Susan sent in the following mailer to me from a generic sounding company, Student Loan Assistance Center. She also noticed the letter had the same Judy Pratt signature as other debt relief mailers have. The last one I covered was from the Debt Reduction Department. Click here.
For those who may not know, I Buy Junk Mail so be sure to look at what I buy and submit marketing mailers when you get them.
I’m all for consumers getting student loan help and in fact I’ve even been asked to be an educational adviser for the new Association for Student Loan Relief association that is forming for student loan assistance companies.
But this mailer is deceptive in my opinion.
Let’s look at the concerning parts.
- The mailer does not identify where the company is located.
- The name is generic and with the absence of location information it makes it next to impossible for consumers to checkout the company.
- The mailer promises and student loan forgiveness program.
- It is vague in what types of loans are eligible and does not mention if this is for private or federal student loans.
- The pitch is to consolidate the loans but in a loan forgiveness program. Which is it, consolidation or forgiveness?
- There are a few loan forgiveness programs out there for people is a few specific situations. But even those programs don’t allow you to pay off the loans is a shorter time. A forgiven loan is not the same thing as a paid off loan. Student loan forgiveness can be taxable.
- In the fine print in the bottom the company (Student Loan Assistance Center) refers to themselves as SLA. Did they get their own name wrong?
The concern would be if this was a front end marketing company and not a licensed and registered company providing no advance fee student loan services.
If you or someone you know gets a similar mailer I would urge you to check the company out carefully.
- The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Checking Out a Debt Relief Company Before You Sign On the Line
- 10 Must Do Steps to Find the Best Credit Counseling or Debt Settlement Company for You
- How to Check Out a Business or Company to Avoid Getting Scammed or Ripped Off
Additionally, if you need free student loan assistance, read my guide “The Ultimate Guide to Dealing With Student Loans You Can’t Afford.”
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This offer was able to be reviewed because a kind reader sent it in via my I Buy Junk Mail program.
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We received one of these in the mail today and it smells fishy to me so I did some searching and came across this page. Our letter is nearly the same but has a different toll free number and is signed by an “Amy Goldburg”. Ours also includes a “Personal Website” address as you’ve seen in some of the other debt mailers, but is otherwise essentially the same as above. Postmark is the same eagle from Santa Ana with Permit #507 as you’ve seen before as well. Perhaps I’ll give them a call tomorrow and see what else I can find out.