Overwhelmed by Robocalls About Student Loans?

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- If an individual has a cell phone, they've probably had to deal with robocalls. If the same individual has student loan debt, there's a large chance some of those robocalls come from a servicer trying to collect on those debts. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation service company, has worked with thousands of student loan borrowers by helping them apply for income-driven repayment programs (IDRs). However, enrolling in an IDR doesn't necessarily stop someone from receiving the seemingly endless collection robocalls.

In the case of James Hunter, who has been called almost 2,000 times from Navient, it's borderline harassment. "From a borrower's perspective, it may seem like these calls are coming in with almost zero regard for their personal well-being," said Sara Molina, manager at AFBC. Due to a paralyzing injury, James has been unable to utilize his degree to work and start his loan repayment. Hunter stated that he started having anxiety attacks whenever he heard his phone ring.

Automated calls can mean that there is not a person on the other end of the call. This can be particularly problematic in case something goes wrong. An example of something going wrong is that more than a few families and individuals have received several calls for a debt that wasn't theirs. It is just as bad and stressful as when an individual is told that there are overdue payments even though all of their accounts are current. Autodialing systems tend to be cheap to use, which may be part of the reason that inaccurately placed calls go on for so long as well as companies have little to no incentive to correct false information, said Peerce Howard, of the Consumer Protection Firm.

There are a fair amount of growing pains with technology developments. Since 1991, legislation has been enacted to restrict businesses from calling individuals without their consent. Even today, there are debates about how debt collection calls should be handled. Even if it won't stop calls from servicers, AFBC has helped its clients have a bit more peace of mind by helping them apply for IDRs and other programs that can potentially lower someone's monthly payments and helped them get on track for student loan forgiveness. "AFBC has helped student loan borrowers better the situations they are in and continues to help its clients with maintaining their situation in the ways it can," said Molina.

About American Financial Benefits Center

American Financial Benefits Center is a document preparation company that helps clients apply for federal student loan repayment plans that fit their personal financial and student loan situation. Through its strict customer service guidelines, the company strives for the highest levels of honesty and integrity.

Each AFBC telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

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Contact

To learn more about American Financial Benefits Center, please contact:

American Financial Benefits Center
1900 Powell Street #600
Emeryville, CA 94608
1-800-488-1490
[email protected]

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SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center