Consumer complaint received 2021-07-18
Company: Higher Level Processing
State: IN
Product: Student loan
Sub-product: Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer
Sub-issue: Received bad information about your loan

Complaint:
Re : Complaint regarding deceptive student loan relief I am filing this complaint due to serious and ongoing deceptive practices by Higher Level Processing/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a student debt relief company. 

I am requesting a full refund of all fees paid to Higher Level Processing due to material misrepresentations and violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rules no upfront fee provision, as well as a refund of the {$29.00} monthly fees that XXXX/HLP lied to me about as being needed to stay on the program.

These practices resulted in serious material and immaterial harm both financial and otherwise ; defrauding me of over {$2000.00} while leaving me in a worse position financially and credit-wise than before I signed on with them. They provided no actual value or benefit and only impacted me negatively. 

They missed making payments on my behalf to my XXXX XXXX XXXX, ruining my credit score with three missed payments and preventing my family from being able to get a house which we otherwise would have been able to. They were in full and total control of my account ( they created a login for me, illegally, in the Dept. of Educations studentaid.gov website ) when they missed the payments and pocketed my money instead. I repeatedly asked them for my student loan login information, and they sent me emails with blank login information so that I could never log into my own accounts. 

I signed on with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX. After researching further, I now believe that their first company name was created as part of their deceptive marketing process so that people would confuse the XXXX  student loan data system previously used by Dept. of Ed, with their company abbreviation XXXX  which they used often in client documentation and communications. 

At some point later that year they apparently rebranded to Higher Level Processing. I have proof of this in my included documentation, which is an email from XXXX XXXX ( the sales rep that signed me on at XXXX ) but with Higher Level Processing listed in her signature. Yet at that time the email address still went to her my-nsls email. Sometime after this, both the email and signature reflected the new HLP name in communications from you. XXXX and HLP use the same address, and this is also proof they are the same company. 

They sent me a copy of an official White House Press Release about student loan programs, and stated that they worked hand in hand with the Department of Education. They told me it was very important to use their address and not my own. Changed the name of their company during the time I was with them and never formally let me know which seems very deceptive. This company also guaranteed a reduction of my payment by 65 %. No one ever told me that the Direct Consolidation process was free to do on my own, or that by going through it that I would lose all my years of paying them to add towards my PSLF for being an educator. 

This company told me to ignore XXXX because they ( HLP ) were my new loan servicer. They also reported my tax filing status wrongfully in order to get a lower payment. This company pulled payments of {$29.00} from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX and told me that I had to make these payments to stay on the federal loan programs they had supposedly gotten me on. I found out later that these were just fees to their company and did not go toward my student loans. 

They repeatedly said that they were part of a FEDERAL GUARANTEED LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. They did not disclose that they were just third-party companies and call centers, filling out applications I could have done on my own for free. By the way, my credit report shows that I always make my payments to every account I have. I paid {$990.00} upfront because I trusted a handful of lies thinking I was doing what was best for me and my family regarding my student loans. I am demanding a full refund of all monies paid, via cashiers check addressed to me. 

The total amount due from the {$990.00} and {$29.00} ( to stay on the program ) payments is : {$2100.00}. I will not accept a XXXX less. ( Monthly payments from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I filed a XXXX  complaint containing proof of the above mentioned practices and deception, and they lied and denied things that I literally have proof of ( in included emails ). They offered me a 50 % refund which is completely unacceptable. I am still trying to fix the mess that this has created for my family. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief