Premier Student Loan Center ratings, reviews and complaints - Debt Relief Services - non-compliant with FTC Rule

Complaints and Resolutions

Total Amount in Dispute:
$0.00

Total Amount Settled:
$0.00

Complaint Experience

Complaint Resolution Index (CRI)

Complaint Resolution Index (CRI) Explained The Complaint Resolution Index (CRI) is an indicator on how responsive a company is in addressing and resolving customer complaints brought to their attention by BCA. If they are considering doing business with the company, consumers can use this indicator to forecast the likelihood of having their issues addressed if a problem arises. CRI measures the company's customer satisfaction abilities through BCA’s complaint mediation process.

A variety of factors are considered when calculating CRI. This includes how quickly a company responds to complaints, the number of complaints against a company, whether the company addressed complaint allegations, and the outcome of the complaints. CRI is just a subset of the overall rating for the company. Consumers are encouraged to take into consideration the company's CRI, their overall BCA letter rating and other relevant information about the company so they can make a well-informed purchasing decision.

BCA's Summary and Analysis:

Our records indicate the company failed to respond to the one complaint brought to its attention.

Our complaint services are free and our team of expert mediators will assist in resolving complaints with businesses.

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Complaint Closing Statistics

1 complaints against Premier Student Loan Center closed in last 3 years.

Complaints	Type of response
0	Making a full refund, as the consumer requested
0	Making a partial refund
0	Agreed to make an adjustment
0	Refusing to make an adjustment
0	Refuse to adjust, relying on terms of agreement
1	Unanswered

View summaries of the complaint descriptions and responses.

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Other Information

Company Info

This company's business is legal document assistant.

Primary Contact:	Albert Kim (Owner/CEO)
Business Started:	8/6/2014
Social:

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Licensing

California law requires bill paying services, and pro-raters accepting money from clients to be disbursed to creditors on behalf of the debtor, to be licensed by the California Department of Business Oversight and file a $25,000 bond.

To verify licensing, contact the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) by writing to 1515 K Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95814-4052, by calling (916) 445-7205, (866) 275-2677 or (866) ASK CORP. Prorater licenses can be verified on-line, by accessing the DBO website at http://www.dbo.ca.gov.

For businesses outside of California, please check with the agency that regulates this industry.

Government Actions

Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Description:

On October 2019 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, North Carolina Department of Justice, and the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a Complaint against Premier Student Loan Center (Premier) and its related entities for allegedly unlawful conduct in a student-loan debt-relief scheme. On December 13, 2022 the CFPB announced they would issue $95 million in redress to consumers harmed by Premier Student Loan Center

According to the complaint, Premier charged over $71 million in unlawful advance fees in connection with the marketing and sale of student-loan debt-relief services to consumers. The CFPB alleges that Premier, along with its company co-defendants, violated the law by making deceptive representations about the companies’ student-loan debt-relief and modification services. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Premier charged and collected improper advance fees before consumers had received any adjustment of their student loans or made any payment toward such adjusted loan. The CFPB also alleges that the defendants engaged in deceptive practices by misrepresenting: the purpose and application of fees charged by the companies, their ability to obtain loan forgiveness, and their ability to lower consumers’ monthly payments. The CFPB also alleges that the defendants failed to inform consumers that the companies automatically request that consumers’ loans be placed in forbearance so that consumers can better afford the companies’ significant fees and that the companies submit false information to student-loan servicers in loan-adjustment applications in an effort to qualify consumers for lower monthly payments. The CFPB also alleges the individuals substantially assisted the student-loan debt-relief companies.

Between August 2020 and June 2022 the Court entered a series of judgments and orders against Premier, its related businesses, and principles of the companies. As announced on December 13, 2022 the CFPB will distribute over $95 million in redress to over 87,000 consumers harmed by Premier. Payments were issued on December 13, 2022, through RUST Consulting. For additional questions, contact premier_info@rustcfpbconsumerprotection.org or (833) 539-2839.

For more information about the case and redress payments visit the CFPB website and click link for Premier Student Loan Center.

Date of Action: 1/18/2023

Comments and Analysis

Our experience with debt negotiating companies is that they attract customers with large credit card debt by claiming to be able to settle those debts for a fraction of their face value. They often claim that their services are more effective than those provided by credit counseling services and that they are a superior alternative to bankruptcy.

Complaints on these type of companies allege that creditors continue to harass clients, fees and interest continue to accumulate, and the creditors are not contacted. Usually, creditors turn the claims over to collection agencies, file suit and pursue collection of the money owed to them. Debts are seldom settled, customer's credit is ruined, and many people are sued forcing them to seek bankruptcy protection. Typically, it is difficult to obtain refunds.

These companies usually instruct their clients to stop paying their creditors. Some companies direct clients to make their payments to the debt negotiation company instead. They promise that when sufficient cash has been accumulated to offer a settlement to a creditor, they will do so. They go on to say that their program may take two or three years to complete. Most companies collect their fees upfront and generally the fees are based on some percentage of the promised savings.

Other companies simply collect their fee and advise debtors to save their money to pay their creditors themselves. California law limits the amount of fees debt negotiators can charge, but by not collecting the money and distributing it to your creditors, companies can remove themselves from the limiting statutes and charge whatever they wish. What they are supposed to do for you while you’re saving up your money is to contact your creditors and inform them that they’re working with you, negotiate the amount to settle your debt, and ask them stop contacting you. Debtors may not realize that if their creditors do accept a negotiated settlement, the amount forgiven constitutes taxable income.

For businesses outside of California, please check with the agency that regulates this industry.

Other Considerations

Our files show disconnected phone numbers, returned mail or both. The company appears to be out of business. We cannot trace addresses of companies or principals. General information is available upon request which may assist you.

On December 13, 2022 the CFPB distributed over $95 million in redress to over 87,000 consumers harmed by Premier. Payments were issued on December 13, 2022, through RUST Consulting. For additional questions, contact premier_info@rustcfpbconsumerprotection.org or (833) 539-2839.

Industry Resources

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Additional Info

DBAs:
There are no additional DBAs.

Websites:
There are no additional web sites.

Contacts:

Customer Service

Other Categories:

Student Loan Consolidation

Legal Document Assistant

Reputation Report

Premier Student Loan Center

Complaints and Resolutions

Other Information