National Student Financial Aid

Annie of High Point NC (03/18/06)
I paid for a contract for $995.00 on October 21, 2001 for my assistance with my daughter's college financial aid endeavors. However, little help was recieved and my daughter found other means of financial assistance without NSFA. On Friday, April 25, 2003, I recieved a letter from Shelia Cuccua of NSFA stating that they would now be working with my other daughter Courtney who was a high school sophomore at the time. Upon calling we discovered that the phone number was not in service and the website was also not valid. After paying almost $1000 for this service I feel that neither daughter benefited from this program.

Catherine of West Mifflin PA (02/24/06)
I applied with this company in 2001 to help find financial aid and a college for our two girls without actually 'robbing the bank' or depleting our retirement account.

Paid $1,045.00 for them to help us with this information. Trying to contact them since then, but their number and address are no longer valid. Would like a refund.

Gessel of Chico CA (7/21/04):
The summer before my senior year in high school, I went to a seminar where they said that they could help me find money for college. I thought that it was a great opportunity for me because I wanted to go to college and I knew that my mom was not going to be able to help out with the expenses. They told me that I would have to pay $1300 for their services. Because my mom was unable to pay this, I took it upon my self to come up with the money.

I thought that paying $1300 was a small price for all the services that they offered, but I was terribly wrong. I got no real help from them, all I recieved were packets in the mail and most of the time I didn't know what to do with them. All the financial aid that I recieved for college was because of the help that I got through my high school.

Tyrone of Hopkins SC (7/13/04):
My son and I attended their seminar. We gave them a check for $100 and checking account information to withdraw $100 payments each month with the understanding that they would help with my son's educational funding, etc. To this day we have not heard anything and they are taking our money each month which will be stopped today. This company has not helped us in anyway, nor have they attempted to help.

My wife and I are doing everything we know to do to get funding for our son to attend school. This company took our tax information, checking account information and made promises to assist us with our son's college funding, and scholarships. We have received nothing from them but yet they take money from our account each month.

Carol of Wichita Falls TX (6/1/04):
Back in 2000, we went to a seminer with our youngest daughter. It sounded good and she would need financial help with college, so we signed up, paid $100 and left. About 2 weeks later, we heard some things about the company and decided to cancel. I did so in writing. About 6 months later, we received a letter stating they were going to take us to court if we did not pay. So, I paid them in full, the entire $1000!

She decided that since we had to pay for it to try it. They sent us a letter stating that since she lives at home, there was nothing they could do for her. I asked why did we have to pay $1000 if they were not going to help. "Well, you did sign a contract. It is not our fault if we can't help," they said and hung up. Further calls to them we either not returned or I was hung up on.

We have recently applied for a home loan and were shocked to find out that they are on our credit report, and have us listed as not having paid. I am currently trying to get hold of the company, with no luck. It is keeping us from getting a home loan. That is $1000 that could have used to pay for college courses.

Susanne of Rockville MD (5/13/04):
Purchased services in August for $1100.00 for the company to negotiate on my behalf to lower the family contribution for college tuitions as well as other services -- practice SAT testing, college profiling, financial aid eligibility analysis, career assessment, personal financial aid strategies. The only service provided was one SAT practice test. Company sales rep misrepresented service provided.

Jeanette of Santee CA (8/5/03):
NSFA contacted us during the summer - when no one was available at my son's high school. We attended one of their seminars in San Diego and were convinced by their sales people that they could get the money and help my son would need in order to go to a good college. We gave them a $200.00 down payment. We spend a lot of time filling out their information booklet. For our $200.00 all we received was a booklet for a practice SAT that my son took and returned. They then sent us results that required a PhD to interpret.

I explained to NSFA that I didn't expect them to return my $200.00, but we wanted to terminate our agreement. One of their claims was that they would send us information on the top colleges for my son's intended major. They asked us for names of any colleges we knew of. Those are the only colleges they acknowledged, and they never sent us any information besides the SAT stuff. They turned the account over to an attorney's office, Jeffrey Needles, and we have been harrassed by them ever since.

My son is starting college this month, so throughout all of their hastle's I have had to do all of the work on finding his college and information. The information sent to us by NSFA was obtained at no charge on the Internet!

Patrick's father, my husband, died three years ago. I make $36,000 per year. We still don't know how we are going to pay for my son's college. All of these collection letters are very upsetting.

