Student Loans of America

Hello, We have communicated with this client. There was some misunderstanding, which has been resolved. Client has confirmed that Student Loans of America has fulfilled our contract, and that he has a full understanding now.

Unfortunately the situation that this customer experienced
is not of the normMost clients see a consolidation completed between 60-
daysCustomer satisfaction is very important to us and a full refund has been
processed

We would like to thank this individual for their time and their phone call to us. Even though they didn’t decide to purchase our services please be aware that we take every customer complaint very seriously and diligently work to resolve any issues that clients, or potential clients, may have. We...

apologize for any misunderstanding or miscommunication that took place and intend to use this opportunity as a platform to better train our staff and make sure that they properly know how to address customer questions and concerns. We are a private company that assists individuals with various loan programs. We do not claim any of these programs as our own and dutifully explain that we are a private company here to assist others. In fact, most of these programs available to borrowers were released in 2010. Additionally, most of our customers have never heard about, or even been given the opportunity to take advantage of these programs until we introduce them to the caller, despite the fact that they have been offered for the past 6 years. Our services help most of our clients in many different ways and we make sure to protect our clients along the way. One of the ways that we help protect the consumer is that we do not take on any new clients unless they fully understand the contract and our services, we require full signatures on all documents and also perform a quality assurance call to make sure that the individual understands how we can help. Per this customer’s request, we will purge any existing information that we have on the individual. No attempts at contacting the individual will be made and nothing further will be processes as they never decided to hire our company.

Re: Complaint ID [redacted]Dear Sirs,We strive to maintain 100% satisfaction of all of our clients, however some of the information in the clients letter is inconsistent and inaccurate.The applicant is requesting a refund because they are stating that the interest rate increased after the...

consolidation took place but later states that the refund is due, because the consolidation never took place. The consolidation has been completed, the new interest rate is based on a weighted average of the existing loans and the applicant receives a .25% interest rate reduction for signing up on autopayments. Therefore the interest rate can never exceed what they are currently paying, per federal regulations. This program is not and has never been sold as an interest reduction program.Additionally the applicant is stating that different interest rates were quoted. After much review only one interest rate was given, 6.375%. This rate is provided by the Department of Education and is based on Federal guidelines. That information was very clear and the client seemed to understand the terms and the programs offered. The client had specifically requested a graduated payment plan because of the more manageable payments. The representative was clear as well and processed the paperwork exactly how the client requested.There are no findings of incorrect information given to the client.Office Manager

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
No action was proposed.  I have received several calls from the company but I did not answer.  The action I would like is for them to not contact me again for any purpose.  I would like the company in writing to acknowledge they will not contact me again for any purpose.I responded to a mailer.  The first representative told me he does not inform potential clients that student loan interest continues to accrue when loan payments are deferred or income-based repayment is used.  When told that interest does indeed accrue and the information being provided to potential clients was incorrect, the representative asked me what kind of person can't pay their debts.  When I asked the first representative if the company engages in scams, the representative said "I wouldn't call it a scam."I did call back and speak with a second representative because I am very concerned about the predatory practices of this company.  (To protect consumers, I think as many consumers as possible should be told about this and I think questioning--or to use the company's words, "baiting"--these representatives is entirely appropriate.)  The mailer was intended to look official.  The mailer promised debt relief if a person "qualifies" for one of the company's programs.  The mailer did not say the programs are actually offered by the Department of Education; it specifically said the programs are offered by the company.  The company name was not on the mailer.  The mailer included something that was intended to appear as a check for over $30,000.  This mailer would be very enticing to a person who cannot pay his or her student loan debt.  The second representative was truthful about the fact that his company charges a fee to fill out forms that are available to the general public, although he did not want to admit the cost could be up to $700 for filling out publicly available forms.  When asked the value added by the company, however, the second representative stressed that the company "knows how to word things."  When asked if that means "to lie to the Department of Education," the representative said "not necessarily."  The second representative also said the Department of Education only gives applicants one chance to get the application correct.  This is not true.  The second representative also said that the forms are very difficult to fill out and most people are unable to do so.  This is not true.The company should probably turn over their recordings to the Revdex.com and, to be transparent, to law enforcement agencies.  I sincerely hope they have nothing to hide and they are not scamming people but the mailer certainly suggests otherwise.  The people to whom they are sending these mailers are very possibly vulnerable, stressed, and looking for relief.  The company is clearly preying on that vulnerability.  They were not honest to me; hopefully they are to other people.  To be fair, if I was a representative, I would not want to say "Yes, we charge up to $700 to fill out forms you can go online and download; you can even call the Department of Education and get free help filling out the forms.  Give us money anyway, poor, indebted, stressed, student."  I can see why the representatives did not want to be truthful but I think consumers should be protected.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear Sirs, We strive to maintain 100% satisfaction of all of our clients and understand that sometimes situations occur that prevent that from happening. We have processed a full refund to the customer per our client agreement and hope that this resolves any issues that the client may...

have.We appreciate the feedback and are always working to improve how we can help out the needs of our customers. The clients refund was processed today and mailed out via to the address listed on the complaint form.Sincerely, Student Loans of America

Re: Complaint ID [redacted]
margin-bottom: 5pt;">Dear Sirs,
We strive to maintain 100% satisfaction of all of our clients, however some of the information in the clients letter is inconsistent and inaccurate.
The applicant is requesting a refund because they are stating that the interest rate increased after the consolidation took place but later states that the refund is due, because the consolidation never took place. The consolidation has been completed, the new interest rate is based on a weighted average of the existing loans and the applicant receives a .25% interest rate reduction for signing up on autopayments. Therefore the interest rate can never exceed what they are currently paying, per federal regulations. This program is not and has never been sold as an interest reduction program.
Additionally the applicant is stating that different interest rates were quoted. After much review only one interest rate was given, 6.375%. This rate is provided by the Department of Education and is based on Federal guidelines. That information was very clear and the client seemed to understand the terms and the programs offered. The client had specifically requested a graduated payment plan because of the more manageable payments. The representative was clear as well and processed the paperwork exactly how the client requested.
There are no findings of incorrect information given to the client.
Office Manager

On October 10, the customer involved the Revdex.com regarding
a problem they were having with the services being performedDuring that
initial communication the Desired Settlement was requested as "Refund of $
and public report of what has occurred to decrease risk of this happening to
another federal student loan recipient"Additionally, during the initial
communication the customer stated that their current interest rate increased
from 6.55% to 6.875%
After appropriately responding to this complaint, and in a
timely fashion, the customer is stating that the resolution to the initial
Desired Settlement is not sufficient and is changing their request to include
services being performed for free and to prepare a loan consolidation at a
6.375% interest rateWe take pride in our services and do our best to make our
clients happy but are unable to perform services free of charge or continue to
process work on a file that has been cancelled on behalf of a customer
Of course we have unquestionably processed a full refund at
this timeAlso, all work has been stopped on this fileIf the services were
fully performed the applicant would have seen an interest rate reduction if
they were placed on automatic payments through this programIt is impossible
for the existing interest rate to rise as a result of any work being done by a
document preparation companyFurthermore, we are working hard to resolve the issue
but find it difficult when the customer changes their Desired Settlement request
Since documents are presented to the client based on Federal
guidelines we highly dispute the fact that any fraud took place and question
the claims that the interest rate rose to 6.875% based on anything that took
place because of the services being offered
We intend to diligently follow up to make sure that all
funds are fully returned to the client to resolve this issue but can't perform
additional services because the client cancelled their original request

Hello, This client's account was cancelled, but this was not due to payments not being received "in a timely manner"; This file was cancelled due to multiple NSF/returned payments. This is something our system does automatically after so many returned payments. We were unable to fully complete...

the service for this client because of some action not completed by the client on time, which was required by the Department of Education. Because of this, we have initiated a full refund of any monies the client has paid to us thus far and will not deduct any further payments from client.

