Consumer complaint received 2016-08-27
Product: Student loan — Non-federal student loan
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Don't agree with fees charged
Company: Dream Center Education Holdings (OK)

I started attending Brown Mackie College in XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. 
When I first went to visit the college to get information about their school, it took only thirty minutes for the student adviser to recommend what program they thought I needed to take, and told me I had less than a week to enroll or I would miss the opportunity to join the program for another semester. I was bombarded with information. They FAILED to mention anything about how their accreditation was a bare minimum, or the fact that any college credits gained at that school would not transfer to any other schools than a different XXXX XXXX campus, which they were aware of. They also failed to mention any possibility of the school closing, which was announced only seven months or so after I started attending. I met with a financial aide officer at the school before signing a contract to see if I could afford to attend. The officer told me I would have to pull out a federal student loan, on top of the {$5000.00} pell grant I would receive that would also go to tuition for them, and I would have to make {$300.00} payments monthly on top of even that. I expressed my concerns for not being able to afford to do so, seeing as I made less than $ XXXX a year and was on my own. They offered me a scholarship for timely payments, which would shave down my monthly payment to {$200.00} a month. I was very hesitant and told them I would have to continue working full time to even afford tuition, and how I feared that would affect my grades. The financial officer suggested I sell my vehicle so I would n't have to pay on it monthly so I could afford their school. Really?! After that, they took {$200.00} a month directly from my bank account. 
Fast forward to XXXX XXXX. I had a XXXX GPA, paid my tuition on time every month, and was doing well. Then I hear an announcement on the television news that my school was closing, and no longer accepting students. I was shocked and confused, and NO ONE had contacted me. No one called, no one sent an email. I called my student adviser and she explained how everything was fine, and I could finish my program as long as I did n't fail a single class. I came up to the school to meet with her, and she tried to get me to sign a letter saying I acknowledged the school was closing. That was literally all it said, so I signed it. A couple weeks went by and I started asking more questions, since they wanted another $ XXXX or so from me in XX/XX/XXXX. I asked if their accreditation would even still be valid, considering theirs was up for renewal the same month that they wanted me to sign another contract. I kept getting the run around for answers, " maybes. '' Maybe did not satisfy me because I was n't going to continue paying for a degree that meant potentially nothing. I spoke with financial aide, with tears in my eyes, telling her I had made the decision to drop. She informed me that since the school was closing, I no longer had to owe or pay for all the classes within that block. So I made sure to ask that I would n't be charged for the classes I had not yet taken up until XX/XX/XXXX when they wanted me to sign another contract. She said NO. That I was to pay class by class, and my payments were all caught up, and I was free to go. 
Two months later, about last week, I receive a call from a tuition collections agency that says I owe Brown Mackie over {$2000.00}. I never received mail from them, a letter, a call, nothing that said I owed. They are trying to charge me for the classes that I NEVER TOOK they said I was exempt from paying because of the school closing. This school has left me with nothing but federal debt, debt to them, and wasted time. I have cried so many hours over the devastation, and the lies they told, and the pipe dream they sold me. They took advantage of a XXXX year old student for money. I do n't think I should have to pay them a dime. They should repay me.