| 09/04/2021 |
Yes |
- Student loan
- Federal student loan servicing
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- Dealing with your lender or servicer
- Don't agree with the fees charged
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Web |
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On XX/XX/XXXX, I was contacted by a company called Students First ( Saving Students Money ) by XXXX XXXX to discuss my federal loan repayment. She had left several messages of my phone in the 7 days prior, but I had not picked up. Anyways, on this day, I spoke with her and she described that she was with a third party company that could help transfer my loans from XXXX XXXX to the US Department of Education. In addition, Students First would help get me enrolled into Public Service Loan Forgiveness if I was eligible, and lastly after 4 monthly payments of approximately {$250.00}, reduce my monthly payments to around {$50.00} per month for the duration of my 10 year loan repayment. I was extremely suspicious from the outset, but XXXX XXXX had taken around 8 months to process the eligibility of my employer for PSFL, which was extremely frustrating, so I thought this might be a good option to hear out. The counselor was aggressive about having me pay for the first payment that day, and I continued to have my reservations. I told her I would call her back, so that I could look online about the legitimacy of this company. They had a website, the counselor seemed to be knowledgable, and I really was anxious to get started on making payments that would count towards PSLF. I called XXXX XXXX back and asked her to clarify what Students First role was and how it would help. While still at work on XX/XX/XXXX, I ended up signing a service agreement with Students First and making the first payment of {$250.00} over the phone. All the while, I continued to have trepidation about the interaction and the speed with which it occurred. Over the next several days, I emailed the information they requested including PSLF form ( which I already submitted to XXXX XXXX ), paycheck stub, and XXXX tax return. I called XXXX XXXX at the phone number provided to confirm receipt of those documents, and she confirmed. One month later on XX/XX/XXXX, I continued to have my doubts as to the legitimacy of this company and how they fit into the XXXX no longer being a student loans servicer. I decided to email XXXX XXXX a simple question about a Perkins Loan, and the email was immediately returned to me. My stomach sank, as it began to set in that this probably was a scam. I looked online for reviews of Students First, and I couldn't find any. I started to emailed to research student loan repayment scams, and my experience with Students First basically checked every box, including the upfront payment. I've emailed XXXX XXXX and US Department of Education to see if they knew anything about Students First Company or if they were a scam. Now, I'm sharing my experience here.
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| 07/01/2021 |
Yes |
- Student loan
- Federal student loan servicing
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- Struggling to repay your loan
- Can't get other flexible options for repaying your loan
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Web |
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I received a call from a person who said they are calling to help me with the loan forgiveness program by the government, and they would consolidate all the federal loans I have and will be forgiven. And that it takes some time to submit paperwork to do that and I need to pay {$200.00} per month for 4 months and then I will have zero payment after that.
I assumed the person who is calling is from the federal government, he asked for the email I used for my FAFSA account and told me to give him the code I received from the email I received. I did receive a " change your password " email from U.S department of education. I gave him the code and he said they are going to consolidate my loan since I qualify for that program and he sent another email which went to my junk folder which was " borrower eligibility confirmation '' and it had all my loan info and also my SSN number.
Then I asked him why I have to pay to consolidate my loan and are they some loan collection agency or the govt itself. He did not answer and started saying things like your monthly payment will be high and how am I going to pay for that..etc.
I realized this was not from the govt and I disconnected the call. I then changed my FAFSA password.
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| 02/07/2022 |
Yes |
- Student loan
- Federal student loan servicing
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- Dealing with your lender or servicer
- Trouble with how payments are being handled
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Web |
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| 12/10/2021 |
Yes |
- Student loan
- Federal student loan servicing
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- Dealing with your lender or servicer
- Keep getting calls about your loan
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Web |
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| 09/15/2021 |
Yes |
- Student loan
- Federal student loan servicing
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- Dealing with your lender or servicer
- Trouble with how payments are being handled
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Phone |
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