You guys. I can't even with myself. I was so stupid I don't feel like I even deserve/am responsible enough to use technology anymore. This is going to be a long one. I don’t blame you for not reading the entire thing.
TL;DR: I’m an idiot that gave my most sacred personal information out to a company that probably is not real.
Here’s what happened. My mom told me about this student loan forgiveness/consolidation program so I researched it. I found a website that seemed legit and entered my phone number to get more info.
Within a few days, I started getting random phone calls from places all over the country (iPhones show the area the number is from). I let most of them go to voicemail because I don't like to answer numbers I don't know, and none would leave a message. After several calls I started calling back and a student loan agency would answer so I knew it was from the website. I started losing interest because it just seemed less legit as time went on.
I got a call on Friday from another unknown number from a random city in Alabama (the state I live in) and I answered because I've been applying to a ton of jobs lately and would like to get some calls from them. Alas, the caller is from a student loan consolidation company. I listen to the lady's spiel because I cannot be mean to them. It’s not in me to be rude. So I listen, and she transfers me over to a loan ‘counselor.’ I agreed thinking I could just politely say no to the next person and be done with it.
The more he (the next guy, we'll call him B ) talks, the more I’m like, “Yeah… this is a great idea!” B tells me all this wonderful stuff about how I’d have 120 months of X amount payments, then after that the remaining balance would be forgiven even though I would have only paid about a 6th of what I owe the government for student loans. It sounded like a cool deal, so I agreed. He asks me for my bank account information because they will do automatic withdrawals for the amount, including their fee.
I GAVE THEM MY BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. LIKE A DUMBASS. And then signed an agreement okaying them to do the automatic withdrawals. Nope, didn't even read the full agreement before I signed.
Oh but wait, it gets better. I only hesitate because the first payment is due March 6th, and I JUST made my student loan payment last week, and with FI and I closing in on our wedding date we’re saving every penny we can. I ask B if I can talk it over with FI then get back to them. He says Yes of course! Just call me back on Monday if March 6th for the first payment doesn’t work for you! Then he transfers me over to this lovely lady whom we shall call 'M' in the processing department to get me all set up. I talk to her and she just tells me they’ll need proof of income and some more stuff to be able to consolidate my loans.
Now while I’m on the phone with these people, I’m googling the company and can’t find anything negative about them. Just tons of links for more information.Cool.
So it’s a Friday and I’m busy over the weekend so I don’t really think about it. Sunday rolls around. I’m like hmmm let me check on this thing. I start reading over the agreement and I’m like, “Eh…this may not be a good idea. But oh shit I agreed to let them take money out. Can I cancel this?!?!” In the agreement it says I can terminate at any time, but I also have a 3 day right of rescission. I can do this by providing a written notice either through mail, email, or fax. Since it’s Sunday, I decide to email them. The email bounces back because the email is invalid. This is the same email THEY emailed ME from and it doesn’t work. Then my brain goes, “Oh my god! This is bad!” I call the numbers they gave me and one rings forever but no message ever comes up. Another goes to B's voicemail. The one for M (that I obtained from the email she sent me) just rings and rings. I call another number from the website and it goes to another voicemail, what sounds like a personal cell phone. At this point I am freaking THE FUCK out. I decide to tell FI and he is PISSED, mostly at me for being a dumbass (which I deserve). I call my mom crying because she works for an attorney and I want her to see how bad this is that I signed an agreement, and we decide that we will overnight FedEx a letter to them saying I want to terminate, and I will also fax a copy of the letter to them when I get to work today, and me also try to call them and speak directly with someone.
We FedEx the letter this morning and I faxed 2 different numbers I have for them, and my fax machine tells me that it went through.
I try calling M (because it says all through the agreement to contact her about termination) and I still can’t get anyone to answer the call. I call the B guy and tell him I want to cancel and that I’ve sent all kinds of correspondence. He asks if I spoken with M (why is she the only person who can handle this?!?!) and I tell him no, that I can’t get her on the phone and her email doesn’t work. He says okay I’ll take care of it, and he will call me back if he needs more info.
I decide that’s not good enough and I’ll keep trying to reach someone in the billing department. I call the phone number on the website and the guy B answers!! Are he and M the only people who work here!??!
I hang up and try to call M again and again and I FINALLY get her. I tell her the whole thing about wanting to cancel, I've sent letters, etc. etc. She very abruptly tells me she will send me an email of my cancellation, and then hangs up before I can verify that the payments won’t come out of my account.
Since then, I have received email confirmation that it was canceled. I called my bank to see if I can stop payments from automatically coming out, and they say in order to do that I have to completely close my account and open a new one. This is a GIANT hassle because all of our bills are automatically withdrawn and my work check is automatically deposited. I’m still deciding whether I need to go through with closing the account.
And more that I’ve learned since getting off the phone:
-The ONLY information I can find about this company just the website information. No reviews, no mention of it on other sites, nothing.
-They have a Facebook page, but it has 0 likes and 0 information on it.
-I can only deduce that B and M are single(double?) handedly running this company because I spoke with no one else after being connected to them.
-I’m an idiot who is not responsible enough to use technology.
I cannot BELIEVE how stupid I was!!! It’s like my brain just checked out and I was all ‘La la la pay off my loans woohoo’ and did this. I am intelligent have a fucking masters degree, but yet I gave out my social security number and my bank account information to a stranger over the phone. Awesome.
If you made it through this whole thing, bless you. I’m totally okay with hearing your thoughts regarding my lack of intelligence in this matter. Lord knows I need an ass kicking.
ETF: Part about master's degree. I don't mean to insinuate that anyone with some degree is any smarter than anyone without one.