I was perusing Facebook the other day and came upon an advertisement that caught my attention. The ad was for a student loan services company that promised to help reduce student loan payment. Since I have a student loan getting ready to come off of deferment, I was interested.
I called the number listed on the ad and spoke to someone who went through the process with me. They verified my information and everything sounded legitimate. They then promised me they could help reduce my payments, potentially even qualify me for loan forgiveness. Then came the kicker...it would only cost about $900. The red flags were raised immediately.
I was able to get off of the phone, however it was not easy. The person on the phone could tell that I felt uncomfortable and began using their training to get me to commit today, not to waste any time. I could even break the lump payment into “three easy payments.” I was able to hang up and start researching this type of program on my own.
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It turns out that the process to reduce or even forgive student loans is something that any person can do for themselves. They do not need another company to perform the paperwork. I found the website and completed the online application, all for free.
So beware of any company that wants money to help reduce or forgive student loans. You can do it yourself for free! These companies are not affiliated with the department of education, Sallie Mae, or any other government agency. They are simply a document preparation service company. They are predators taking money from people who may already be in financial straits. They use fear to take money from people who can use the money to reduce their student loans.