Consumer complaint received 10/14/2016 about Other financial service (Debt settlement) with Manhattan Beach Venture, LLC (CA).
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint: I have a student loan that surpassed {$100.00} and no way to pay it with the little money I make. I have always managed and dealt with my lender as far as filing forms, forbearance and whatever paperwork needed to be done. I wanted to pay my student loan and I 've heard about the Student Loan Relief program so on XX/XX/2016 I called this company because they have contacted me before via email, the company name THE STUDENT LOAN RELIEF DEPARTMENT. ( TSLRD ) I called TSLRD and XXXX XXXX gave me the information how they would help me lower my student loan debt, she said " Our company, TSLRD, works directly with the Department of Education and WE 'LL HELP YOU LOWER YOUR DEBT. XXXX XXXX said that in order to lower my debt I had to pay XXXX XXXX XXXX {$39.00} for 48 months, a total of {$1800.00} for them to handle my paper work, to lower my debt to a grand total of {$9.00}. She said it would take around 90 days to complete my paper work, but I needed to start my payments XX/XX/XXXX, and I needed to set a monthly direct payment from my bank, and so I did. Next we set to do and sign electronically all the paper work and information about my student loan and direct deposit. XXXX XXXX reassure me that my loan was going to be lowered to {$9.00} after I pay XXXX XXXX XXXX, {$1800.00} I had a family illness for a couple of months and did n't heard from TSLRD. Then I call them in XX/XX/XXXX, I wanted to find out how my was process going, I talked to a woman name XXXX and she said that my process has not been completed yet, because I have not giving them the password for my lender 's account, I went ahead and gave it to her, then my case was assign to another agent name Memory and she was supposed to call but she never call me so I called Memory, and she said that she would be working with me to try to lower my payments, that I needed to send her my pay stubs that I should give her till XX/XX/XXXX to do the work. I called Memory on XXXX, to find out how my process was going, she could n't recall my case or what she was supposed to work on, so I email her with all the questions again : WHY the Student Loan Relief Department had not finished my process, when THEY said it would take 90 days to go through ; I 've started XX/XX/XXXX, and here we arefour months later. WHY do I still owe my original lender? Andwhyam I paying monthly payments to some obscure entity that is not for mystudentloan? 

Next, on XX/XX/2028, Memory emailed me and said that she would rather talk to me on the phone. I called her next morning and placed the same questions I had in my email, why my original debt still with my original lender? who was her company? When was my account to be lower to {$9.00}? She did n't answer any of the questions just said that she got me a forbearance, and I told her I 've been dealing with my lender all these years I do n't need anyone to apply in my behalf I know how to deal with my lender. What I wanted her to answer was WHO AND WHEN WERE THERE GOING TO LOWER MY LOAN like XXXX XXXX had promised they would do. She said that she could n't tell me that and the only thing she could do was help me lower my payments, I said to her that THAT WAS NOT WHAT I SIGNED FOR and I would not be needing their services anymore because they have n't fulfilled what they have initially promise and that I was going to report them to the CFPB because that was a scam! Then she transferred me to a male representative and he told me that I had a contract and I have to pay it, and we argued, and then he tried to convince me to stay but I was furious to know that I have been scammed! 

It was a big lie. I 've been SCAMMED, PLAIN FRAUD!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation