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CIT & Student Loan Xpress (SLX) is the lender for the student loan that I was pressured to secure for the purpose of attending Silver State Helicopter School in Jacksonville, Florida. The Silver State Helicopter Program (SSH) consisted of an 18 month training program in which students progressed through various pilot ratings. Upon successful completion of the program, students would gain employment with Silver State Helicopters as a Certified Flight Instructor and Commercial Helicopter Pilot. I attended SSH from Oct-06 until the school filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors in February of 2008 leaving me without any pilot ratings or future employment opportunities as a commercial helicopter pilot.
SSH turned out to be a big Ponzie Scheme where the leadership, led by CEO Jerry Airola, would take money from the new student’s funds to fund other students in training and for their own personal use on extravagant purchases such as homes, automobiles, vacations, etc…all this with the help, as you will see, of SLX.
Additionally, EOS Private Equity came in a few weeks before SSH’s filing for Bankruptcy and ‘purchased’ SSH but allowed Jerry Airola to remain in control of SSH. There must have been some research done by EOS Partners before spending millions of dollars to invest in a company. They must have some knowledge of the contracts between SSH and the lenders.
It has come to my attention that SLX has sought refuge within Ohio and is attempting to hide behind Ohio’s unconscionable credit laws.
CIT & SLX failed to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility by:
• Not preparing the loan documents with nor providing me the necessary consumer protection information i.e., FTC Holder Rule, Truth in Lending Disclosure, Fair Credit Reporting Act, nor advising of an ‘opt out’ period for the Arbitration clause, etc…
• Delegation of their Loan Counselor responsibilities to paid employees of SSH who made statements on behalf of SLX have proven false.
• Failure to provide proper oversight of student progress in the SSH program i.e., Demanding progress reports from SSH that demonstrated percentage of students enrolled, completed, dropped and average time to complete course. Reports which were part of the contract between SLX & SSH.
• Failure to regulate SSH’s use of disbursed funds resulting in much of the funds being used fraudulently for personal gain by the owner and top leadership of SSH.
• 100% disbursement of my student loan, within 6 months of my enrollment in the SSH program, without ensuring that services had been rendered and I have received the training for which the loan had been intended.
As a group, the other students and I have contacted our individual state’s Attorney General, the FTC who in turn sent us to the OCC, who sent us to the FDIC who has sent us back to the State Banking Department. Many of us who are veterans have also contacted the VA and directed to the OCC. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida has served as an advocate to those of us from the Florida schools.
This matter could be resolved to my satisfaction by 100% discharge and forgiveness of all student loans in my name based on the fact that I did not receive the proper lending documents that included the FTC Holder Rule, proper notice of ability to waive arbitration, nor did I receive service, training, certifications and employment for which the loans were secured. All of which could have been avoided had CIT and SLX fulfilled their fiduciary responsibility and acted in good faith on their contracts with SSH to monitor the progress of the students.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
When I first called xpress loan servicing to inquire about student loan consolidation, I spoke with a representative who was adamant that I needed to sign up immediately because the federal interest rates on student loans were due to increase at any moment. (This was in 2007 - the interest rates have not changed a bit since then). He was very pushy and assured me that it would be at least 6 months for all of the paperwork to go through before I would actually have to start making payments. Being a very young graduate and naiive ... I thought he was trying to help me and agreed to move forward. Although this is not my major concern at this time, I believe it's important for you to have the full history of my concern in order to understand the veracity of my complaint.
I told the rep that I was uncomfortable with moving forward, however, he talked me into it anyhow, convincing me it was the best decision. After the paperwork went through, my payments were due within 30 days of the call I made. So, the 6 months I was supposed to have for repayment never happened. I called back and talked with a customer service rep to explain that I didn't feel comfortable with my loan terms, that I had been pressured into doing something I wasn't ready for, and that I felt like I had been taken advantage of. The rep, at the time, seemed very empathetic. Yet, it was STILL never explained to me that I was on a repayment plan that payed interest only, or that there was another option on my loans.
Thanks to the lovely AIG fallout, I was laid off of my job in 2008 due to a trickle-down effect. I called back several times while I was laid off from my job and spoke with reps about my plans to repay, how much I could pay and when, and I always kept my end of the bargain. Of all the times I have called Xpress Loan Servicing, no one has ever mentioned that I was on a 'level 2' repayment plan and that the money I was paying would have no benefit to my principal loan whatsoever.
Two weeks ago (May 20th), I called to speak with a customer service rep because I didn't understand some of the correspondence I had received. For the first time, a representative explained to me that I was paying interest only. I was extremely upset. She promised me that she would speak with her supervisor and that I would receive a call back from her supervisor the next day. I gave her my new cell phone number. It is now June 1st and I have STILL not received a call back from this 'supervisor' who was promised to correspond with me by May 21st. I have made attempts to call back and email - still receiving no way to reach a supervisor.
So, as it sits, my loan is still a 'level 2' (not sure what that means still) and my payments are doing me no good. So, of the thousands of dollars that I have given to to xlservicing, none of it has applied to my loans, leaving me in more debt now than when I started. I feel that they have stolen from me. I know this is not a personal thing, but from my perspective, it feels very personal. Especially now that I'm being completely ignored.
Don't let this happen to you! Shop around and have the companies explain your options. Do not let anyone pressure you into making a rash decision. May you learn from my mistake and never use xpress loan servicing!
Xpress Loan Servicing screwed me out of the 1% interest rate reduction because I changed bank checking accounts so the automatic withdrawal was (conveniently) 3 days costing me my 1% interest reduction resulting in thousands of dollars of interest over the life of the loan. Now they are handing my loan off to AES. Looking for a class action against Xpress Loan Servicing .
Student Xpress Loan was paid for Promissory note (6300.00) I signed in 2006, yes, I really mean the year 2006. I graduated from Draughon's Junior College, which is now called Daymar College 2007, Loan was paid by checks, Banks keep records only 5 years (cancel checks), they closed their San Diego office due to lawsuits and fraud. Suddenly this note appears again 2010 and was sold to FCDMPSL2010 (according to documents I obtain) in San Diego, they held on to this promissory note tll 2016 and slipped into the Bankruptcy court office in2016 (on last day filing --4 months after I had already started paying on a Chapter 13. Claiming 9,734.34 principal +7,138.78 interest =16,873.05. Chapter 13 paid out over 7,000 ? to them and now they stating I need to pay them 10,000,00 at this point to resolve the matter because it now handle through Turnstile Capital Management in San Diego with a 15% interest rate. How can the government let a Loan company get away with this let alone pay this game. Looking for answers cause debt relief people can't seem to understand how you can force someone to pay a loan off again. Beware IF Student XPRESS HAS A PROMISSORY NOTE ON YOU. Can SOME PLEASE ADVISE