Susan of Kansas City writes (3/12/02):
My family attended a seminar in the summer and signed a contract with the hopes that my son would have some help and guidance to enter college. NSFA also promised to help to get my son ready for the SAT test. Well they never called to see why the practice form was not sent in or asked how it was going.

I filled out the financial aid form for them probably in January and now, in March, I am hearing from them. Also, we sent in the practice SAT form, and after writing to them on the internet finally got results. Yes we have results. We have l0 pages of detailed information, but it would take a genius to muddle through it. We just wanted to know if he was ready to take the SAT test and what areas to work on.

Then I finally talked to some foreigner at NSFA today after 3 calls to them and he now is verifying the financial aid form now only 2 months or so later. He then said, "Hasn't your son enrolled in the SAT yet? He needs to do that right away." I said I was working on doing just that, but we had been hoping for guidance from them, if my son was ready to take the test. He then said that my son should've taken this test months ago.

I then got into a heated discussion with this counselor and told him how dissatisfied I was with their program. I said my son has almost given up on college. He doesn't need this stress. He has several emotional problems and is not motivated to do all this busy work and so I end up doing most of it. He said "Can't your husband help?" and I said no; he has problems with depression.

The reason I think we got involved in this program is for support so my son could go to college and I don't feel like I'm getting this at NSFA. My son is very bright and has a good grade point average and just needs help meeting all the deadlines and swimming through all the forms. I don't think NSFA sent me a note or called since we started the plan in July and I'm still paying their bill through my checking account.

My oldest son got a scholarship for his entire college term without the help of people like NSFA. I told the counselor I'd never recommend them to anyone.

Charlie of Glendale CA (9/4/01):
We attended a "seminar" here in Glendale and was told how much NSFA would "help" in getting our son school loans, scholorships, etc. All we've gotten was a lot of paperwork and runaround for our money -- $100.00 down at the seminar and then UNAUTHORIZED withdrawals from our checking account in the amount of $400.00.

We did not at first realize that this was happening. When we did realize it, my husband went to the bank, explained what happened and returned to us $200.00 of the $400.00 that was withdrawn from our account, the other $200.00 was beyond the time span to contest the withdrawal.

We made attempsto cancel NSFA's so-called "services" and, again, more paperwork and "B.S."... This all started in Jan. 2001 and as of this date, 9-4-01, we are now being "threatened" with having our "account" turned to to a "collections agency". They won't cancel the "contract" and refuse to refund our money.

Jelani of Bolton MS (7/12/01):
I recieved a letter in the mail to attend this seminar on 9/23/00. We attended the seminar and was told that they would search for the best scholarships for us and fill out our applications for the best schools. So we decided to sign up for this.

We paid $100 downpayment. We filled out all the paperwork and sent everything back in. We recieved a notebook that basically repeated everything we put in the paperwork and the scholarships they listed were the same scholarships that we found on the internet. A senior at the time, I needed to begin sending my applications in. So my mom called the company and asked them when were they going to begin sending my applications off and they said that I needed to begin sending the applications off myself.

Startled, my mom asked to speak to their manager and the person she was talking to became very rude. So my mom told them that she wanted to end the services they were actually not providing and nothing was done about. We kept recieving notices that we owed money to them. On my own I filled out the applications and the FASFA and recieved a full academic scholarship to Jackson State University.

In order to keep National Student Financial Aid from withdrawing the money from her account, my mom told the bank to withhold the money. A few days ago we recieved a letter stating that our name has been sent to a Creditor's Agency and that if we don't pay the money we will be sued for the money if we don't pay up.

Joseph of Woodbury Heights, NJ (6/11/01):
I paid $800 to NSFA services for my son's college search. All they did was send us paperwork, they never got money or scholarships to my son. I did everything on my own. After repeated attempts to talk to someone to get a refund, or partial refund, I still have not had anyone contact me. I am filing this complaint in order to keep people awarea of this scam.

It is a economical problem that resulted in forking out $800.00. This could have been used for my son's room and board or books. We are fortunate that he obtained a scholarship that will cover tuition. But the NSFA practices are deceiving and misleading. The letter they send promises certain things, which are not given to the student.

