ComplaintsforNational Budget Planners of South Florida, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I reached out to National Budget Planners for Student Loan consolidation back in January of 2020. At the time my loan student accounts were with *****************. I have been paying a $35 fee each month for National Budget Planners to consolidate my loans. In March of 2022, my loan account was transferred to *********** Services. Since the transfer, National Budget Planners has still been charging my account $35 each month, even though they are no longer consolidating my loans. This company is predatory and dishonest. They have no right to continue charging me a monthly fee for services they are not providing.. Upon further investigation, this company has been charging me monthly fees for the past three years when they never even held my loans for repayment. Initially I had asked for a $385 refund. But after adding up how much money I was charged since March of 2020, I am seeking a total refund of $1,469. Attached please find a breakdown of the fees I was charged each month by National Budget Planners

  Business response

  02/20/2023

  ******************** called us on January 15th, 2020 asking for help with her debt and inquired about our credit counseling and debt management services.
  NBP, founded in **** as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization specializing in financial education and counseling for consumers seeking to manage their budget and achieve financial stability, including options to manage student loan debt.
  When ******************** called into our offices, our certified counselor gave ******************** an opportunity to do a financial counseling session to determine her current financial situation. As ******************** may recall, our counselor conducted a 60-minute counseling session. Our counselor completed an entire budget sheet to understand ******************** financial situation.
  During the counseling session, the counselor identified that ******************* had credit card debt and student loan debt and inquired if she had a plan to pay it down.
  Upon completion of the counseling session, our counselor inquired if ******************** would like us to assist with her Student Loan application.
  After analyzing ******************** situation, our counselor offered to assist with the consolidation of her different student loans and recommended an Income Based Repayment plan offered by the ********** of ************** This recommendation came from our counselors who took the time to review the budget plan and analyze the current financial situation.
  On January 17th, 2020 National Budget Planners, submitted the necessary documentation to the ********** of ********** application that was approved on February 13th, 2020 under the Pay as you Earn Plan.
  On February 11th, 2020, ******************** contacted NBP to get updated information on her case. She was told that the application was submitted on her behalf and that she will get the notification directly from her loan servicer as NBP only helped her with counseling and paperwork. During this call ******************** and the counselor went over the monthly installment paid to NBP. Client had no further questions.
  On February 20th, 2020, ******************** contacted our office to obtain updated information on her case. Our counselor informed ******************* that her application was approved with a payment of $120.15 per month.She was also advised to call Fed loans and set up an automatic payment with them to take advantage of the discount interest rates they provide by setting up automatic payments.
  Since then, ******************** has retained National Budget Planners to continue assisting her with her loans. National Budget Planners has assisted ******************** by regularly counseling her.
  
  All National Budget Planners counselors are required to inform clients that Student Loan Consolidation paper work can be done directly with the ********** of ********* free of charge. National Budget Planners, as a third party, can assist with this process for a fee and our fees for our services were clearly explained to ******************** when we requested our assistance. ******************** was made aware of these fee multiple times during the counseling session and on the agreement signed by *********************
  National Budget Planners main objective is to assist clients to reach their financial goal and since **** we have helped thousands of clients achieving result. We want to assure ******************** that we take her concerns very serious and we apologize if ******************** feels that the communication was not clear and caused any issues. We would like to offer ******************** a complete refund of all services charged by NBP. We would also like to extend our assistance and offer free counseling and student loan assistance to ********************.
  **** tried to reach out to ******************** and left voicemails and still waiting to hear back from her.
  

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

  Complaint: 19383659
  
  I am rejecting this response because this is a lie. I did not retain National Budget Planners to continuously help me with my student loans. National Budget Planners helped me one time to consolidate my loans and I paid the one time fee. That was it. This company continued to charge me service fees with no service. National Budget Planners never held my student loans accounts, so continuing to charge someone for services you are not providing is fraud. National Budget Planners contacted me February 3, 2023 via phone call and email looking for me to send them my W2 or tax return and if I didnt the fees that they have been charging me could increase (see attachment). 

  On February 10, 2023 I called National Budget Planners 3 times.The first time I wanted information about my account to which they told me they do not provide that information to clients. I thought that was strange. National Budget Planners has been charging me fees and aggressively asking for copies of W2s yet I cant see my account? So I called back and asked to cancel my account with them. They claimed they would and would send me an email along with a letter in the mail showing that my account with them is closed (I still have yet to receive this). So I called back a third time with questions on when I will receive a confirmation for the cancellation. The same person I spoke to said all of the reps are talking to other clients and someone from National Budget Planners will call me back in an hour. I never received a call back or any other response from National Budget Planners. 
  
  Lets be honest here, National Budget Planners is fraudulent and I wont continue to allow them to lie about it. As I mentioned in my previous message, I want a full refund. The breakdown of that refund is listed in my previous message as well. I need to know when and how I will be refunded.

   

  Best,

  Taysha

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  National Budget Planners contacted me in September 2014 for student loan consolidation. The agreement stated my monthly payment would be $0 + $39 per month and was told I could defer my payments for up to a year. When my student loans went to Navient and then later moved to MyFedLoan for servicing, I was still being charged the $39 service fee even though National Budget Planners wasn't servicing my loan (I was told this fee was for the loan servicer). I was also told, on the initial sales call in 2014, that after making 120 consecutive monthly payments I would be eligible for loan forgiveness, regardless of my occupation. I specified that I was not planning to work in government, non-profit, etc. and they said it didn't matter. As long as I made my monthly payments on time, the remaining balance would be forgiven. As of December 28, 2021, my loans have been transferred from MyFedLoan to MOHELA. I noticed I was still charged the $39 fee in January and February 2022, so I reached out to MyFedLoan and they informed me this fee is not coming from them and federal loan servicers are not allowed to charge fees for servicing federal student loans. After speaking to a supervisor, they informed me this fee was coming from National Budget Planners and went further to say how they receive complaints like this all the time from other customers, which is the reason for my delay in filing a complaint (I thought it was my actual loan servicer collecting the fee). In the time since July 15, 2015, I have been charged roughly $3,120 in service fees to a company that was never servicing my loans (proof of payments attached). This company is predatory and deliberately misleading. This seems more like a scam or criminal behavior than anything else, especially given their non-profit status. I'm seeking help in collecting the $3,120 in "loan servicing fees" from a company that never even held my loans for repayment. Please reach out if you need further information from me.

  Business response

  02/27/2022

  Ms. **** called us on October 15th, 2014 asking for help with her debt and inquired about our services.
  NBP, founded in **** as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization specializing in financial education and counseling for consumers seeking to manage their budget and achieve financial stability, including options to manage student loan debt.
  ************* called into our offices, our certified counselor gave Ms. **** an opportunity to do a financial counseling session to determine his current financial situation. As Ms. **** may recall, our counselor conducted a 60-minute counseling session. Our counselor completed an entire budget sheet to understand Ms. **** financial situation. We also completed a detailed questionnaire to further understand more in-depth about Ms. **** financial situation. We can make both the budget plan and questionnaire that the counselor completed available.
  During the counseling session, the counselor identified the main reason why that Ms. **** was struggling with her debt is because she had student loan debt and inquired if she had a plan to pay it down.
  Upon completion of the counseling session, Ms. **** requested help with her student loans and asked about how we can help her manage the debt.
  
  All National Budget Planners counselors are required to inform clients that Student Loan Consolidation paper work can be done directly with the ********** of ********* free of charge. National Budget Planners, as a third party, can assist with this process for a fee and our fees for our services are as per state guidelines.  We can make a copy of this call and its transcripts available. The same disclosures are also available in the agreement that Ms. **** signed with us on October 15th, 2014. Copy of the agreement showing Ms. **** accepting all terms and disclosures are also available to for viewing.
  
  After analyzing Ms. **** situation, our counselor offered to assist with the consolidation of her multiple student loans and recommended an Income Based Repayment plan offered by the ********** of *********.
  This recommendation came from our counselors who took the time to review the budget plan and analyze the current financial situation.
  On February 2nd, 2015 National Budget Planners, submitted the necessary documentation to Fedloans and was accepted by Fedloans on February 26th, 2015 under the Revised Pay As You Earn payment plan offered by the ********** Of *********.
  National Budget Planners main objective is to assist clients to reach their financial goal and since **** we have helped thousands of clients achieving result. We want to assure Ms. **** that we take her concerns very serious and we apologize if Ms. **** feels that the communication was not clear and caused any issues. We spoke to Ms. **** and we understand there was a miscommunication throughout the program.National Budget Planners is refunding Ms. **** what she believes she is entitled to and we would like to thank Ms. **** for her understanding.

  Customer response

  03/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  How will the company go about providing the refund? No details were provided. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I, ******************************* (*******), accepted help from National Budget Planners (******, **) for Student Loan consolidation in May of 2015 after they reached out to be via sales call.The agreement stated that my monthly payment would be $107 - which was a $68 loan payment and a $39 "Maintenance fee" - I was under the impression when my loans were moved to Nelnet and then MyFedLoan that I would no longer be doing business with National Budget Planners. In the time since May 2015 I have been charged roughly $3000 (proof of transactions only available back to 2017 attached) in fees to a company who is not providing a service to me or my loans. And that has not provided a service to me for any reason beyond the initial consolidation of my loans through Nelnet which was facilitated by the ************************ and eventually Nelnet loans were transferred to MyFedLoan. MyFedLoans accounts will be transferred back to Nelnet in 2022.I have attempted to contact customer service numerous times and it is as if the line is no longer active, it just says the call cannot be completed - and I know I am dialing the number provided by the company and dialing it correctly. The reason for my delay in filing complaint is I thought that because I signed the agreement - even though it does not explicitly state that payments will be charged separately and that no end date for the payments was provided. This company is predatory, dishonest and taking money without providing any service to its consumers. This is abhorrent behavior if not illegal. If the company is a non-profit - what is this $39 a month used for - and what service is provided?I need help in collecting the $3000 I am owed from the company because they have never provided services that those fees would have supported. They do not hold my loan account - and therefore, have no right to charge me a maintenance fee for that account.Should you need any further information from me I am happy to provide it. Thank you

  Business response

  12/22/2021

  ****************** called us on May 5th, 2015 asking for help with her debt and inquired about our services.
  National Budget Planners was founded in **** as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit credit counseling organization that helps consumers with financial education and counseling to manage their budget and achieve financial stability.
  When ****************** called into our offices, our certified credit counselor gave ***************** an opportunity to do a financial and budget counseling session to determine her current financial situation. As ****************** may recall, our counselor conducted a 60-minute counseling session. Our counselor completed an entire budget sheet to understand ****************** financial situation. We also completed a detailed questionnaire to further understand more in-depth about ***************** financial situation. We can make both the budget plan and questionnaire that the counselor completed available.
  During the counseling session, the counselor identified that ****************** had accumulated a lot of debt especially student loan debt and inquired if she had a plan to pay it down.As part of the process, our counselor reviewed, analyzed and recommended solutions that would help ****************** with her debt. A debt management plan was recommended to help ****************** with her credit cards. One of the recommendation that the counselor and ****************** discussed was to consolidate twelve of her student loan debt which would help ****************** with her monthly budget and maintain a positive cash flow.
   Upon completion of the counseling session, our counselor inquired if ***************** would like us to assist her with the necessary paperwork to file for the consolidation application.
  
  All National Budget Planners counselors are required to inform clients that student loan consolidation paper work can be done directly with the ********** of ********* free of charge. National Budget Planners, as a third party, can assist with this process for a fee and our fees for our services are as per state guidelines.  We can make a copy of this call and its transcripts available. The same disclosures are also available in the agreement signed with us on May 5th, 2015. Copy of the agreement showing ****************** accepting all terms and disclosures are also available to for viewing.
  
  After analyzing ****************** situation, our counselor offered to assist with the paperwork necessary for her student loans and recommended an Income Based Repayment plan offered by the ********** of ********* as well as a consolidation of her 12 different student loans.
  This recommendation came from our counselors who took the time to review the budget plan and analyze the current financial situation.
  On May 13th,2015 National Budget Planners, submitted the necessary documentation to Fedloans and on July 16th, 2015 the application was approved by Fedloans with a $0 payment for the first 12 months. Consolidation of her 12 different loans was also approved on June 8th 2015.
  On December 15th,2021 National Budget Planners spoke to ***************** in regards to her complaint and we reached a satisfactory resolution for ******************. 
  
  
  

  Customer response

  12/27/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The company did contact me immediately. The issue was resolved and the company refunded me the amount I was overcharged over the last several years. I am very satisfied with their assistance and resolution. I hope that their system has better checks and balances in the future so that this issue doesn't affect any other customers.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