Consumer complaint received 2020-04-14
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with your lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are being handled
Company: DOAN SOLUTIONS (TX)

On XX/XX/2020 at XXXX XXXX. I responded to an email stating that I may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program from XXXX. I called the number XXXX to 'find out if I was eligible '. Once connected to XXXX XXXX ( Senior Account Manger ), I was asked what I was calling about. I informed her that I wanted to check my eligibility to enroll in this federal program. She responded by asking about my FSA account email address. I said I wasn't sure which one was on file but gave her the school email I have used the past few years. She then asked for my DOB and SSN which I gave her ( thinking she was verifying me as the account holder ). She then said SHE was sending me an access code which stated the following : " FSA : Your FSA ID temporary secure code is : XXXX ... '' and I gave her that. Then a second code was sent with the same message and code being XXXX, which I gave her. She then started talking to me about my loans and stated I would be eligible to enroll in the program. We talked for about 15 minutes about the specifics on how I would consolidate my loans and change my interest rates, which would save money in the long run. After a while, I asked which branch of the government her office was in, and she said she was with a private company called DoanSolutions and that they were like XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for Student Loans. I then asked how much this service costs, because their business obviously isn't funded federally and she said I would have to pay a one-time fee of {$890.00} for the preparation and enrollment of my account in the PSLF program. I asked a few more questions and told her I would let her know if I would enroll or not. After hanging up the phone, I saw an email from FSA stating my log in password had been changed at XXXX XXXX ( while I was on the phone with XXXX ). I DID NOT CHANGE MY PASSWORD NOR DID I AUTHORIZE THEM TO CHANGE MY FSA PASSWORD. I immediately contacted FSA.ed.gov costumer service in a Live Chat. They helped me change my password and verified that everything was okay on that end, but this Doansolutions Representative had my DOB and SSN, which I only gave her thinking she was a federal employee. She had a chat opened on her computer that I could her giving her alerts when messages came in and I don't know who else she may have given my information to. So, 1 ) I assume they scam people by locking the costumers access to the FSA information until receiving {$890.00} and then they would provide the service they promised. 2 ) I think they may also be running a identity theft phishing scam. She sent me an email with her contact information and a link to their 'XXXX ' approved company at doansolutions.org Her contact information is : Address - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX NC XXXX. Phone - XXXX Ext. XXXX Email - XXXX All in all, I felt manipulated because although I didn't ask at the beginning of the phone call who she worked for, she made it seem like she needed my information to verify who I was and then changed my password without authorization or notification of any kind. I fear I may have lost my identity.