Tiffany of Mt. Vernon, NY, writes: 2/26/01):
My parents and I went to a seminar. We were told that they woulld do everything in their power to help us find money for scholarships. Later we were informed by a college career association that their sevices were null. After that I looked them up on this site to find out if the organization is legit. I came across the other complaint. We tried to contact them before our time was up and received the runaround. We want to warn all students that if you get the letter in the mail don't even bother to attend the seminar.

After the time was up I received a refund on the $800 did not receive the initial $200 even though their services were never used.

Pamela of Spanaway, WA, writes (5/18/01): In Septenber we were sent an invitation to Seattle to a seminar, involving getting help for our daughter's college. In November we went to this "seminar" just in hopes to get some information, and at the time my daughter did want to go to college. They took my checking account number from my ATM and put a hold on $100.00 from my checking account. We were told that they would help us every step of the way trying to help get her into the college of her choice.

My daughter changed her mind and chose not to go to college just yet, and I had not received anything from these people by January 2001. I tried to call them and they sent me a letter back telling me that they could not cancel the agreement due to the fact that it was beyond the cancellation date. I received this letter in February.

Since then, my unemployment has been exhausted, and I'm trying to find work, my checking account is continually getting overdrafted because they "HOLD" funds, so my bills go unpaid and I get charged a fee, and with us filing a bankruptcy in 1999, we are not able to provide at home. I've had to borrow from people to make ends meet.

Lori of Woodbury, NJ, writes (4/13/01):
I received in the mail an offer for my daughter Jennie to attend a seminar regarding financial aid for college. We attended this on 11/12/00 at 9:30 am. I was told of all the help she would receive regarding college, practice SATs, written letters to colleges etc. So I paid by check $200.00. I mailed back her completed forms as instructed and never heard from them again.

Today, I went to use my Mac card and it said I have a $51.00 balance. That is impossible. I have been very careful of my money. It had been awhile since I used my Mac card. I have been out of work since 01/23/01 due to an injury and had not received any money since that date. When my balance said $51.00 I panicked. I went to my bank and told them that I should have over $400.00 in my account. That is all the money I have in the world. She printed out a copy of transactions for my account. On that form were deductions from AC-Marketing Plus. I had no idea who they were. $400.00 had been removed from my account without my knowlege. The only one authorized to remove money from my account is my life insurance company.

I was extremly upset that someone had access to my account. I sat down and thought about it for a while. I tried to remember anyone interested in my account, that had wanted automatic payments for something. I thought about NSFA and remembered telling him, no I wouldn't authorize that. But I still wasn't sure so I asked my daughter. She said the same thing that I had said, no. But still I couldn't think of anyone else. I then went on the internet to look up NSFA. There it was in my face -- a man named Paul that had paid for services that he never received. I figured that they took my $200.00 I put down and ran. But still, I couldn't think of anyone else.

I pulled out the papers I had from that seminar and looked through them. There I found the contract. Under the contract stapled to the back was a form for automatic payment. I do not remember signing that form. But it had my signature on it. I again asked my daughter about it. She remembered me telling him no and refusing to void a check. The only thing on this form written by me is my signature. Everything else was filled out by him even the date. I would have never agreed to do this. I was afraid of them from the beginning. To date I have paid $200.00 by check, and they have removed $400.00 from my checking account thus far. They have provided NO services at all. When I read the complaint from Paul, I knew what had happened.

This was all the money I had in the world. As I said, I have not worked since 01/23/01 due to an injury. I am a singal parent and have it hard enough without someone stealing the last bit I have. I won't be able to get my daughter anything for Easter. I don't even have money for gas for my car now. I was trying to live on that money until my disability payments came in. Now, I have nothing.

Paul of Petersburg, VA, writes:
11 April 99 I signed an agreement paid $800 to National Student Financial Aid (NSFA) to prepare and find finacial aid. Guaranted at $3,000 minimun for my son to go to college. NSFA did nothing. No service was rendered as stated on contract.

I applied for federal financial aid without help from NSFA and was able to get Pell, Virginia money, and loans on my own for my son to attend college after he graduated this past June. Almost missed deadline to apply for aid so my son could attend college upon graduation from high school in June 2000. I did everthing on my own while NSFA just collected the $800. I want a refund as I don't need any help, and recieved none.

Paul should send a demand letter to NSFA stating that no service was provided and that unless reimbursement is received within 30 days, legal action will follow. If payment is not forthcoming, he can sue the company in Small Claims Court.