Consumer complaint received 2017-05-10
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Problem with customer service
Company: Seben Hospitality Investments LLC (OR)

On  XXXX   XXXX ,   XXXX  , I dialed a phone numbe r I b elieved to be  XXXX  a department of education servicer. I am not sure if I missed dialed but I was connected to a company named   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  , offering me their student loan forgiveness program. Because, I believed I was talking with someone to  XXXX  and my need for assistance with my student loan payments, I spoke at length with a man by the name  XXXX . I am not currently working and having health issues and he assured me that they would surely be able to help. He sited legislation created by the Obama administration allowing student loan forgiveness for those who were currently experiencing financial hardships. He included that this program would no longer be available very soon with the current Trump administration and it was n't to late to be grandfathered into the program if a acted immediately. I allowed him access to my  FSA  id, social security number, and financial information. He quoted me 3 monthly payments, the first payment being {$330.00}, and the last two payments being {$330.00}. And then, I would owe {$0.00} for 240 months thereafter. Ultimately, forgiving a {$22000.00} student loan.  XXXX  did mention that the organization would contact me yearly to reestablish or update my yearly income. Suggesting that if my income should increase significantly I may need to begin repaying the loan but usually much less than my current payments.   He wrote up documents and I electronically signed them. I few days later I received a power of attorney document that I needed to fill out, get the document notarized, provide proof of income and return the information immediately. I did as instructed and included my bank statements.     I was contacted on  XXXX   XXXX  and  XXXX  of   XXXX  , from  XXXX  advocacy team suggesting I do some research into the company and they put a hold on my account. They mentioned they have been receiving many of these types of letter and have found that these companies are less than honest with their business practices.     I called the Department of Education and was told that this did indeed sounded like many calls they too have been receiving and they have found them to be fraudulent. I was told that after the received their three payments, I would likely never hear from them again.     The next step I took was to call my credit union about the charges and my concern that I had been a victim of fraud. A representative from my credit union contacted   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   and we had a three way phone conversation of inquiry. I was assured that they were a legitimate company that prepared documents. I explained that I knew my loan was still with  XXXX  and not with them. He became upset when I questioned the companies authenticity of the services I was sold. He said he would have the processing department call me right away. I never received a call from anyone with   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   again. On Monday  XXXX   XXXX , I called   XXXX   XXXX       XXXX   to again question my loan status. I was told again that they were a legitimate document preparation company. Several times I questioned who ( company ) would be responsible for holding my loan, and never was giving a clear response.     I have come to understand that   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   also known as the  XXXX    XXXX   XXXX  , are attempting to charge me {$990.00} to prepare documents for me. This is not the service I was lead to believe I was purchasing.     I am currently working with my credit union fraud department to recover the first payment {$330.00}. I also requested a new debit card and a hold on my account.