Student Loan Forgivness

[VillainV]

Has anyone used a service to assist them in getting student loan forgiveness?

My H has about $30k in SL debt from a big for-profit online university that has come under fire recently. He has had issues finding employment in his field due to combination of factors (some personal, some potentially due to the quality of education he received from this university).

He saw an ad pop up for a SL forgiveness company and wants to pursue getting some of the loan amount forgiven (it's unlikely he will get it all forgiven, maybe half?). The company wants $700-1k to prepare the documents for us, and can't (won't?) tell us how much forgiveness we can expect until they prepare the documents.

This whole thing sounds fishy to me. They are a registered non-profit and are registered with the Assn for Student Debt Relief. They told my H that he likely qualifies for several federal programs. But that's a pretty hefty fee for document prep, especially considering they're a non-profit organization?

Does anyone have any advice or experience on SL forgiveness???

[Susie]

I have never heard of that group, but it doesn't smell right to me. At all. I've never heard of a SL forgiveness company. Refis, yes, but "companies" don't offer SL forgiveness, and SL forgiveness programs (e.g. public service based) don't require $700-1k worth of paperwork. What magic is this group promising to perform for that kind of money!?  "Pay us $700-1k and then we'll tell you how much you might be eligible for"?  Fuck no.  I imagine the risk is pretty high that you could pay their "paperwork processing" fees and they come back with "oops, so sorry, you're not eligible for much of anything!"

The loan forgiveness programs I'm familiar with are generally for federal loans, and are public service based.  Calvin gets a little bit of money annually from a state program specific to the profession he works in.  There's not as much available for private loans.

[womet]

That sounds incredibly shady to me.

[ladyk]

Have you run them through the BBB and google to see what pops? It sounds really shady to me.

[steph96]

I feel like if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it and you definitely would have heard about it on MM!

[VillainV]

These are my thoughts exactly. They are working on registering with BBB, but aren't yet. I did some googling and can't even find anything that he would qualify for. He has it in his mind that we're going to get his loans forgiven somehow. Truth is we can afford to pay them ourselves. It's a stretch, and definitely adds financial burden, but we can do it.

[niq]

There are a handful of for-profit universities where the DoE has discharged student debt because the universities were so terrible (Corinthian Colleges is the only one I go about). But the forgiveness programs are managed by the Department of Education, so if he qualifies he should go to them directly.

[aurora]

I agree with everyone else: this sounds like a scam. If they were reputable they'd be willing to tell you more than a mystery.

ETA meaning they'd they'll you what forgiveness programs they are helping you apply for, what the possible total is, success statistics, why posting them helps you more than doing it on your own, etc.

[abcdefu]

VillainV, have you been receiving advertisements in the mail for this? I have received three notices from a company advertising student loan forgiveness. I thought the student loan forgiveness program was for public service employees and for people who have made on-time payments for 25 years and whatever balance was left would be forgiven?

[VillainV]

Jun 11, 2016 8:40:34 GMT -5 abcdefu said:

VillainV, have you been receiving advertisements in the mail for this? I have received three notices from a company advertising student loan forgiveness. I thought the student loan forgiveness program was for public service employees and for people who have made on-time payments for 25 years and whatever balance was left would be forgiven?

No, not in the mail (though we probably will now). H saw an add on his Facebook feed.

He was looking at the loan forgiveness for teachers, but I don't think he qualifies (must work 5 years full-time
In a Title I school....but H is a part-time substitute in non-Title I schools...)

[carrotsmakemefat]

Shady and please share the name with the rest of us so we can ignore too

[shortstax]

Do not proceed with this. Our university regularly warns students about these companies (they often advertise on social media.). Anything they can legally offer you can get for free.
consumerist.com/2016/03/15/feds-shut-down-illegal-student-loan-debt-relief-operation/


www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/how-to-spot-student-loan-scam/