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Business Profile

Debt Consolidation Services

Certify Student Services

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Debt Consolidation Services.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 9 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 1 complaint closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/14/2024

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Services offered was for student loan forgiveness program. I have been making monthly payments august of 2023 thinking it was the Public Student ************ Forgiveness program. I call Federal Student Aid today to see how many payments I had left, and was told there is no record of any payment towards my student loan forgiveness. This is such a scam as it was explained that this was a forgiveness program and it is NOT!

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/20/2023

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    This business relies on the fact that most customers will trust the words a representative says and not read the fine print. Over the phone the agents would tell me "you are paying toward the balance of your loan - toward loan forgiveness" but ****** just contacted me saying student loan repayments will resume this month. I've been paying Certify for YEARS now assuming I WAS ALREADY paying toward my loan. Turns out they are a middleman who simply turn paperwork in for you -- and that paperwork MIGHT eventually lead to student loan forgiveness. So do not sign up with them. If I knew that's all they did I would never have done it. Turning paperwork in isn't hard. These people lie about the service they provide and put it in the fine print so there's literally nothing you can do to get your money back. They are a legal scam.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/08/2023

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    My issue with this company is that I was told after I completed my contract with them I would no longer be in default and the remainder of my loans would be forgiven. Also that the payments would be reported to the credit beauro. My loans have been consolidated however they are still on my credit report. The other issue is that I was now told that when my contract is paid off that I will still owe the remainder of my loans and I will be switched over to another company. This is not what I was *** in the beginning or I would not have done this contract.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/22/2023

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I signed up with *********** initially for student loan forgiveness and then certify student services acquired them. I have been making payments on my student loan since 2020 and I recently received a statement from from helmet. I tried calling Certify student services and their number is not working. Evidently my loan wasnt forgiven.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/14/2022

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    We are concerned about student loan debt/loan forgiveness programs and a fraud scam that *** have involved our son, ***********. We applied on behalf of his Federal Student loans through Certify Student Services in May 2022. We were told that his Federal Loan debt of approx $25K was forgiven, but he would have to re-apply every year. We then worked for the next few months trying to get his Private Student/Parent Loans thru NFCU consolidated and refinanced. That just happened. We were under the impression that we paid Certify Student Services for their processing assistance and our application was complete. I, *********************, *** have been dupped and ***************************** not have applied according to FAFSA regulations. We, as parents are very concerned and are trying endlessly to get answers on whether this is a legitimate business. If we made these payments to an illegitimate business and we could have made those payments to the Federal Student Loan itself, we need to know and get our money refunded. Thank you for your assistance.

    Business Response

    Date: 11/15/2022

    Hello ******,

    Per your complaint, it appears you've uploaded the APPROVAL LETTER from the *** showing our services rendered. Not only did we render our services and entered your son into the correct & best program available, we also submitted the ***** Discharge Application to remove 10k off *****'s student loan debt. Upon enrolling into our services, every client goes through compliance questions to confirm you understand who we are, what we are doing for you, and where the fees are going too. Based on the notations, you've called into our company multiple times. Back in May, you even wanted to refer your husband who still has 54k in student loans. If you have any further questions, please contact us anytime. Thank you.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:11/04/2022

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    They said they were a student loan debt consolidation. They are not a real company and dont do anything they say they do. They think they can get away with saying its timeframe issue. They are not connected or affiliated with the ********** of ********* at ALL. They have all my information 2 days later someone took credit card out in my name. Below is just one email but they would not of known my credit information before they called. I have contract and had to give pay stubs. I have ALL documentation for them

    Business Response

    Date: 11/15/2022

    Hello ******,


    First of all, when you enrolled with our company the very first compliance question you go through is "You understand we are not apart of the *** or your Loan Servicer", which you said YES you understood. Secondly, it is also in our legal documentations FIRST PAGE, that you signed. You also signed an agreement to automatically have your payments drafted from your account, you were given multiple reminders before your payments 3 and 7 days prior through email and text letting you know the payment will be drafted and if you need extra time please let us know. You have over 200 THOUSAND dollars in student loans. You pulled your first loan in 2006. These programs were made available to PSLF in 2007, then open to everyone in 2010, yet for the past 12 years you have not entered into the program. You have not made ONE payment to our company. For now, we will go ahead and cancel you out. We truly wish you the best.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/30/2022

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    This company contacted me acting like they were associated with the Federal Student Aid. And, they were trying set up payments so I could start paying my student loan debt. After setting a monthly payment of $166.50 per month and paying it for many months. I received an email from the Federal Sudent Aid. I decided to log in to their webside to review the progress of my payments. and, my balance didn't reflect the monthly payments I was making. So, I decided to contact them directly via phone. and, they advised that Certify Student Services were not associated with them. And, If I was making monthly paying to pay my student loan. It was a scam. This is the most dishonest company I have encountered. I want this company to refund my money.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/20/2022

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    The company certify student services has been collecting money from me monthly I. Order to help me with loan forgiveness and I just found out from my federal loan servicer that this is fraudulent and I have been paying them ***** a month for the past year. I am taken back how someone can do this to another hard working person. I would not have known if I had not looked into info when my student loan servicer reached out to me recently. I am almost a 50 year old women trying to pay loans back and totally just got scammed for my hard earned money. I deserve that money back in full. Please beware

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/20/2022

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Bbb complaint I made call regarding student loan forgiveness I was contacted and had VM from Certify Student Services (***) stating I was eligible for the student loan forgiveness program. During the call, after giving PID, certify Student Services advised That I had to pay $500, then after 27 months, loan would be forgiven. I would be enrolled in financial class, yet I Did not have to physically do anything/class, Certify Student Services could not provide an answer for this although it was questioned repeatedly. Certify Student Services threatened immediate wage garnishment due to loan in default of less than $3000, At end of call, on recorded line, Certify Student Services claimed I was advised *** was not part of fafsa. I told them that was not accurate; they did not disclose this.On 8/20, I was alerted by ***** of scam/fraud, identity compromised re: fafsa account. I reset password as advised.. ***** email stated that I did not need to pay a portion of loan prior to forgiveness, and an individual should never be asked to pay for the service, Fafsa provides this without charge. 8/18/22, an email was received from Certify Student Services that was addressed to another persons name.(Raven). *** charged my debit card $499 (not $500 as explained) On 8/20/22:the money had already cleared my bank. I tried to phone and access website for *** unsuccessfully. I emailed the *** original employee whom I worked with on phone and email 8/18/22 requesting a refund and to discontinue services based on the above concerns. I notified my bank to dispute the charge. Under vendor information, Certify Student Services lists charges as entertainment. I filed Fafsa complaint.

    Business Response

    Date: 08/23/2022

    ******,

    You just enrolled with us on 8/18/2022. You've submitted this complaint on 8/22/22. You have been a client of ours for 4 days. In these four days, we have already submitted the consolidation on your loans and we are 2-3 weeks from turning your DEFAULTED student loans back into good standings. We have even sent you proof of the consolidation paperwork and within ***** days from this response, you will be OUT of DEFAULT and this will be fixed on your credit as well. Regarding you wanting to enroll into class, you may at your own cost. You are currently not going to receive any more student loans if your loans continued to stay in default. That is a fact. Once you were out of default (in 2-3 weeks time) then you may apply for more financial aid and loans. Furthermore, your FSA was only accessed after giving us consent and authorization, which YOU signed paperwork doing so.  YES, you are correct - you can do these application yourself just like how you can change the oil in your car yourself- but you still go to a mechanic and pay them a fee. We will go ahead and refund your payment and cancel out your application. We wish you the best of luck. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 08/26/2022


    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

    Regards,

    *********************

     

Certify Student Services is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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