Early in 2014, I responded to a radio ad on WNYC Public Radio for a student load forgiveness program. The customer service person from Broadsword Student Advantage who contacted me ensured me they could help me get more of my loan forgiven than the $500 they charged for the service. I signed some paperwork on-line so they could start the application process.
My student loans were put in forebearance while they filed for consolidation. My loans were moved to Sallie Mae at the same interest rate I had before. This process took more than 6 months during which time I was charged an $29.95 additional monthly fee for services. In August, I lost one of my part-time not-for-profit jobs. In February 2015 I was informed that I need to work a minimum of 30 hours per week to qualify for the loan forgiveness program. I have lost hope of finding that many hours of paid nfp work and cannot afford to volunteer. I have taken a new job with a for-profit small business.
When I called to cancel my account, it was suggested I keep making the monthly payments until I find the necessary 30 hours of work.
I wish I had researched the company instead of just assuming they were reputable because I heard an ad on a reputable public radio station. If I had used the money to buy lottery tickets, I might have been further ahead than I am now.
This is the worst company I've ever worked for. They are liars, they sell you a dream that you will make good money while helping people. Soon you find out that it is all lies. When I began working for the company I believed I would be doing something good for people in debt. Only to find out that the sales department lies to people constantly just to make the sale. In my time employed there I worked in the customer service department. The first terrible issue that made me really uncomfortable is that Broadsword never provided reps with time frames on refunds. There were angry people calling in left and right wanting to know when they would receive their money. The only thing we could do is reach out to management and ask them to contact the customer with a refund status which they never did. It was so stressful not to be able to provide this information to someone who deserved their money back. There were some customers who had been waiting for months and still no time frame on when they would get the money. They also had several issues with paying employees on time. The owner of the company would call meetings just to let us know we wouldn't get paid on time. The first time this happend we were told we wouldn't be paid on the first like scheduled we would have to wait until the fifth of the month. This caused people's rent to be late and now today which is Friday I was supposed to receive my laat check only to find out I won't get it until next Tuesday. They don't care who they sign up they just want their money. One time the lights were turned off due to them not paying the light bill. The head lady in accounting quit after working for the owner for ten years. Once I man snuck in the building because his company provided Broadsword with wiring work and they hadn't paid them off the bill was over 17k. I could go on and on. This company preyed on innocent customers and they preyed on people they hired. The was a case filed against the company and the employees were the ones to have to deal with being called liars and scammers. When the people that work in the service area never lied to the customers the lying started in sales when they were just signing up people just to get paid. I'm more than happy to say I have moved on from this terrible place and as of yet I have not received my last paycheck but I will be getting a lawyer if I don't receive it by tuesday 8/19. They are currently in the process of switching the company's name to Affordable Life Plans please beware.
I had an idea this company was "less than reputable" to put it mildly, but I had no idea it was THIS bad! I have extensive experience in Federal student loan rules/regulations, as well as what can/can't be done and the REAL outcomes of what this company advertises. I had a buddy (who was considering using them after talking with a rep) ask me to look over his loan situation and see if what they had sold him on was really true. So knowing this, I called in as him and talked to the rep. What I was told by the rep was ABSOLUTELY ridiculous and so wrong it was crazy! I kept shooting down every scenario he was giving because I knew what he was proposing wasn't going to work, yet he still kept insisting it would! What was even more concerning is when he was talking about what my new student loan payment would be. I'm sitting in front of my laptop looking at the same calculators he was probably using (well at least I hope so, since I was using the ones the Department of Education actually uses) and he's giving me a new monthly repayment of $165 per month, when it should have been a little over $114. That was $50 more than what I knew it should be! So without letting him know I knew this info, I asked him to break down the payment. He goes "$115 goes toward your monthly payment, then $50 goes toward our monthly management of your loan...". I stopped him dead in his tracks..."Monthly management of what?!" He goes "Oh to make sure you get re-certified for the same payment next year." I go "So you're going to charge me $600 to do a financial re-certification that I have to do myself...and it costs me nothing?! Why would I do that?" He tried giving me some excuses, etc, but I pretty much kept debunking every one he gave. But anyway, since this was getting fun I decided to throw another monkey wrench into the mix. I told him my loans were also in default (which again he came back with the wrong answer for, but I was having fun so why stop ya know?") and he tells me their solution would get the loans out of default, which was partially true but has a lot of variables involved that he either didn't know or understand. Then I told him "By the way, the collection agency told me that my loans have been in default so long they were in danger of being placed in a wage ganishment in 3 weeks." He again assures me they would be done with their solution in less than 3 weeks. Once again, totally false. Why? Two factors.
Number 1: Their "solution" takes a minimum of 4 weeks to complete under ideal circumstances (trust me I've been in this industry/field a LONG time), and with a loan in default you're looking at 4-8 weeks IF their aren't any other mitigating factors involved with the defaulted loans.
Number 2: Again, their "solution" doesn't work if the loans are in default with a pending wage garnishment order being threatened or already issued. In fact, 95% of the lenders who hold the loan, won't even allow this solution. Furthermore, think back to what I said earlier about my loans going into garnishment in 3 weeks. With it taking 4-8 weeks, how could that remotely work?!
Ok, so again I didn't let him know I already knew his solution was totally bogus. In fact I had put the call on speakerphone and was allowing some other people who know how student loans work hear it as well. Everyone was either laughing or had this "IS HE REALLY SAYING THIS?!" look on their faces. Wait...forgot to mention he said they were going to get me loan forgiveness within 2 years wiping out ALL my student loans, even though there is no such loan forgiveness that does this AND the loans I had wouldn't have even qualified for the real forgiveness programs! Sorry, I digress. So we got to what their service fee was going to be to do all this. He told me it would be 3 payments of $199, one today and the other 2 paid monthly. I go ok what you're saying is it's $600, right? He says yes quickly and goes into this spiel of how they break up the service fee to help people because they know people may be having other financial problems and to make it affordable (kinda funny seeing how they want to charge me $50 a month for life for "management" services lol). So then I ask when do you all start working on my case? The rep says they start immediately after receiving my payment. I said great, so I make this payment today and you all start working on it tomorrow, right? (Long silence in the convo). So I ask the question again. He goes "Sir we start as soon as we receive full payment of our fee." Full fee? "Yes full fee..."
Hold on, WHAT?! I just told you my loans were in default and I'm going into garnishment in 3 weeks, we've already established it's going to take 4 weeks MINIMUM AT BEST for their solution to complete, and you just told me you're not even going to start working on my situation until I've paid in full which is 8 weeks from now?! You do understand that now you've basically told me your magical "solution" (which again I already know WON'T WORK!) isn't going to complete until 12-16 weeks?! REALLY, DUDE?!! By the time that happens I'd have paid you $600 and been having my wages garnished for 2-3 months, only for you to tell me "Oh it didn't work, it's not our fault", and from what I've been reading on this and other complaint sites not give me a refund?! Well hell yeah, SIGN ME UP! Hahahahaha
I'm not in the business of bashing companies, and I hate to use the word "scam", but when it's this obvious you have to say something. I want to be honest here though, too. When you're dealing with Federal student loans it really is not a bad idea to seek professional help. The rules and regulations are seriously confusing, and the Department of Education nor their servicers/collection agencies offer much if any help. It's almost like trying to file your income taxes on your own. Sure you can do it, but are you going to miss something and not get the best return? That's why you have an accountant or a tax firm do them so you won't put yourself in a bad or worse position. So when you look at it, hiring a company to help you save what could amount to thousands of dollars, you probably should. But just like with hiring a mechanic, plumber, or anyone else, you just have to be careful who you hire! There really are some honest and upfront companies out there that do really help people and you'll know it by when they talk to you they'll actually answer the same questions the fraud companies avoid. They'll also be straight up with how good or bad your situation really is, tell you legitimate timeframes to get it resolved, and not sell you "magic beans" about your situation. My advice: just do your homework.
Broadsword Student Advantage, LLC Reviews
Early in 2014, I responded to a radio ad on WNYC Public Radio for a student load forgiveness program. The customer service person from Broadsword Student Advantage who contacted me ensured me they could help me get more of my loan forgiven than the $500 they charged for the service. I signed some paperwork on-line so they could start the application process.
My student loans were put in forebearance while they filed for consolidation. My loans were moved to Sallie Mae at the same interest rate I had before. This process took more than 6 months during which time I was charged an $29.95 additional monthly fee for services. In August, I lost one of my part-time not-for-profit jobs. In February 2015 I was informed that I need to work a minimum of 30 hours per week to qualify for the loan forgiveness program. I have lost hope of finding that many hours of paid nfp work and cannot afford to volunteer. I have taken a new job with a for-profit small business.
When I called to cancel my account, it was suggested I keep making the monthly payments until I find the necessary 30 hours of work.
I wish I had researched the company instead of just assuming they were reputable because I heard an ad on a reputable public radio station. If I had used the money to buy lottery tickets, I might have been further ahead than I am now.
This is the worst company I've ever worked for. They are liars, they sell you a dream that you will make good money while helping people. Soon you find out that it is all lies. When I began working for the company I believed I would be doing something good for people in debt. Only to find out that the sales department lies to people constantly just to make the sale. In my time employed there I worked in the customer service department. The first terrible issue that made me really uncomfortable is that Broadsword never provided reps with time frames on refunds. There were angry people calling in left and right wanting to know when they would receive their money. The only thing we could do is reach out to management and ask them to contact the customer with a refund status which they never did. It was so stressful not to be able to provide this information to someone who deserved their money back. There were some customers who had been waiting for months and still no time frame on when they would get the money. They also had several issues with paying employees on time. The owner of the company would call meetings just to let us know we wouldn't get paid on time. The first time this happend we were told we wouldn't be paid on the first like scheduled we would have to wait until the fifth of the month. This caused people's rent to be late and now today which is Friday I was supposed to receive my laat check only to find out I won't get it until next Tuesday. They don't care who they sign up they just want their money. One time the lights were turned off due to them not paying the light bill. The head lady in accounting quit after working for the owner for ten years. Once I man snuck in the building because his company provided Broadsword with wiring work and they hadn't paid them off the bill was over 17k. I could go on and on. This company preyed on innocent customers and they preyed on people they hired. The was a case filed against the company and the employees were the ones to have to deal with being called liars and scammers. When the people that work in the service area never lied to the customers the lying started in sales when they were just signing up people just to get paid. I'm more than happy to say I have moved on from this terrible place and as of yet I have not received my last paycheck but I will be getting a lawyer if I don't receive it by tuesday 8/19. They are currently in the process of switching the company's name to Affordable Life Plans please beware.
WOW!
I had an idea this company was "less than reputable" to put it mildly, but I had no idea it was THIS bad! I have extensive experience in Federal student loan rules/regulations, as well as what can/can't be done and the REAL outcomes of what this company advertises. I had a buddy (who was considering using them after talking with a rep) ask me to look over his loan situation and see if what they had sold him on was really true. So knowing this, I called in as him and talked to the rep. What I was told by the rep was ABSOLUTELY ridiculous and so wrong it was crazy! I kept shooting down every scenario he was giving because I knew what he was proposing wasn't going to work, yet he still kept insisting it would! What was even more concerning is when he was talking about what my new student loan payment would be. I'm sitting in front of my laptop looking at the same calculators he was probably using (well at least I hope so, since I was using the ones the Department of Education actually uses) and he's giving me a new monthly repayment of $165 per month, when it should have been a little over $114. That was $50 more than what I knew it should be! So without letting him know I knew this info, I asked him to break down the payment. He goes "$115 goes toward your monthly payment, then $50 goes toward our monthly management of your loan...". I stopped him dead in his tracks..."Monthly management of what?!" He goes "Oh to make sure you get re-certified for the same payment next year." I go "So you're going to charge me $600 to do a financial re-certification that I have to do myself...and it costs me nothing?! Why would I do that?" He tried giving me some excuses, etc, but I pretty much kept debunking every one he gave. But anyway, since this was getting fun I decided to throw another monkey wrench into the mix. I told him my loans were also in default (which again he came back with the wrong answer for, but I was having fun so why stop ya know?") and he tells me their solution would get the loans out of default, which was partially true but has a lot of variables involved that he either didn't know or understand. Then I told him "By the way, the collection agency told me that my loans have been in default so long they were in danger of being placed in a wage ganishment in 3 weeks." He again assures me they would be done with their solution in less than 3 weeks. Once again, totally false. Why? Two factors.
Number 1: Their "solution" takes a minimum of 4 weeks to complete under ideal circumstances (trust me I've been in this industry/field a LONG time), and with a loan in default you're looking at 4-8 weeks IF their aren't any other mitigating factors involved with the defaulted loans.
Number 2: Again, their "solution" doesn't work if the loans are in default with a pending wage garnishment order being threatened or already issued. In fact, 95% of the lenders who hold the loan, won't even allow this solution. Furthermore, think back to what I said earlier about my loans going into garnishment in 3 weeks. With it taking 4-8 weeks, how could that remotely work?!
Ok, so again I didn't let him know I already knew his solution was totally bogus. In fact I had put the call on speakerphone and was allowing some other people who know how student loans work hear it as well. Everyone was either laughing or had this "IS HE REALLY SAYING THIS?!" look on their faces. Wait...forgot to mention he said they were going to get me loan forgiveness within 2 years wiping out ALL my student loans, even though there is no such loan forgiveness that does this AND the loans I had wouldn't have even qualified for the real forgiveness programs! Sorry, I digress. So we got to what their service fee was going to be to do all this. He told me it would be 3 payments of $199, one today and the other 2 paid monthly. I go ok what you're saying is it's $600, right? He says yes quickly and goes into this spiel of how they break up the service fee to help people because they know people may be having other financial problems and to make it affordable (kinda funny seeing how they want to charge me $50 a month for life for "management" services lol). So then I ask when do you all start working on my case? The rep says they start immediately after receiving my payment. I said great, so I make this payment today and you all start working on it tomorrow, right? (Long silence in the convo). So I ask the question again. He goes "Sir we start as soon as we receive full payment of our fee." Full fee? "Yes full fee..."
Hold on, WHAT?! I just told you my loans were in default and I'm going into garnishment in 3 weeks, we've already established it's going to take 4 weeks MINIMUM AT BEST for their solution to complete, and you just told me you're not even going to start working on my situation until I've paid in full which is 8 weeks from now?! You do understand that now you've basically told me your magical "solution" (which again I already know WON'T WORK!) isn't going to complete until 12-16 weeks?! REALLY, DUDE?!! By the time that happens I'd have paid you $600 and been having my wages garnished for 2-3 months, only for you to tell me "Oh it didn't work, it's not our fault", and from what I've been reading on this and other complaint sites not give me a refund?! Well hell yeah, SIGN ME UP! Hahahahaha
I'm not in the business of bashing companies, and I hate to use the word "scam", but when it's this obvious you have to say something. I want to be honest here though, too. When you're dealing with Federal student loans it really is not a bad idea to seek professional help. The rules and regulations are seriously confusing, and the Department of Education nor their servicers/collection agencies offer much if any help. It's almost like trying to file your income taxes on your own. Sure you can do it, but are you going to miss something and not get the best return? That's why you have an accountant or a tax firm do them so you won't put yourself in a bad or worse position. So when you look at it, hiring a company to help you save what could amount to thousands of dollars, you probably should. But just like with hiring a mechanic, plumber, or anyone else, you just have to be careful who you hire! There really are some honest and upfront companies out there that do really help people and you'll know it by when they talk to you they'll actually answer the same questions the fraud companies avoid. They'll also be straight up with how good or bad your situation really is, tell you legitimate timeframes to get it resolved, and not sell you "magic beans" about your situation. My advice: just do your homework.