Consumer complaint received 2016-09-01
Company: Manhattan Beach Venture, LLC
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I fell victim to a student debt relief scam. I got a call on XXXX/XXXX/2016 by a company named Student Loan Relief Department ( XXXX XXXX, real co. name Manhattan Beach Venture , LLC, and spoke to a man named XXXX XXXX who told me new legislature passed by the Obama administration made me a candidate to decrease my monthly payment for a small one-time fee. He said my {$230000.00} outstanding balance with my loan servicer, XXXX XXXX, would be paid in full, and that my payments would be lowered to {$39.00} a month or so. I was sent a link to sign a form online, which would expire in a certain timeframe so I was pressured to sign it immediately. I then got a credit alert from a corporation called XXXX XXXX that said I owed {$1300.00}. When I tried logging into my XXXX XXXX account, my password did n't work. I assumed perhaps they had paid the outstanding balance and I no longer had an account, making Student Loan Relief my new loan servicer as I had been told. I tried calling XXXX repeatedly to clarify, in vain. He had said I could call him anytime. I left voicemails, never got a call back. XXXX XXXX charged me {$39.00}, which I thought was my monthly student loan payment. However, XXXX XXXX then charged me a sum for the month I had never heard of, {$59.00} or so. I finally called the customer service department at Student Loan Relief Department for clarification. I was told that, contrary to what XXXX XXXX told me, XXXX XXXX was still my loan servicer, my outstanding balance had not been paid in full as he suggested, and that {$59.00} was my new monthly payment with XXXX XXXX. I then called XXXX XXXX, and spoke at length with a security specialist named XXXX. He was very helpful and filed a complaint on my behalf. XXXX XXXX had requested my information to access my account with the XXXX, which I disclosed. Based on what we could see on my account, they had not only changed my password to login, but they had frankly falsified information. They listed my email address as XXXX I had never heard of, which means I personally was no longer receiving any communications from my loan servicer. XXXX informed me that, in order to lower my payment to {$59.00} a month, they renewed my income-based repayment plan by claiming I had XXXX children. I have XXXX children. They lowered my monthly payment by lying to the government. This new legislation in question was 6 years old, and I had been submitted my own income-based repayment forms annually since. When I asked him what my new interest rate would be, he did not answer directly. In addition to $ XXXX monthly that I owe to this new bank XXXX XXXX, with an outstanding balance of {$1300.00} as well as {$23.00} of accrued interest already. When I asked what the interest rate for this financing fee would be, XXXX did not give me a straight answer. Therefore, instead of helping me pay off my student debt, this company created a new debt with interest. I must have given them my credit card information because they had started to charge me $ XXXX monthly. I effectively got charged {$1300.00}, with interest, to have someone lie to the government and report I had XXXX children. Student Loan Relief Department and Manhattan Beach Venture LLC must be shut down. This is fraud. There is no new student debt relief legislation. I was misled and systematically lied to. I called Student Loan Relief Department at XXXX, spoke to supervisor XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX said all calls were recorded. I asked if I could obtain the recording of my initial call with XXXX XXXX, which was made sometime in XXXX 2016. She said this was not possible. After hearing I was upset at having been lied to and scammed, she literally hung up the phone on me. I can not handle any more debt. I am almost XXXX, single, overworked and burned out. Please help.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief