawsuit Student Loan Scam
Student Loan Debt Elimination Scam
Scam Or Bad Service?
Student Loan Relief Red Flags​
Is There Any Company You Can Trust To Help You?
Worried You're Being Scammed?​

What You Need To Know About Student Loan Debt Help​

​Before we dive into different types of student loan scams, it’s important that we talk about getting help for your student loan debt.

​There are a lot of companies that advertise that they can help you with your loans – you might see the ads on Facebook, on Google, or even in the mail (yes, people still get mail). And these companies might promise you things or advertise some type of help for your student loan debt which might entice you to call or sign up.

​Before you take any action with these companies, remember this: you don’t ever have to pay someone to get help with your Federal student loans if you don’t want to. Not that help is not available, but it’s up to you to decide if you want to do it on your own, or hire a professional organization to handle it for you.

Here's why:

  • ​Enrollment in repayment programs is available at no cost to Federal student loan borrowers and can be done for free at StudentLoans.gov
  • Debt relief companies do not have the ability to negotiate with your Federal student loan creditors in order to get you a better deal.
  • Payment amounts, qualifiers, requirements under IBR, PAYE, and other repayment programs are set by Federal law

But that doesn’t automatically mean paying someone for help is a scam. While these programs are free, signing up can be confusing for some people. Or they may have complex situations and want someone to help them. Just like some people do their taxes themselves, while others hire a CPA, the same applies to student loan debt help.

You can do it yourself. Or you could pay someone to help you (if you want to see who we recommend, scroll to the bottom). However, if you pay someone to help you, you need to make sure you’re not going to be ripped off and the company is reputable.

Here are the warning signs to help you avoid student loan debt relief scams.

Advanced Fee Scam​

This scam involves a student loan company that tells you they can get you the "best" interest rate and loan terms, but you have to pay a "small" fee up front for this service. The fee can be anywhere from 1-5% of the loan amount. Sometimes the fee is a flat rate up front (say $1000).

If you come across this offer - RUN! There are no circumstances in which you should have to pay money to get money. Legitimate student loans, even from private lenders, do not require any fees up front. If there are any fees, they are deducted from the disbursement check or they are included in the repayment amount and are amortized over the repayment period.

There are two common fees that will be paid with the loan, but once again, never up front. Federal student loans charge a 1% default fee, but charge no origination fees. Most private loans charge some type of either disbursement fee or origination fee, but these are usually negotiable and vary widely from lender to lender.

If you are working with a third-party company to help you with your student loan debt, they might take a fee up front. But this fee should go into an escrow account (or third party account) and the company should only get paid once they prove they’ve helped you sign up for a program. Look for wording like “we only get paid once you’ve made your first payment on your new repayment program”.

Note: A new variation on a theme has emerged in the last year. Instead of charging a direct advanced fee, some companies are offering a second personal loan - which is basically a fee in the format of a loan. Most borrowers who get involved in this don't realize they took out a new loan, and there are repercussions if you cancel or don't pay (such as interest and collection fees). 

The bottom line is, if you use a third party company, make sure you fully understand the pricing and payment structure. 

Loan Consolidation Scam

After you graduate, it might be a good idea to consolidate your student loans. This is another area that is ripe with scams. The most common student loan consolidation scam is one in which the company charges a consolidation fee, but actually does nothing. The fee is sometimes called processing fees, administrative fees, or consolidation fees.

If you have a federal student loan, there are no fees whatsoever for student loan debt consolidation. You can do it yourself for free at StudentLoans.gov.

If you have a private student loan, there are a number of lenders who will refinance your private loans, federal loans, or both. Refinancing differs from consolidation in that rather than simply combining all your loans into one, you are actually taking out a separate loan with a new lender who pays off your existing loans. Credible is a comparison tool that allows you to fill out one form and see personalized offers from multiple lenders in the space. Going through any lender on the Credible platform is NOT a scam.

Plus, College Investor readers can get up to a $1,000 bonus when they refinance through Credible!

Finally, if you are considering consolidation, make sure you read our guide on The Right Way To Consolidate Your Student Loans.

Law Firm Lawsuit Student Loan Scam

This is a scam where a law firm will claim to be able to settle your student loan debt. There are a lot of variations on this scam, but typically a borrower is referred to a law firm by a "student aid company". The student aid company promises that this law firm can settle your student loan debt for thousands less than you owe.

Many times the law firm will ask you to make your full student loan payment to the the law firm itself (or whatever amount you can afford to pay). The law firm says they'll then negotiate a settlement with your lender.

However, what typically happens is that this law firm doesn't make any payments while negotiating with your lender - as such, you go into default on your student loans. At that point, the law firm will then claim you can't pay your bills, and try to negotiate a settlement based on that.

What happens to you, as the borrower, is that your credit score is trashed, and you made thousands of dollars in payments to the law firm. In the end, there is no guarantee that you will be able to settle your loans. And even if you do, the process may take years, and you'll still have to deal with the settlement in the end.

If you're considering speaking to a lawyer about your student loan debt, learn about what a lawyer can do for your student loans.​

Student Loan Debt Elimination Scam

​The important thing to remember about student loan debt is that it must always be repaid - it cannot be eliminated unless you have a federally qualifying reason (death, permanent disability, school closure, falsification of documents or identity theft). If you come across a company that promises to get your student loan debt eliminated, it is a scam!

We see these scams a lot relating to closed for-profit colleges and universities. Companies will advertise that, simply because you attended a certain college or university, you can get your student loans eliminated. This is usually false. 

There are many potential student loan forgiveness programs that you can read about here. If your school closed or is facing lawsuits, you can potentially do what’s called Borrower Defense to Repayment. But if you’re paying a company for help, ask them specifically what they are doing for you.

Scam Or Bad Service?

There are times when it's not a scam, but it just seems like one because the customer service is bad or paperwork gets “lost”. For example, I get a lot of readers asking about the FedLoan Servicing Scam. FedLoan isn't a scam, but just a poorly run student loan servicing company that is looking out for their own best interest.

Student Loan Servicer is actually the code word for “Student Loan Collection Agency.” Another one I get asked a lot about is NelNet, especially when it comes to their KwikPay Service. Once again, not a scam, just a poorly run program that is incentivized by the collection of full payments. 

I hope this helps you navigate the world of student loans a little better and avoid getting played. If you want to know more, don't forget to check out my Definitive Guide to Student Loan Debt.

Student Loan Relief Red Flags​

​Now that you know some of the main types of student loan relief scams, what are some red flags to look for?

​Based on talking to consumers for several years, these themes have emerged:

  • Any company ​that claims to have a relationship with the Department of Education (third-party companies do not have any relationship with the Department of Education)
  • Any company that promises you a set payment or forgiveness (companies cannot promise forgiveness or guarantee an income based repayment because both will change based on your income)
  • Any promise of immediate loan forgiveness or cancellation
  • Any promise that a buyer will buy the loan and settle it for a set amount
  • Any promise that because your school closed or is being sued, you an get forgiveness

Is There Any Company You Can Trust To Help You?

​Even though I’ve said countless times you can do it for free at StudentLoans.gov, there are still people who’ve asked me “that’s great Robert, but I still want to pay someone to help me – who can I trust?” That’s a fair question, so who can you trust?

Next, call your student loan servicing company. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but 80% of issues and concerns can be resolved by simply calling your loan servicer. These free options are usually your best bet for help with student loans.

If you're still not quite sure where to start or what to do, consider hiring a CFA or CFP to help you with your student loans. We recommend The Student Loan Planner to help you put together a solid financial plan for your student loan debt. Check out The Student Loan Planner here.

Worried You're Being Scammed?​

I hope this helps you navigate the world of student loans a little better and avoid getting played. If you want to know more, don't forget to check out my Definitive Guide to Student Loan Debt.

Are you worried that you could be dealing with a scammer? Stop by our new Student Loan Forum and post about it in the Student Loan Scams section. Protect yourself and protect others as well!​

Readers, have you ever been the victim of a student loan scam?

​

Filed Under: Student Loans
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Comments

  1. Robert, this is a great article. I didn’t even know about some of these scams. Do you have any data on how many people fall victim to these each year?

    Reply

    • No I don’t. There is no central hub that tracks this, and the scams usually fall under labels like “Identity Theft” or “Fraud”. However, with student loans dispersing close to $100 billion per year, you know that there has to be more victims that you think.

      Reply

      • Ok I just signed up with “student aid center” and I’m already worried because for one they did charge me a processing fee…but various people from their “company” have called me several times for my login info for fed loan and that had me concerned…they supposedly updated their notes as I have not received any more calls other than from my “counselor” updating me on status. My question: if they did get my loan forebearable approved…shouldn’t I have gotten a confirmation notice of that instead of another statement?

        Reply

        • Yes, I’d be concerned. One, you shouldn’t ever have to pay a processing fee to get forbearance. Two, you should call your lender directly and ask them.

          Reply

          • I just signed up through the student aid center also. I had such student loan debt that I couldn’t do anything because the debt kept adding so much interest that it just kept piling on. I understand that I can pay them to process all my stuff for me, which works because I never stay up on paperwork for that stuff, I have way too much going on at work and in life that I don’t want to deal with it. However, I just want to know what you think about this company or what you have heard? Will they actually consolidate and get my payments lower and forgiven after my 10 years as I am a govt employee?

          • They likely will help you, but you realize that every form you fill out for them will be the same as you would for your own lender? They aren’t doing anything special for you that you couldn’t do yourself. If you can fill out a job application you can fill out the simple form required to switch to IBR. You’re just throwing away money by paying for this.

          • I recently submitted paperwork to the Department of Education to enroll myself in the public service loan forgiveness program. About two weeks after faxing in the documents to the DOE, I received a call from Student Aid Center asking if I wanted to enroll in that very program. Since I hardly ever get calls from loan “scammers”, I just assumed they were somehow affiliated with the DOE. It seemed like too much of a coincidence to get a call regarding enrolling in the loan forgiveness program, right after faxing in documents pertaining to it. Well, you know what they say about assuming.

            So of course, like an idiot (or should I say a**), I gave them everything from my SSN to my FAFSA pin, debit card information, and I even signed a power of attorney form to give them permission to manage my loans. As soon as I hung up the phone with them, I had this very uneasy feeling. Sure enough, I looked them up on the BBB only to see they were a scam.

            I immediately called them back and requested to cancel. Fortunately, I was able to get through to the person I originally spoke with, and after some back and forth, she finally forwarded me to a customer service rep who sent me a confirmation email that I had canceled the services with the company.

            The email reads
            “This email serves as confirmation of the successful cancellation of your student loan consolidation and repayment plan application effective on 4/23/2015. We have deactivated all service features at this time.

            For future references, if you would like to continue services with us or need any further assistance, we would be more than happy to assist you. In addition, should you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to give us a call.

            Please be aware if a refund check is being issued, to allow 5-7 business days to receive it. We thank you for your business, and look forward to welcoming you again as one of our customers.”

            Needless to say, I’m still a paranoid wreck. I immediately canceled my debit card, reset my FAFSA pin, and probably called my loan servicer at least 3 times to inform them of what I’ve done and make sure that if Student Aid Center were to submit the signed power of attorney that they would ignore it.

            Is there ANYTHING else I can do to ensure that nothing comes of this? Is there a difference between my loan servicer and lender? Should I notify both?

            My hope is that once they realize they can’t charge anything since I canceled my debit card, they will leave me alone.

            Thanks in advance!

          • Hi Ginger, you did everything you could have done and should be fine. Just keep an eye out on your account. They can’t charge you, so they likely won’t do anything either.

          • Ok, so have you heard if student aid center is a scam? I recently dealt with them as well.

          • I signed up with USLAC, LLC. Have you heard of this company, Robert? I haven’t paid any money yet but when it checked my credit my student loans are all current. Should I look into this further?

          • Never heard of this company. I can tell you, in general, that you never have to pay for anything related to your Federal student loans. You can do it all for free at StudentLoans.gov. The only time you should consider paying is if you can afford it and you don’t want to do it yourself.

        • Brianne Nobles:
          We thank you for being a valued customer. We are just at the final stage of your process. As you know, we do charge for our services over the same course of time it takes for us to get your loans/paperwork processed for you, but we are not a scam. We follow up and complete every file all while honoring a 100% guarantee; you have nothing to worry about. What you are paying for is not a forbearance, but in turn a thorough service that results in your enrollment in the program you qualified for based on your income, family size, and line of work which will save you close to $10K (according to your file)! We understand doing business in this day and age is scary and we in fact encourage our customers to do their due diligence so they make the right decision. We are happy to note that we have reached out to you to keep you informed every step of the way and we are proud to have been able to complete this process for you. We understand there are scams out there and can see your concern, but we have proven to be a true company. We pride ourselves on customer excellence and value and operate with character and morale. We are grateful to be able to assist thousands that get turned down and/or denied for these same programs through their lender. We make it happen for all who qualify; no conflict of interest here.

          Have an awesome day.

          Reply

          • Wow, I appreciate the follow-up from this company but it took almost 3 months (check the date stamps) – gimme a break on your customer service promise. Poor girl.

          • I’ve left multiple voice mails.. No call backs and paid all my payments you all asked for to start my case why is that ?

        • They are listed as one of the companies not to do business with. you can find information on the edu.gov website i am pretty sure I cant remember I read so many articles. But i do remember that that they noted you never have to pay for loan forgiveness! no matter what!

          Reply

      • Have been contacted by a group called Mercantilesolutions.com offering to reduce my son’s debt to KeyBank by $6000 if we pay off the loan by the end of April. Have you run into this one??? I need answers B4 I send them $9000!!!!

        Reply

        • Never heard of them but you should never prepay anything. You don’t just get loans “reduced” unless you pay them down yourself.

          Reply

      • Hello, I just recieved a call from this website privatestudentloanaidcenter com saying they can dissolve my student loans with a cease and desist letter to Navient. I would then owe them half the amount of my loan at 0%interest. They then asked for personal information like my ssn. Would you take a look at this website and see if it looks legit. I don’t want to miss the opportunity but I’m not giving them my social until I’m 100%sure. Thank you soo much.

        Reply

        • All of my student loans are private and they said that wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve never heard of private loan forgiveness so I’m a bit concerned. Thanks again

          Reply

        • In general, what they’re not telling you is this:
          1. They will want you to stop making payments (which will harm your credit score)
          2. They will send a letter to Navient, which means nothing
          3. They will possibly ask Navient to prove they own your loans (which they likely do)
          4. They will then say “well, you can see this borrower hasn’t been paying, can you accept 50% of the loan?” They still don’t have to agree

          Regardless, what happens to you is that you pay them hundreds per month during this process (you didn’t say how much, but this is typical). There is no guarantee it will work, and even if it does, it takes months or years. You will have poor credit as a result and will still be digging yourself out of a financial hole for the next 7 years or more.

          Reply

          • Hi Robert,
            I was contacted by National Student Loan Forgiveness Associates back in February of this year. They told me that if I paid a one time fee of $299.00 and 3 payments of $139.47, my student loans would be payed off and I would not hear from Navient anymore. Well stupid me fell for it and paid $717.41. I started getting calls and letters from Navient about being behind on my payments. I tried to call back the company, but the 2 numbers that were given were false and the email address was false. I have not worked in a year due to open heart surgery and other major health issues. I contacted my bank today and they are filing a dispute on 2 of the transactions, but the other 2 transactions were paid with my welfare card back in February and March. Could you please direct me on who to contact on this issue?

        • Never heard of them but unless you called them first, it could potentially be a red flag. Read the article above!

          Reply

          • I actually went through Western Benefits Group after my friend told me about a similar student loan forgiveness opportunity. I called, set it up, paid $500 for th application just ad she did, gave them my ssn, etc, signed a power of attorney paper, and many others with info, got my employer info as well, and after a few months Im still getting normal tuition bills and just got charged $35 by WBG. I even looked them up in BBB and it says theyre good, but other things that Ive read here make it sound bad as if they say theyll consolidate anf reduce my loans and then actually not. Which sounds like theyre doing that so far. But how are they a BBB company and still lossibly a scam?

          • Well, a few things you mentioned here.

            First, student loan consolidation for your Federal loans is a FREE government program that takes about 15 minutes to do. It’s like a job application to fill out the form. Changing your repayment plan is the same.

            I’m curious to why you paid $500, and are now being charged $35? Also, if your statements haven’t changed, did they actually do the loan consolidation.

            Remember, it might not be a scam if they do the work you’re paying for. Then it’s just a ripoff because they are charging you $500+ to fill out a simple form you could have done for free.

            And the BBB – anyone can create a BBB page. If people don’t file complaints with the BBB directly, then they will never show up on the page. Another tactic companies employ is simply creating a new company if they get too many complaints. It’s very common for student loan document processing companies to do this, sadly.

          • Is there a list of honest companies to help with reducing the loan amount or to reduce payment. I have Navient they have taken my loans and separated them into small ones. Now loan is much more it was only 15,000 now its 37,000.

          • Navient is a Federal loan servicing provider – they are contracted by the Department of Education to service your loans. I’ve never heard of what you’re referring to with splitting your loans. Most graduates already have multiple loans (because they got a new loan every year), and so companies like Navient simply put them all in one dashboard for you to read.

        • Kristi, I fell victim to Western Benefits Group. they promised after making 35.00/month payments for 30 years plus 166.33 x 3 payments my student loan would be forgiven. I had lost my job so I was looking for a solution.

          After getting a letter in the mail from FedLoan (US Department of Education) that I still have to pay 157/month I realized something was wrong. See, they manage to get almost $1,000.00 from you before you realize they are a scam. I called the DOE and they told me it is a scam and to report them to the Attorney General in which I did right away. I also filed fraud from my bank.

          The scary part is they got my credit card number, checking account information and my social security and address information. I am in damage control right now trying to save my money before it’s all gone.

          Reply

      • Hey Robert, I read your article and I’m wondering about this letter I just received. There’s no company name, just a phone number. The letter says they can help me reduce my loans or possibly get my lonans totally forgiven. So, according to your article, this is a scam. Correct?

        Reply

        • Based on your comment, it raises some red flags. I’d just toss the letter as junk mail because that’s what it is.

          Reply

          • Robert,

            I know this is old, and I am not certain if I will get a response, but Ashford University appears to be involved in some class action lawsuits. First Document Aid says they can eliminate my student loan if I pay $700 of the interest due on the original loan – can you give me feedback?

          • I’ve never heard of the company you’re referring to, but that doesn’t mean much.

            I would advice you simply contact your lender directly if you’re concerned about your repayment plan.

            As for the Ashford situation, you could potentially get some restitution if there is a settlement, but that doesn’t change your student loan situation. If you believe you were defrauded in the admissions process, there is a way to get forgiveness, but it’s probably a better bet to contact a student loan lawyer.

          • Hi Robert,

            Thank you for all your very helpful answers. I was wondering if you heard of Jan Miller and his service Miller Student Loan Consolidation, LLC? I am a recent graduate of an MSW program and work for a non-profit and currently am enrolled in an income based repayment plan and qualify for loan forgiveness after ten years in a non-profit. My coworker who also graduated with me and has almost identical debt as me said that she spoke to Jan and he was able to cut her student loan debt in half, and then get her monthly repayments even lower. After a free consultation, she paid him $500 and then $20 a month. I’m interested in speaking to him about this but don’t want to fall into any scams as this seems a little too good to be true. I was wondering what you thought about this or if you know anything about Miller Student Loan Consolidation program? Thank you in advance!

          • Never heard of this company, but here’s a breakdown of what to look out for: Is My Student Aid Company A Scam?

            For reference, you can change your repayment plan (including income-based repayment plans), see if you qualify for forgiveness options, and more, for FREE, simply by calling your lender or going online to StudentLoans.gov. You never need to pay any fees to a third party company to get these things done.

          • Hey Robert, are you familiar with 1file.org? They have me set up on payments of $34 a month for the next 5years based off of what I made last year. Now they also said that every two years the amount will rise 20% & at that time I’ll be eligible to change my plan. Sound phish?!?

          • I’ve seen it mentioned in the forums, you should check out that post: http://forums.thecollegeinvestor.com/index.php/topic,361.0.html

            As for what they are saying, I’d be concerned (but I don’t know your situation). No student loan repayment plan is just 5 years, and no plan adjusts bi-annually. All of the income-based repayment plans require re-certification annually, and you can’t guarantee the rise because it’s based on your income.

            You can read about the various student loan repayment plans here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/the-definitive-guide-to-student-loan-debt-2016/#tab-con-5

          • Robert,

            I hope this thread is still active, because I need your advice.

            I read through your article and a good portion of the post in this thread.

            Today I spoke with someone from a company called “The Stundent Loan Help Center”.

            I called them.

            Long story short, they told me that because I work for a Non-Profit, that I qualify for a program to have my loans forgiven after 120 consecutive payments.

            I did provide them with my SS #, name, email and they pulled up my loan information and gave me what I owed, etc.

            I did not give them any payment card information.

            They talked about a fee, and then sent me an email with FSA ID validation, and my access to applications would be limited until the SSA verified my information , I did nothing with the email.

            Then a second email came with a secure code “action required” in which I was suppose to type in a gain access to federal student aid applications, and the code would verify my email address. I did nothing with this email either.

            The guy started sounding suspicious and I ended the conversation at that point.

            My question is, has my personal information been compromised?

            They have my SS#, but no card information. They were able to look up my loans, and send email (maybe a scam email) from FSAID / DOE.

            What would you suggest I do? What should I check to make sure I’m protected. Want to be able to look in the right places, do the right things.

            Thank you Robert

          • If you’re concerned, it never hurts to change your FSA Password. Also, monitor your credit if you’re worried. Most likely nothing will happen, but in general it never hurts to be vigilant.

      • I got a call from this private loan company in California they are call A+ student loan I believe they are ripping me off I only talk to them sometime it’s been a month now I did the same as you guys I gave the all my info from ss# to my debit card info but they aren’t helping then they charge me 300 a month for up to 3 months how can I save myself…

        Reply

        • If you don’t want to work with a third party company you’ve already signed up for, you would need to find out their cancelation policy and ask to cancel.

          Reply

      • Any company that charges you a fee to consolidate your student loans is a scam. I work in the business and have for 10 years. This program is absolutely free of charge and the website can be completed in 10 minutes. There is not a company out there that can lower your monthly payments. It is all up to the DOE, your income, family size and poverty level in your area. That is how your monthly payment is determined. The website is http://www.studentloans.gov and you sign in yourself and complete the consolidation application. No one needs help doing this because it is very straightforward. All of your loans show up because your NSLDS report in incorporated into the website so it is a 1 stop shop to either get all your loans into an income based payment plan or consolidate all your federal loans together into an income based payment plan. These companies CANNOT negotiate anything for anyone. They lie when they say that they can do that. Please stop paying these scammers to do 15 minutes worth of work online that you can do yourself for free. Any company that wants you to pay IS A SCAM. PERIOD. No one can help you but The Department of Education, Fed Loan Servicing,Nelnet, Navient or Great Lakes. They are the 4 servicers for the DOE. There is not a bunch of paperwork to fill out, it has all been streamlined to that one website http://www.studentloans.gov. PEOPLE PLEASE STOP ASKING IF THOSE COMPANIES YOU SEE ONLINE ARE SCAMS – THEY ARE!!!!!

        Reply

          • Hi Robert,
            I just signedsigned up with a company called student financial help center. After reading through many of the former questions and answers here i feel it is a scam. What can i do now to cancel their services and now move forward with another company that is legit in helping me get my defaulted loans back in order. I am an goverment employee and was wondering what programs i can join to get my loans back in order?
            Thanks,

          • You need to simply call them and cancel. If they refuse, tell them you’re not going to pay and that you plan on reporting them to the CFPB, FTC, and your state’s attorney general.

            As for your loans, call your lender and start the process of student loan rehabilitation. If you’re a government employee, you’ll qualify for PSLF and get your loans forgiven once you get back on track and make the right number of payments.

    • I was wondering if the Nationwide Student loan Help Center is a scam or not because I have been seeing a lot of advertisment about it.

      Reply

      • Never heard of them but it’s probably not worthwhile to pay them anything. Consider going online to StudentLoans.gov first and doing everything yourself. What are you looking to do?

        Reply

        • So I had a phone call with SFHC (student financial help center) they were very helpful and set me up an account with them. The website is legitiment and secure. They did not charge me for the forbearance but I will have to pay a fee. It seems really Legit and I have to wait 12 months for the debt to go away. I went to ITT Tech and since I got scammed they can relieve my debt. Of course it was much more in depth about what they said but they seemed very addiment over the phone just about helping me and didn’t bring up a money sign until the very end which i don’t even mind if it helps. Please advise

          Reply

        • I have read a lot about Navient promising people 0% interest for the first year when signing up with the Income-Based Repayment plan, which is what I did and was promised. However my loan has apparently increased due to interest. Can we trust Navient to consolidate our loans. I almost signed up with Student Services LLC and am now reconsidering. I just want to make sure that there is legitimate places backed up by the department of education.

          Reply

          • First, realize that Navient is a Federal loan servicer – they do exactly what they are allowed to based on what the Dept of Education says that they law is.

            For IBR, your IBR payment is based on your income using a calculation called Discretionary Income. If your income is low enough, your payment is $0. Under IBR, your loan still has interest (it can NEVER be 0%) and it will grow if your payment is low. However, this doesn’t matter because after 20 or 25 years (depending on when you got your loan), you’ll get forgiveness. IBR is about your payment, not about your interest or loan amount. Oh, and all of this is FREE. Navient doesn’t charge anything and is legally not allowed to.

            Now, moving to Student Services LLC. This is what’s called a document preparation service. They charge you a fee, typically $500 or more, and simply call Navient on your behalf to ask for the same thing. There is nothing they can do for you that you can’t do yourself. You’re simply paying them to fill out the paperwork to consolidate your loans or change your repayment plan. In my opinion, that’s a big waste of money because the forms and options are easy to fill out – you can do it online at StudentLoans.gov in about 10 minutes for free.

      • National Student Loan Trust has no BBB information either. I have been wondering about them myself. They have a cancellation option also. I just can not find any positive or negative reviews on them.

        Reply

    • I am a student looking for loan forgiveness on my student loan. The school continued to accept money from my loan even after I had left the school. The school went bankrupt several years after i had left. I am no longer working and am on Government assistance. I am looking for work,I do not plan on living this way for very long.I heard of Student Help Center and wonder if you had heard of them and if they are reputable. They offered me to pay $249. for three months and my student loan will be forgiven. I want to make sure this is a legitimate company as it will be my Dad who will be paying. Can you help? Thankyou,Maria

      Reply

    • I would think that flags it is a scam would include: they initiate contact with you, and they use robotic dialers and spoof the source phone number.

      I get a lot of these calls even though I’m on the no call list. Several claim to be from ‘National Student Loan Center’ in California.

      I’ve never in my life had a student loan, much less need relief from it.

      Reply

    • I’m wondering about Financial Preparation Services (aka student loan account services (name on the check))? Anyone heard of them? They’re from Irvine, CA.

      Reply

      • I’ve also just started working with them and am afraid that I’m being scammed. My first payment with them isn’t due until the 16th.. has anyone else worked with them?

        Reply

        • I worked with financial preparation services and they set me up with nelnet, a legit loan servicer through the department of education. So now all payments go through them. I didn’t pay them until they had set me up with them. I think the 2-3 payments were around $150. Soo I guess it’s a little difficult to change servicers but I haven’t actually tried myself. I am happily set up with nelnet now and my payments are only $32 a month for 230 months, so that’s good but I think I’m going to cancel with financial prep now because I can resubmit my income yearly on my own. **Worth it if you’re bad at forms or will never get around to it doing them. Not worth it if you have access to a loan counselor through your university.

          Reply

    • Robert. Thank you for this. Do you have any suggestions for m? I only borrowed around $6770, graduated in 2003, went into bankruptcy and divorce around 2007-2009. Right after we were released from bankruptcy, sallie mae contacted me about my student loan and said they could offer me a better loan rate. I signed the paperwork to get the new loan to pay off my old loan in 2007. They never paid off the old loan but charged me for the new AND old loan. Then they went belly up and I did not hear anything about my loan and had no one to contact for years. Then, Navient contacted me a few years back and said I owed for both loans that they bought from Sallie Mae. I started repaying but inder protedt. They said there is nothing I can do but pay for the two loans even though I only received the funds from one. They won’t budge. I never returned to school after I graduated and they won’t tell me who got the money for the second. They just say I signed the contract so the debt is owed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

      Reply

  2. I have fallen victim to a student loan scam. I had an outstanding loan that I was making payments on. I wanted to go back to school but I was unable to get funding aid while I still had my outstanding loan. I received a letter in the mail claiming I could have my student paid off and added to a credit card. I could then make payments on the card. They even offered me more credit on top of that.

    Well they sent me a Mastercard, added the loan to my balance, but never paid off the original loan. The student loan went into default and it was a big mess to clean up after.

    Moral of the story is stick to only to well known government back type of help when it comes to student loans.

    Reply

  3. I received a letter in the mail from a place in Orange, CA that called themselves Student Processing Center. Has anyone heard of them. They promised that they would consolidate my loans, after completing my associates degree in nursing, my bachelor’s degree in nursing, and halfway through my masters degree, I owe $51,000. They said that, based on my income and family size, they could decrease my payments to $30 per month, and after 25 years, whatever is left would be written off by the dept. of education. They said they require a fee of $599 up front. It sounds too good to be true. I asked if they were part of the DOE or a third party. The guy, “Kevin,” with whom I was speaking said they were a third party, but I would receive a contract and all the paperwork in the mail. However, I had to pay $599 over the phone before any of this would take place. I checked for this company on the BBB website and found nothing. Anyone ever heard of them? He said their website is StudentProcessingCenter dot com. I looked at it, but, like my husband said, anyone can build a website.

    Reply

    • Melissa, it’s not a “scam” in the fraud sense, but it is a scam in the waste of money sense.

      Companies like this simply charge you a fee to get you paperwork you could easily get yourself.

      For the student loan consolidation stuff, check out my recent article on the subject: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/11616/consolidate-your-student-loans/

      For the repayment options, check out my ultimate guide on student loan debt and learn the options you qualify for: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/the-definitive-guide-to-student-loan-debt/

      To change repayment options, you simply call your lender and don’t have to pay anyone!

      Reply

      • So I guess same question as above, since this isn’t a “scam” in the fraud sense, then if I didn’t agree to pay them anything (however gave them too much personal information) does it mean they can still screw me out of more money at this point? Should I create a new checking account number? I almost embarrassed to call my self LogicSpeaks……… but hey, probably have to fall for a scam at least once in your life? :p

        Reply

        • I just gave them entirely way too much information myself and then had a small panic attack after i got off the phone, did any of your accounts get compromised?

          Reply

      • The same thing happened to me. I just talked to the Student Processing Center today and told them my information. They said my monthly bill would be $29.99. Now I am having second thoughts about this. The contract said that you have up to 30 days to cancel the contract. I don’t know what to do, I am feeling nervous about getting screwed over by them. What can I do about this? Has anyone been able to successfully to get out of this??

        Reply

        • Also, I electronically sign the contract, only one of them and not the second one. I called back tonight and told them I want to cancel and I was told that the manager will call me tomorrow with more information about it. So I hope I’m not locked in to much yet.

          Reply

          • Hi Andrew,

            Basically, you’re paying them to make a phone call and fill out some paperwork for you. Is it worth a few hundred dollars? Not really – you can do it yourself in the same amount of time you spent on the phone with them.

            I would take the money you’re paying them and put it towards your student loans.

        • Thank you, Robert. Do you think I will be able to successfully get out of this thing without anything bad happening to me? I’m a little nervous and I’ve hopefully learned my lesson.

          Reply

          • I think you should be able to get out – especially if they said you have 30 days. Make sure they cancel the power of attorney you signed.

      • How can you justify telling someone not to use a legitimate 3rd party company that is providing them a service of handling the process for them. That would be like you telling everyone in the world to not use CPA’s or tax companies because you can file your taxes for free as well.

        Reply

        • Hi Mike,

          I think you’re misinterpreting the article and comments, because I’ve never said don’t use a legitimate 3rd party company. The article is about protecting yourself from the hundreds of not legitimate companies that are scamming borrowers.

          However, I also think a lot of “legitimate” companies are acting in a grey area because they are not advising or speaking the truth to borrowers. For example, many aren’t telling the borrowers what they are going to do – like what payment plans or what consolidation options they have. The companies simply promise to lower your payment. Well, that doesn’t always help every borrower, and many times, the borrowers end up in more trouble later.

          Also, with Federal student loans, the options are very cut and dry. There are no grey areas. There are specific payment plans and consolidation options available, and the paperwork to fill it out is easy.

          I have a big problem with companies charging $500 or more to fill out a 5 page form that takes 10 minutes, not educate the borrower, all of which the borrower could do themselves.

          As for the CPA question – if you qualify for free eFile, then yes, you shouldn’t use a tax preparer because you just have a basic form to fill out. There are 50 million filers out there that should be doing it themselves and not paying. Tax companies that charge exorbitant fees and promise big refunds are a problem separate from these student loan consolidation companies.

          If students really want help with their student loan debt, and they can’t do it themselves, the order of operations of who to call/contact is very simple:
          1. Their own student loan servicer, which should provide the options
          2. If they have concerns, call the Dept. of Education Student Loan Ombudsman
          3. If they want a 3rd party, make sure it is an NFCC (National Foundation for Credit Counseling) Certified consumer credit counselor, many of which offer free and discounted services. This will be a much cheaper and smarter option than using a for-profit company that may or may not help with your student loan debt

          Reply

    • I had basically the same happen, I have to pay $599 upfront and then have to make 240 payments depending on income (pay as you earn) is what they called it, same company name but the website was processmystudentloans.com… Any info on this? Did you end up sticking with it, if so how’s it been going? Thank you in advance.

      Reply

      • You can get that same plan by going to StudentLoans.gov or just calling your lender. Why would you pay $600 for it?

        Reply

        • I was offered the same deal for 599. I electronically signed the the documents already but haven’t paid. Is there a way that I can get out of this agreement before paying them?

          Reply

    • The same thing happened to me except I would pay a fee of $133 for three months and pay $39 after the three months. I tried to search for the company’s phone number as well as their location but I came across nothing. I’m making automatic payments to Education Loan Net Huntington, Beach Ca and I can’t seem to get in contact with them so I don’t know if it’s a scam or not. I have know idea how to trace these transactions on my account.

      Reply

      • Well if you can’t get into contact with them I’d be concerned. You can always dispute the charges on your account and close your card if needed.

        Reply

  5. My fiance is working with a company called nationwide student loan, they are supposedly going to be able to consolidate her student loan debt by making payments of $133 for 6 months.Once 6 months of payments have been received they will qualify her based on her income $0 for 12 months and will apparently continue that process until the loan company for fill debt. Is this real?

    Reply

    • Based on what you said in your comment, this doesn’t sound real to me. I would call your own lender directly.

      Reply

  6. I wondered the same.. they want $599 up front to process an application with 2-4 months of skipped payments though.. i opted to go through studentloans.gov much of the same info is entered, though the terms of repayment dont seem quite as long, though maybe thats not until you get the info from the new servicer, in my case nelnet and its free to try

    Reply

  7. Does anybody know anything about the Student Loan Support company? I called them at (866) 233-8481 ext.422 to get information, and it all seemed too good to be true. I couldn’t find anything wrong with it, but I also don’t feel like it’s legitimate. I need to know if anyone has had experience with Student Loan Support in the past. Please offer your experiences. Thank you.

    Reply

  8. I recently started dealing with studentaidcenter.org I found them on Google and contacted them. they are not requiring me to pay anything but they consolidated my loans and because of my income they dropped my payments to $100 a month and after 20 years anything that’s left will be forgiven by the government. I haven’t made any payments yet and also don’t want to give them too much personal information. Is this a scam?

    Reply

    • I’d be concerned because it sounds like they are doing stuff for you that you could easily do for yourself if you simply called your student loan provider. Be careful.

      Reply

    • I spoke to a company National Student Loan Relief Center and they want 625 in 4 payments and they would get my student loans forgiven. They checked with studentloans.gov for my loan totals and what they could do for me. I worked 20 yrs with a public non profit state agency. My loans are not going down due to interest. But when I check with studentloans.gov the same payment plans come up but not the forgiveness that the company promises. I was advised they are a 3rd party not affiliated with the department of education and I am paying for administrative work to complete the process. When I asked is this for sure the loans are forgiven Alexandria said yes I have already been confirmed that all payments would be 0 income based. Is this for real or a scam.

      Reply

      • They are charging you for something that you can do yourself – your last line says it all: they are going to change your repayment plan to IBR (Income Based Repayment). On this plan, your payments could be $0, and after a period of time (typically 20-30 years), your loan will just be forgiven. However, there are tax consequences from this, but they could be minor.

        You can set that up yourself, just call your student loan servicer.

        You don’t need pay them to fill out some paperwork for you if you don’t want to.

        Reply

    • If it’s a company that wants you to pay them for a something, be aware. You should never have to pay to get your student loan payment plan changed, to get student loan forgiveness, or get deferrals, and more.

      Reply

  10. Greetings, so overly excited idiot me gave way too much personal information to Student Processing Center, however they asked for 599.99 and I stopped. They even ‘lightly’ pushed for me to borrow that 600$ from someone else. I said no I can’t afford it so I just let him go. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen for a scam before… I know down below you said this company isn’t exactly fraudulent, they’re just charging you money for something we could do ourselves (now I know). Will this company screw me with any fees? or are they legit in terms of not doing anything until you agreed on it? I’ve changed my Student aid PIN on FAFSA.ED.GOV Should I call my bank since I idiotically gave them my routing/account number?

    Reply

    • Since you stopped everything, I wouldn’t worry about them drawing on your account. However, just stay vigilant and make sure they don’t.

      Good job not going through with it. You can do it yourself for free.

      Reply

  11. Please tell me if USLPR government program is a scam. These people have all of my information. I called 1.888.609.6997

    Reply

    • Once again, they are not a “scam” but you’re paying for a service you don’t need and you could probably do yourself by calling your lender.

      You don’t need to pay to reduce your payments, change your payment plan, or get consolidation. All of those can be done with a simple phone call to your lender and filling out some paperwork.

      Reply

  12. I recieved info from student processing center and gave them my SS# and, email, and they accessed my Fin Aid pin. When they mentioned I would them $599.0 to get the process started and it would be few months before I would have to pay anything I said I needed time to think about it. Should I be concerned about the info I gave them? Is this a serious scam? Im very concerned now.

    Reply

    • You shouldn’t be concerned from an identity theft standpoint beyond simply being vigilant like you normally should. However, I wouldn’t pay them as you can simply take care of everything they will do for you by yourself. Don’t spend the money.

      Reply

      • I am concerned too . I’ve received a letter in the mail. I’ve recently gave my information to the same company and they told me I’ll have to pay $699 for the closing fees. Should I stop the payments and report fraud on my debt card. Cause they said I had to pay the fee within 45 day. And that Student proccess center. Please help

        Reply

  13. I’ve recently been working with a guy named Andrew Reyes at “Student Loan Exchange”… their website boasts a lot, and they look legitimate. I set up a payment plan that was supposed to be a “pay for 10 years, and the rest is forgiven” kind of deal. He said it would take 30-90 days, but nothing has been done and it’s been over 90 days. In the mean time, per his advice, I have been withholding payments for 3 months. FedLoan Servicing has been contacting me about these missed payments, and I’m worried I’ve been scammed.

    Is Student Loan Exchange a scam? My “loan officer” has my SS# because I was an idiot and I trusted in what I thought was a legitimate company. http://www.studentloanexchange.org.

    Any thoughts or advice?

    John

    Reply

    • I’d be concerned because they haven’t done anything for you in the 90 days they said, and FedLoan doesn’t know and is asking for payments.

      You should never stop making payments – and you can do all of this yourself by simply calling FedLoan.

      I would check your credit to make sure no damage has been done. See the box above for Credit Karma.

      Reply

      • Thank you. The only thing that kept me on the hook is that Andrew was very quick to reply to emails, return phone calls… they have a very professional looking website, calling center, etc. I feel pretty stupid to be honest.

        Reply

    • hey did you ever figure out if student loan exchange is legit? I did the same thing i gave out my ss and now Im unsure -_-

      – Amy

      Reply

      • Not legit at all…they send out robotexts and spam consistently. They are now under investigation for their practices.

        Reply

  14. I signed up with Student Loan Support. They are on the bbb website with a D- rating. They have a address that was the same on my email as it was on the bbb site. I have to pay a starting fee which im fine with as long as the company is legit. Could anyone tell me if this is a legit company?

    Reply

    • I’ve never heard of it but I’d be concerned by their BBB rating, as well as having to pay a fee.

      You could have done everything they did for you simply by calling your lender. You are paying them for something you could have done.

      Reply

  15. Does anyone know if nationwide student aid is a scam??? I was set up for my payment plan and have been making payments to fed loan servicing company. My loans were consolidated but the individual loans have not yet come off my credit report. My original amount due was 65,000 and now on my credit report its 135,000 bc the consolidated loans are on there… its been about 4 months is this enough time for the non consolidated loans to come off my credit report or does it take longer than that.

    Reply

  17. Is there any other things I should make sure to do or get from them to seal my termination with them for good?

    Reply

    • They probably won’t give you anything, but you should definitely contact your lender to make sure that your correct name and address is on file with them.

      Reply

  18. I met with a credit advisor (in person) to help clean up some credit stuff on our reports. He suggested using a company to consolidate our loans into a program that some have basically described above. We pay 699.00 and they consolidate my loans to where I only pay 33 bucks a month versus the 300 to 400 Nelnet has me paying and after 25 years the loans are forgiven. I understand I could fill out the paperwork myself and I’m, in essence, paying him to do so for me, but my question is more on the forgiveness part and the monthly payment of 33 dollars. I’m a firm believer in that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. It seems surreal that I would qualify for this. Is this something that my credit could be hurt with? Is this a real program?

    Reply

  19. i recive a letter, i contact them we talk about i give him my information as a soon i told him i work in a bank he hang up on me… now im getting second tough , it student processing center a scam?

    Reply

  20. I received a card in the mail stating “Student Loan Consolidation & Payment Reduction Program Prepared for Carole Taylor”. It continued saying that due to your loan balances totaling over $21,000 you are now eligible to receive benefits from a new law that has passed regarding federal student loans including TOTAL FORGEVNESS in some circumstances and they work on behalf of the Department if Education. I called and was told that since I have been paying my loan in full for more than 22 payments and I currently am employed full time in the public service area I can receive loan forgiveness. can you tell me if this true? in todays world I am skeptical as I am sure most are. any advice would be helpful.
    Thank you
    Carole

    Reply

    • Hi Carole,

      I’m sure they want to help, and their mailing campaign sounds appealing. But read the bottom of their website (best disclaimer yet): “Student Loan Education Center offers private, fee based application assistance services to assist consumers in applying for government offered programs. While such programs may be available for free directly by various government agencies, our services are fee-based and focused on application and document preparation. We do not charge fees for access to such programs, only to prepare and counsel relating to such applications programs.”

      Once again, you could do this yourself – they are going to charge you to simply fill out the application…

      Reply

      • If i gave this company my personal information such as social security number, drivers license, address, and a lot of other personal information. What should my next step be?

        I am scared they may try to use my personal information.

        Reply

  21. This is the place that scammed me. studentloansupportus. They literally called me very single day, multiple times for about 5 months from different numbers yet I still gave them my credit card info? Yes I am stupid but I thought it was legit. THANKFULLY they did not get any money out of me because my bank closed my card down because they noticed RIGHT after I gave them my info from my brand new card I had gotten just days before that it was being used in other states and online. Ugh I am so mad but oh so thankful they didn’t get my hard earned money.

    Reply

  22. I got something in the mail from student processing center, and called them today. They offered the IBR plan that I had looked into on the FedLoan website, but hadn’t done because my loans are now in forbearance and I was concerned about the law changing someday and I’d be stuck with a large amount of interest from doing the IBR. Student processing center made it sound like I would be “grandfathered” into my payment plan (which would have me paying about $7,000 total after 20 years instead of my actual $49,000 debt). What I’m wondering is, if I decide to just do the IBR payment plan on the actual FedLoan website rather than this student processing center deal, will I be “grandfathered” into this as well, and able to have my debt forgiven after 20, 30 years? Or could I suddenly be subject to a law change and be stuck with even more debt due to added interest? I was pretty excited about this opportunity, but I would have to end up borrowing the $599.00; but if its actually not a scam and they could have me “grandfathered” into this whereas with FedLoan IBR I’m not and perhaps subject to possible changes someday, maybe it would be worth the $599.00?

    Reply

  23. Can you clarify the taxation on the IBR loan forgiveness program? I have 80,000 in loans. The loans are 3 years old. I qualify for a $0 monthly payment under IBR. My understanding is that interest accrues and unpaid interest is capitalized quarterly. Does this mean that in 20 years the loan will be huge, maybe $500,000? Assuming my income remains low (under $20,000) and taxation policy doesn’t change, how much taxes would I owe?

    Reply

    • Yes, any interest that is capitalized into the loan and is forgiven is taxable. So, let’s say that your current loan is $80,000 and you never pay it for the full 20 years. You didn’t say what your interest rate was, but I’m going to assume 6.8%.

      You loan balance would be $80,000, and you would have capitalized $54,400 in interest, for a total forgiveness of $134,400. You’d owe ordinary income tax on that balance, which at the current rates would be roughly $33,000.

      You could then setup an IRS repayment plan on this lower amount.

      Reply

  24. Rob,

    I have been scammed. I did sign the service agreement about 1 and a half years ago and have realized after a year that what I thought was happening was that the monthly service fee was being tacked on to my monthly payment to my loan company which i thought was going through them. But what they are doing is charging me $40.00 a month and I pay nelnet.com on my own. So I did ask them what they do. They told me they provide a service that stays with the loan until it is forgiven. It did not make sense. So I am being charged money for them to do nothing. They handle no money for my company, they handle no loan or deal with any moneys that pay off anything. So if I make changes to my loan or make all the payments, what is the $40.00 a month going to. Nothing – they do nothing. They did file paper work and get my loan going for me, which i could have done myself. But they were handsomely paid for that service. $285 twice to join the different programs they offer plus $40.00 a month service fee. But in the end, when I tried to get out they said there was no way of getting out. I hired them and they are attached to the loan until it is paid off or it is forgiven. My question was I do not like your service, you have been paid for every piece of work that you have done plus some, why can I not get out of their service. I am going to a lawyer concerning this. But if i ask a financial consultant to watch over my money and after a year of me paying them I decide to go to someone else – then I should be able to. My service agreement says no where that I am locked in forever, but it says I just need to have in writing that I am terminating their service and not to deduct money from my account. But the person on the phone said other wise. SO I am not sure who to believe here or what to believe.

    Reply

  25. I received this information from someone who is telling me how their student loans were forgiven and I should try it. I just don’t know if this is legit? And don’t get how the amount is paid off?? What do you think This is what was sent to me :
    Her name is Jess Myers and basically she gets your info and see what u qualify for for example my loans were 14000 and my approval was 11,188 so now I only owe 3000 and make 10.00 payment for 300mo span first payment not due till March, now there is a 3payment fee of 239. For then consolidating my 5 loans to 1 and looking as if I paid off 14000 in loans so we know what that does to credit right, everyone is a bit different but call her she will give u the whole breakdown.

    Reply

      • You are speaking of the $239 for 3mos, yea i see that, but this lady is telling people the loans will be forgiven and gone?? I have not did this however I have friends who have which is how I got the info. They even logged into their account and it shows ZERO!?? But did they truly pay them off or just move them and this go come back and haunt them later??

        Reply

        • They won’t be gone at all for the plan she is telling you about. It’s a repayment plan that includes forgiveness at the end.

          As for the consolidation, the account will show $0 after the consolidation, but you’ll have a new loan in a new account.

          Reply

          • wow thats what I thought, it just didn’t sound right to me at all. Thanks so much for taking the time with me and I really appreciate it

  26. I was just contacted by student processing center and they said that I qualify for government her to help with my student loans. But they do not mail anything and would not when I requested information. He wants me gov pin for my loans or my ss number. I need the help with my loan but I am not going to just hand out my ss number over the phone with out really checking them out. He said that it only costs $500 for processing the paper work and I could make payment over the next 5 months. Please help!

    Reply

    • In my opinion you should call your lender and do everything they say yourself. You are basically paying $500 for them to fill out a form for you. You can fill it out yourself for free! Just call your lender and get it!

      Do you really think that they should call you and not the other way around?

      Reply

      • If the lenders can do this for free, and these programs have been around for years, how come my lender hasn’t told me anything about the forgiveness programs? I was able to get my loans completely forgiven because of my disability. Yes I paid a company $599 but they did all the work for me. I have the paperwork and proof that my loans ($41,000). It took almost 3 months, but I was always in contact with the customer service.

        I think as long as you do your homework and research, you’ll be fine. I was hesitant to give them my information, but now they are helping my niece with her defaulted loans. And so far so good.

        Reply

        • That’s a key issue a lot of people have – it’s not the lender’s job to tell you of all your options proactively. If you call them, they can help, but if you personally don’t know to call and ask you won’t get help. These companies make you pay large amounts of money for things that you could do for free.

          Literally you paid them to be a middleman for you. Every form you filled out for them they just forwarded to your lender, since they are standard government forms. I’m glad it worked out for you, but for the same effort and work you could have done it for free.

          Reply

  27. So I received a call yesterday, I think it was from something I filled out online off of facebook about seeing if you qualify for student loan forgiveness. I was transferred several times after answering several questions about my loans. Eventually I ended up with someone named Jack Howard from studentadvocates.us, he requested my PIN number for fafsa and my ss#. I was hesitant to give it to him, then he sent me an email with a link to the website and it looked legit. I did give him the info and now I am thinking that I shouldn’t have. He said I qualify for IBR and loan forgiveness as a public servant after 10 years since I am a hs teacher. It seems so confusing, and concerning that they want to charge me almost $500 to sign up for it. I went on and changed my fafsa pin after speaking with him. Should I be alarmed that they have my SS number? Have you heard of this company or any other fraud associated with them. I did check their LLC with the state of California and they are licensed. Just really losing sleep over that temporary lapse of judgement, any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Reply

    • I wouldn’t be alarmed – they are just a company trying to get you to pay for a service you don’t need. Yes, you might qualify for IBR, but you can change your repayment plan yourself by simply calling your lender and filling out the form. You are basically paying them to file your own paperwork for you. It’s a waste of money. Just monitor your credit to be safe, but don’t lose sleep over it.

      Here’s an article on the plan the guy was telling you about: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/11856/secret-student-loan-forgiveness/

      Reply

  28. I did the whole $599 from a website called nationalstudentservicing.org. I gave them just about all the information I could. I then found out from fedloan that I was past due and that the forbearance national student servicing was supposed to give me was not real. They are making me pay $39 a month. I have realized this is not a real company but they have all my information. what should I do?

    Reply

    • That’s a tough spot. If they didn’t follow through on the terms of the agreement, first contact them and stop paying them. Next, get your loan back in good standing with FedLoan and work directly through them to change your payment plan as needed. You don’t need to pay a company to get deferment, forbearance, or a new repayment plan. You just need to call your loan servicing company (Fedloan).

      Reply

  29. Hi. Thank you for your diligence on this matter. I have a concern. I just now signed an agreement with a company called “direct loans services”.

    They offered to get my student loans out of default by making 3 payments of $133.00, and additional payments of $0 (which would still show as payment) so that i may continue to go to school. Could you please give some advice or insight on this company and my current situation before they take money out of my account next week?

    Reply

    • Well, you could get your loans out of default yourself by making those same payments to your lender and then switching to IBR repayment plan. It’s sounds like you’re paying them to do that for you, but you could do it for the same amount of paperwork and no fees. So why do it that way? Just call your lender.

      Reply

  30. What about a company called slecdirect? I gave them all my information and when they said they needed a “processing fee”, that’s when I became wary. I haven’t finished anything with them, but he has all my info. What should I do?

    Reply

    • I wouldn’t do it with them because you can do it yourself. If you know your name, social security number, and birthday, you can fill out the same form for free.

      Reply

  31. Hi! I attended Ashford University 2010-2013. I graduated with a Bachelor in Environmental Studies and a minor in Public Administration. My student loans ended up being double what I thought they would be. I’m still not sure how that happened. I’ve always had a feeling like I was screwed over. Then I started seeing articles online about Ashford University having to pay back millions and student loan forgiveness. I called Student Loan Services at (800) 604-5411. Like an idiot, I gave them way too much personal information (I thought about that afterwards). The lady ended up telling me that since my student loan debt is $52,000 and I have three children and still no job I would qualify for complete student loan forgiveness. It really sounds too good to be true. She tried to access my FAFSA but I couldn’t remember my pin and my account was locked. She said to get the pin and give her a call back. She never said anything about paying them money up front. Is Student Loan Services a legitimate company???

    Reply

    • They are a legit company but you’re paying them for a service that you don’t need to pay for. Why don’t you just call your lender instead and ask for different repayment options. I bet you’ll end up in the same place for free.

      Reply

      • Hi, my roommates and I went to a college that was run by edmc and is being sued by numerous people and the government for fraud and a bunch of other things. Basically the school screwed up a lot of things for us and I at least plan on getting a lawsuit soon, but my roommate called that number and talk to someone about forgiveness of his loans. I know any type of services like these if they are legit, is paying for something you could do yourself, but I’m kinda confused about a few things. I would like to know if they could actually help me with forgiveness since my school was fraudulent and if they actually are a scam before I call them back. There are a lot of companies with the same-ish name but this was specifically that number on nationwidestudentloanhelp.com. I’m just wondering since my situation is a little different.

        Reply

        • The reason people are suing is because they can’t get forgiveness on the loans. The school would have had to falsify a document for your student loans to get forgiveness. If you can prove or show that, you’d qualify, but otherwise, your best action is a lawsuit – but even that may not be worth it.

          That’s a tough situation.

          Reply

    • Hi Ginger,

      Student Aid Center is just a company that charges you a service fee to do paperwork that you could file for yourself.

      If you’re a teacher at a Title I school, you can do all the forgiveness paperwork yourself. All you need to do is call your lender and they will send it to you to fill out.

      If you can fill out a job application, you can fill out the paperwork.

      Reply

  33. Hey Robert,

    Thanks for this article, very helpful! I believe I’ve already been victim to a scam by organization who called themselves Federal Student Loan Relief, LLC. They told me they could cut my payments down significantly based off my yearly income. They charged $499 after signing with them and the charges came up from some Law Firm called Joseph R. Goodman, which was my first red flag. Long story short it’s been months and now I can’t even get in contact with them by phone or email. Anyway this experience has made me skeptical of any help I could get. On Credit Karma they recommend I used SoFi to refinance my student loans they estimate reasonable savings. Is SoFi a legitimate and trustworthy organization to work with? Any help or advice you could provide, would be much appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Mike

    Reply

  34. I have been in touch with the Student Aid Center in Doral, Florida. The told me I pre-qualified for $0 monthly payments on my student loans. I would have to pay them $199 a month for 5 months and stop repaying my loans. Then I would be re-evaluated every year to see if I continue to qualify. Don you know anything about this company. Is it for real?

    Reply

      • I just spoke with the US Department of Education about student aid center and they said it was “very fishy.” Student aid center said I qualified for $0 monthly payments and forgiveness after 20 years. US Department of Education told me that I would not qualify for that due to holds on my account. When I called student aid center and told them that they told me that the US Department of Education was lying to me! They also told me that the paperwork to get income based repayment was so complicated that it could only be completed by a professional. Watch out for these guys! They will say whatever they have to to get that $1000!

        Reply

  35. I was called by student loan consolidating center. I never called them. They called me. They wanted my info including my fafsa PIN number. I didn’t give the info. However, I asked that they email me a website to check out the company and reputation. He kept telling me he could lower my payments or possibly have my loans forgiven. But of course, needed my info to get the “job done”. I left the conversation at I would look at the company website once it was the web address was sent to me. Is it common for consolidation companies to call YOU first?

    Reply

  36. I got a letter in the mail and I called it and they ask for some information and I gave it to them. Then they said to look up my loan they need my fasa pin. I said i didn’t know it. So then he said he can file for a new one so he did and gave it to me but it wouldn’t be active for a couple days and when I get a email then call him back. So I wait a week and mover got email. I called back and he said I didn’t receive it because maybe some of the information he entered wasn’t correct. Basically I just want to know if you know if this website is for real or a scam.

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Sounds like the potential for a scam to me. I’d be very careful, check your loans, and put a credit freeze on your credit.

      Reply

  37. I have just applied with Student Aid Center as Gina above, and was told that my federal student loans would be forgiven within a 300mth–>25yr period after $199/mo payment for 5mths. As told, I am responsible for $0/mo payment after that 5mth period, based on my monthly income. What sold me was the fact that it was a 300 mth period, which gave me indication that all loans would be forgiven at that time. I have previously filed for IBR with my loan servicer Nelnet, and was offered the same $0/mo payment; however, I took it to be that my loans would be paid off whenever I paid the last penny of it, combined with the never-ending increasing interest rates. Student Aid Center said that the principal balance and the interest rates are all covered under the program and will be forgiven in the 300mth period, unlike with Nelnet.
    Should I be concerned be the deal offered from Student Aid?

    Reply

  38. Thanks for this information, I’ve recently considered consolidating the student loans and it’s nice to know what to look out for.

    Reply

  39. Has anyone heard of a company called Student Loan Processing? I gave them way too much information and my personal information. They said all I had to pay was $39 a month and I have been paying them for years and it has not been applied to my student loans.What got me was when they wanted to access my information through Nelnet for verification. Then have a D- rating on the BBB. What should I do is this a legal company?

    Reply

    • Just stop everything and don’t contact them any more. Contact your lender directly if you have concerns about your payments.

      Reply

  40. Hello Robert,

    Your forum has been very helpful! My situation seems unique as my wife and I quit our jobs to travel for a year. National Student Servicing showed up at the perfect time to arrange a debt consolidation of under graduate and graduate loans. Now I am realizing my mistake. Is it possible to return to the gov. run loans, like Sallie Mae and refinance my loan. Do I have any options in getting out of this arrangement?

    Reply

    • No, once you refinance out of your Federal student loan debt, you can’t go back. There is no getting out of your new loan unless you refinance. Why do you want to change your loan terms again (ignoring the fact that you paid this company way too much for nothing)?

      Reply

  41. Hi Robert,

    I think I have fallen victim to a scam as well. I am so ashamed of myself. The company is called student loan control, LLC. Have you ever heard of this company? I can’t find them on BBB.

    I was sent an email from college loan relief and I retrieved the number like a dummy and contacted the company and I was then told I would be called back. A woman named Felicia Spencer then contacted me back in less than an hour and explained that they worked with the department of education and that they assist in loan forgiveness. After doing calculations she said I would pay $268 for 4 months then it would go down to $16.00. So I gave her way way too much info down to my SS number and debit card info, and she sent me a docusign application to sign…when I saw the info she put on the application I noticed that despite me telling her I was married and completed a joint tax return, she put married filing separate. I immediately hung up and blocked her number but she has all my info. I never signed anything though. Should I be concerned??

    Thank you

    Reply

    • Also I forgot to mention that I am services by Great Lakes and this Felicia woman told me that Great Lakes are pretty much a bad company and that she would be able to find loop holes provided by the department of education to reduce payments which would eventually be discharged after a 120 payments. I am so worried because she has all of my info

      Reply

  42. Hello Robert,
    I have recently signed up with Student Aid Center and they told me the same thing as theyʻve told your other readers above. I know I qualify for the IBR. My loans are in default and I was trying to find the best way to put them in forgiveness. I had no clue how to do that thatʻs why I signed up for that website. Do you have any knowledge on how to get my Federal loans out of default and to get back my credit score?

    Reply

    • Yes, it’s really easy. Call your lender and discuss the options. For Federal loans, you have three options to get your loans out of default so that you can qualify for loan forgiveness.

      These include loan repayment, loan rehabilitation, and loan consolidation.

      Loan repayment is repaying your defaulted student loan in full. This may not be an option for you.

      To rehabilitate your Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan, you and your loan servicer must agree on a reasonable and affordable payment plan. Your loan is rehabilitated only after you have voluntarily made the agreed-upon payments on time and the loan has been purchased by a lender. Outstanding collection costs may be added to the principal balance.

      Payments that have already been collected from you (like from Wage Garnishments or Tax Refund Offsets) do not count toward your rehabilitation payments.

      Once your loan is rehabilitated, you may regain eligibility for benefits that were available on your loan before you defaulted. Those benefits may include deferment, forbearance, a choice of repayment plans, loan forgiveness, and eligibility for additional federal student aid.

      Finally, you also have an option for getting out of default through loan consolidation. Loan consolidation allows you to pay off the outstanding combined balance(s) for one or more federal student loans to create a new single loan with a fixed interest rate.

      No matter which you choose, you have to talk to your lender. All Student Aid Center is doing is talking to your lender on your behalf – so you’re literally paying them to be you. Any form you fill out is the same that your lender would have you fill out. You’re just adding time and money to the same process.

      Reply

  43. I recently gave my bank account info and SS# over the phone to getstudentloanhelp.info. They were supposed to bill me $230 last Monday (Feb 22nd) and set me up with an account through SLC Processing, but I can’t log in on that site and haven’t been billed yet.

    Is that organization legit? Should I be worried about fraud or identity theft or is it another occasion of a legitimate company charging me for my ignorance of loan repayment?

    Reply

    • I can’t tell you if it is legit but I’d be concerned. You can do everything that they suggested by simply calling your lender. Don’t pay them, just do it yourself.

      Reply

  44. Yesterday, I received a notice in the mail regarding Student Consolidation & Payment Reduction Program. The notice included a reference benefit ID which they asked for when I called them. Once given, they were able to confirm my name and address then proceeded to obtain additional info from me. The representative said, he was from STUDENT PROCESSING CENTER. I too provided too much information! He emailed me Agreement contract that I did not sign. I requested that he call me back on Monday so I could review the Agreement contract. I felt sick to my stomach after I hung up the phone thinking..why did I just give him my info. I wish I would have done my research and saw this blog before making that phone call!!!! My bank suggested I call Student Processing Ctr to say “Destroy all my info” and request that they send an email to confirm they destroyed it.

    Reply

  45. Hi! So im not to tech Savy but i did want to lower my loan payments. I googled a program as the pay as you earn and i found studentaidcenter.org and paid my first payment of $249 a month and they would take 5 months of that payment and they would do the forbiddance and get me to pay 96$ a month then on from another servicer. I trying to figure out if this is a scam or not. on the BBB website it has a D- but its not saying that its a full scam. Im more confused on what i did because i did give them my information and personal information. They told me they would let me know and keep me updated.. but they also want me to send 4 last paychecks or first 2 paged of tax forms and they can continue to do the process and let me know what my new provider would be once they paper work is done. Is this a scam? Im new graduate and had no idea what this process involved or what the right company was.. So now I’m wondering if I’m an idiot.

    Reply

    • They also sent me contracts to sign electronically and i didn’t provide my banking info but i did give a credit card over the phone.

      Reply

    • Based on your comment, it sounds like they are just changing your repayment plan to IBR. To do that, all you need to do is fill out the SAME form and send to your lender, not them. You realize that you are paying them almost $1,250 to simply fill out your paperwork? That’s the highest amount I’ve seen yet, and I’ve been doing this for 5 years.

      To get IBR, simply contact your lender and they will ask you to fill out an form and provide verification, just like this company. The only difference? They don’t charge you crazy amounts of money.

      Reply

    • Well, my real question is why do you need them? You can simply call your lender and get the same paperwork and help for free. Seriously, why do you need a 3rd party company?

      Reply

  47. I applied for student loan forgiveness and through student aid center and they told me that I would be paying $199 for 5 months to them and then after my last payment I will pay a prequalified consolidated payment of $0 for 240 months under the “pay as you earn” program. They also stated that the $199 will not be going toward my loan and not to contact my lender because the student aid center is now in charge of handling my payment loans for me. Is this a scam? Please help I have 3 days to cancel and I want to make sure I am doing the right thing. My loan is 9500$ and my interest is about $500 right now. If the program is just taking my money I rather just use my money to directly pay off the interest of my loan and start making payments.

    Reply

    • Please cancel and use the money directly to pay off your student loans.

      Your loan is only $9,500 and they want you to pay them $995, or over 10% of your loan value, to DO SOMETHING YOU CAN DO FOR FREE!!!

      All they are doing is enrolling you in the Pay As You Earn Program. You can do that yourself by calling your lender and simply asking, “Hey, can you enroll me in the Pay As You Earn program”. They will say, “Yes, fill out this form.” That form is the same form that Student Aid Center will have you fill out.

      But guess what, your lender won’t charge you anything. Please email me if you have any other questions. This makes me angry that they would make you pay so much.

      Reply

  48. Hi

    Last week I was offered a job at a Student Debt Consolidation company that claims they have processed $200 million of college debt loans.
    This is the company
    Trusted Debt Solutions
    152 NW 16th St
    Boca Raton FL 33432
    trusteddebtsolutions.com

    I got some bad vibes after leaving the interview and did some searching via the internet. This company asks for upfront fees, tells people the can save up 75%, goes on the Dept of Education web site on behalf of the debtor, etc.
    After reading your article and many others it has become apparent they are illegally charging and misleading consumers and definitely a scam company.
    Thought I would pass this information to you.

    Reply

  49. Robert, I am at my wits end. I pay on my federal student loans using the IBR program. But my private student loans want nearly triple what I pay the federal loans and I only owe $11000 in private loans. Ive tried everything to work with them to pay a lower payment and they will not budge. It is Navient and in one week they said my loans are going to litigation. My question is this: Is there any company out there who can help me negotiate a lower payment to avoid the litigation? I’ve contacted Student Debt USA who were very nice but wanted me to go on a program of paying $750 a month for 8 months. I can only afford to pay the private loans $65 a month, a far cry from having an available $750. I spend every moment searching for student loan help websites. Fix My Student Loans .com is my next try. But after reading all your blogs and posts and reader reviews I am now too scared to try and student loan help sites. What do you suggest I do at this point?
    Thank you for your help.

    Reply

    • Private student loans are tough. There isn’t anything you can do – if you can’t pay, they will seek a judgement against you to garnish your wages (which is what it sounds like they are trying to do).

      The only real options for private student loans are:
      1. Refinance to a lower interest rate if your credit score is excellent (750+)
      2. Earn more money by working 2-3 jobs or side hustling and using that extra money to pay it off

      Reply

  50. Ever hear of Student Services LLC? I use to work for Direct Loans, and this sounds a little fishy, They do not seem to offer me anything that my current service can not. talking about reducing the debt, I see no way they can do that. I know of a program the National Health Service Corp, but that is AFTER I get my lic, so I am pretty sure something is off. Be interested to hear your feed back.

    Reply

    • Never heard of them – but you’re correct. None of these services can offer you anything your lender can’t. You essentially pay them to process paperwork for you (actually you pay them to fax it in, because you typically end up filling it out yourself anyway).

      Reply

  51. I really need help! There’s a place called National Student Loan Relief Center that contacted me earlier this month about consolidating my student loans. They said there would be a $499 fee (I forgot the name of the fee, if any) to get into the program that they have that would allow me to set up a payment plan to pay off my student loan. That fee they said could be paid in two increments (two payments of $249.50). They also mentioned that they were affiliated with the DOE. They said as soon as they get the second payment (I already paid the first payment and the second payment is coming up soon) then I will be out of default immediately. Once I’m out of default I’ll finally be able to file my taxes and get my tax refund, since the government has been automatically taking my tax refund checks every year, and this year I wanted it. They said once the last payment is made, then it would be a few months up to a year before my monthly payments start to pay off the consolidated student loan.
    I don’t know if this is a scam or not, since you say that there is no charge to get into a student loan relief program. Should I not make the final payment? If it is a scam, can i sue and get my money back? Also, if it’s a scam, how will I get out of default before April 15th so I can file my taxes on time? Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

    Reply

    • You are simply paying them to rehabilitate your student loan. They are just processing paperwork for you – something that you could do yourself for free by calling your lender.

      They aren’t affiliated with the Department of Education, they are a private company that sends in paperwork to them on your behalf. If they did help you, they aren’t scamming you. What you should consider is whether you could have done the same amount of work for free, and not paid $500.

      Reply

  52. I was contacted by slcprocessing.com who also said their web address was nationalstudentaidcenter.com
    My loans are already consolidated and the claimedi qualified for income based payments and partial fogiveness due to me working in the field of nursing… They claimed my payments would be lower and after 10 years of on time payments, my debt would be forgiven. The questions they a led me to be weary about them were : ,
    – my license number me my moms maiden name
    There was an option to cancel within 72 hours… I’m just not sure how to verify if this is a legit site or service.

    Reply

    • I would be concerned since they reached out to you, not you contacting them.

      If you think you qualify for student loan forgiven, simply call your lender.

      Reply

  53. Hey Robert – Back in October, STUDENT PROCESSING CENTER contacted my brother and he referred them to me knowing I wanted to get everything into one easy payment. I talked to Mike Watson (watson@directspc.com) and he set me up for everything. I paid the $599 with a credit card (which I lost during the holiday season a couple weeks later and cancelled the card) and did not reveal my banking account/routing numbers. Then, I had to send in the the first pages of my taxes from 2013 to “confirm my address for the 2013 tax year.” I hesitated, but did against my better judgement (mainly because I spent that darn $599). Since then, I have had my Borrowers contact me about my loan(s) being completely paid off, while also receiving Federal Loan letters about new payments (recently just received these in the mail while on vacation and have not opened them up yet). Then, today, I received an email from STUDENT ASSIST PLUS wishing to charge me $30 a month for benefits and help on consolidation. When I couldn’t navigate on the webpage, I finally did the “Uh-oh” moment and cancelled that side of a mistake I may have committed. While I have only the $599 lost (not a big deal) to date, I want to know what I should do since everything has gone through and I am about to start new loan payments. Are my loans LEGITIMATELY consolidated? Am I going to get scammed any more, you think? Who can I report these scammers to? Do you think I am “safe” from fraudulent behaviors? Any advice would be great!

    Reply

    • It sounds like you need to get organized and double check online.

      If you had Federal loan consolidation (which hopefully you did with FedLoan), you can see are your loans on this government site. Double check they are correct: https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/

      If you have private loans, pull your credit report at annualcreditreport.com and double check it. It will have all your loans listed. Even if you don’t have private loans, it might not hurt to check.

      As for reporting them, you can’t do much, but spread the word.

      Reply

  54. Hey Robert, I got a letter in the mail from Student loan consolidation & payment reduction program and it gave me an Benefit ID number. The letter stating that I am eligible to receive benefits from a new law including Total Forgiveness. When I called this lady told me that I called in time and that they were closing tomorrow and that today was the last day. She also said that the application fee was $699 and it would be divided in 3 monthly payments and they would start taking money out of my account on the 17th of this month and after that I would have to pay $27.50 every month after that. Also if i called the next day the number wouldn’t work. The letter didn’t have a website on it so I couldn’t look it up to see if it was legit. So I’m really trying to see if this is a spam before they take money out of my account on the 17th. Can you please help me!

    Reply

    • Based on your comment, nothing she said makes sense. Plus, there is no reason to ever pay $699 for anything like this.

      Reply

  55. Hey, Robert! I just wanted to know if US Student loan is a scam. I started the process of consolidation with them and haven’t hear from them after I paid. I tried to call and there numbers don’t function.
    Thank you for your help!

    Reply

    • I’d be concerned based on what you told me. You should never have to prepay anything and you can do loan consolidation for free.

      Reply

  56. Hi! First, I have a question: have you ever heard of a student loan assistance corporation called Van Ru Corporation?
    They said they are a rehabilitation company working directly with DOE to straighten out my loans (which are more than $54,000)…
    Are they legit? Or are they just another company like I’ve read about in all the previous posts?
    Secondly, I almost was scammed by the National Student Loan Relief Center (Steve Willard, the representative, really got me questioning his legitimacy when he said S*!t during our conversation.. yeah, nice, huh?!)… thank goodness, I asked for their website information (he gave me nslrc.com) and obviously it wasn’t legit…

    Can you tell me anything about Van Ru?
    Thanks so much for helping me work through this mess!!

    Reply

    • Never heard of them at all.

      Before you go about paying these companies a lot of money to fill out paperwork for you, I suggest you try to do it yourself on StudentLoans.gov.

      Reply

    • Van Ru is a collection agency for the US Department of Education. They are not one of these companies that charges you to set up a repayment plan. I was sent to them by the US Department of Education as the agency now handling my loans. Don’t worry…. its legit!

      Reply

  57. Rob-
    I have a question. Like a lot of the others before me I have a question regarding National Student Services. I was in their rehab program 160$/month; but when I reached out to the DOE to make sure I was in the good they had no recored of me trying to rehab my student loans. I immediately stopped all payments but now I’m worried. Did I do the right thing?

    Reply

    • Sounds like you did the right thing. You need to follow very specific steps to rehabilitate your loans and you shouldn’t have to pay monthly for it.

      Reply

  58. Hi Robert,

    I originally received a mailer from a company called Student Processing Center in Irvine, CA and when I called in to inquire about the mailer the gentleman (Frank) that answered the phone informed me I can lower my payments to $30 with loan forgiveness after 120 months due to my work at a non profit but that I would have to pay their fees of $699 in the form of 3 payments. I gotta say they actually delivered everything he promised and since my original servicing companies would not even budge with my financial hardship I felt I had no other choice. I was close to getting wage garnishment till I spoke with this company, but should I fear any draw backs from dealing with this company? I mean everything seems to be great for the moment but I’m worried about what you wrote so I would just like some clarification. Thank you for your time & help!

    Reply

    • You shouldn’t worry about it because if they did everything, and you’re now on a different repayment plan, they clearly didn’t scam you.

      What makes me sad about them is that they charged you $699 for it. That’s a ripoff, but not a scam. You could have done the work yourself, or used a DIY program like mine for less than 20% of that cost to learn the steps to take.

      Reply

  59. I am also receiving phone calls from two student loan settlement companies. I don’t understand how they got my phone number. I never filled out any forms on their website. Is it just public knowledge or something? How do I see what they found out about me? Thanks for the great article and these comments are wonderful!

    Reply

    • Your college or maybe your lender sold them your information and now they use it to solicit you for services.

      Reply

  60. I received a letter in the mail stating that I could get forgiveness for my student loans. I called the number and the lady over the phone would not provide me with any information unless I gave her my social, 2 references, checking acct number, drivers licenses number and much more. I did all that because I thought it was legit. she explained all the plans to me then told me about the $29.99 monthly fee and the $699 set up fee that would be done in 4 payments. she sent me the documentation to sign electronically but I told her I would not sign it until someone looked it over. So she said that she will give me 10 days to decide and she will send me another form. I thought she would send me the form in 10 days but she kept saying how I had to sign it right away I told her I was not signing anything until I have had someone look it over. she went through everything really fast so I was just going with the flow. after I hung up I realized that I should not have done that and now I am freaking out. Should I be worried that they are going to either take my identity or charge me the $699 and the $29.99/month?

    Reply

    • That’s a huge amount to pay for any student loan debt help. I would be worried because you gave her a ton of information. Notify your bank and monitor your credit. You have to be careful.

      Reply

  61. i have the same issue! I sign up with national student servicing which is located in Santa Ana and now I am worried im being scammed. Do you know if its a legit company. I do check my credit and nothing has changed. The company just isn’t good with communicating with what’s going on.

    Reply

    • Haven’t heard of them, you should check out the BBB website and see if there are complaints. If you’re ever not comfortable, I think that is a big red flag.

      Reply

    • I have checked and they do have complaints and are not listed with them. The company is suppose to consolidate my loans and put me a repayment plan with a lower balance. I called them recently because I got a letter from a collection agency charging in full. when I talked to them they placed me on hold while they called the collection agency, after that they were asking for my 1040 to determine how much I can pay because im unemployed at the moment. I cant figure out if they are legit or not. at this point my contract with them will end in 2 months, what should I do? Please help?

      Reply

      • You should do it yourself! Nothing they are doing for you can’t be done by you.

        Reply

  62. Like so many comments before mine, I had second-thoughts and a bit of panic after I hesitantly gave out my SSN to a rep from Nationwide Student Loan Help. That panic led me to your site, Robert, and all the fantastic advice you’ve been giving. This all started when I called the number posted in an article pertaining to the Art Institutes closing locations to see if I qualified for any Student Loan forgiveness, which I was vaguely aware of from my previous explorations into the permanent stain on my life which are my student loans. They started at $26k in 1998 and I now owe $46k after years of payments and unemployment deferments and hardship deferments where I fell victim to the Capitalized Interest Monster. I’ve always been paying and had my loans serviced thru Sallie Mae/now-Navient and have been in IBR for the past couple years. I foolishly consolidated my loans almost immediately in 1998 and the interest rate has been locked in at 8.25% ever since. Anyway, I didn’t realize the article I was reading was posted by Nationwide themselves. So, after a few questions to see if I qualified, my family size which is 1, the rep basically said that I would qualify for about what I’m paying right now in IBR but in the Pay As You Earn plan with only 20 years of payments instead of 25. He also strongly “urged” me to say my family size was 3 to reduce my payment to $66/month for 20 years. If I could say I had people in my life that I fed or took out to eat even…thinly veiled way of saying I should lie–or stretch the truth considerably. He did also tell me I would indeed have to reapply every year and it would recalculate based on my income–and family size. He said I would make payments to Nationwide and what made me stop in my tracks was when he said hte servicing fee would cost $499 or $599 if I paid in three monthly installments. He said they were like an “H&R Block” doing your taxes for you. They take care of everything. I foolishly gave him my FSA PIN and my SSN to access my FSA ID page. I ultimately told him I’d think about it. Then, I found your site when I googled “Is Nationwide SLH legit?” I found on Nationwide SLH’s site at the bottom of the page it does clearly say “Nationwide Student Loan Help is strictly a document preparation service.”

    My main reason for posting this is to primarily ask if there’s any reason I should be concerned with having given them my SSN to access my Student Loan information? Do you know if Nationwide Student Loan Help is a legit Third-party loan preparation company similar to an H&R Block? They do have an A rating on the BBB, but I can’t help but be wary…

    Side note from reading your article https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/11856/secret-student-loan-forgiveness/ –I did not know that any forgiven amount after 25 years on the IBR would be considered income! Future me is concerned and saddened by that year’s tax bill…

    Thanks for what you do and for all the information on your site!

    Reply

    • Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your story. I’m sure they will help you process your paperwork – but for $500 or $600? That’s crazy. Even the tax places don’t charge that and doing your taxes is a whole lot more complicated!

      I wouldn’t worry about the info you gave them, but just monitor your credit and change your pin to be safe.

      P.S. if you’re on IBR, just stay on IBR and get your forgiveness in the end. Don’t change up anything or worry about it unless your income changes.

      Reply

  63. I just set up a consolidation and possible forgiveness program with The Loan Center Helpmyloan.com and then panicked about a possible scam which led me here. They told me they would consolidate, and put me in a low income program where I would have a 0 payment as long as my adjusted gross income stayed below a certain number. Is this legit? Are they legit? The term of the loan is 240 months and they claim that if my income stays low for all or part of that term that amount or the total amount would be forgiven by the government…. any advice? They charged me a $699 closing cost for all these documents and filing.

    Reply

    • Well, they signed you up for a free government program for almost $700 – you tell me your thoughts on that one. I can’t say if they did the paperwork correct, but I can tell you that, even if they did, you paid WAY too much.

      Reply

      • Robert
        Thanks to your blog here I called and canceled with them before they could charge me. I will do all the paperwork for the program myself. THANK YOU!

        Reply

        • How do you do the paperwork? What are the steps?
          A place for consolidation is asking for $700 from me, they have my information but I haven’t signed anything. Can they still charge me?

          Reply

          • If you want to do it for free, you can login to studentloans.gov, go to the bottom or left sidebar, and choose income-driven repayment plan.

  64. Have you heard of Student Services? I am agreed to have them help me, even thought I have never trusted any kind of “offers” like that. Where can I verify if it is a legitimate organization that helps with consolidating my federal loans. I am paying almost $500/month to navient and it is getting really hard. this company stated that due to federal programs, my payment can be reduced to something like 280 or 300. I just signed with them, so if you can guide me to where I can check if they are a scam, I can still cancel and hope it would not have any secondary fatal results. thank you so much.

    Reply

    • I’ve never heard of them but if you have Federal loans you can do it yourself for free at StudentLoans.gov.

      Reply

  65. Hello can you help me. I just talked to a person from “The Student Financial Help Center” and they were telling me how they can help me with my student loan debt and wanted to sign me up for loan consolidation and the IBR program. They are going to charge me $699 for their enrollment service (broken down in three months) and say it is a one time fee and refundable. Unfortunately, I gave them some personal information and now I am feeling off about the whole thing. Now reading this article and looking up information and reviews (something I should have did beforehand) I can’t help but feel that my initial feelings are correct and that I need to start changing passwords and credit card information. If you can offer any advice no matter how brief would be helpful!

    Reply

    • Remember, you can do everything for free at StudentLoans.gov or by calling your loan servicer.

      Reply

      • Thank you so much for responding and giving me advice!!! In hindsight, I knew I should have researched it more instead of feeling pressured to give my personal information and data during the initial phone call. I will be canceling my contact/enrollment with them ASAP and look into your suggestions. Thank you very much for the help!

        Reply

  66. I was wondering if Student Debt Consolidation Aid is real or if it’s a scam? I’ve looked into the site and it looks legit and one of the enrollment specialists emailed me directly after talking with her on the phone. She started by asking me basic questions that weren’t too personal like how much I make and what my goals were with my loans. Before I could give her my social though, I wanted to make sure it’s real and not a scam. Any idea?

    Reply

    • They’re likely do follow through on what they tell you – but you have to realize that you are going to be paying a lot of money – typically $400-$700, even more – for basic stuff that you can do in 15 minutes yourself.

      Don’t know what you’re looking for, but Federal student loan consolidation is free and you go to this GOVERNMENT website to do it: http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/

      If you want to change repayment plans, a 10 minute call to your own lender is all you need.

      Reply

  67. Hello,

    I need help please! So I was uninformed and scammed. I actually had already completed my consolidation request through student loan. Gov after I graduated in December but I kept receiving letters from docuprep center in irvine california about helping me getting lower payments, so I decided to call and see what is about. I was naive and the guy on the phone convinced me that I needed him much like a tax service. I signed forms about power of attorney and gave him my bank account info as well as drivers license and social security number. What do I do know now that I already signed forms? I had a bad feeling about it and decided to do my research. I have been stressed about my student loans and was one of the ones taken advantage of due to my lack of awareness unfortunately. I feel totally naive. I’m going to close my bank account tomorrow but what else do I do since I signed power of attorney forms electronically? I’m calling Great Lakes (my loan servicer) tomrrow but I’m afraid I messed up big time 🙁 help please. The universities and the department of education definitely need to raise more awareness to students upon gradation about these scam companies and their repayment options. Please I need advice! Thank you!

    Your advice is greatly appreciated.

    Sincerely,
    Mollie K.

    Reply

    • Contact the company and let them know you want to cancel, including the POA. Let Great Lakes know this as well.

      Work with Great Lakes directly if you want to lower your payment.

      Reply

  68. Hello Robert,

    What a wonderful service you are providing here! I have read a lot of the information on your blog and find it very useful. One question that I cannot find an answer to however is that you claim that all these companies offer services that one cannot do for him/herself by contacting studentloans.gov. however, even after contacting studentloans.gov, if a company is offering payments that are much much lower than studentloans.gov then would it not be worth it to go with the company, even if there is a fee attached (as long as the numbers work out, i.e. money saving in payments well exceeds the fees)? Isn’t there a scenario that the company can do more than one can do by him/herself on studentloans.gov? Or is that simply a scenario that is too good to be true? That it is not possible (or feasible) for a company to offer lower rates than studentloans.gov. Is this a dipstick to measure the possibility of a scam?

    Reply

    • There is no possible way that a private company can do anything for Federal loans beyond what you find on Studentloans.gov. Federal loans have specific legal programs that they have to follow, and they don’t work like credit cards, where you can simply negotiate a lower price.

      Typically if a private company is quoting you something lower than what you find, they don’t have all of the information or are potentially pitching you on a program you won’t qualify for in the end. Remember, these “private” companies are all actually labeled as “Paperwork processing companies”. They just process paperwork – whether or not the government accepts it is a different question that they won’t be held liable for.

      Finally, this only applies to Federal loans. You can negotiate private loans sometimes, and you can refinance private loans into new loans. You can also refinance Federal loans into private loans, but that’s typically not a good idea.

      Reply

      • Can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I want to spread this site to everyone I know. You are helping solve a huge societal problem…. I hope you get a lot of motivation for your hard work from that.

        Reply

  69. Hello. I have received a call from student advocates saying they can help me with my student loans. The said I would pay 39.42 a month for 48 months and as long as my income and household don’t change then after the 48 month my payments would be $0 and after 120 months it the rest would be forgiven. They didn’t say I had to pay anything upfront. I don’t give them my info and sign papers electronically. Now I’m worried it’s all a lie . Is it possible for me to only pay 1800 of my 14428 in student loans and the rest be forgiven .? What should I do

    Reply

    • It’s possible to by $0 tomorrow from 120 months if you don’t pay these people and just call your lender. If your income is low enough and you qualify for IBR, which it sounds like you might, that’s all this company is doing for you – signing you up for a program.

      That full $1,800 is going straight into their pocket. Not towards your loans.

      Reply

      • I just signed up with Student Advocates too… I’m a little nervous about this, but I have over 130k in student loans, and after speaking to Navient it seems like if I file to “Pay as you Earn” I can reduce monthly payments from over $900/month to over $400/ month. It is still too much for me! I called before I got married and was told that my husband wouldn’t be responsible for my loans, but now they say that if I file taxes jointly then his income is still considered. But he supports me by paying the entire mortgage, and most of the bills, and he has his own student loans with Navient! I feel like even if it’s possible to do paperwork myself, I am unlikely to figure it out and get the right paperwork done and submitted, and they may not approve me, whereas with Student Advocates they deal with this every day and can make it work. Student Advocates says my 7% federal loans with Navient will be paid off and I’ll be working directly with the Department of Education. I have a contract that says my husband’s income can’t be asked for or considered, and my payment for this year will be $0 to the loans but $39/month to Student advocates. This all sounds great, and I can pay it! I need to ask my account manager about what would happen if I died, or something… and reread the documents. I have a few days to cancel, and he told me that I’ll also receive a letter from the DoE soon, about all of this. Do you think this is all a really bad idea? I’m an opera singer, so I get paid now and then, and a part time nanny. I just started a Mary Kay business which is going well, but I invested in it, so I have to pay off those expenses before really being able to use that money as income! I’m also 7 months pregnant. I am happy to work and pay off loans, and hopefully I become really successful and can pay more back, but for now I don’t mind paying a small monthly fee for the ability to avoid those massive payments…

        Reply

        • Once again, you’re paying for paperwork processing, which may or may not be correct. If Navient says your husband income must be considered (which they are correct since you filed jointly), anything the paperwork processing company submits will be incorrect. The Department of Education doesn’t even have to do it, but the company will still charge you.

          When you call Navient, and ask for PAYE, they simply mail you a form to fill out. How hard is that? It’s like a job application. You also didn’t say how much Student Advocates is charging you for this service. My guess is $500-600? Why don’t you get on PAYE and the just use that to pay down your loans!?!?!

          Reply

          • I guess you did say you’d pay them $39 per month – which is $468 per year. That’s stupid money for something that takes a phone call and 20 minutes.

  70. I just got ripped off by SFHC – Student Financial Help Center, they charge me $699.00 to consolidate my students loans. I realized after they took the last payment towards that fee that I would have done this myself for free at Studentloans.org. I am so angry at myself for being scammed. Students are not informed that they can consolidate their loans by their own lender, so companies like SFHC prey on us. Do these companies legally have to tell you that you have that option? Can I file against them in small claims court? I called and told them I wanted to full refund and would report them to the Federal Trade Commission. They said the process is completed so I can not get my money back. They sent me an email and told me I can e-sign their termination of service agreement and it would then be reviewed and they would determine if I can get a refund, right after he told me I wasn’t going to get my money back. I told them I would not sign anything Is there anything I can do????

    Reply

    • They are technically “Paperwork Processing Companies” so they processed your paperwork and did what they offered. While they didn’t technically scam you, it sounds like you were misled and that sucks.

      Reply

  71. Robert Farrington, thank you so much for this forum. I dealt with Student Aid Center just today. I was a little skeptical from the beginning simply because the presentation just sounded too good to be true. So I decided to do a little research for myself and landed here and also the better business bureau website. My counselor I spoke with at the Student Aid Center was very nice but he failed to tell me the $1000 ($199 for 5 months) payment is going in their pockets as admin fees! He also mentioned that based on my income, I qualify for zero payments monthly (after the $1000 payment of course) for 300 months (if my income stays the same)??? Basically, it sounds like these are all paper pushers and are doing the exact thing that I can do myself. I usually stay on top of deferments and forbearance anyhow. I suggest people try to do the same and sip these scammers. Fortunately for me, I have not given m ss# and other important information. But thanks to all for the heads up.

    Reply

  72. Hi there!

    I received a call today from a consumer advocacy group telling me that my loan wasn’t consolidated through the Department of Education and since my load consolidation is through Great Lakes that it’s not a true consolidation and that it’s not a real Income Based Repayment plan. He told me that I could get my debt consolidated through the Dept. of Education and still have a $0.00 monthly payment plan. The company is called Trinian Financial. I asked him if I could just do this myself and he told me that The Dept. of Education didn’t have employees that handle loan consolidation and that they depended on consumer advocacy groups to handle it. He never asked for my student loan pin # or SS#. He was speaking to me about the William D. Ford Act. He also told me it would cost around $700 and that they wouldn’t get that money until after everything was processed. Is this a scam? He made me think that having a consolidation through Great Lakes wouldn’t actually get me any debt relief and that their IBR isn’t a true IBR. Trinian wasn’t offering me a loan, they were going to have it consolidated through the Dept. of Ed. I’m really freaked out because everything he said was appealing/scared me about my current loan…but I don’t want to get scammed.

    Reply

    • Based on what you said in your comments, there are a lot of red flags. The fact that the person lied and intimidated you about your loan should be a red flag. The line “The Dept of Education doesn’t have the staff and relies on consumer advocacy groups” is complete B.S. Literally all this company would do for you is file paperwork with the Department of Education! Please don’t do it.

      If you have a concern about your loan repayment about, go to StudentLoans.gov and check to make sure your loans were consolidated. Then call your lender about IBR or PAYE. That’s all there is too it.

      Reply

  73. Just received a text from 702-660-6126 saying I have been pre approved for student loan forgiveness and to call 424-239-6245. I called and it is National Student Aid Center. I only ask because my school was part of Corinthian colleges that just had a new thing passes for for profit colleges and you can get your loans forgiven due to the scam that they are. If I am getting this text does it mean that I do qualify for that and it’s just one of these companies that wants to “help” me do what I can do on my own? I haven’t looked too much into the actual forgiveness yet as I just heard about it, so I wasn’t sure if this was my sign that I need to get on that NOW since I do qualify.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • It’s just one of those companies that wants to “help” you. They probably purchased your phone number and information from Corinthian college or another institution.

      Reply

  74. I recently “qualified” for this program. I’ve already given them my information and paid the first payment. The first payment was 325 and 100 the next three months and then after that they were “0” for the next 14 months or so. I checked my loan balance and the 325 was not taken off that. I emailed the BBB and have not gotten a response. Help! Here’s some of their info:
    Student Services: (818) 208-2575
    Processing Services Direct Line: (949) 229-6969

    Reply

    • I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like it could be a very misleading company. If your payment wasn’t credited, I would worry it was a scam.

      However, some “legit” (see the quotes please) companies will put your loan into forbearance while you pay them, and then after they’ve fully received their fee, only then apply anything to your loans. This could potentially be the case, but if you weren’t aware of it, I’d be concerned.

      Reply

  75. Hello!

    I was contacted by Student Advocates also. They said that through the William D. Ford Act I qualify for a loan “forgiveness” program (I can’t remember exactly what words were used). I have two loans right now, one consolidated subsidized and one consolidated unsubsidized. My story is similar to the commenters above where, after they consolidate my two loans I pay $0 a month for 240 months if my annual salary and home size stay consistent. If (and it most-likely will) my salary increases within these 240 months, I will be asked to pay more each month. Obviously this service doesn’t come free and I am being asked to pay $39.42 each month for the next 4 years so they can consolidate my loans and keep track of the paperwork.

    Like an idiot, I gave them all of my information and they created a Federal Student Aid account for me with the DOE. I also signed to give them consent to speak on my behalf and run my credit. (I checked on CreditKarma yesterday and it says that a company ran my credit.)

    I just have a feeling that this is too good to be true. Can I really not pay anything towards my student loans for the next 20 years and then have my loan be forgiven? Is this serious or am I becoming a statistic and falling for a scam? I am freaking out now because there is really no trust worthy reviews or information about the company.

    In the papers that I signed it says I have 3 days to cancel the transaction without any penalty. Should I call them and tell them to cancel it? And is there any reliable literature out there that states loan forgiveness for average people actually exists? Also, worse case scenario, who can I get in contact with to help me with student loans if this company messes something up on my behalf, my loan provider? (Not sure if this matters but my service loan provider is Great Lakes).

    Thanks for your help!

    Sincerely,

    A college grad feeling used and abused

    Reply

    • Kaitlyn,

      I would strongly recommend you cancel and simply call your lender and do it yourself. They just signed you up for a program called IBR (read more here) and it’s a free government program. You realize that you’re paying this company $1,892 over the 4 years to do some simple, free paperwork? I’m honestly going to tell you that in 5 years of helping people, that’s the largest amount I’ve ever seen a company charge someone. And I’ve never seen it done over 4 years. It makes angry and sad.

      The next steps to take are to:
      1. Simply call your lender (Great Lakes) and remove the power of attorney for this company and tell them you just want to sign up for IBR
      2. Call this company and cancel
      3. Fill out the super simple paperwork online at StudentLoans.gov (it honestly takes about 5-10 minutes)
      4. Monitor your credit to make sure this company doesn’t do anything unscrupulous

      Good luck!

      Reply

  76. I gave my FSA Id to a company called docu prep center out of Cali to look into consolidating my loans. They gave me some rates. I hung up immediately changed my password and disabled. Can they scam me? I’m very worried. What do I do?

    Reply

    • They can’t do anything unless you gave them your SSN. If you did, just monitor your credit.

      Reply

      • I didn’t give them my SSN but my social is on the FSA site. All they said they needed was my loan info. I went on and checked my SSN just shows the last 4 digits, the rest is hidden.

        Reply

  77. Hi!
    Like everyone else, I too am in MASS amounts of debt due to student loans and fell for a scam. While doing some digging, I noticed too many similarities between the company that contacted me and the ones described as scams in other posts.
    The company is SLRC, Student Loan Resource Center. They have a functioning site (which has only been up 2 months come to find out) and after talking to them multiple times I just had a funny feeling.
    They are “located” in Orange County and offer a similar price of $699 for the program and additional 30$ a month (which they failed to mention in their pitch). I unfortunately gave them my information, but haven’t singed any paperwork. I am planning my next move on how to get pass this and safe guard myself . Any suggestions are welcomed.

    Reply

    • Any program you qualified on through them you can get by simply calling your lender. Chances are they just were going to sign you up for IBR or PAYE. You can do the same at StudentLoans.gov for free.

      Reply

    • I got a solicitation in the mail from them (SLRC), and have since spoken to them a couple of times. I do feel like I’m being hustled– they have a hard time allowing me to politely end each call, and proceed to call me even after I’ve told them that I would review their email first and then respond.

      I’ll have to check out IBR and PAYE–I’m very new to this!! 🙂

      Reply

      • Don’t fall for the tough sell. Just call your own lender and you can do the same thing for free!

        Reply

      • I used to work for SLAC and they have new company Student Loan Services inc. They very much are a scam!! that is why I quit. Please do not give them any money. Everything they tell you they can do is a LIE!! There is now paperwork to process so there fee is bogus. Always contact your lender directly. Please I hope people read this.

        Reply

  78. I am another one who let the promise of savings cloud his judgement into signing up with a loan forgiveness company. I signed on with student aid center giving them my info and signing the application and CC for fees. Little bit later I called and cancelled as I got nervous about it. I owe just over 40k in student loans and with a household of 5 and income of around 45k they said I was eligible for income based reduction program of only 67 a month with the remainder being foreguvemess which would be great but seems to good to be true. My current loans are all consolidated with fed loan servicing so I asked why cant I just sign up with them for this same program and the response was that they prob wouldn’t offer it to me bc it makes them loose to much money which doesn’t seem like they would have a choice to not offer a federal program for federal loans they hold. Anyways is this 67 a month seems to good to be true and when I do the calculator on studentloans.gov I never get anything near that low. So are they aware of some other plans that accomplishes this or is the 67 bucks a month really not possible?

    Reply

    • I would check and go with the amount on StudentLoans.gov. That’s where you would apply for IBR or PAYE. If you’re not getting the same amount on StudentLoans.gov, there is a disconnect on what you’re putting in for income.

      Reply

  79. Student Aid Center, Inc, a Florida corporation run by Damien Alvarez spam texted me at 7 AM and then called me late at night on a weekend. I am on the national Do Not Call list but these guys don’t care. Damien actually emailed me and declared that they do not use robo-dialers. Ha!

    I called them back and talked with a Christina who confirmed that they use a automated dialer machine to robo dial. Then I called back again and Giovanni confirmed that they use robo dialers. Then I went on the web page online chat and Alexi Moline confirmed in writing that they robo dial and spam text. Unbelievable.

    To add insult to injury, when I asked them to never contact me ever again I then receive a text message from Damien (305-305-XXXX) that stated “Fuck Off.” Wow, how’s that for customer service. These guys are insane.

    Reply

  80. Just did the Student Advocate with a guy name Rodney Moore who actually convinced me with all my personal data information to be given. this is after the fact that I saw this website about who’s scamming who!!!! thank you for saving me with this heartache and headache .

    Reply

  81. I appreciate this article but I found it too late! I just signed with 1file.org…Can anyone give me feedback on them & what my next steps should be?? Please help!

    Reply

    • If you can still cancel, cancel and do it yourself. Otherwise you’re stuck with paying them and hoping they complete the work as promised to get your loans on a different repayment plan.

      Reply

    • By signing, do you mean the first document you electronically sign? The guy on the phone said that this is just to get the username/password from the DOE to see what I would qualify for, and that there would be no obligation to use them. So I wasn’t actually signing a contract for service, but just an authorization for them to get me that information. But as soon as I clicked the “continue signing” button, the phone call ended! I hope this was just coincidence. It might have been my cheek that did it but it was very bad timing!

      Reply

      • Only you can know what you signed…usually not a good sign if they hung up on you after they got your username and password.

        Reply

  82. I just signed up with direct loans llc based out of Florida. I was originally paying 267 a month with great lakes for a 25 year plan and they said that they would buy out my loans from great lakes and and consolidate my loans. My loan payments would be $228 a month for 160 month term and any balance after that would be forgiven by the government. The first three payments would by $199 to “make sure that i’m able to afford the payments.” Or so they say. Is this a scam? I’m feeling like it is but they already have my information. Should I cancel?? Help!

    Reply

    • I would cancel and just call your lender and see what they say. Chances are they are just changing repayment plans, which you can do yourself.

      Reply

  83. Like most of you guys i just did the same thing. i sign with student Aid Center. Give them all of my personal information. from my ss# to my bank information. i have to paid $249 for five months, after the five month is over my monthly payment will drop down to $60 a month. And after 10yrs my load will be forgiven. But they still asking for more personal information, like service name, log-in username, password and so no. Is this a scam? I’m scare with all my personal information out there. What can i don now, i sign all the agreement, and my first payment is in 2weeks. HELP!?

    Reply

    • Hi Alex,

      They probably will help you, but you’re paying them almost $1,250 for that help – for something that you can easily do for free in about 15 minutes on StudentLoans.gov. They simply want your login information because they will just login and do it for you. You were smart enough to go to college, so you are smart enough to sign up for IBR online and lower your own payment.

      Don’t pay these people $1,200+ for help. By the way, that amount is one of the largest I’ve ever seen charged. That’s a big red flag.

      Reply

  84. I got a letter that reads “Student Loan Consolidation & Payment Reduction Program”
    They are from a company called Student Loan Research Center located in Orange County, California. I have already called and asked questions about how everything works. They sound promising, but apparently I have to pay a fee of $699, and after doing research, I’ve learned that you shouldn’t be paying a fee if you’re consolidating loans. I don’t know if they should be trusted or if they are really just a scam. If I can consolidate without having to pay, then why bother with this?
    someone please respond if you know anything about this. I want to know If I should back out from this right away

    Reply

    • If you just need to consolidate your loans, you can do it for free on StudentLoans.gov. Takes about 10 minutes. Don’t pay for it and you don’t need help doing it.

      Reply

  85. I have loans through Navient which have gone into deferment while I am going back to attend school again. I have been full time at my college for two years and have had no prior issues (my college has always supplied my current enrollment status to the enrollment clearing house), suddenly this summer I have been contacted that my deferment is up, and they are sending me bills, even though I am enrolled for the upcoming Fall semester. When contacted they have told me they received paperwork that I have graduated, even though I have never applied for graduation. I contacted my school to see that they told my loan company that I was enrolled, which they had, and they had no records of my “graduation” or application for it. Naivent has obviously been falsifying documents and refuses to provide proof of this error in paperwork. When I asked if I could have my college forward proof of my enrollment and lack of application to graduate, they refused it saying it was not adequate. They have put me in a position where I am being charged while still enrolled, and are giving me no options for helping them fix their error. Could you help by listing which laws they are breaking.

    Reply

  86. I got a letter from this company goslrc.com, they said they can help with my Privet student loan. Has anyone used this place or heard anything about it?

    Reply

    • Hey Scott,

      Be careful using that company. There isn’t much you can do with private loans, and that company likely can’t help much. I don’t know if you’ve seen this article, but the company you highlighted matches several red flags here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/16429/is-your-student-loan-repayment-company-a-scam/

      If you want to lower your payment or consolidate your private student loan, the only real option is to refinance. Don’t let any one company trap you with them, you can compare your options on a site like Credible and see where the best rate it.

      Reply

  87. Hi, I just got off the phone with someone from National Student Services Center. I found them on a Sponsored Advertorial paid for by a private entity on my mobile phone’s news feed.
    They did not ask for a fee but claimed that Sallie Mae (Navient) is being forced to repay 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans for overcharging late fees, etc. They say that I qualify for something called Income-based Program with Forgiveness with some interesting terms.
    I am worried because they asked for my SSN, FSAID and a credit or debit card to get into the program. I gave them everything except my debit card number. I am worried that this could be some type of scam. Do you have any information on this company?
    Thank you.

    Reply

    • There’s a lot of misinformation in what they told you. And they haven’t asked for a fee yet, but they will if you call them back.

      Misinformation:
      – Sallie Mae and Navient are two different companies
      – $1.3 trillion is the total outstanding student loan debt in the United States, and no company is being forced or asked to repay this
      – Last year, Sallie Mae was ordered to pay $100 million to military members for bad practices, but that is just for certain people who had issues while they were deployed or on active duty
      – There are multiple income-based programs? Which did they want you to sign up for
      – Several have student loan forgiveness attached – we list them here (no hiding anything from you): Secret Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

      I would not work with a company that is not honest and straightforward with you. Everything they are offering to do you can also do for free at StudentLoans.gov. Just login to your account.

      Reply

      • Robert,
        I thank you for getting back to me on this. I really appreciate your research in this matter for me. You gave me enough to consider and I will not be working with this company. Thank you for providing the useful link as well. Your service here is to be commended and I hope everyone gets a chance to see this. I have you bookmarked and I will direct my friends here and others who have issues with their loans.
        Lastly, do you think I should change my FSAID and password since I gave them that info? Or should I be okay?

        Reply

  88. I signed up with the Student Aid Center yesterday. I was told they could save me $8,124.00 if I signed up with them through the income based plan. They said it would have to pay them $199.00 up front which I thought was ok, but after I gave her all my information she told me it was $199 for 5 months for processing fee. After that I would pay $76.00 for 152 months to a new lender. I felt very uncomfortable about it after I hung up the phone. My husband has always told me if it sounds too good to be true it is and it’s a scam. I’ve been reading everyone’s comments and made me worried and sick to my stomach thinking what have I just done. So I called them and told them I wanted to cancel and the lady gave me a hard time when I told her I didn’t feel comfortable about this and I changed my mind. She tried to give me a guilt trip about me not wanting to save money on my loans and that I wanted to stay late with loan payments. She sent me an email confirming my account was deactivated and I was told they would not take any money out of my bank account. She said they wouldn’t because my account was no longer activated. What can I do to make sure they don’t take any money out of my bank account? My husband would go crazy if he knew what I did. Please help!

    Reply

    • Just monitor it. If you received a confirmation email, you should be fine.

      In the meantime, go to StudentLoans.gov and look at your options, for FREE!

      If you want more custom help, there are programs that can help if you have Federal student loans, and we cover them in our DIY coaching course.

      If you have private loans too, it’s more challenging, but there are still options.

      You can get free help from me and our community: http://forums.thecollegeinvestor.com/

      Reply

  89. Robert,
    I think I’m in big trouble. I signed up with a company back in March for the first two months I paid $200 dollars per month under the impression this was going to my loans. Since then it’s been $40 a month (this has all gone on a credit card) my loans were in forbearance at the time so I didn’t think to look into it any further. Until now they’re current, and I’ve been getting statements from Navient(my original loan servicer) my problem is none of that $40 per month I’ve been paying is going to my loans! And now I’m way behind, on my credit card statement it says “student loan assistance” but when they call or email it says “student loan processing . An I being scanned? And what do I do? Is there anyway to report this to my credit card company to dispute the charges and get my money back?

    Reply

    • If Navient hasn’t received a payment at all on your loans, you’ve been scammed.

      This is called an Advance Fee Scam, where they take your money and don’t pay your loans.

      So, yes, dispute it with your credit card company immediately and tell them what happened. Then, start making payments to Navient ASAP. If you need a lower payment, you can login to StudentLoans.gov and do it yourself.

      Reply

      • Thank you so much! Are there any extra precautions I should take? I mean they have ALL of my information: SSN, pin numbers, electronic signatures.

        Reply

  90. Have you ever heard of a Go SLAC Inc. They offered to wipe away my interest off of my student loans buut the catch was I had to pay $700 for my ferbarence fees that have been acculmulated. PLEASE RESPOND SOON!!!!!

    Reply

    • Never heard of them, but that’s completely wrong – you shouldn’t have to pay that much or go into forbearance.

      Just login to StudentLoans.gov and change your repayment plan for free.

      Reply

  91. Hi, I recently called a number that was on the web promising me tha they will cancel my loan, I gave them my personal information like my ssn and my ID number. The problem is that I was ask to pay 190 dolars and I told them that I didn’t had the money but ended up paying 98 dollars. I have a horrible feeling that it’s a scam. I already canceled 2 my cards and I’m afraid that they may use my information for something else than helping me. My questions are
    Can an 800 number be fraudulent?
    Is it true tha Obama passed a law about student loan forgiveness?
    If not, what type of attorney do I need to contact to help me?

    Reply

  92. Does anyone know about privatstudentloanassistance.org? IS this a scam? The company promises to provide total control and wipe out of private student loan on credit report.

    Reply

    • I would be very wary of any company that promises that because many times it involves ruining your credit with a small chance it could work. Not to mention the typically high fees they charge to attempt to do it.

      With private loans your best bet is to refinance to a loan that’s more affordable.

      Reply

  94. I’ve just recently started talking to Federated Loan Services (federatedloanservices.org) out of Bakersfield California. They want me to pay a $799 consultation fee then they said that I would be put on a forbearance with my loan servicers and I would only have to pay $19 a month for 120 months. Then after my last payment whatever is left that I owe for my loans would be forgiven. Have you heard about them before and is this a scam or not? I’ve given them all the necessary information it would take to fulfill the task and I’m feeling a little uneasy about the fact that I might be making a mistake since they want me to pay them $800 for consultation to get on a low income payment plan. I’m already having trouble making payments now the last thing I need is to be put into a bigger bind.

    Reply

  95. I spoke with a woman named Annette Martinez today from Student Processing Center who claims to be associated with AFSLR. She said that her company mainly deals with federal student loans but since most of mine are private student loans that she would work with submitting my information to a law firm that her company works with that would then take legal action against my loans. She said that this law firm only accepts cases they know they will win and has had a 98% success rate since 2005. She sent two emails that ask for personal information (SSN, income, etc…) that she said she will use to process the paper work to send to the law firm. She said once the paper work is submitted, it will take 72 hours to know whether I’m approved or denied. She didn’t make any mention of fees that I would have to pay her company. She said that the law firm would take my $110,000 of student loan debt and look at legal issues associated with it, but I would pay them $38,000 over the course of 4 years. What are your thoughts? Scam? I am supposed to call her back tomorrow to finish processing the application.

    Reply

  96. Does anyone know much about the Student Aid Center? I provided a lot of my information (SS, FAFSA pin and debit card account). I am skeptical because I have to pay $299 for 5 months in order for them to help me with my loans. During those 5 months they will speak with my current lender and try to get a deferment for my loans. I have over 43,000 in student loans. The lady I spoke with said she would help me consolidate my loans with a new lender and get the Income based repayment plan. She said I could pay as little as $203 a month for about 209 months (But since it is based on my income it can go up if I start earning more). She also said that after the 209 months the interest on my loans will be forgiven. It just sounds to fishy to me but I want to make sure if any of you guys know about them or else I will call and cancel.

    Reply

  97. I have $43000 of student loan debt under my name and about $25,000 under my dads name (Parent plus loan). I have not consolidated my loans but I am trying to research to see which lender I can apply with to get the lowest possible rate. I am currently paying about 750 a month for both my dads loans and mine but I do not see much of that money going towards the balance. Any help/tips?

    Reply

    • You can consolidate and sign up for IBR for free on StudentLoans.gov – don’t pay and don’t get a deferral. Just login and do it.

      As for your dad’s PLUS loans, there aren’t many options. He could opt for an extended repayment plan to lower his payments, but that’s about it.

      Reply

  98. First of all, I’d like to thank you for your helpful tips. I contacted student processing center before researching the company. They asked me for my Driver’s license, income, and job position and also asked me to email them a monthly statement of my private loan. They offered me a couple alternatives as far as different payment plans for up to 12 months for my private loans. I did not agree to anything and told them would have to consult this with my partner. Should I be concerned if I provided them with all of that information?

    Reply

  99. Hi there,
    I have read a few of your articles because my wife has been talking to Lorie at Student Loan Resource Center. She has over 50K in private student loan debt and I have over 150K in private student loan debt. The company wanted $500 to start the process to consolidating her federal loans, she didn’t do that because we dont have the extra income to spend on that.(luckily) The company did say that they could help consolidate her loans by taking Navient to court through a law firm, Knepper and Johanson Law Group and settle at 40% of her debt amount. Then she would be on a 4 year payment plan with no interest to the law group. The checklist talks about federal loans but what about private loans? Is this law group settling for 20% with Navient and then we owe 40% to the law group or is there something I am missing?

    Reply

    • Yes, you’re missing the fact that there is no guarantee that they will achieve anything they mention, and you’ll pay in the interim. Even if you don’t pay, you’ll likely harm your credit score, send your loans into default, and struggle long term to recover from this attempt.

      Private loans are tough – this process that they are talking about doesn’t really work very often, and there are typically other extenuating circumstances behind the times it does work. Your best bet to make your private loans more affordable is to refinance them.

      Reply

      • I signed up for the the same thing except for my private student loans. They said $300 for 3yrs and that’s all. In the mean time, like you said, my loan payments are late and it has affected my credit score. They say once, it’s settled the negative effect will reverse. I do wish I gave it more thought, thinking it’s a scam. I feel stuck. Does the process ever work?

        Reply

        • I’m also supposed to log every correspondence from my loaners and send to the law firm so they can use it against them. It’s been 3 month so far :/

          Reply

        • It rarely works. You have a bigger chance with private loans, but realize it can take years. In that time you’ll have paid this law firm $10,800 – which could have gone to your loans. And you could still owe at the end of this.

          Reply

          • I am in the same situation k & J law group. $339/month retainer fee for 3 years…. I have never spoken with the attorney Amanda johanson. I am always directed to a customer service account manager….I have even asked to speak directly with the attorney…and they state that I am unable to due to the attorney work load. Also the account manager contacts me via email and when I look up the address from the K & J law firm welcome letter it states it is the address for student loan resolve. I confronted the account manager and stated that I feel as though it is a scam and just said don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Will I be penalized, or held accountable if I stop making payments? Should I close my bank account…or will this attorney come after me?

          • Yikes that’s a lot of money. Chances are they will not come after you and they are not helping you – are you getting what you paid for?

            Read your contract, you should be able to cancel. If not, consult a real student loan attorney.

  100. Hi, I am concerned about a program I just signed up for with Direct Loan Services, LLC. to reduce my student loan debt payments based on paying your loan back depending on how much you earn and anything left over from these adjusted payments after 300 months is “forgiven”. Is this too good to be true? I already paid them one of 3 initial payments to get enrolled into the program. Have I signed my life away and been scammed or is this real? Thank you.

    Reply

    • The program they signed you up for is real – it’s called IBR and it’s a FREE program offered by the government. You could have signed up on StudentLoans.gov without paying any fee, and it would have taken you about 15 minutes to do it.

      You can learn more about IBR here. Make sure you start saving for the taxes due on the amount forgiven.

      Finally, how much did they charge you?

      Reply

  101. 12 months ago I signed up for student loan solution they charge me $400 split up into two payments to Consolidate my loans. In 25 years they said I won’t owe anything. I then receive a bill form fedloan that I owed 630 of loan payments. I cancelled my card. What should I do from here.

    Reply

    • That sucks to hear that this company didn’t do what they said. If you still haven’t paid the second installment, don’t! Instead, call FedLoan and work out a payment plan that works for you. You can also login to StudentLoans.gov and work out a payment plan there. You don’t ever need to pay a third-party company to get help with your loans.

      Reply

  103. Hi Robert,

    I am afraid I have been scammed! I signed documents giving third party power of attorney. They have not debited my bank account yet, which I know I can resolve by opening a new checking account. But I am very nervous about the power of attorney stuff, they went through it so fast that I completely missed that i was signing that form! Any suggestions on how to protect myself?

    Thanks,
    J

    Reply

    • Well, ask them to cancel whatever it is you were looking for them to do. Then, see how you can do it yourself for free? What were you paying them to do for you.

      Reply

  104. Just got off the phone with Student Processing Center Irvine,ca LLC! All I smell IS SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM! The “loan advisor” tried to get me to pay $799 to consolidate my loans into the IBR, when I thought i made the deal of the century as the advisor said i got a $0 dollar payment…..this is when things….well….WENT DOWN HILL! Not only did they want to charge me through ACH (routing and account) Also said its mandatory to sign up for Student Assist Plus (SAP) $30/monthly which was going to secure my loan forgiveness. Boy oh boy was I glad I didn’t, after looking at the fine print I realised I would be paying $30 for…..20 YEARS!!!! These crooks really were trying to get me to pay $799 plus $30 for 20 years..STAY AWAY FOLKS THESE GUYS ARE TROUBLE AND THE “LOAN ADVISORS” get commission
    off this!

    Tammy-

    Reply

  106. I just fell victim to one of these scams; StudentDebtRelief.us. I am worry stricken. How do I redo this. My consolidation will not be finalized for the next couple of weeks. If I cancel it now will it be put to an end? Any advice will truly help. This is what I get for not doing my homework and I feel like such an idiot, I was just drowning in some of the payments since I haven’t found a job out of school. THANK YOU for being proactive about these companies!! What should I do?

    Reply

    • Call them and cancel. Then call your lender and work with them directly. They will help you.

      If you feel you’re getting the run-around from your lender, you can go directly through StudentLoans.gov.

      Reply

  107. Here’s a new one….StudentPlans dot us and the link to the website doesn’t work. BUT they are on Facebook with only 300 likes. The woman got agitated when I didn’t agree to her program….i pay a lower amount and at the end the remaining $7000 is supposedly forgiven. Thankfully she only has my phone number. Sounds like a huge call center in the back being run by young people. I can guarantee that the 6 people that gave them a 5 Star rating on Facebook are all part of the call center scam. I gave them a terrible review and reported it to Facebook….who i have no faith in whatsoever.

    Reply

  108. I received mail from Student Loan Forgiceness LLC Program today in the mail. How do I tell if they are for real and not a scam? It has a phone number of 1-877-723-7863 and an email address of StudentLoanControl com on the paper.

    Reply

  109. I’ve been considering using Student Loan Help Today (National Student Loan Relief) to help me reach a settlement agreement for my student loans. I owe ~$100K, and they’ve said they should be able to get a pay off value for 40%. I’m having a hard time finding reviews for them and am concerned about the validity of their claims. Any thoughts or other suggestions? My loans are current, never in default.

    Reply

    • Please don’t do this with this company. What they’re not telling you is this:
      1. They will want you to stop making payments (which will harm your credit score) – but will ask you to make payments to them instead
      2. They will send a letter to Navient, which means nothing
      3. They will possibly ask Navient to prove they own your loans (which they likely do)
      4. They will then say “well, you can see this borrower hasn’t been paying, can you accept 50% of the loan?” They still don’t have to agree

      Regardless, what happens to you is that you pay them hundreds per month during this process (you didn’t say how much, but this is typical). There is no guarantee it will work, and even if it does, it takes months or years. You will have poor credit as a result and will still be digging yourself out of a financial hole for the next 7 years or more.

      Reply

      • This is what is happening to me!! Amanda Johanson and Associates. I pay them monthly and should be out of debt in 2 years. They told me not to contact Navient and that they sent them a cease and desist letter. Now they are waiting on navient to tell them I have the loans. Meanwhile, I will go into default in march. I don’t know what to do. I have to pay $264 a month for 2 years to this law firm and my credit has already taken a hit.

        Reply

  110. Hi! I used Student Loan Resource Center and now realized that I was scammed. I did it about two months ago, paid the 600 dollars. I am now kicking myself! How should I proceed to get everything fixed? Should I change my FASFA pin, should I contact my lender about the power of attorney? I am feeling overwhelmed as I just figured it out.

    Reply

    • Sorry to here that. Yes, change your pin and contact your lender. Your lender can also help you with changing your repayment plan if you need to.

      Reply

  111. Hi! I was contacted by Slac inc student loan assistance center. They said that I can be placed in the IBR plan with $39.00 a month during 300 moths. At the end the remaining of my balance wool be forgiven. I need to make a $800.00 fee that according to then the DOE charges. And since I’m a teacher after 10 years I quality for a loan forgiveness. That also tilde me that after 120 days the DOE will pay my curren debt and no longer will come out on my credit report. And that I only will end up paying 9000.00 of the 50000.00 I still owe. Is this true? and are they trust worthy?

    Reply

    • Well, I would not consider them trustworthy considering they are lying about the fee. That $800 fee is not charged by the Department of Education – it’s charged by them. If you want to go on IBR and setup PAYE, you can do it for FREE through the Department of Education at StudentLoans.gov. The programs are fee to enroll into, that $800 is a fee you’re paying them to fill out a simple form (as simple as a job application and if you know your name, you can fill it out).

      Reply

  112. I recently consulted with student loans of America they asked for 500 up front and then my payments will be 52.00 dollars a month is this a scam.

    Reply

  113. I was enrolled in the fed loan servicing program earlier this year .. They took about $600 out of my account in the last months. First 3 payments of $196 for being in the program and at first said it was $50 each month after but charged $90. After sending in my paper work months later I get a letter saying I’m ineligible for the program. Where did my money go if not towards my principle? And if I’m ineligible why are they still taking money and can I get it back?

    Reply

    • All your money went to the company that you signed up with…sorry to hear this happened. These companies are paperwork processing firms, they’ll send in any paperwork – no guarantee the paperwork would actually be legitimate. You need to call them and cancel, or cancel the credit card you used to sign up with. Get out of that firm quick and simply call your lender if you need help.

      Reply

  114. I just spoke with the Student Financial Help Center. I fully understand that they are simply a paperwork processor. That being said, he told me that I may be able to get a full refund for paid loans to Wyoming Technical Institute (Corinthian College) because they were sued by the DOE for misleading their students. He also stated I may be able to get a full refund for all loans to the University of Phoenix. He stated there was a 10 – 12 month process to file for a discharge of those loans and that for $399 they will handle all paperwork. They do have a refund policy, but after reading it sounds like they have covered their bases and a refund is not likely. I’m curious, if there is truly a chance to get a refund for Wyo Tech, and a discharge for UOP, it might be worth the $399 for them to file all the paperwork. Thus far I have signed nothing. Thoughts?

    Reply

    • For Wyoming Tech, likely not, but why pay when this tool will help you free determine if you’re eligible and highlight the next steps: https://oag.ca.gov/corinthiantool

      For University of Phoenix, no. They haven’t done anything illegal or misleading, and it sounds like you got your degree or certificate like you were supposed to.

      In general, you can only get a discharge of your student loans for school closure if you’re 1)unable to complete your degree and 2)you cannot transfer to another school to finish it because the credits won’t transfer.

      Reply

  115. Hey, I was just wondering if you heard of “Docuprep center” They are located in california. IT appeared to be authentic to me because they knew about my loan information and everything. I gave them my ssn and driver’s license number like a doofus and now im worried. They said they want me to sign documentation and pay a 1% closing fee. I refused and told him to call me tomorrow. I’m definently not doing it. But I was worried about identity theft. Are these companies trying to steal your identity or just trying to charge you for things that don’t cost money? Thanks for your time.

    Reply

      • Thank you for your quick response. So I told the guy I was not interested in his service and delete me from his system. IS there anything else I need to do to safeguard myself?

        Reply

        • Just monitor your credit and call your lender to make sure they didn’t start anything. Plus, by calling your lender, you can do anything yourself, like change your repayment plan.

          Reply

          • Thanks, I will do that immediately. I also froze my credit score for the time being. I thought he was trying to steal my identity. Hopefully I wont hear anything else about this.

    • We are here to educate and assist people in facilitating the enrollment process for these programs. Most people aren’t aware nor are capable of doing it on their own. There is other things that we assist our clients with that separate us from others. The last thing we are here to do is steal your identity or make your life harder. We are here to make your life easier. I can assure you the last thing we are here to do is harm or manipulate in any way, shape or form.

      And Robert you are telling people that it is a scam to be charged for doing this but you, yourself are charging people for a “crash course” on how to do it. Whether it is $97 or $500 the fact is that you are still charging people for something according to you that they can so “easily” do on their own. And i’m sure you won’t post this but it’s alright.

      Reply

  117. What are your opinions on this website? I have 3 monthly payments and then my loan is paid off. My boyfriend did this one year prior due to disability and his entire loan was forgiven through this website. Because of my financial situation they are telling me after these three fees I will no longer pay for my loan and it will be forgiven in 12 months if I make under a certain amount. Have you come across scams for this website? We have one success story so far but I don’t see anything else.

    Reply

    • Never heard of this website but for Federal loans, what they are telling you isn’t correct. In fact, I’d be concerned about your boyfriend’s loan as well. Have you checked his credit?

      Reply

  118. I made a deal with student consolidation aid . I did not realize it could be a big mistake until latter on. They said make 3 payments of 249 . After that payments will be 0$ n debt forgiven due to my income and family size . I started to wonder if it was a scam because I gave them my routing number too .

    Reply

  119. Hello:

    Have you heard of FedLoanHelp.org? They claim to be a non-profit that helps take into account your other monthly expenses as well as your adjusted gross income in helping me to make affordable monthly payments toward my PSLF program.

    Their phone number is 1-888-203-2250.

    I did unfortunately already sign and give them my bank account info and now I am a little nervous about their legitimacy…

    Thank you for any input you can provide!!!

    Reply

    • You can call them and cancel anything you started. Just do it sooner, rather than later. Next, call your lender and make sure that everything is squared away.

      You didn’t mention how much they wanted as a “donation”. Care to share?

      Reply

  120. I’m very confused about how to tell the difference between a legitimate program and a scammer. I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, Boston a couple of years ago and they just announced that all the US Boston campuses are closing due to lawsuits and unsatisfied students. I have been getting spam emails for months about loan relief, bit I’m afraid to move forward. Do you know any names of legitimate companies that can help people like me? I definitely think that I have some options but I need to talk to the right person.

    Reply

    • It’s possible that you have a lawsuit you could file for fraud if:
      1. The school promised you a certain salary or job prospect after graduation
      2. You didn’t graduate or you did, but you didn’t get anything close to the field or salary

      It’s hard to prove, and you have to go through a lawyer – specifically one that deals with education fraud and student loan debt.

      None of this will give you loan forgiveness or relief. If you win the lawsuit, you would win money you could use to pay your debt. If you lose, you’ll owe even more to the lawyers.

      To get forgiveness from student loan debt in cases of fraud, the fraud has to be related to the issuance of the loan (such as a forged signature, falsified documents, etc.). Not a fraud committed by attending the school.

      Does that make sense? If you want to pursue a fraud case, contact a lawyer.

      Reply

  122. i just recently gave them my information and i felt that it is too good to be true. but i gave it to them anyways. they said in two weeks ill pay $200 dollars and the next following months ill pay 143.67 up until may and my loans will be forgiven i even have the documents and paper. i am nervous because i gave them majority of my information but yet they already knew my information of who i had owed money to and etc i need help can you help me?

    Reply

  123. Hello Robert I just called a # that I thought was to see if I qualified for student loan forgiveness, and as I’m speaking to a guy he mentions that my loans will be costolidated and l that there is a fee a have to pay asap. The person I spoke to is from Student Loan Freedom, is this also a scam?????
    How was he able to pull up all my student loan info? If I only gave him my name?????
    Will he be able to get any of my other personal information??????

    Reply

  124. Also I didn’t make any type of payment, or was registered yet? He basically just gave me an estimate of what my student loans would look like if I went with this student loan freedom. I asked the guy if they affiliate with the government education student loans, and he told me that yes he works for them.

    Reply

  125. Thank you Robert for your forum. This answered many of the questions I had. I too nearly got scammed by The Student Financial Help Center. I did give them my FASFA pin but that was about it, As soon as they started asking me for financial information I said I needed to do a little research on them and stopped the procedure. After reading all these comments I could not be more relieved. Thank you once again.

    Reply

  126. Hi Robert,

    I am helping my girlfriend with her repayment plan now. We were considering studentloans.gov and after reading through the comments it seems they are legit. Based on your suggestion we will check with the company that issued the loan first. This is such an important issue we could use a site dedicated to this topic alone. Thanks so much!

    Reply

  127. Hi I recently got involved with nationwide consumer services- for my consolidation of std loans. I have to pay $149×3 months then based on my income its $0 after that and they “report” it to the lenders that I am under a hardship. Is this a legit company and should I continue it? I have already made two payments to them, next and final one is feb. 29th!! All they have right now is my checking info. Before I send in the information like ssn ect I want to know if I should push the cancellation.

    they have a BBB rating and all…but still fuzzy as to what to do.
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • They will likely do what they said, but I’m sorry you had to pay for it. You can consolidate for free at StudentLoans.gov. They basically made you pay for a service that you can easily do for nothing.

      At this point, you could cancel and not make the last payment and do it yourself, or let them finish what they started.

      Reply

    • I’ve never seen the company return the fee, but I’ve seen people successfully dispute the charge on their credit card and get the money credited back.

      Reply

  129. Robert,

    This is all very informative. Thank you for this site. I’ve seen things on here that sound similar to my situation.

    Have you ever heard of Student Docand Prep? I had looked into student loan forgiveness after hearing issues about The Art Institute. I saw this company on Facebook basically talking about it and asked to receive information about it. They called me and after giving them some info they informed me I was eligible for income based repayment and federal loan forgiveness. I have about $90,000 in federal loans and they said i was eligible for forgiveness and would only have about $18,000 to pay. Around $77 a month for 240 months once everything was processed. I paid $500 to start that processing a couple weeks ago, and they still need my tax return from last year to finish it up. I haven’t given them that yet as I didn’t have it on hand at the time of the call. I was so excited at the prospect of my fed debt going down to $18000 I paid the $500.

    From what I’ve read it’s not an actual scam, but something I could do myself if it’s in fact true. Have you heard of Student Doc and Prep, or processmystudentloans.com or deptpaypro.com? What do you advise?

    Thank you in advance!

    Reply

  130. I am need to know what I am doing is the right thing. I have to pay 159.80 for 5 months. the company is nationwide student loan. I did see them on the BBB site. They had a few complains but they were resolved. There grade A-
    BBB Accredited Business since 12/17/2013
    Nationwide Student Loan

    This is the information I got off of the BBB site.

    Did I make the right decision. I need to know before I make my first payment.

    Reply

  131. I received a phone call tonight from Student Relief Services (SRS). They went through the same jargon that others have commented on. I was hesitant the entire time, questioning why they needed my SS# or routing information. I insisted that I wanted to see the documentation first to look over and have someone look over. They put a supervisor on the phone to ensure me that nothing was being done with the information until I signed the documentation, which I did not do. Ultimately, I told them that I wanted to talk to my lender first before making any decisions. They then said that they were going to go ahead and cancel the enrollment process because it was “time sensitive.”

    My worry is that I gave them my SS# and Routing #…if I did not sign or agree to anything, am I ok, or do I need to contact my bank, lender, FAFASA (did not give them my pin), etc??

    Reply

    • I wouldn’t worry if you didn’t proceed – but you should remain vigilant on your credit report to be safe.

      Reply

  132. Hi Robert, your article is very helpful! I’m in the process of having my student loans consolidated/forgiven, however I feel a bit skeptical about the service. This service is through Process My Student Loans / Student Help Group. Is this a legit company to be trusted? I have to pay $600 upfront to start this program with them. My current student federal loan is $44,000 and they claim it will be about $90,000 after interest as I am only paying $5 now (i’m enrolled in some program). With their service I would pay $40,000 with a monthly payment of $207. They are looking at my private loans now, which I owe $122,000. They have asked for my W2 and SSN, as well as my bank information. Does this sound legit to you? I’m a bit nervous.

    Reply

    • I’d be concerned. Why are you going to increase your payment? What plan are you on now – typical income-based plans offer forgiveness anyway, so it won’t “cost” you much after you’re done paying for 20-25 years.

      As for your private loans, there likely isn’t much they can do, but they will likely tell you they can settle your loans if you stop making payments. That’s about the worst thing you can do and very bad advice to pay for.

      Read more about scams versus stuff you shouldn’t pay for here: Is Your Aid Company A Scam Or Not?

      Reply

      • I was put on a special plan with nelnet to pay $5 a month as I had not paid my federal loans for about 9 months to a year. Where else can I apply for loan forgiveness? Thanks for your help!

        Reply

        • After your loans are rehabilitated, get on an income based repayment plan and then you get loan forgiveness after 20-25 years.

          Reply

  133. Hi, I went to log in into my yahoo mail and i seen an a post that said it could lower or pay 0 for my loans something about sallie mae so i clicked on it and filled out the form. name, number, email, how much loan was, how many loans i had. simply questions like that. i submitted and immediately received a call from them prompting me to press 1 to speak with someone. i did it and spoke with a gentlemen that ask me for my name, date of birth, email and social security number, not thinking about it i gave it to him. he said he couldnt do anything about my loans because i havent made a payment since 2014 but if i paid off my interest of $700 they would be able to help me. When i stated that i do not have that much money he told me that he might be able to do it anyways if i had even just a little bit, i said as i dont have a job at the moment i cant really afford anything, he said if i could come up with at least a 100 in 7 days he would be able to start the application process for me. i said i would try calling back when i had a job and he said that is probably a better idea. and that what basically that. i checked my email after we hung up and they sent me something to sign up for fsa. this is the link they gave me: https://fsaid.ed.gov/ seems legit since it has the .gov however i am a little paranoid after all i did give them my social. what are your thoughts on this. is it a scam or not?

    Reply

    • The website he gave you is a legit site, but has nothing to do with that company. The company sounds a little sketchy, and you don’t need to use a service that wants $100 in 7 days. That’s sketchy as well.

      What you need to do is rehabilitate your loans and get back on track. Here’s the process to get started with rehabilitation.

      Reply

  134. WBG- Western Benefits Group is a SCAM.
    They are placed out of California. BEWARE! You do not have to pay anyone $500 to “process” your paperwork or $35 a month- save yourself money and your idenity and enter your own information! STAY AWAY FROM WBG!

    Reply

  135. Anyone ever heard of document prep express? Document aid relief? They said my federal loans can be 100% forgiven after several questions – it seemed to good to be true.

    Reply

  136. Responded to an Ad on LinkedIn that promised qualification checks for all student loans per Obama’s debt relief act, ant that they were licensed and registered with the AFSLR (Association For Student Loan Relief). Mere seconds after filling out the online form, my cell phone blew up with this 310 Beverly Hills phone number. The Rep, Justin, was very well versed, and didn’t sound like he was reading from a script. He said based on the School and Amount of my Loans, which he somehow, said they had access to due to their shared database, they confirmed my access to one of their “Programs”, for a one-time $500 “fee”, that would completely eliminate my balance, even claiming to have registered my with the Dept. of Ed. via email from;
    FSA ID Information , that I was eligible for the Program. When my cell phone battery dies in traffic while speaking with him, I later was again bombarded with call backs, so I deferred by asking for him to email me all the details. I cannon find anything about this Company online, and am now second-guessing that I began to give person info, but realized that he was asking personal questions that would be answers to things like “Mother’s Maiden Name”, First School, Nickname, things that a Phishing Scammer would want to know in order to wither guess passcodes, or have passcodes reset….. Sounded very legit, professionally spoken, but red flags all over.

    Reply

  137. Started paying my loans off through Premier Student Loans before doing any fact checking or research, today I decided to, and am now super paranoid. Does anyone have any stories about them or know if it’s a scam?

    Reply

    • If they did everything you paid them to do, they aren’t a scam – it’s just you paid for something that is free, which sucks. I would just validate with your lender directly that they did whatever work you wanted (i.e. consolidation, changing repayment plans, etc.).

      Reply

  138. I got this check that looks very real for $28,000 from the “Student Loan Assistance Program” or “SLAP”. Their phone is 888.269.0991. I haven’t given them anything and certainly don’t plan too. But I’m wondering if this is somehow legitimate?

    Reply

    • NO! Sending you a check is not legitimate and you should ignore it. It’s just marketing for something that you don’t have to pay for.

      Reply

    • I’d be concerned working with them because they appear to be a document processing company that doesn’t disclose it on their website. Furthermore, there are multiple “student aid companies” that have been registered to the same PO Box.

      Remember, though, if they do what they say they are going to do, they’re not a scam. The problem is, every service they advertise on their website can be done for free by calling your lender or going online to StudentLoans.gov (the real government website for your student loans).

      Reply

  140. Hi. I graduated from college about 2 years ago. My loans had the 6 month grace period and once that was up the payment had me worried. Someone told me about a loan forgiveness program, so I signed right up. Paid them 5 monthly payments and due to my income, my payment became $0 a month. They paid off my balance at fed loan and I just forgot about it. Recently I have been receiving phone calls so I returned a call today after I received an email from fed loan about a payment due. I called the number that kept calling and it was a student loan forgiveness program. Different than the one I previously dealt with, yet somehow they had all my information. They wanted a one time payment of $99. I said I was hesitant and wanted to call fed loan. So I know obviously I should have never got myself into the first program. I’m just worried because they have all my information. If they had it how many other places have it?! How am I supposed to feel safe with them knowing everything? What do I do???

    Reply

    • I bet a lot of places have your information – the school you went to likely sold it to them, or one of their contractors did. It sucks, but it’s life.

      Anyway, only work directly with your lender or online at StudentLoans.gov. It sounds like you were scammed in the past, so now you need to get your loans back on track. Setup a payment plan you can afford directly with your lender, and look at forgiveness programs here to see if you qualify.

      Reply

  141. Hello,
    I received a phone call from Beling Law Firm today claiming that they could help me with my private student loan debt. Do you know anything about this law firm and whether they are legit or not? Thank you for your help

    Reply

  142. Good Morning Robert: Do you know anything about Western Benefits Group

    My son and I were contacted by them to enroll him in Obama Income driven loan forgiveness program consolidating all of his school loans to one payment of 175 per month There would also be a 199.00 initial fee which we weren’t informed about until we aware getting ready to enroll. Here is a message we received from them explaining their services.
    There is not a contract, all that he will need to sign is an agreement stating that he wants to be enrolled into the program.

    The program I recommend is the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPYE ) paying $175 for 300 payments.

    To be in the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) he can’t have any loans before October 2007. His loans go from 2003-2007. Both of these programs are income based.

    He can be enrolled into the Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan. Like the REPYE plan, this is income based as well, however it will cost $245 for 274 payments. However, though this plan, there wouldn’t be forgiveness.

    Reply

  143. I spoke with a company called Compliance loan forgiveness or Done with loans, regarding loans I had taken out with Wright Career College which all got shut down all over the country. I’m curious if I am being scammed as well. Thanks in advance

    Reply

    • It’s hard to say if you’re being scammed because you didn’t say what you paid and what you’re expecting this company to do for you. I’m always concerned with forgiveness promises because there are very strict reasons why you get forgiveness. Just because your college was shut down doesn’t guarantee you anything. There are sometimes options, but they are relatively new and require certain criteria to be met.

      Reply

  144. Received a piece of mail yesterday and it looked like it was from the Department of Education, asking me to sign up for my FSA ID and call this number to review my options for Federal Loan consolidation. Well about a half hour into the phone call, and when they started going over the “fee” ($799 if paid up front, or $899, broken down into 3 payments over 45 days), I started to catch on. I stated it wasnt worth it to me to pay such a high fee for only my federal loans, when the balance is only 12k (~$60/month), and my private loans are about 115k. I asked about my private loan options, and was told they could lower my payment down to 40%, and Id deal with lawyers, and probably take a small “fake hit” on my credit score. The kid literally said “fake hit”, and proceeded to inform me how my credit would bounce back after a few years. Needless to say I laughed in his face and hung up the phone. What I did get out of this whole thing was that there were options for me to consolidate my federal loans. I applied today, took me 15 minutes, and best of all it was FREE! These people are very good at leaving out details, and making you think they’re the best option. Final Statement regarding Private Loans: IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT MOST LIKELY IS!

    Reply

    • Thanks for sharing your story and the fees. It’s ridiculous what these companies try to sell people on.

      Reply

  145. I could use some advice…
    I attended Wright Career College and obtained an associates degree but I had taken out too much money from my Sallie Mae loan and Wright was supposed to send back almost $5,000 to Sallie Mae that was never used towards my education. I was told this several times that this was being done and that I was even on an “emergency refund list.” Sallie Mae never received anything from Wright. Now the school is in bankruptcy and all assets are frozen. I let Sallie Mae know but they don’t care of course, I will be paying them back this $5,000 plus interest that never went towards my education. I don’t know if I should get a lawyer or what…I have also been contacted by “done with student loans” on Facebook, they want to call me to see which program I qualify for but I’m hesitant.

    Reply

    • Hi Emily,

      Is your loan a Federal loan or private loan. Sallie Mae typically does private loans, and Navient (a spinoff of Sallie Mae) does their Federal loans.

      If you have Federal loans, you can make all repayment plan options through your lender or StudentLoans.gov for FREE. Don’t pay $500+ for a simply 15 minute phone call. As for what plan – pick the one you can afford. It’s simple – you can either afford your standard plan amount, or you need an income-based plan. That’s it.

      If you have private loans, it’s tougher, but you still shouldn’t pay this company.

      As for the $5k, it might make sense to talk to a lawyer, or contact the Department of Education Ombudsman if you have Federal Loans.

      Reply

      • My loan through Sallie Mae is a private one. I’m currently not paying on my student loans yet since I am pursuing my Bachelor’s degree at another university. I’m not sure if this is a silly question or not, what kind of lawyer should I reach out to? Are there lawyers who specialize in student loans? Or am I seeking one who specializes in bankruptcy? I’m not sure…but I want to fight it if I can.

        Reply

        • So, for the private loan, there aren’t a ton of options. You can try to refinance, get a lower interest rate or change the length of your loan. We recommend comparing options with Credible.

          As for a lawyer, yes, there are student loan lawyers that specialize in this. Do NOT go through bankruptcy for this. Here’s a starting point: http://thestudentloanlawyer.com/

          Reply

  146. Hi, I received a call from US Hardship Group based in California and they are claiming to be able to help me with my Private Student Loan by “invalidating my debt”. They say that once my Private Student Loan with Navient goes into default, it will be sold to collections, and at that point they will invalidate my debt and begin credit repair to remove the debt from my credit report. They also will sue Navient for harassing phone calls and claim that they expect to receive $500 for every phone call made from Navient. They are asking for $400 for 48 months to complete this service. Is this legit? I have a 55K Private Student Loan with a terrible interest rate and no IBR options. So this deal of getting rid of my debt for that payment and getting money for the phone calls looks great, however I am concerned about the legitimacy and cannot find any reviews online about this group. Help!

    Reply

    • You should be very concerned because it’s a really poor strategy, and similar companies in Florida have been sued by the government for offering similar programs.

      Basically, you’re paying this $19,200, and they cannot actually guarantee you anything.

      Be very careful in working with any law firm. Make sure that you ask them exactly what steps they are going to take in fighting this.

      A lot of people get burned dealing with law firms trying to get their student loan debt dismissed.

      Make sure they don’t ever:
      1. Ask you to stop making payments
      2. Ask you to make payments to them

      Both of these are big red flags that they are NOT trying to help you.

      Most people don’t ever need a student loan lawyer unless you’re struggling to get out of default, or you are being sued by your private lender. A lender asking for a payment is not being sued – I’m talking about a real lawsuit.

      If neither of these apply, all good lawyer will:
      1. Validate that the debts are legitimate (which you likely know to be the case)
      2. Validate that they haven’t violated any debt collection laws (which you could sue them for violating)

      A better step, if you have good credit still, is to look at refinancing your private loan to a better interest rate.

      Reply

  147. I got a text from “Ava from ASR. You are preapproved for student loan forgiveness, are you still interested? Please call to finalize @ 855-500-9008. Reply STOP to opt out”.

    I smell a scam. No I did not call.

    Reply

  148. So I applied for an Income Based program of consolidation with a company called Simple Student Loan Solutions in Fla. Its been three months, no update, they are charging a fee of 166 for three months (processing fee), the two numbers I have gotten (one from my “case manager” and one from my credit card statement) both show to be personal numbers. One to a cell and one to a person. Ive tried both numbers repeatedly only to be sent a generic voicemail box. I called the number on the website and was told that my “case manager” would be contacting me shortly- is this a legit poorly ran company, or should I run for the hills.. I have placed a dispute on my credit card today.

    Reply

  149. Do you know of Docupop? I found them online and they don’t have many reviews. I’m concerned and don’t want to be scammed. They charge a $660 rate to deal with all my loans and paperwork for me, but I don’t pay until they get everything consolidated. PLEASE HELP!

    Reply

    • You shouldn’t pay a service to consolidate your loans. It’s easy to do yourself, especially for Federal loans.

      StudentLoans.gov is to consolidate your Federal loans. You consolidate your Federal loans together – and your private ones stay private. The website is super easy to use and you’ll see all your loans listed that you are eligible to consolidate.

      Remember, Federal loans can be consolidated together. Private loans can be refinanced (it’s not consolidation – these are like home loans). You can NEVER consolidate private loans into your Federal loans. You can refinance your Federal loans into your private loans (but you almost never should).

      Here’s an article that explains it in more depth: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/17113/refinance-federal-loans-private-loans/

      As for your private loans, you can look at refinancing. I recommend Credible for refinancing, but honestly, you might not even need to refinance. Check them out here: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/crediblerefi

      Reply

  150. Hello Robert, I recently spoke over the phone with someone from navloan I gave him my information and everything he sent a packet that I have to sent back with information of how much I make and how many people live in household. He said that down payment is $700 I’m paying 150 weekly until I pay the $700 after that it will be $39 a month for three to six months and my loans will be forgiven. Do you know if navloan is legit or not I am freaking out. & if is not what can I do.

    Reply

    • I don’t know if they are legit or not, but I can 100% tell you they are charging you over $700 to do a free service for you.

      What you should do is NOT send back any of their paperwork and call and cancel. Then call your lender and ask for income based repayment options.

      Reply

  152. Hi Robert,
    I received a final notice from a company claiming to be the department of education (Certified Document Center) saying that I had until the end of July to sign up for the loan forgiveness. They have sent me numerous emails (none of which say Department of Education) and when they called me they asked for a lot of personal information. I gladly gave this over until they said that I had to pay a $1300 fee for them to get my loan payments down and to have a forgiveness after 20 years. When I told him that I didn’t feel comfortable giving that information until I properly went over the documents he said that I had to give it to him now in order to hold my spot ( whatever that means).

    Is this a company you’ve come across as being a scam? I know you said you shouldn’t have to pay to have your loans reduced. I also read what some other people did after finding out that they’ve been scammed so I will begin to take those steps, because I gave a lot of personal information.

    Reply

      • First of all my name is Ryan and I work for Certified Document Center. I do not know where you got that we charge $1,300 that is a blatant lie. We also make it VERY clear that we are not the DOE as a matter of fact one of the main things we say at the end of the call is “You understand that we are not the Department of Education nor the servicer of your student loans?” So another lie. If you have a date, time and name I can check the recording of said call and make sure none of this was said.

        We do not charge $1,300 and we do not give the impression that we are the DOE we are one of the most compliant student loan companies around.

        And Robert if it is so easy then why do you charge $299 for a course on doing something that is “so easy” doesn’t that make you a scam Robert?

        Ayanna Greene – If you want to call me and clear some of this up i’d gladly take your call (949-447-5462) because either you’re not telling the truth or someone here is being dishonest which we don’t put up with.

        Reply

        • Hi Ryan,

          First off, I want to thank you for stopping by and responding to your customer service inquiries. It’s rare for a company to respond on user forums but I think that, if done right, it’s a great way to engage with customers.

          However, I don’t appreciate what you’ve been doing when it comes to our website. You see, everything is tracked and I can see exactly what you’re posting. So, when you post under multiple aliases, and share positives about your company beyond the customer service aspect, it honestly doesn’t look good.

          So I find it a little appalling that you’ve posted comments under the name “Jack” urging people NOT to discuss this with their lender.

          Certified Document Center Fake Reviews

          Also, in our forum (http://forums.thecollegeinvestor.com/index.php/topic,414.0.html) you pretended to be a customer using the name rysukosan and posted a great review of your own experience with your own company.

          Certified Document Center Fake Forum Post

          Oh, and for my Student Loan Freedom program? It’s a holistic approach to helping people with their whole student loan and budgets. We don’t ever fill out forms for people. You know the saying, “give a person a fish, and they eat for the day. Teach a person to fish and they eat for their entire lives.” That’s the approach. By actually educating and coaching people through their student loan issues, we get life long results. And we don’t hide the fact that everything you can do is free. In the comments of this article alone we link to the IBR/PAYE/RePAYE paperwork and the Student Loan Consolidation Paperwork. It’s not hard to fill out.

          So, before you go challenging others, be mindful of your own approached to customer service and responses on a third party website.

          Reply

          • Next time you send a letter markd “FINAL NOTICE” to my home you will be sued for defamation of character. Believe it – I’ve consulted an attorney who will take the case on contingency meaning she won’t get paid unless I do.

  153. Hi Robert, thanks so much for what you do. Any word on Western Benefits Group. I looked them up online and they seem to be like a consultation company that will plug in your info to see if you are available for any student loan forgiveness or reduction plans etc through the government. They are asking for my social, DOB, etc. over the phone. Is this safe to give out over the phone? They have an A+ BBB rating.

    Reply

    • Hi Brandon, we’ve discussed Western Benefits Group in our forums and others have posted their experience: http://forums.thecollegeinvestor.com/index.php/topic,297.msg412.html#msg412

      I would strongly advise you to never pay any firm for help with your Federal loans. If you want to know if you qualify for anything, you can find out for free online (both here on my site and on StudentLoans.gov). You can also change your repayment plans and apply for forgiveness programs for free yourself. It’s all super easy.

      Reply

  154. Hi,

    I’m reading a lot about loan consolidation scams, but is the for-profit university loan forgiveness thing true? Sites like this one: Gradefense

    I’ve had multiple telling me that because I (regretfully) attended a for-profit university, I can eliminate my student loans. Most of the sites don’t give you much insight into the whys or hows of eliminating the loans, and I don’t want to give them my information without knowing more. Are these actually scams, or can they legitimately help eliminate some or all of my student loans? Any help in understanding what these are all about would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Yes and no.

      Yes, there is a legitimate way to get forgiveness if you were scammed by a university (not just attended). It’s called Borrower Defense To Repayment, and you have to be able to prove that you were personally misled by the school in applying and getting student loans. It’s tough and I’ve yet to see it work in practice. You can learn more here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/borrower-defense

      I have seen some class action lawsuits work, brought by Attorney Generals, where the settlement grants loan forgiveness. So far I haven’t seen anything like that for Colorado Technical University.

      What these companies typically do is simply offer to change your repayment plan to IBR or PAYE, which comes with student loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. They charge you $500 or more for something that you could easily do online on StudentLoans.gov in about 15 minutes. They claim it’s hard and you’re paying for document preparation…

      Many, in fact, do what you pay them to do. But you’re paying for a service that you could do in 15 minutes for free? So it is a scam… possibly not. Is it something you should never pay for? Yes. Would you pay someone to fill out a job application to Starbucks for you? If you can do that, you can do this yourself.

      Reply

  155. Hi….

    I have $70K in student loan debt, and I just recently started working for a school district, in which I received an email (in my work email) from Innovative Student Loan Solutions stating they could help me get into a IBR (already in through Department of Education) in which I pay $0 towardn my student loans. This person is stating that they can put me into the Student Loan Forgiveness program? And after 10 years of payment, my principla and interest would be paid off……in full. Is this something I can do myself, I thought I was already in IBR… but since Im working for a non-profit organization, I can now begin reaping the benefits of the Student Loan Forgiveness program?

    I just did my renewal and it asked if I worked for a non-profit organization. Will they automatically enroll me into the program now?

    Is Innovative Student Loan Services legit? I tried to do all my research on this company, cannot find any negative information? I even checked the BBB.

    Thanks for your help in advance!

    SJH

    Reply

    • First off, it’s something that you can easily do yourself. It’s call Public Service Loan Forgiveness and it’s a free program where you certify your employment each year and get forgiveness after 10 years. If you’re concerned about it, we have a simple training program about it here.

      Second, if you’re already on IBR, keep it that way. Call your lender to confirm and make sure you recertify your income each year.

      Finally, this company is likely a document preparation company. They will charge you $400+ to fill out this simple form. You DO NOT need to contact them or work with them. Just call your lender yourself if you have questions.

      Reply

  156. Hi, I just recently enrolled in a program for loan forgiveness through Frist Grad Aid, and they are charging me 3 payments of 223.00 approximately and they will payoff my current student loan. Do you know if this this company is legitimate?

    Reply

  157. I have been getting calls from a Florida number about student loan forgiveness. Today I actually listened to what they had to say and they transferred me to an “organization” called the Student Education Center. I was told that I qualified for a 20 yr term of income-based payments and any remaining balance would be forgiven. (I am already on an income-based plan with nelnet and am not making payments.) I was going through the questions and listening when the guy said he could access my fsa ID. I was starting to question the reality when he asked me to provide him with the 6 digit secure code from fsa, which turned out to be a password reset code. He wanted to reset my password without telling me in order to access my loans. His logic of needing to know there are loans makes sense, but usually you give loan numbers not your username and password to your account! I did a quick Google search and the only thing that pops up is a BBB post that says Student Loan Education Center is not in business anymore. There is nothing about the business and it doesn’t even bring up a link in Google to access the website studenteducationcenter.org that he said was theirs. He had my ssn, should I be concerned? Based on the lack of internet info, and the look of their site, I’m guessing scam. Do you know anything about this? I do know there are some real programs but they involve receiving grants for working in certain fields, etc.

    Reply

    • I’ve never heard of them, but if you’re concerned, I’d consider monitoring or freezing your credit.

      As for real programs, based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you’re already on the best possible solution with your lender with a $0 monthly payment on IBR.

      Reply

    • Hi Dominque,

      I’ve never heard of this company, and we typically don’t recommend that you use third-party firms to help with your student loan debt.

      With the ITT situation, there are a few ways to get help. But honestly, if you graduated a long time ago, there isn’t much to be done with your loans.

      The long answer is there are a few scenarios where you could potentially get loan forgiveness or a refund directly from ITT Tech, but just because there is a lawsuit doesn’t mean anything until it’s settled in court.

      The ways to potentially get forgiveness include:
      1. If you are currently a student at ITT and can no longer enroll because of the freeze, and your credits won’t transfer to another school. This is a case for potential student loan discharge. You simply call your lender or login to StudentLoans.gov
      2. If you believe that ITT lied to you or misled you into getting student loans because of false or fake statistics on job placement and salary, you could potentially qualify for a Borrower Defense to Repayment discharge. This is a very new form of discharge, and you have to prove that you received some type of documented misleading statements from the school or their financial aid office. This is the way that some borrowers from Corinthian Colleges were able to get their loans forgiven, but realize that the CFPB also settled a lawsuit and some students simply received refunds to offset their loans as well (so it wasn’t a true forgiveness).

      If you need to lower your payment, the best bet is simply to call your lender and switch to an income-based repayment program.

      Reply

  160. Wy wife and I been paying our daughter’s student loans (sallie mae and navient) to the tune of $2200.00 a month ever since she graduated 5 years ago. Our balance is around $85,000.00 owed. (I don’t know how they expect a new grad to pay this until they are established in a career) anyway, we got a voicemail from A1-doc prep about load consolidation; [Voicemail from (888) 897-5488-
    “This is the final attempt to reach you in regards to your student loan prequalification. You have prequalified for a lower monthly payment on your student loan. But due to numerous attempts to reach you with no success. Your eligibility will be revoked within the next 48 hours and you will no longer be offered this program for the remainder of your loan term. It’s extremely urgent that you contact one of our counselors at 888-897-5488. The number again is 888-897-5488. Thank you.”] so my wife contacted them to see what they offered.
    They told her that we needed to file for a forbearance on the loan and not let the lender know about them so the consolidation would not be blocked… They offered a NO INTEREST income based, number of family members in the house type debt repayment plan. They said it would cost 300.00 a month for the first three months, then based on her income, her payments would be $88.00 a month for 20 years (gradually increasing as her income increases) and after 20 years the balance (almost $60,000.00) would be forgiven. This sounds fishy to me so we have not given them any info yet. They said we have 48 hrs to use this plan . What do you think? Is this BS?

    Reply

    • Let’s break it down here because there are two parts to this question.

      Is the repayment plan itself BS? No – it’s called Pay As Your Earn (PAYE) and it’s a Federal student loan repayment plan that is very useful to lower your payments and it does offer forgiveness in the end. Your payments change every year though, as you have to re-certify based on your income. So, they estimates they are giving you are based on your income never changing for 20 years.

      Second, do you need to pay this company to do it? You see, they are charging you $636 to do this ($300 – $88 = $212 x 3 months). And the answer here is no. You can easily apply for this program yourself by simply calling your lender (Navient) and asking for it. Or, you can go online to StudentLoans.gov, click “Income Contingent Repayment” on the left sidebar, and apply online. It only takes a few minutes. It sounds like this company is simply charging you to fill out the paperwork, which is simpler than a job application, so you can easily do it.

      Reply

    • Hi David,

      We’re you able to get out of this? I signed the contract like a fool today and I’m trying to get out of this. Any sign of hope would be awesome.

      -Lys

      Reply

      • Sorry for the delay. I cancelled with them and they declined to return the money that I had already given them, but stopped taking anymore. The Department of Education offered their condolences and explained that companies like CDC are a chronic problem.

        Reply

  161. Am I correct in thinking that Certified Document Center is not officially affiliated with the Department of Education?

    Reply

    • You are correct. They are a document preparation company. If you need help with your loans, we suggest you work directly with your lender or go online to StudentLoans.gov.

      Reply

        • I don’t know, because it really depends on your situation and what they are offering you.

          I can tell you with certainty that you can apply for any qualifying assistance program, forgiveness program, or repayment plan for free by calling your lender or going online to StudentLoans.gov, because all programs related to Federal student loans are free.

          Reply

          • CDC is telling me that I’ll be forgiven. Nelnet currently asks for zero dollars a month due to my absence of taxable income. Forgiveness seems likely with or without the scam as I am a senior citizen with a large student debt and little promise of being to be able to pay the debt. I’ll try StudentLoans.gov to see if I can make it happen that way. If I am able can I get back the money that I already gave to CDC?

          • Remember, all income-based repayment plans (IBR, PAYE, etc.) offer loan forgiveness on any remaining balance after you’ve made the correct amount of payments (which could be $0). If NelNet says your payment is $0, it sounds like you’re already on an income-based plan that will offer forgiveness – but double check with them or online at StudentLoans.gov

            I can’t tell you about getting your money back but read the contract. Most have stipulations about refunds.

    • You are correct in saying that CDC is not affiliated with the Department Of Education. We make it very clear that we are not part of the Department of Education in our calls and if anyone eluded to the fact that we are part of the Department Of Education you can always call the 800 number and let us know these things.

      Robert: I sent you an email and would appreciate if you were to respond or email me. As you mentioned I would like to present a dialogue between you and I if possible. My personal email is ryanpdavin@gmail.com

      Reply

  162. Any feedback on Innovative Student Loan Solutions? My current school district sent out an e-mail with the following:

    The Cochise County School Superintendent’s Office has partnered with the Arizona Association of County School Superintendents (AACSS), to provide information and expertise on this program. Innovative Student Loan Solutions* is our trusted consultant to provide education about this program. We encourage all full-time employees with federal student loan debt to learn more about this program/voluntary benefit and find out if PSLF makes sense for you.

    Reply

    • Interesting – sounds like their HR has contacted with this company. If it’s free, take advantage of it – it never hurts. If it’s not free, you might just consider to learn yourself – PSLF is pretty simple to get your employment certified and ensure you’re on the right repayment plan.

      Reply

  163. Hi Robert,
    Have you ever heard of Premier solutions service? I owe 44K in direct parent loans, they said they they could knock the down to 10,333 with 3 payments of 249 then 40 per month after. This was to consolidate the loan “the Obama forgiveness program” the BBB gave them a A rating, I called the dept of ED and they said its probley a scam??? I gave them my ss #, debit card. Not sure what to do?
    Thanks Donna

    Reply

    • I would follow the Department of Education’s advice and not use a third-party service.

      First, anyone referencing Obama Forgiveness Program is being misleading, because there is no such thing. Read about that here.

      Second, you can do all of this yourself by simply calling your loan servicer or going online to StudentLoans.gov. It’s free.

      Reply

  164. Hi Robert,
    I just applied with some company called Nationwide Student Loan. Never heard of them before and was referred by a friend (probably soon to be ex-friend) who works at, lets say a brokerage for life insurance and other financial solutions (ie. Student loan forgiveness, college prep, etc.). My mother pointed me to this blog and I feel I’ve made a mistake. They claimed they could after 3 payments of $266, which I have not paid except for $50 dollars to start the process, that at least for the first year that I would not have to pay anything due to my income, said it was a Revised pay as you earn program. Unfortunately they have all my information, debit card, social security, fasfa, address, everything. I even signed electronically a contract agreeing to their terms, including limited power of attorney. However, they state that at anytime I could cancel before I receive the services, which would mean forfeiting the money I paid, only $50 at this point. All this happened yesterday. They asked me to send them a physical copy of their form for limited power of attorney so they can consolidate the federal loan from Navient. I have not signed it and won’t send it. Can I assume that they can’t take the federal loans from Navient and “consolidate them” if they don’t have an actual, physical, power of attorney contract signed by me? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have requested this from me.

    I’m really nervous. My mom and my stepdad (he is an attorney) are helping me. Both live in my home state and I moved to a different state. My mom is going to talk to my bank, since my bank is out of state and my stepdad is going to have me send a notarized letter with him as my representation to rescind the contract I e-signed, since they request in the contract a written letter be sent to them, stating to cancel the services. I have not stopped payment and auto pay on my federal loans and my Navient account still has my federal loans present and not cancelled/removed. I only did this because I was trying to get some relief and hopefully lower my payment.

    Is there anything else I/we should do to stop this from happening? What else can I do, if anything that I haven’t done, to protect myself from them taking any more money, moving the federal loans from Navient, and potentially ruining my credit score, which I’ve worked so hard for? What other possible things should I look for? Other dangers? Better ways to refinance, etc? Please help me..

    James

    Reply

    • Sounds like you’re doing everything you can.

      When you want to switch repayment plans, you can call Navient, or go online to StudentLoans.gov and do it yourself.

      If you’re worried about this company, simply monitor your credit with a free service like Credit Karma. We’re affiliates for them because we think their tool is great (and free).

      Reply

  165. After seeing a facebook about loan forgiveness to those that attended the college I graduated from. I went to their site filled out an application to see if I was eligible and not an hour later I had given out my personal information and paid a consolidation fee of $499. It is only in hindsight that they used phrasing and words that sounded so enticing to me. They said that after their process was complete my loan lender would be the DOE itself and that I wouldn’t have an interest rate and at the end of my repayment term anything left over would be forgiven. They strongly advised me to no longer make payments to my current lender. It was only the next day did I really start looking things up and doing research and came to the conclusion that I was a fool and that they had got me.

    The company is called Allied Doc Prep but the company name on the forms they sent me had Post Grad Services on it instead. I emailed them this morning asking to cancel my application, opt-out of their service and request a refund. I have little faith that will work and I have come to terms with me losing my money. What really has me upset is that I did this so willingly to myself. I think back and wonder why I didn’t just take a minute and think that this sounds too good to be true. My primary concern now is that I gave away all my personal information so willing and am in perpetual suspense of getting my identity stolen, credit cards or other things opened in my name.

    I got an email from my current lender saying that my forbearance request was approved. That all but one of my loans is now in forbearance. I’m scrambling trying back pedal out of this situation I created for myself.

    I don’t know what other steps can be taken. I have no legitimate proof that this company has fully swindled me yet since it has only be two days after I agreed to it all, but I am under the strong assumption that I have been. I just wanted to make a post here about my story so others will not have the same experience.

    Reply

    • Thanks for sharing your story. If you’re worried about your credit and identity, I highly suggest signing up for a credit monitoring service.

      Reply

  166. Hello is there a website or something I can go to that can tell me if the company am with is reputable? The company am with is called The Student Loan Relief Department

    Reply

  167. Hey, I have a question. Have you heard about a company that works with AlliedDocPrep? The call was about an hour. They claimed to have a system where a source buys out my loan and I receive bill in the mail that equal $0…they had all my information already. I provided them my card number, my last four of my social, and my email. They already had my address, the schools I went to and the amount of loan for both schools. I received emails from FSA. Once again, they claimed they I could qualify for low to $0 monthly payments which would increase my credit score. They sounded knowledgeable and I was skeptical about it but ended up giving them $499. Am I victim?

    Reply

    • We don’t know anything about this company. We can say in general, that you never need to pay anything to get help with your Federal student loans – you can do it for free on StudentLoans.gov. Also, in general, a company can get your information by purchasing it from where you attended school – so don’t be shocked by that.

      If you’re concerned about your loan, it never hurts to call your loan servicer or login to StudentLoans.gov and make sure everything is okay.

      Reply

  168. I currently have a $98k student loan being managed by Nelnet, with a graduated payment schedule. I currently pay $900 a month. I have been contacted by Student Financial Services out of Irvine California. They say I would make one payment of $799, then $423 for 12 months, then $384 for the remainder of 20 years. First is this company legit, and secondly, should I do this. With Nelnet I will pay over $180k, and with this company $98k.

    Reply

    • I couldn’t tell you anything about this company. In general though, companies like this (i.e. third party companies that are not US Dept of Education Loan Servicers) simply charge a fee to fill out paperwork for you – in this case to change your repayment plan.

      You can see the repayment plans you’d qualify for here: https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/mobile/repayment/repaymentEstimator.action

      You can change your repayment plans for free by calling your loan servicer or going online to StudentLoans.gov

      Reply

  169. Have you heard of Premier Student Loan Center? For some reason I got an article posted on my Facebook wall that Obama was going to forgive $7.7 billion of student loans and to contact them to see if I qualify. I called them and spoke with a rep that sounded very convincing, but when they asked for my ssn I hesitated. They sent me an email with a BBB rating, but I’m still skeptical about it. Any advice on what to do with them would be great.

    Reply

    • I’ve not heard of them. In general, these types of companies charge you a fee to process paperwork to change your repayment plan or help set you up on a Federal loan forgiveness program if you qualify. You can do it yourself for free at StudentLoans.gov or by calling your lender. The only reason to pay is if you don’t want to do it yourself.

      Reply

  170. I signed up with Student Loan Solutions. I have been paying $185.00 monthly in regards to processing fees before they even start consolidating. I just read your article, now i’m very worried. Is there anyone I can call to see confirm if this is a legitmate company? Thank in advance!

    Reply

    • In general, these companies charge you a fee to process things you can do for free. If you’re concerned about work being done, ask what was supposed to be done (i.e. consolidation), and then validate with your actual loan servicer that the consolidation took place.

      You can always call your own loan servicer or go online to StudentLoans.gov and do everything for free yourself.

      Reply

  172. Hi -I got the “official letter” and called the CDC and got the initial discussion on loan forgiveness. He asked me to create a FSA ID (which I did). Next The contact said I needed to “trust the process” and go to the website and enter the FSA ID (which I did not)
    Felt very fishy and I stopped the process there – all they to-date was my name, email, address, and current employer information (but no social security,FSA ID, bank info, etc)
    Am I still at-risk for the brief info I did provide? I think I’m relatively-safe, correct?

    Reply

    • I’m not an identity theft expert, but it sounds like you’re okay. It never hurts to monitor your credit with a free tool or pull your credit report annually to be sure.

      Reply

    • Never heard of them. In general, you don’t have to pay for help – you can do everything for free yourself at StudentLoans.gov. Just because you paid doesn’t mean anything is wrong – but it’s you choice whether to pay a company to help or to DIY it.

      Reply

  174. I have been contacted by and responded to Student Doc Processing. They state that for $499 they can get my tuition refunded from University of Phoenix. They state that because U of P is in question and closing some of it’s locations – I qualify to not only have what I paid already refunded, but can have my balance dismissed. I started with a Federal loan and then took a personal loan to pay off the federal because the interest rate was almost half. Do you know if Student Doc Processing is a legitimate company? BBB gives them an “A” rating, but this could be based on the one positive review they have on their page, I suppose. Please help asap. Thanks.

    Reply

    • To clarify, you now only have a personal loan (no more Federal or private student loans)? If so, there are no Federal programs to help because you don’t have student loans any longer. In general, you can pay for a company to help you, but with Federal student loans you can do everything for free on StudentLoans.gov. However, it sounds like you don’t have student loans any longer. You should specifically ask this company what they are going to do for you and what you are paying for.

      You might be eligible for bankruptcy, but in general that’s not usually a good idea. It might be worthwhile to seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney.

      Reply

  175. Hi Robert, I recently was in contact with the Student Loan Center (studentaidnow.org) 1-800-935-2916 One of the things that interested me about them (I have not signed on or anything) was though they did charge a fee at the beginning they explained that by signing up with them the Department of Education would be buying out my loan and I would then be making my payments to them. The one thing that stood out was they said this would help my credit score because it would show my loan would have been paid off. Is this a legitimate thing?

    Reply

    • Hi Elizabeth. I’ve never heard of this company but based on your comment, you raise some red flags. In general, the Department of Education doesn’t buy out your loan – they already own it. All Federal student loans are owned by the Department of Education. Also, I don’t understand how this could raise your credit score. You can search FICO score and see how your score is calculated. Finally, the CFPB has warned about any company claiming to be affiliated with the Department of Education.

      Reply

  176. I got contacted by STUDENT DOCUMENT ASSISTANCE CENTER and they had the balance of my loans but a few thousand dollars short. I have them SO much information. SO F******* stupid of me but they sounded so legit. They asked for an email of all my loans so they could consolidate them and give different options. After they asked for an $800 fee up front to set up the “program”. I told him that I have received one document supporting this agreement than he started threatening about how the government is going to go after me. I want to report them as being a fraud but I don’t know how to do that. Also, they have all my information and I’m terrified to get my identity stolen. I have never done this before and i’m kicking myself in the ass. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I understand that was stupid.

    Reply

  177. Hello Robert:

    Have you heard about Alumni Aid Assistance? They’ve been calling me for the past few weeks and so I decided to call them. So when I called them they told me that I qualify for forgiveness program and I would just $333.00 for 3 months and all my bills will be paid. I didn’t sign up cause I was skeptical and trying to figure out if they’re legit or not. It doesn’t seem real to me.

    Do you have input if they’re legit or not.

    Any advice is appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Reply

    • I can’t say whether they are “legit or not” as that means something different to everyone. I can tell you, in general, you don’t need to pay for anything related to your Federal student loans – you can do it all yourself for free at StudentLoans.gov or by calling your loan servicer.

      Reply

  178. Hello i spoke with a representative for a company called Performance SLC who do a loan forgiveness program. I searched them up and everything seems good even the BBB gave them a A rating but for some reason i have uneasy feeling. So I gave them all my info and signed all the paper work. Do you know anything about them

    Reply

  180. Hi
    Have you heard about Student Loan Care?

    I signed up with them yesterday but regretting it i dont feel right about them and want to cancel.

    Reply

  181. I currently use Fedloan Servicing but have recently been contacted by Eduloandoc.com and they claim they can dramatically reduce my debt and monthly payment through the WIlliam D Ford act and because I am a teacher at a title 1 school. Have you heard of this company and is it legit?

    Reply

    • We have never heard of them and don’t have an opinion. However, we can tell you that the William D Ford act just simply lays out loan types and payment plans, and teachers at a Title 1 School can potentially get Teacher Loan Forgiveness or Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

      First, as for this company, you might consider reading this article: Is My Student Aid Company Legit?

      Second, learn about your loan forgiveness options here: Top Ways To Get Loan Forgiveness

      Reply

  183. I think I’m getting scammed as well. I am dealing with a company called The Student Loan Help Center that is claiming to be helping me get out of default, consolidate all my loans, then start loan forgiveness based on my income. I have been dealing with them for 4 or 5 months now, they haven’t really done much yet stating that it’s a process that takes some time, and they are charging me $1500. I just looked up reviews on them, some people said good things, while others said that they took their money and won’t give it back after they haven’t provided the services they promised. What should I do?

    Reply

    • If you’re concerned they aren’t doing what you paid them to do, you can always contact your loan servicer and see what paperwork has been filed (did they apply for consolidation, did they ask to change your repayment plan). Your loan servicer can tell you the status of anything in process.

      You can then decide if you want to cancel, file a complaint with the CFPB, etc. But I would start by calling your loan servicer.

      Reply

      • They haven’t filed anything yet, said it takes time and that my loan servicer hasn’t responded to their request to consolidate, get out of default, and stop garnishment on my wages. Does the process really take that long?

        Reply

        • To see the paperwork and start processing, not months – typically weeks, and if it’s done online, usually days. However, to see a change, it typically takes 30-60 days.

          Reply

  184. Hello Robert I recently dealt with a company called src llc. It makes me nervous i can’t find anything online about them. The gentleman said that he has sent in information to the department of education requesting for my loans to come out of default but I have to make 3 payments of 266 before they will do that an then my payments will go down to 0 for 60 months an then my loans will be totally forgiven. Is this a scam ? I stupidly gave him my dob an ssn but something isn’t sitting right an I refuse to give anything else. Please help me

    Reply

  185. Hello,

    I was just contacted by the student trust group. They told me that I could pay 3 x 268 and all of my loans prior to dec 2015 would be waived because my loans were from navient and I went to the university of phoenix. have you ever heard of this and are they a good company?

    Reply

  186. Have you hear of the company AIDNEST.COM? Seem pretty reasonable in their services and some friends got good results. Their price is high however.
    Thank you for your wonderful service Robert

    Reply

  187. After setting up my student loan payback (for free), the payback terms, I established the terms and conditions. The only obligation involved is that my terms are met by consistent monthly payments. All of the loan payback terms are at no charge. In other words, like Robert says, “don’t pay front funds for a free service.”

    Reply

  189. Hi Robert. Great page with a lot of useful information. I am writing you due to the worry of being scammed. For almost a year I have been dealing with a company by the name Stafford LLC. Their website is Studentplans.us. I am currently paying a monthly fee of $29 which seems almost too be good true. My lender is FedLoan. Also, with there not being too much information about Stafford LLC online I am having second thoughts before renewing. Have you ever heard of them or any related names that I found online? ( Tanner Keller LLC , Albright Consulting) Thank you for your help in advance.

    Reply

  190. I’m currently dealing with a company called processing one file or something similar. It started with 3 payments of 300 to them and now, they charge $39 per month. I’m worried about this. Do you have any information on this company? Am I being scammed?

    Reply

  191. Good evening,
    I happened to be doing some research and came across your blog, that goodness that I did . I was referred to this company called GM Law Firm LLC based in FL who advised me that for a small retainer fee, that they could get if not all but a great amount of my private student loan with Navient forgiven. They stated that there are not many law firms that work with “loan sharks” like Navient Private Student Loans. They advised me that they go back and forth with me to reduce or subtract the interest only to leave me without a bill or a very low interest-free bill.
    I am writing to ask you or anyone else have they heard of these people before and what are your thoughts? I do not want to pay them over $500 a month for the next 6 years only to have a full balance with Navient.
    Also, has anyone been keeping up to date about the recent law suit against Navient?

    Reply

    • Hi LaVonda – be aware of the red flags above. In general, the path for this type of deal looks like this:
      1. You stop paying your loans and pay the law firm
      2. Navient says you’re in default
      3. Your credit is seriously harmed
      4. After a while, the law firm says to Navient “Hey, see, this borrower can’t pay, want to settle?”
      5. Navient can settle or decide not to settle and sue you
      6. You then need to defend against a lawsuit, which will cost you more money

      Meanwhile, this process takes 1-2 years (or longer), where you’ve paid the law firm $500/mo – or $12,000. While this is happening, your loan in default has grown with interest and fees, and you might be facing a lawsuit which will cost you more money. In the end, the borrower is left poorer, with more loan debt, than before the process started.

      You need to decide if this is worth it, or could you just pay $12,000 to your loans over the next 2 years?

      In many cases, it doesn’t make sense. But only you can assess your personal situation and this company.

      As for the situation with Navient, it will likely take years to resolve, and will likely only come to some type of settlement arraingement.

      Reply

  193. I received a notice in the mail regarding my student loans from “Student Loan Care” stating that under new legislation I was eligible for consolidation on my loan at a better rate etc. I called them up went through their whole spiel, everything sounded legit, confirmed who I was, who I paid my loans through, how much I owed. Went through the paperwork and notices they said I would need to sign and provide to have my loans consolidated. It was only when they said that my new plan for my consolidated loan would begin in May after a forbearance request was sent in, is when my skepticism set in. I’m currently not struggling to make my payments, and I do not want to pay excessive interest, but I don’t understand the whole consolidation process on studentloans.gov. Their pitch sounded pretty good, my new plan for my loans would be significantly lower than what I’m currently playing, with them only having a small fee associated with it. Should I be concerned about my identity being stolen? What about the status of my loan? I know I can consolidate for no fee at all, but I don’t want to make a mistake in the consolidation process. Have you experienced anything regarding “Studentloancare.com” ?

    Reply

    • It’s fine to pay for help if you want to – just follow the red flags above and fully understand the process.

      If you want to do it yourself, you simply go to StudentLoans.gov, login, and select Consolidate my Student Loans on the bottom or left sidebar. It takes about 20 minutes.

      Reply

  194. Has anyone heard of Forgivenessdocuprep.com? They say they will do paperwork processing, then after 30-90 days, you continue making payments to Navient (who we used in the past). They said based on our income, which is low, we would pay about $100/month for 10 years IF our income stayed the same, then the balance would be forgiven. They said that if our income increased, we could expect the monthly payment to increase. For the processing, the lady said it would cost 3 payments of about $240, then that’s it. Next year, we would pay it those processing payments again, and every year after that. Is this legit? I was drilling her with hard questions and she seemed to know her stuff. She said they’ve been around for about 2 years.
    ALSO she said that the service is guaranteed and if they closed tomorrow or in a few months or couldn’t fulfill their end of the deal, we would be refunded.

    What should I do?

    Reply

    • DO NOT PAY ANYONE OR ANOTHER 3RD PARTY COMPANY TO CONSOLIDATE OR GET RID OF YOUR STUDENT LOAN DEBT. IT’S ALL A SCAM…..PREYING ON YOUR VULNERABILITY AND STRESS. CONTACT YOUR CURRENT SERVICER AND ASK ABOUT PROGRAMS AVAILABLE BASED ON YOUR OCCUPATION AND INCOME. THEY MUST ASSIST YOU, FOR FREE!!!!!!

      Reply

  195. Hello!
    I got a letter from Assure Direct Services. I gave them a lot of information but they’ve told me several times that until I return the paperwork, nothing will happen. They said it will take 90 days to consolidate (Which will cost me $900 overall) and that I’ll pay $30/mo for 10 years and my loans, which will still be at roughly $30k by then, will be completely forgiven. I can’t find anything about them in BBB, and they don’t have a website. Have you ever heard of them?

    Reply

  196. Hi Robert,

    I’m so happy that I found this website but I need your help with my dilemma on my hands now. I too received a letter stating that it was my final notice for loan forgiveness and consolidation. Being desperate for a break from my loans, I called and have been talking to someone from the Certified Document Center who then helps me get connected with Select Student Services. As we continue our 2 day long back and forth conversation, I begin to realize that it sounds fishy and everything seems commission based and all of the sudden they want almost 500$ upfront! I begin to google and find all of these scam articles about the company. Now I told the man I was speaking with that I would have to call back after discussing this with someone but I already stupidly gave him my information from my drivers license to my SSN to my Fafsa pin AND references. I haven’t given him any of my banking information but I’m worried about all of my other information that they now have….What do you advise I do next? When I call the company back to tell them that I am NOT interested in pursing this, how can I make sure that my information is protected or compromised? I would greatly appreciate your help and input! Thank you in advance!

    Reply

    • The only thing you can do to protect your information is just be vigilant. Monitor your credit and change any passwords you gave them.

      Reply

  197. Is student relief center a scam?
    They asked for $ 1400 up front and $50 a month for 36 months and promised the rest of my loans would be forgiven.
    They took my social security number and bank info. If they are scam what can i do avoid them stealing my identity or money??
    Didn’t Obama have a forgiveness program if so what is it?

    Reply

  198. Hello Robert,

    I am concerned that some family members may have been scammed. The name of the company is the National Student Debt Association. Is this company legit? They set up a payment plan with the company to pay off student loan debt. The company said that they will purchase loans from the loan holder.

    Reply

    • We can’t form an opinion for you, but you should review the red flags and encourage them to review them as well. Good luck!

      Reply

  199. I’m interested in “doing this myself,” but it seems complicated.

    I have 4 loans:
    Direct sub consolidated 2007 5.96%
    Direct Unsub Consolidated 2007 6.55%
    Direct Unsub Stanford 2013 5.125%
    Direct Unsub Stanford 2014 5.125%

    I’ve been in government service for the entire time (US Courts).

    Questions:
    Do I ask for a consolidation again? First?
    Do I then ask for an income based repayment?
    Are my consolidated loans now available for the Public service program even though they were set for 226 month repayment?

    Do I need to call Ameritech?

    Reply

    • Hi Edward! Looks lik you already have consolidation loans. If you work for the US Courts, you’re potentially eligible for PSLF on these loans if you’ve been on the correct repayment plan.

      So, the real question is – what repayment plan are you on right now? IBR?

      For your questions:
      – You can, but don’t yet. Your loans potentially qualify for PSLF right now and reconsolidating could restart the clock.
      – What repayment plan are you on now?
      – Yes, if you’re on the right repayment plan

      Reply

  200. Hello, I actually just got a Letter marked “Final Notice” in the mail from the Certified Document Center and my sister told me I should call. So I did and I gave them all my information(SSN, Drivers License, Bank Info). I have not made any payments but I did however sign an agreement form. I just barely did this today. They were offering me two payments of 500 or one of 800 to start my documentation. I qualified for IBR where my payments are 0 until I start making 30k a year and after 20 years my loans are forgiven. But I have only just learned that there was the exact same thing for me to fill out on studentloans. So really shame on me for not doing my research. But I need advice?? Should I cancel with this CDC? They have all my info and I’m worried now.

    Reply

    • It’s your choice to move forward or cancel. If you’re concerned about your identity, take steps to monitor your credit report.

      Reply

  201. I recaeived a call today from a representative at Student Advisors, Mr. Dale Ballard, 359 Van Ness Way 2nd Floor| Torrance, CA 90501
    Direct Line 424.283.4914 | Fax 949.258.8684
    Client Services 310.750.2088
    Availability: 8:00 am-5:00 pm PST
    mystudentadvisors.com
    …and he shared he was here to assist me with the new Loan forgiveness program…funny he appeared to have most of my information and the conversation was going real well…I qualify for lower payments, due to my income, and I must stay in the program for 300 months and re-certify annually. That his company will facilitate the payoff to my current servicer “Great Lakes Higher Education” and basically make my life much easier. Now, here’s where the information got a bit fishy…there was that UPFRONT FEE..NORMALLY $1300, but they will break it down for me $150 DUE WITHIN THE NEXT 7-10 DAYS, and then just $49.00 monthly for 36 months…also after making my low monthly payment on my newly consolidated loan for 300 months, the balance would be automatically forgiven. Now who wouldn’t jump on that!! As we were speaking, I came across this site and WOWOWOWOWOW, WAS I PLEASED TO READ THESE COMMENTS. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ORIGINATOR AND PARTICIPANTS OF THIS BLOG. You all may have saved not only my pockets from these scam artist but my sanity from potentially getting myself in some identity theft ring. I then immediately called Great Lakes…who confirmed that there is NO FEE TO CONSOLIDATE AND THE PROGRAMS THESE SO-CALLED 3RD PARTIES OFFER, ARE NOTHING MORE THAN WALLS OF SHAME MEDALS THEY ALL DESERVE. PRAY FOR ABUNDANCE IN FINANCES AND WISDOM TO GET YOU THROUGH THE TOUGH TIMES OF PAYING BACK ON YOUR STUDENT LOANS. PEACE..KIMTASTIC

    Reply

    • Hi Kimberley,
      I got the same call yesterday but this was based out of Florida. Same company, same terms and conditions. The ONLY thing that really appealed to me is the fact that after 10 years, whatever is owed would be forgiven. Did your lender at Great Lakes bring up any options like that for you? I have federal loans through AES and my payments currently aren’t that bad. I owe $25,000 total but when the guy explained that bu the time I’d finish paying my loans, with interest I would end up paying over $85,000 over the course of my loan payments, so that 10 year forgiveness sounded really good. Wondering if our lenders really offer that, or is it only for those who are considered “low income”…I mean after paying mortgage, daycare, and everything else, aren’t we ALL low income

      Reply

  202. Hey Robert my loans are 31,000 and I am trying to get them out but they trying to make me pay for 183 a month for three months. Than after that it will be out of default. Than every 12 months I have to re apply and they will stay out of default is it a true program. Is called simple student loan solutions

    Reply

  203. I am looking into enrolling with Student Debt Relief, they are a private company. I’ve only spoken to them on the phone and discussed my situation, I haven’t filled out any paperwork or enrolled in anything yet.

    Basically, they gave me a ballpark figure I’d pay each month and told me they’d email a bunch of paperwork and the application. Just curious as to what you know about them. The program is nicknamed “Obama Student Loan Forgiveness”.

    I got a reference for them by a friend of a friend, anything worth knowing about them?

    Reply

  204. I recently came across a company called Student Advisors mystudentadvisors.com and spoke with Jonathan White -Enrollment Advisor. He informed me due to my current income and household size (3) and the amount of my student loans that I qualify for their forgiveness program. The way he said it worked is that I would not have to pay a fee upfront but would have to pay their fee of $50 a month for 36 months for their program. They then would pay off my loans with Navient in full and my loan would be with them. He said I qualified for $0 monthly payment due to the amount owed and my income. He stated he would put me into a 25 year term and if my income remained low for that term the balance would be forgiven. However if my income increased in that timespan then I would have to make regular payments. What struck me as odd it the fact he kept reassuring my husband and myself the company was not fraud and they really are here to help.
    I was enrolled in the Income based repayment plan through Navient. However the reason I am looking for something more is because my husband now makes quite a bit more money than he ever has and therefore we do not qualify for the IBR plan any longer because we file taxes jointly.
    The guy from the Student Advisors company told us that what was different about their program is that they only take into consideration my income but can use my husbands and my credit to be considered for financing through them and to figure out the new (lower) rate I qualified for. I did give them access to my FDA account but no other info. They wanted to run a credit check to see what we qualified for and we told him we would call back that we just wanted info right now. Even though my husband makes more money than he used to we still are struggling financially.
    Is this company a scam? It sounds a little off to me but my husband is really believing them.
    We are frustrated because I have been on the IBR for almost 7 years and my loan balance has not gone down at all, in fact it has slightly increased. I have paid over $20,000 but the amount owed is still around $38000 which is what it was when I first graduated and started making payments.
    I have not consolidated my loans just yet but am looking into it to try and get the interest rates down. But when reading about consolidating it on the federal student aid site seems the rate would just be the average of my current rates so it would not necessarily be reduced. I am at a loss as far as what to do.

    Reply

  205. Hi Robert,
    I got the same call yesterday from the Student Advisors but this was based out of Florida. Same company, same terms and conditions. The ONLY thing that really appealed to me is the fact that after 10 years, whatever is owed would be forgiven. I have federal loans through AES and my payments currently aren’t that bad. I owe $25,000 total but when the guy explained that by the time I’d finish paying my loans, with interest I would end up paying over $85,000 over the course of my loan payments, so that 10 year forgiveness sounded really good. Wondering if our lenders really offer that, or is it only for those who are considered “low income”…I mean after paying mortgage, daycare, and everything else, aren’t we ALL low income 🙁 They considered this a REPAYE program. Very confused

    Reply

  206. Has anyone heard of Secure Preparation Service LP? I signed up with their 20 year loan forgiveness, but I am concerned now after talking with my father that it may be a scam. I have looked them up, and haven’t seen anything, but I want to make sure.

    Thanks.

    Reply

    • They have been calling me too. I was so close to given them my social security number for that 20 year plan. I’m so glad I’ve dealt with so much fraud with my bank accounts because if not I would of never googled them. They told me my processing fee could be close tp $500. I’m like hold up I can’t be scammed $500.

      Reply

  209. I have a pretty complex situation (see below), and am considering paying for advice on my best avenue. However Ameritech is not available in my state (Ohio). Are there any other, reputable companies I could consider?

    I have several types of federal SL’s (direct, consolidated Grad Plus), as well as Parent Plus, and am a public service (state) employee. I’m not in repayment yet. I’ve called my servicer (Great Lakes), and researched every policy and news article I could get my hands on. I’m about 75% confident that I know my options, though even Great Lakes was a little confused.
    Now, I see that the proposed federal budget for this year eliminates the public service forgiveness program, and may consolidate all the income plans into one. I need to know what my best plan of action is.

    Reply

    • Never consolidate your PLUS loans!!! Always a bad move.

      Second, a budget proposal isn’t a budget, and simply defunding PSLF doesn’t actually end the program and only opens up a big legal issue (i.e. it’s still the law, but there’s no money to fund it). I don’t see PSLF going away for those currently eligible, but I can see it potentially going away for future borrowers – so take action sooner rather than later.

      Finally, based on the little you’ve shared, it’s sounds like you should:
      – Consolidate your non-PLUS loans and get on an Income Driven Repayment Plan
      – Certify for PSLF for those loans
      – Look at this article for your PLUS loan

      Good luck!

      Reply

  210. Robert,
    I received a call from private company, Student Loan Filing Center about their forgiveness plan. They said I am eligible for their PAYE plan if I pay them $595 sign up fee. They told me that their company will pay off my entire 30k loan, and I just have to pay them back for PAYE for 10 years, then the rest of the left over money will go away. If I sign up, then my monthly payment will be 140$ less then what I’m currently paying the student loan IDR plan. I am also eligible for the federal forgiveness plan, which is free, but my monthly payment will not drop 140$. This sounds too good to be true. What do you think?

    Reply

  211. Hi!
    I am in the process of selecting a payment plan as my grace period is coming to a close. With doing my research I came across a company called American Student Loan Advocates. When reading your article a bullet that you said is a red flag caught my eye “Any company ​that claims to have a relationship with the Department of Education (third-party companies do not have any relationship with the Department of Education).” When speaking with a lady from American Student Loan advocates she had mentioned that my loans would go from a third part (Great Lakes) to FedLoans and DOE. Have you heard anything about this company?

    Reply

    • Your loans are already owned by the Department of Education – they are serviced by Great Lakes. Depending on the repayment plan and forgiveness option you are looking at, your loans could be transferred to another servicing company, such as FedLoan Servicing. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the Department of Education owns your loans.

      Reply

  212. Hello Robert,

    I have a real serious situation, as do so many of the people I have read about. I have spent over 3 hours reading everyone’s situations and your suggestions. I have a few additional questions, so I wound appreciate any advice you can give me.

    In short, I graduated in 1997 and have been teaching at a Title 1 school, 100% free lunches, and low economical school. I am certified in both Special Education and Regular Elementary education. I began my career 20 years ago, BUT I have not paid on my loans. Why you may ask? Well my husband is disabled (He receives NO disability income) it is only my income. Life got really busy, raising 4 children and just couldn’t afford to pay for all these years. Now I am in a situation to where I am staring at a giant wall of debt!

    My loans are in the hands of GreatLakes. 4 loans total – 2 are in default and 2 are in good standing (only because I just got my masters degree). So where do I go? Stay with Great Lakes? or Studentloans.gov? or something else?
    I am really stressed out over this! I know I owe for my education but the interest over the years just makes me sick.

    Can you guide me in the right direction. Great Lakes in agreeing to a 60 emergency forbarence …..there IBR is still too high for me to pay.

    I look forward to hearing from you…..

    Morgan

    Reply

    • Hi Beneen,

      First off, Great Lakes is your loan servicer (i.e. customer service) while your loans are owned by the Department of Education. StudentLoans.gov is the portal of the Department of Education, that allows you to DIY your student loans for consolidation and repayment plans.

      Second, you need to get your loans out of default, and you do that through a process called Student Loan Rehabilitation. Once you get your loans out of default, you can get on a repayment plan that works for you (likely an income-driven repayment plan). These plans are capped at 15% of your take home income and they are the best you’re going to get, so you have to make it work.

      If you struggle with that, you need to look at your budget or see what you can do to get some income from your husband (either by working or SSI).

      Finally, once you’re on an income-driven repayment plan, you can look at options like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You might need to consolidate your loans, but as long as you work as a teacher, have the right loan types, and make 120 payments, you can get forgiveness.

      Reply

  213. Thank you for replying so quickly! I had been told to call Western Benefits Group. I did call, but the guy was such a fast talker and was wanting my bank card information. I did give him my ssn. When he asked for my FASA information I told him I had no idea. He very quickly was able to access all of my information and this made me very uneasy. He quickly sent me 2 emails but I not taken any further steps with this company and will not. I have several friends that in the same boat and I will pass this information along to them as well. Thank you for being an advocate for those of us who need help.

    Thanks again!

    Reply

  214. Sorry, but I have one more question. Is there any advantage of going to studentloans.gov instead of Great Lakes? Or would it be about the same? Can either agency see what I am trying to do by getting my payments lowered? I guess what I am asking is do they share information?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • The advantage is whether you want to do it yourself or trust someone on the phone.

      I would suggest this order based on your comfort and understanding:
      1. StudentLoans.gov and do the applications digitally online
      2. Print the applications and mail them via certified mail to Great Lakes
      3. Call Great Lakes and work with them (which will typically involve them sending you an application for you to mail back).

      Reply

  215. I’m from the r.d and i think i’m working for one of these scammers, their name is navient doc prep services llc, they’re in “south florida”, they do not claim any relation with the deparment of ed, or navient, but they do charge a fee and they explain the programs pretty transparently and honestly in my opinion. should i be worried that this is something illegal?

    Reply

    • It’s not illegal to help people prepare documents, but it can be if you mislead them. Read up on the CFPB guidelines and what they’ve been concerned about. A simple Google search will show you a large number of recent court cases against document preparation services, including some in Florida.

      Reply

  216. Robert and to all –

    I was in contact with a company named “Challenge Student Debt” It’s not a consolation company. They are stating that they can settle my Private Student Loans by a private dispute program. They said that I will need to stop paying my loans to show hardship. Then they will file a fraud letter, then settle the debt…

    Do you think this is a scam? Can you resolve private loans by working with, what looks like an attorney?

    Here is what they emailed me:

    Here is a little more information about the private dispute program.

    In recent years the federal government has begun its close examination of numerous bad actors in the for-profit education industry through investigation, regulation, and enforcement actions.

    Many for-profit schools have taken advantage of consumers by not being clear on the true cost of the program, using aggressive sales tactics, falsely stating credits would transfer and promising employment or certain income levels after graduation and not fulfilling that promise. The school you went to has been accused of at least one of these practices.

    To help consumers take advantage of the their consumer rights, a program was developed by attorneys to help consumers challenge their creditors and get a reduction in interest, principal and payments, based on education fraud.
    \
    The program gathers information about your financial situation and then files a fraud letter with the creditor based on your hardship. Over the course of 6 to 24 months, using consumer laws you are entitled to, an expert negotiator will will work to reduce your debt. For example, the creditor may offer to cut the debt in half, eliminate the interest and offer a reduced payment plan. If you feel this is acceptable, you would accept the offer.

    Along with an expert negotiator on your side, you will have attorney representation in your state to finalize the negotiation paperwork and to provide any legal assistance that is required along the way. This includes representing you in court if necessary to negotiate your debt down.

    You will also be guided through a step by step process to deal with your creditor if they’re harassing you. Lastly the credit reporting bureaus will be notified that your debt is being disputed, thus making that line item on your credit report neutral.

    Reply

    • Hi Emma,

      Settling your private loans can be a risky matter depending on how you go about it. If you want to retain this law firm to help you, that’s fine, but just read the red flags above. A few red flags to look for that get people in trouble:
      – Never stop making payments on your loans to pay a company instead
      – Always be aware of what the company is doing for you and validate it by checking your credit reports or calling your lender

      Many times you don’t need to work with a lawyer. Here’s a guide to when you should consider a lawyer for your student loans.

      Reply

  217. I saw one of those ads regarding students that went to the Art institutes being eligible for help because of some lawsuit filed in 2012 for 103 million in predatory loans.. I contacted them .. They said they were called National Student Debt Solutions. I was so depressed , I listened to whatever they told me. During the call, I was informed of processing fees.. 3 payments of 233.00 to get them to take over and process my loans handled by Navient/ Sallie Mae.. After reading this article, and all the advice about NOT paying for this service , I’m very nervous now, and just sent them an email telling them I don’t want to proceed any further, and to NOT process any payments from my bank account. They told me that I qualified for help because of how many different loans I was forced to take out during my time at AI.. Every loan has a different interest rate, which always seemed problematic to me. I’ve been paying on them since 2007 and my balance has barely changed. I don’t even make enough money to keep up with most of my living expenses in Colorado, So I was desperate for help. Did i do the right thing? I hope I avoided a scam.. I hope its not too late.

    Reply

    • Only you can know if you saw red flags with this company or not. Whether you pay for help or don’t, you still need to address your student loan problem.

      Look at doing:
      – Student Loan Consolidation
      – Income-Driven Repayment

      You can do both of these for free at StudentLoans.gov

      Reply

  218. Hi Robert

    I received a notice from ASSURE DIRECT SERVICES. It asked me to create a FSA ID and to contact them afterwards. I did so and they went over some information and then asked for some of mine. My Private loans are much higher then my Federal loans. They said for my Private loans could be forgiven up to 40%. They asked me for some bank account info and then told me nothing would be taken out until I signed and approved the documents and one of their attorneys would call me tomorrow to go over it in more detail. Shen then went over some options I could do with my Federal loans but said since theyre not to high I might not want to do it because their service would be anywhere form $1,000-1,200. Do you know if they’re a legit company or just another scam?

    Reply

    • I’m sure they are a “legit” company in terms of being a company, but only you can decide and form an opinion if you think their services are worth it.

      A few things you should know. With private loans, what they are proposing is extremely risky and one of the red flags we mention above. They will likely ask you to stop paying the debt, pay the lawyer, and when you default, they will attempt to settle them. However, this will damage your credit and it still might not be successful. Here are your best options for your private loans: https://www.thecollegeinvestor.com/18536/options-if-you-cant-afford-your-private-student-loans/

      For your Federal loans, you can do everything yourself on StudentLoans.gov for free.

      Once again, you can pay this firm, but make sure you fully understand what you’re paying for, what to expect, how it works, and what the risks could be.

      Reply

  219. Hi, I was contacted by Student Loan Relief Center (SLFC) where they told me that according to my income and family size, I qualify for student loan forgiveness for my Federal Student Loans. When I asked if they could provide a document stating this for me, he told me that he could not due to the fact that my income is liable to change which can get change the amount of the forgiveness.

    After discussing the terms which is, pay $150 a month starting July 21st for 4 months only, my minimum payment would drop to $0. All I need to do is make sure I validate my status every 12 months. He said that after 19 re-validations, thats when the balance I have can be forgiven. I gave him my social, and he accessed my FAFSA pin & help change my password over the phone. Have you heard of this company? I also gave my card number and post dated the payment forthe 21st.

    After reading this article, I’m afraid I did the wrong thing. He said all I have left to do is send them a copy of my 2 most recent pay stubs or the first two pages of my EZ 1040 to verify my income. He seemed legit and very helpful, but I’m considering cancelling everything. I did E-sign certain documents, include a Power of Attorney and the payment agreement. I have one of my loans in Collections and he said, after i believe the 4 months of payment, they would take those loans out of default and this will also improve my credit score, bc it will seem that I am making the minimum payment of $0 on time, if that makes sense.

    Their website is studentloanreliefcenter.us

    Student Loan Relief Center
    14535 Valley View Ave, Suite P
    Santa Fe Springs, CA 92701

    Reply

    • It’s not wrong to pay a company for help, but it is essential to know what you’re paying for, and ensuring that what you’re paying for actually happens.

      Based on your comment, it sounds like you’re paying for assistance with changing your repayment program to an income-driven plan, and getting your loan out of default. You can do this yourself, but it requires time and effort.

      You can consolidate your loans and change your repayment programs for free at StudentLoans.gov. Getting your loan our of default is a little tougher, but you can read the process for student loan rehabilitation here.

      If you want to pay for help, you can – just follow up consistently to ensure that what the company says they are going to do, they actually do it.

      Reply

      • Hm, thank you! I’m going to follow what your aritcle said about trusting my instincts and just cancel. Thank you for replying so soon!

        Reply

  220. If I have a private student loan with an in-school deferrment can they still call my mom to have her make payments since she cosigned for me?

    Reply

    • If your loan is in deferment, they shouldn’t be asking either you or your cosigner for payment. Maybe they don’t know you’re still in school? I suggest contacting the lender and ensuring that your loan is still in deferment, and if not, filling out any required forms to get it back in deferment while you’re in school.

      Reply

  221. Feel a bit easier about hanging up on “FSA Student Loan” forgiveness now (caller ID reads: “VOITEKK”. They sent an email with a .gov website in it as a link (saying “If you have any questions or need help, visit https://fsaid.ed.gov and select Help for more details.”), so seemed legit, but seemed a bit off and kind of shady that they “eagerly wanted to help” but wanted a down-payment of $699… but then were so willing to break it down into payments of $99 this month, and $200 each month for the next 3 months.

    I’m out of work until October, so on a really tight budget, and the more I tried to explain this to the rough-English speaking woman, she kept pushing more and more, and also told me (as stated in some comments) to stop making payments to Navient, that they’d send them a letter, and the whole shebang.

    When the woman kept being pushy and said it’d be “too late” for me to call back once I return to work, I just hung up. Haven’t signed anything or paid anything, though I did give them my SS# and they said they set me up an account, which they sent me an email to verify a 6-digit security-code in… but as long as nothing is signed or paid, I’m thinking I should be okay.

    They kept toting “Obama’s loan-forgiveness act” and all this other stuff, and trying to get me to trust them by saying “Navient recently had this big lawsuit, did you know that!?” (not that I’m a really huge fan of Navient either). The name on the email is: “FSA-ID@ed.gov”… they claim to be with the Department of Education, but sounded like a very small call-center, where all of them were Indian-sounding (not to be racist, just factual), and could even hear the operator right nearby the woman I was talking to, as the operator answered calls, it sounded like he was sitting right next to her.

    Even more bizarre is that they first called my fiance’s phone, left an 800 number to call them at, I did and they said they’d have the worker call me back… and not long after the call came from what appeared to be a local number with the same area-code as the area-code registered for my phone-number (which isn’t the area-code I live in anymore).

    Reply

    • Was also coincidental that VOITEKK called RIGHT AFTER I had just setup a loan-forbearance with Navient. -_-

      Reply

    • I should also note that the woman on the phone claimed the “loan-forgiveness act” was supposed to be able to wipe out 80% and/or up to all of the loan for “people that qualified”. -_-

      Reply

  223. hello, I am Will and I have been paying this compant Student Loan Services to help me and I am glad i read your article. They are charging me 39.00 a month to keep their services and i pay fed loan services a amount for my loans and i see what you are saying now. They said they changed where i need to pay my money and it is a company called Worthyy. They said if i don’t start paying again they will take my loan options away. Do i have to worry?

    Reply

    • You should check the agreement you have with them and see what is required if you cancel. If you stop using their services, you’ll have to take charge of your loans and handle your annual paperwork on time yourself.

      Reply

  225. anyone heard for document benefit center?
    i keep getting a text for student loan forgiveness for attending Univ of Phoenix

    Reply

  226. Hi Robert,
    I have been paying 39/month to a company called Student Loan Exchange, they initially charged me e payments of $199 for.their “program, and the 39 was an “account maintenance feel. I’m sure the company was mentioned or asked about in previous questions, but couldn’t find it, and way too many questions to read through.
    I’m my credit report, my loans through Navient appear as “paid. I’m guessing it was through this company? They promised 20 years of payments, based on income, the balance after that forgiven.
    Everything I have read online, including from you, indicates this could be a scam. I’ve seen Ripoff Reports with complaints about this company too. So nice promptly canceled the bank card wjichnthwse payments were being applied to. I’ve searched my computer and home for docs regarding this company, but do not have any. I know I signed something. Stupid of me to not have copies of any paperwork. I also don’t have any emails for them that I saved or could find.
    If my loans were truly paid under Navient, by them, am I in trouble for payback if I don’t contact them, and have blocked their future payments?

    Reply

    • You should contact Navient directly if you’re concerned about repayment with this company. Navient can tell you exactly what’s been done with your loans.

      Reply

  227. I have a company promising they can eliminate my loan because there is something going on with the university of Phoenix paperwork they want to charge $499. I actually seen an article recently about this. What do you think?

    Reply

  228. 14242227736
    14242229438
    Student doc processing center
    These are the numbers to the place that called me.

    Reply

    • There is a program called Borrower Defense To Repayment that can potentially assist you in cases of fraud. I would be wary of any promises, it’s a red flag because no company can guarantee forgiveness. If you choose to work with a third-party company, make sure you do your research and fully understand what you’re paying for.

      Reply

  229. Robert,
    Thank you for information, but I would like to know if you know anything about a company by the name of Student Loans of America (SLA) out of San Diego, CA? My son recently received a mailing from them showing his loan balance and his being approved for a 50% reduction in his debt. But I think he would be paying them $25,000 over 20 yrs for their services. Does this seem feasible, or does this company sound like a scammer?

    Reply

    • I can’t speak to anything about this company or what they are offering. I can tell you that typically, when firms mention a 20 year repayment plan, they are signing you up for an income-driven repayment plan, which anyone can do themselves at StudentLoans.gov for free. These plans include loan forgiveness for any remaining balance on the loan at the end of the repayment period.

      If you want to pay a third party firm to help you, make sure you read through the red flags above before moving forward, and make sure you 100% understand what the firm is doing for you.

      Reply

  230. Robert,

    Is there anything that can be done to recoup money paid to a scam company? I’m pretty sure that my friend has been sending money for almost 2 years to a company Century SLS, that is a fraud.

    Reply

  231. Hi Robert ,

    I feel I am about to be scammed from promises of erasing my federal student loans. I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburg (Online Division), and of course was left with a considerable amount of dept. Multiple posts arrived on my Facebook page telling me that the school is being forced to forgive around 105 million in student loans from a lawsuit of predatory practices. Is this lawsuit even true?

    I was naturally curious so I decided to call them and see what they said. They eager to help and after giving them some info they then changed my FASA ID so they could log in and review my loans. I then had to go to back to work and scheduled a call back time that same day. They were 2hrs late on the call back. In the meantime they put a hold on my loans (putting them into forbearance) and claimed I would be able to be forgiven around 200k in student loan debt. It was too late to talk any more, so I decided to have them call me back again and finalize the matter.

    After reading your article I feel this is a complete scam, and will leave me in worse debt than I started out with. Luckily, haven’t signed anything yet or given them any money or my SSN. They sent me an email today from a company called NSDS (National Student Debt Services). Have you heard of this company?

    Thoughts, Recommendations?

    Reply

  232. Hi Robert,

    I am a math teacher at a low income school. After I complete my fifth year, I intended on applying for loan forgiveness. I currently owe $24,000. The loans are in good standing and I haven’t missed any payments. The federal program I am looking at will forgive $17,500. Are there other forgiveness options or programs I should pursue? Any advice? Thank you.

    Jon

    Reply

  233. Have you ever heard of docu zoom student loans? I recently apply with them and they said that they will help me with my student loan. They did ask me for my information and I paid them the first of 3 payments. But I’m not sure if they already have done anything towards my student loan. Do you think this could be a scam?

    Reply

    • Only you can decide – use the red flags in the article above. Remember, even if you pay a third-party company, you should fully know what they are doing. It doesn’t sound like you do.

      Reply

  234. Could you help me or give me advice? When I was in my senior yr of hs, a “university” came and did a presentation at my school. It was regarding media design. I got excited and enrolled with DeVry University after I graduated. I remember them telling me that since transportation would be a problem, that I could do online classes. I signed papers and started my classes online. I spent a few semesters at that school doing online classes that I barely passes because the teachers were NOT helpful in communicating to me. I then found out I had taken out a student loan for over $10,000 I believe. I had no idea how or when that happened. I also had to pay back an additional $5,000 because somehow the loan ran out.
    I am now stuck with my student loan which has made its way to $15,000. I have been deferring it because I have been working and going to school.
    A few months ago I got a check for about $150 because DeVry had given false graduation rates.
    I then got a letter in the mail saying “Final Notice: Student Loan Consolidation & Payment Reduction Program Prepared For:”
    Similar to the one that first got posted on this blog. I am hesitant to call them. I am hesitant to sign or agree to a lot of things because of DeVry.
    I wondered if I could get loan forgiveness because of the false advertising and everything else that went along with this school. I don’t recall them explaining the student loan to me at all. I only remember them telling me I would have financial aid to help me. Which it obviously didn’t. Yet somehow financial aid helped me in community college.
    I looked at the IBR thing that I read on here, I still don’t quite understand it.
    I’m good at art and science; not so much financial lingo.
    Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

    Reply

    • You can look into it through a process called Borrower Defense To Repayment. Learn more here: Borrower Defense To Repayment.

      As for your loans today, get on a repayment plan that works for you. It could be IBR or another one. Simply login to StudentLoans.gov and see for yourself, or call your lender directly.

      Reply

  235. Robert,
    I applied on fedloans.gov for pslf and got calls from SLRC saying that I qualified for student loan forgiveness. They requested that I pay 217 per month for 3 months and this was paperwork fees and then my payment would be 29 per month for 120 months. The payment was less that the amount I was having to pay so I signed up for it. Now they are saying that they have to have my bank account information in order to withdraw the monthly payments. When I responded to the first email it went through now it is saying that it is an invalid email. I think I may have been scammed. Can you please help me with some guidance?

    Reply

    • Hi Mandy, that’s a big red flag that you can’t get in touch with these people. Furthermore, nobody can guarantee your payments for the entire 120 months because it’s an income based plan – your income can change e