Question: Dear Steve, I am apparently paying equitable acceptance for my loan through progress advocates group for consolidating my student loan for four years now and I thought they were with the department of education so I’m a little confused and tried to Google and found these articles. Is this still going on? Please help … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I read your article on the current situation with the lawsuit between the trade commission and debt relief companies. A little more background I graduated from the for-profit art institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2007 with a bachelor of computer science and illustration. Along with others, I couldn’t find work in my … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just filed suit against a number o players in the student loan assistance companies and individuals. The case was filed on January 9, 2020 against Chou Team Realty, Monster Loans, MonsterLoans; Lend Tech Loans, Docu Prep Center, Certified Document Center, Document Preparation Services, DocuPrep Center, Certified Doc Prep, … Read more
The preliminary report is out from the court-appointed Receiver in the case involving “True Count Staffing Inc., d/b/a SL Account Management (“True Count”) and Prime Consulting LLC, d/b/a Financial Preparation Services (“Prime Consulting”) … Defendant Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., d/b/a Premier Student Loan Center (“CAC”), which is in bankruptcy, is not a Receivership Defendant. Albert … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am a teacher in Texas in a lot of debt when I say this organization and the movement against the government on this topic. I find too much information not enough clarity. A non profit called student loan movement in California has a forgiveness program offering and I not sure I … Read more
While some people can find the biggest conspiracy in the smallest discrepancy, I don’t embrace that approach. Instead, I try to look for verifiable facts that can be supported with outside documents. The recent case against American Financial Support Services, Arete Financial Group, Arete Financial Freedom, CBC Conglomerate, 1file.org, Diamond Choice, Interest Rate Solutions, J&L … Read more
The preliminary report of the court-appointed receiver was made public in the case involving a number of student loan assistance companies including American Financial Support Services. To refresh your memory on the case, read this. In recent days, people named in the case have filed documents saying they should not have been included or had … Read more
I received the following audio file of one of those automated dialer student loan assistance calls so many people, including myself, receive on a daily basis. I hate to characterize the call but just simply from a logic point of view it makes little sense. What you will hear is the call begins with an … Read more
Recently I had received a tip that at least one of the companies named in a recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sealed lawsuit had been raided. Subsequently, the case below was unsealed. It appears the FTC filed suit, under seal on November 4, 2019, against American Financial Support Services, Arete Financial Group, Arete Financial Freedom, … Read more
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau), along with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, North Carolina Department of Justice, and the Los Angeles City Attorney, announced an action to halt a student-loan debt-relief operation engaged in allegedly unlawful conduct and consisting of several related companies: Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., which does business as Premier Student … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just released the Annual Report of the CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman. While the report has some findings and suggestions I disagree with, the most alarming for the debt relief industry is probably the section on recommendations that it should be targetted for criminal enforcement. The report says, “Regarding … Read more
I was dealing with a reader submission when I stumbled across a class-action lawsuit filed against Equitable Acceptance, SLF Center, and Integra Student Solutions in 2018. The case is still active and ongoing. I also came across this court document that says any consumer that owes Equitable Acceptance for student loan assistance, does not have … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My student loan service, Student Advocates, turned my loan over Titan home loans. Is this company working with the Federal Dept. of Ed.? Is this company (honestly) helping me with my student loan? Patrick Answer: Dear Patrick, I have no clue why a student loan assistance company would redirect you to a … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.4 million to nearly 40,000 people who lost money to a student loan debt relief scam. The defendants behind the scam were required to turn over money under a 2018 settlement with the FTC. The defendants’ Los Angeles-based companies used the following names: Alliance Document Preparation, LLC; … Read more
Equitable Acceptance has apparently taken the position they are nothing more than a contract financing company for the student loan assistance industry. They also state they are involved in other industries as well. But in the student loan assistance space, Equitable Acceptance has seemingly enabled fly-by-night student loan debt relief companies to pop up, make … Read more