Dear Sirs, 
We strive to maintain 100% satisfaction of all of our clients and understand that sometimes situations occur that prevent that...

from happening. 
We have processed a full refund to the customer per our client agreement and hope that this resolves any issues that the client may have.
We appreciate the feedback and are always working to improve how we can help out the needs of our customers. 
The clients refund was processed today and mailed out via to the address listed on the complaint form.
Sincerely, 
Student Loans of America

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The information from the office manager is inaccurate. The consolidation is NOT complete.  The interest rate quoted by their company was significantly lower than the consolidation rate even if the auto payment rate reduction is considered, 6.375%  (quoted) vs. 6.625% (actual). The rate I had before consolidation was 6.55% on all loans after autopayment rate reduction. The consolidation was not completed based on the interest rate increase presented prior to final acceptance of the consolidation by fed loans. Student loans of America should refund the $599.00 I paid them to prepare my loan consolidation at 6.375% because this rate was not even close to a possible interest rate if it is a known federally mandated formula to average all current interest rates and mine were all the same rate. It is fraud to present document preparation and consolidation at a reduced interest rate that is not possible. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Unfortunately the situation that this customer experienced
is not of the norm. Most clients see a consolidation completed between 60-90
days. Customer...

satisfaction is very important to us and a full refund has been
processed.

The individual has been placed on the Do Not Call list and will not be receiving any additional phone calls from our company. We appreciate the feedback and comments from this individual and are constantly striving for professionalism in everything that we do. We trust that this action will now resolve this issue.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
No action was proposed. 
I have received several calls from the company but I did not answer.  The action I would like is for them to not contact me again for any purpose.  I would like the company in writing to acknowledge they will not contact me again for any purpose.
I responded to a mailer.  The first representative told me he does not inform potential clients that student loan interest continues to accrue when loan payments are deferred or income-based repayment is used.  When told that interest does indeed accrue and the information being provided to potential clients was incorrect, the representative asked me what kind of person can't pay their debts.  When I asked the first representative if the company engages in scams, the representative said "I wouldn't call it a scam."
I did call back and speak with a second representative because I am very concerned about the predatory practices of this company.  (To protect consumers, I think as many consumers as possible should be told about this and I think questioning--or to use the company's words, "baiting"--these representatives is entirely appropriate.)  The mailer was intended to look official.  The mailer promised debt relief if a person "qualifies" for one of the company's programs.  The mailer did not say the programs are actually offered by the Department of Education; it specifically said the programs are offered by the company.  The company name was not on the mailer.  The mailer included something that was intended to appear as a check for over $30,000.  This mailer would be very enticing to a person who cannot pay his or her student loan debt. 
The second representative was truthful about the fact that his company charges a fee to fill out forms that are available to the general public, although he did not want to admit the cost could be up to $700 for filling out publicly available forms.  When asked the value added by the company, however, the second representative stressed that the company "knows how to word things."  When asked if that means "to lie to the Department of Education," the representative said "not necessarily."  The second representative also said the Department of Education only gives applicants one chance to get the application correct.  This is not true.  The second representative also said that the forms are very difficult to fill out and most people are unable to do so.  This is not true.
The company should probably turn over their recordings to the Revdex.com and, to be transparent, to law enforcement agencies.  I sincerely hope they have nothing to hide and they are not scamming people but the mailer certainly suggests otherwise.  The people to whom they are sending these mailers are very possibly vulnerable, stressed, and looking for relief.  The company is clearly preying on that vulnerability.  They were not honest to me; hopefully they are to other people.  To be fair, if I was a representative, I would not want to say "Yes, we charge up to $700 to fill out forms you can go online and download; you can even call the Department of Education and get free help filling out the forms.  Give us money anyway, poor, indebted, stressed, student."  I can see why the representatives did not want to be truthful but I think consumers should be protected.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

We would like to thank this individual for their time and their phone call to us. Even though they didn’t decide to purchase our services please be aware that we take every customer complaint very seriously and diligently work to resolve any issues that clients, or potential clients, may have....

We apologize for any misunderstanding or miscommunication that took place and intend to use this opportunity as a platform to better train our staff and make sure that they properly know how to address customer questions and concerns. We are a private company that assists individuals with various loan programs. We do not claim any of these programs as our own and dutifully explain that we are a private company here to assist others. In fact, most of these programs available to borrowers were released in 2010. Additionally, most of our customers have never heard about, or even been given the opportunity to take advantage of these programs until we introduce them to the caller, despite the fact that they have been offered for the past 6 years. Our services help most of our clients in many different ways and we make sure to protect our clients along the way. One of the ways that we help protect the consumer is that we do not take on any new clients unless they fully understand the contract and our services, we require full signatures on all documents and also perform a quality assurance call to make sure that the individual understands how we can help. Per this customer’s request, we will purge any existing information that we have on the individual. No attempts at contacting the individual will be made and nothing further will be processes as they never decided to hire our company.

Summary
Student Loans of America LLC and its affiliate companies...

followed proper protocol and procedure during the entire process. We do not refinance student loans and we make it clear to the client that this process can be done on their own. It seems that the mix up came from the servicer, Fedloans and not Student Loans of America LLC. The servicer intervened in the process, unprofessionally “bashed” our company, on two separate occasions stated that they did not receive proper forms and submissions even though our processing department sent them in on multiple occasions, and made the process difficult for the client. We have processed a refund to the client for our services per our agreement and contract.  
Please see the timeline of events for further detail. 
 
Timeline
On December 29th 2014 we spoke with the client regarding document preparation services and assistance in applying for a new Federal Student Loan repayment program directly through the U.S. Department of Education. The client agreed to hire our company and signed up for services on 12/29/14.
 
During the normal course of the process the client signed and returned the forbearance request and the document was sent to [redacted] on 01/02/2015.
 
On 01/19/2015 our processing department requested additional information from the client in regards to information that was gathered during her initial application. The processing department requested proof of income and information regarding the total student loan debt of the spouse, per Department of Education guidelines. 
 
On 01/21/2015 the applicant returned 2013 tax return information, satisfying one of the two requirements requested by the processing department. The processing department also attempted to assist the applicant in retrieving the total student loan debt for the spouse, requirement number 2. 
 
On 01/30/2015 the applicant requested an update on the status of her application and the processing department responded in a timely fashion. 
 
On 03/06/2015 the applicant requested an update on the status of her application and the processing department responded in a timely fashion. 
 
On 03/19/2015 the applicant received notification from the Student Loan Servicer regarding her application. She received an approval on a payment amount higher than originally quoted. When the applicant called the Servicer to request additional information on the new payment she was told that her consolidation application was submitted incomplete. The servicer also began to bash our company. Our processing department looked into the original submission and did not find any errors or mistakes on the submission. The only issue that might be in question was the total amount of the student loan debt held by the spouse. If this was different that originally discussed then it would have an impact on the approval. The processing department also requested and sent a Release of Authorization form to the applicant so that we could assist in determining the reasoning for the higher payment. 
 
On 03/20/2015 the applicant returned the R.O.A and also stated that she would continue to application process on her own and would work with Fedloans directly. She requested an update on her application.  
 
On 04/01/2015 the processing department called Fedloans and found that the sent R.O.A. was not on file. The service department then re-faxed the R.O.A. twice to Fedloans on the same day. 
 
On 04/03/2015 Fedloans approved the client for a Standard repayment plan, not the Income Based Repayment plan originally requested. 
 
On 04/04/2015 the processing department re-sent the I.B.R. application and all other requested information. This was the second submission with the same information as the first application. 
 
On 04/15/2015 the applicant called Fedloans directly and cancelled the I.B.R. application and agreed to an Extended Standard Repayment plan instead. 
 
On 04/28/2015 the processing department issued a refund of our fees to the client.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

This business doesn't identify itself as a private business but uses deceptive packaging for its mail to appear as if it comes from the federal government. I plan to warn the students of St. George, UT about this company via my webpage.

Review: I had been contacted by a rep from SLA and paid to have a consolidation of my student loans. After 6 months my paperwork had not been processed, my student loans have accumulated a ton of interest, and I was on my second forbearance coming to an end. I contacted my student loan company to explain that the consolidation had not taken effect. They knew about my situation and decided to help me consolidate without the help of SLA. I contacted SLA and requested a refund. I have called and spoken to numerous people from several companies all of which are third parties on several occasions. I finally received a refund from one of the third parties but am still awaiting the biggest portion from SLA. I have attempted to contact them with no luck. The number on their website is disconnected. The number on the brochure and paperwork they sent me all lead to third parties that have no "direct ties" to SLA. When I asked the representatives for a number to contact them they have given me a multitude of different contacts all of which have been disconnected or have led to no end result. I am highly unsatisfied with this company and their third party affiliates. I am still awaiting a representative to call me in regards to a refund.Desired Settlement: I would like all my funds with fees returned if possible through SLA. I would like for the Revdex.com to assist in contacting this provider and request they update their information and get back to their clients in a timely fashion to resolve issues like this.

Business

Response: