Consumer complaint received 2016-12-01
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Received bad information about my loan
Company: Manhattan Beach Venture, LLC (PR)

I have been a victim of a scam by multiple companies, starting with Manhattan Beach Venture , LLC " Student Loan Relief Department. '' The following company harassed me via email and telephone, after I googled " government student loan forgiveness '' in XX/XX/2015. The company disguised themselves as a department of the federal government by using the name " Student Loan Relief Department '' and a .us web domain. Under the false pretenses that this company is associated with the federal government, and my only option to enroll in the government 's student loan forgiveness program was through them, I was advised to " sign '' emailed documents. I also gave sensitive information to this company, including my paystubs, social security number, federal loan numbers, and credit reports. The said documents at the time did not clearly state that this company was in NO WAY associated with the federal government and that in fact, the " services '' they were providing are FREE services from the federal government. The company explained there would be a monthly cost to enroll in the government program, and that I was unable to pay the total upfront, but instead would have to enroll in their program for around {$39.00} dollars a month. They then went and hired a third party, XXXX, to collect the money I owe them as a " monthly credit plan '' of {$39.00} a month, stating that I was did not have the money to pay the total amount up front. The amount owed to XXXX is {$1300.00} in total, with a 24 % interest rate and {$20.00} " finance fee '' every month. As previously stated, these figures and interests rates were never discussed in the initial phone conversation with Student Loan Relief Department of Manhattan Ventures, LCC. In fact, if we are able to retrieve intital recorded phone conversations, one can verify that I asked if it was possible to pay the total up front instead of making monthly payments, in which she told me " no '' and " these payments are part of the program 's monthly services they provide. '' After reviewing all the documents, none of my " signatures '' are truly mine, and also none of the signatures on the document are dated. My " signature '' between the documents varies from a cursive unreadable scribble, to a computer generated manuscript name. The doucments they sent me were a simple " click here to sign '' with no detailed infomation provided. After doing more research online, I see that this company " Student Loan Relief Department '' of Manhattan Beach Venture , LLC, has also disguised themselves as " XXXX '' in the past, in order to take advantage of in-debt recent graduates. The general attorneys office has previously shut down similar companies and has asked for " cease and desist '' to any company using the Federal government 's seal in order to provide ( non-existent ) services to graduates in-debt. At this point, it is nearly impossible for me to pay off the amount I supposedly " owe '' to the company and it 's third party, unless I pay it completely in one payment. I have asked the companies to please terminate the contract under the circumstances that they have lied to me, disguising as a government agency and forcing me to enter into a credit plan. When I called XXXX to discusss this, the agent screamed at me and hung up on me, twice. It is obvious to me at this point, that this company is nothing but a complete scam. I have since enrolled in the Student Loan Forgiveness program through the legitimate federal government website at no cost. After filing the first complaint against XXXX, the company 's response was that I owe them the large amount for " wading through paperwork. '' This " wading through paperwork '' also does not exist and is done free of charge by the federal government. I am asking this company, and it 's third party, to terminate my contract immediately.