Consumer complaint received 2023-07-24
Company: Start Connecting dba USA Student Debt Relief
State: MN
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Trouble with how payments are being handled

Complaint:
On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX  I initiated a search engineXXXX. of student aid.gov telephone number. I chose the first number that came up in my search engine which was XXXX. Period thinking I was calling student aid.gov. I started talking to a representative by the name of XXXX XXXX I asked him about the payment income re-driven program. He indicated that there was no program at that time, but they had other programs that could help me with my student loan. In order for us to talk about my student loans, he started sending me links to press to give authorization. Which I thought was a normal thing. I started talking about my income. How many people were in my household and how long Ive had my student loans for. According to the qualifications XXXX XXXX XXXX told me that I was eligible for a program called income contingent. Since my loans began in XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX its been over 30 months since Ive had my student loans. Therefore I was eligible for a program that after one of all of my student loans. XXXX XXXX XXXX indicated that I would have to pay {$370.00} per month for five months and then the remaining months until XX/XX/XXXX was {$340.00} a XXXX all of my student loans. XXXX XXXX XXXX indicated that I would have to pay {$370.00} per month for five months and then the remaining months until XX/XX/XXXX was {$340.00} and 50 plus {$19.00} monitoring fee. I asked him again about the program because the program had kind of sounded too good to be true. But I thought I was talking to student aid.gov so after asking him three times about the offer for one year worth of payments, and then my {$280000.00} worth of student aid loans would be paid off I excepted the offer. XXXX XXXX XXXX then sent me a contract for the offer, and then an authorization to withdraw monthly from my credit card or debit card of the amount that we had agreed upon. I also sent him for paycheck stubs. To finalize the agreement. And then got off the phone with XXXX XXXX XXXX and called a friend and I told her about the one year worth of payments and then student loans would be paid off. I was so happy. She asked for the telephone number so then I then re-typed in my search engine student aid.gov telephone number to get the telephone number for my friend. When I looked at the telephone number I called I realize I had called USA student debt relief. I then found the number for student aid.gov and gave them a call I was told that there was no such program that would pay off my student loans. Period at the payment amount that XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX specified. She then told me that I need to call my credit bureaus right away and inform them. Call my bank and stop payment on the payment and call them and cancel the contract right away. At this time I was really frantic. Called to talk back to XXXX XXXX. He assured me that there was such a program. I told him with the representative from student aid.gov told me and asked him to cancel my contract. I told him that I thought I was talking to student aid.gov. I then received an email stating that everything was canceled. A couple hours later I then received a telephone call from a supervisor stating that what XXXX XXXX XXXX told me was incorrect. I told the supervisor that I wanted to do the one years worth of payments at XXXX for the next five months and then the remaining of {$340.00} plus {$19.00} monitoring fee until the end of XX/XX/XXXX. I told him I want to discuss how they were going to pay off all of my student loans, and end of the conversation there I want what was offered to me. I also mentioned to the supervisor that all of our calls were recorded, and if they deleted a call, would it be traced. They told me it was against the law to delete any phone calls.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation