ComplaintsforStafford LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Effective 6/2021 I started being charged $39 each month for a debt consolidation service that was never provided. This company charges my account $39 each month since June if 2021 and there have been no payments issued to my student loan. Furthermore, when you look up their number ************ on ****** it does come up that they are scammers. I looked up their website and it seemed legit but the phone number is what gave it away.

  Business response

  06/07/2023

  Attachment: screen shot of when ************ is *******.  Just shows web site. BBB Complaint ID:   - Business Response Student Plans has reviewed the complaint and Ms. ******** account history. Ms. ****** contracted our service to help with the application process to get her federal student loans into the Department of Education Income Driven Repayment program back on 6/1/2021. We are not a debt consolidation company. Student Plans is a paperwork processing company that only assists with federal student loan programs through the Department of Education. We assisted her in completing the Consolidation application of her 6 federal student loans that were at Fed Loan Servicing. The new consolidated federal student loan was processed and serviced by the Department of Education loan servicer called Navient and then Aidvantage. The consolidation application was processed and completed as of July 2021. Then we submitted an Income Driven Repayment application to the Department of Education to enter those federal student loans into the Department of Education Income Driven Repayment program specifically called the Pay As You Earn forgiveness program or PAYE-240. This Department of Education program allows borrowers to repay their federal student loans based on their income. Ms. ****** was able to qualify for a $0.00 monthly payment that started 7/27/2021. With the PAYE-240 program, every month you make your student loan payment in full and on time counts towards the 240 qualifying payments needed to get student loan forgiveness. Since Ms. ****** was approved at $0.00 per month payments every month has counted towards the 240 needed since 7/27/2021 even though no payments were made to the loans. Once the 240 qualifying payments are completed the loans will be forgiven. In order to stay in the PAYE-240 program the Department of Education requires income recertification applications. Which we handle as well for Ms. ******. Student Plans is a convenience service that helps borrowers navigate the vast and ever-changing Department of Education repayment programs, discharge options, and cancelation application processes. Our service fee for Ms. ******** particular plan is $498.00 annually which breaks down to $39.00 per month.  To summarize, Ms. ****** is not working towards paying off her student loans in the traditional sense. She is working toward getting her loans forgiven so she doesn’t have to pay them back. Student Plans service fee is $39.00 per month. Her student loan payment is $0.00 per month, and she has made approximately 22 qualifying payments towards her 240 needed for her loans to be forgiven by the Department of Education. An email was sent to Ms. ****** advising her of the closure of her account with us. This also included pending paperwork due and significant program expiration dates. These deadlines are essential for her to be aware of in order to get some or all of her federal student loans forgiven. Student Plans has refunded her any payments made in the last 120 days. Please be advised we will have no further contact with Ms. ******, unless she chooses to contact us, or would like to reinstate her account with Student Plans. We are here to help. We will destroy all sensitive records associated with this account. Email to Ms. ******:Hello ********,In response to your recent complaint, we regret to hear your understanding of the services Student Plans provided to you. Student Plans strives to provide the best customer service experience possible to assist student loan borrowers with their student loans and help them navigate all the Department of Education forgiveness programs. We closed your account as of June 1, 2023. Student Plans has refunded any payments made in the last 120 days. A refund check will be mail to the address listed in the BBB complaint. We would like to provide you with some important dates and information to keep in mind going forward since we will no longer be handling your federal student loan paperwork. The loan forgiveness programs through the Department of Education you are in are called the Pay As You Earn (PAYE-240). The PAYE-240 is an Income-Driven Repayment program that ends in forgiveness for loan holders that complete the entire program. This was part of the William D Ford act of 2007 that instituted the 1st set of student loan forgiveness programs.  PAYE was available to borrowers since President Barack Obama signed it into law in December 2012. The PAYE plan requires 240 qualifying payments. Every year you need to re-certify into the program. After 240 months of qualifying payments, your remaining balance plus any accrued interest will be forgiven. Your next recertification time for your Income Driven Repayment plan will be after February 2024. On March 20, 2020, the Cares Act was signed into law, these benefits have been applied to all federal student loans owned by ED. These benefits include the Covid Pandemic Forbearance and a 0% interest rate on federal student loans. Due to pending court cases, the Covid Payment Pause has been extended till either the One Time Debt Reduction has been approved by the courts or it will end 6/30/2023, and then payments will resume 60 days after that date (whichever comes first - court approval or 6/30/2023). You will need to contact your loan servicer, Aidvantage, to set up payment arrangements if you choose to pursue a different repayment path other than the PAYE-240 plan you are currently enrolled in. Other Discharge, Cancelation, and Forgiveness programs through the Department of Education: One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief, on August 25, 2022, we received an update regarding Biden-Harris Debt Relief Plan. Due to pending court cases regarding the Biden-Harris Debt Relief Plan, the courts have issued orders blocking the Department of Education's debt relief plan. They are seeking to appeal and overturn those orders.  If approved, the Department of Education will be canceling up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for eligible borrowers, and up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation to eligible borrowers who were Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 or $250,000 for households. The Department of Education will require a form to be submitted to show eligibility to receive the cancelation. The Supreme Court heard arguments on Biden-Harris Debt Relief Plan on 2/28/2023. They have adjourned for the time being while the Supreme Court reviews the arguments. The Supreme Court has stated they plan to have a decision by June 2023. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge - If you are totally and permanently disabled, you may qualify for a total and permanent disability (TPD) discharge of your federal student loans or TEACH Grant service obligation. If you receive a TPD discharge, you will no longer be required to repay your loans or complete your TEACH Grant service obligation. Public Service Loan Forgiveness- If you are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Closed School Discharge- If your school closes while you’re enrolled or soon after you withdraw, you may be eligible for discharge of your federal student loan. Loan discharge is the removal of your obligation to repay your loan under certain circumstances There are certain eligibility requirements to qualify for a closed school loan discharge; you must apply to get a discharge. It’s important for you to obtain your academic and financial aid records if your school closes, since you might need those records if you plan to attend another school or want your student loans discharged.Borrower Defense loan Discharge- If your school misled you or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws, you may be eligible for “borrower defense to loan repayment,” sometimes shortened to “borrower defense.” This is the discharge of some or all of your federal student loan debt.Please be aware of your current loan situation, you will need to submit an IDR application before your current plan is set to expire if you with to continue with your current forgiveness program. Your next recertification time for your Income Driven Repayment plan will be after February 2024. If you do not submit an IDR renewal application at least 45 days before your current plan expires you risk a payment increase estimated to be over $200.00 per month. We are here to help in the future if you wish to reopen your account and utilize our assistance.Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  A third party student loan debt servicer i was using is a fraudulent company and they have my social security number

  Customer response

  09/19/2022

  Good evening,

  I believe reimbursement for the funds they mislead me into paying would be a fair outcome. Even more importantly, I don’t think this company should be allowed to continue preying on college graduates desperate to make ends meet.

  Business response

  09/26/2022

  Tell us why here...
  BBB
  Complaint ID: ******** - Business Response
  Student Plans has reviewed the complaint and Ms. ********* account history. After a thorough review of (377 individual notes/ 25 pages),filings, and regular communication via phone, email, text and mail correspondence, we are unclear as to the underlying nature of this complaint. We spoke to Ms. ********* the date the complaint was placed with the BBB, and she made no mention of any issues. Student Plans strives to provide the best customer service experience possible to assist student loan borrowers with their student loans and help them navigate all the Department of Education forgiveness programs.
  
  Based on the complaint Ms. ********* submitted I am at a lack of answers to this complaint. As evidence, the items below that were copied and pasted from Ms. *********'s BBB complaint to this response:
  Desired Outcome/Settlement
  Desired Settlement: Not applicable
  None Provided
  Complaint Details
  Nature of Complaint: None Provided
  Date Problem Occurred: None Provided
  Date(s) Complained: None Provided
  Purchase Date: None Provided
  Salesperson: None Provided
  Complaint Details (cont.)
  Product/Service: None Provided
  Model #: None Provided
  Account #: None Provided
  Order #: None Provided
  Purchase Price: None Provided
  Payment: None Provided None Provided
  Disputed Amount: None Provided
  
  An email was sent to Ms. ********* advising her of the closure of her account with us. This also included pending paperwork due and significant program expiration dates. These deadlines are essential for her to be aware of in order to get some or all of her federal student loans forgiven.
  Please be advised we will have no further contact with Ms. *********, unless she chooses to contact us, or would like to reinstate her account with Student Plans. We are here to help. We will destroy all sensitive records associated with this account.
  Email to Ms. *********:
  Hello *****
  
  In response to your recent complaint, we regret to hear your understanding of the services Student Plans provided to you. Student Plans strives to provide the best customer service experience possible to assist student loan borrowers with their student loans and help them navigate all the Department of Education forgiveness programs. We closed your account as of September 20, 2022. 
  
  We would like to provide you with some important dates and information to keep in mind going forward, since we will no longer be handling your federal student loan paperwork.
  
  The loan forgiveness programs through the Department of Education you are in are called the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and you are in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The PAYE is an Income-Driven Repayment program that ends in forgiveness for loan holders that complete the entire program. This was part of the William D Ford act of 2007 that instituted the 1st set of student loan forgiveness programs.  PAYE was available to borrowers since President Barack Obama signed it into law in December 2012. The PAYE plan requires 240 qualifying payments. Every year you need to re-certify into the program. After 240 months of qualifying payments, your remaining balance plus any accrued interest will be forgiven. Now that you are also in the PSLF program. Instead of having to do 240 qualifying months. You only need to do 120 qualifying months. Recertification time on your account will be after July 2023.
  
  
  All PSLF qualifying employers must be certified on your account with the Department of Education by October 31,2022, to receive the PSLF Waiver benefits. Enrollments on or after November 1, 2022, will not be eligible for PSLF Waiver. 
  
  On March 20, 2020, the Cares Act was signed into law, these benefits have been applied to all federal student loans owned by DOE. These benefits include the Covid Pandemic Forbearance and a 0% interest rate on federal student loans. These will end on 12/31/2022. Payments will resume in January of 2023. You will need to contact your loan servicer, Mohela, to set up payment arrangements.
  
  One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief, on August 25, 2022, we received an update regarding Biden-Harris Debt Relief Plan. The Department of Education will be canceling $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually. The Department of Education will require a form to be submitted to show eligibility to receive the cancelation. Per the Department of Education, this form will be available in October 2022. You'll only have until December 31, 2023, to submit your application. 
  
  The Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation to Pell Grant recipients with loans held by the Department of Education. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 or $250,000 for households. The Department of Education will require a form to be submitted to show eligibility to receive the cancelation. Per the Department of Education, this form will be available in October 2022. You'll only have until December 31, 2023, to submit your application. 
  
  We are here to help in the future if you wish to reopen your account and utilize our assistance.
  
  Thank you,

*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. ↩