Complaint Review: Performant Recovery - Livermore California

In 2010 My student loan went into default and was transferred to a collection agency. At the time the collection agency was called DCS, but later changed their name to Performant Recovery, Inc. I went through a rehabilitation program and I was told that once I made a number of payments my loan would be taken out of default status and the negative marks would be removed from my credit report. Late in December of 2011 I received a call from a man calling himself John Simpson, this is a person I had spoken with previously at DCS. He told me that I had made enough payments to get my loan out of default but that I must consolidate my loan through William D Ford.

He spoke very fast and became insulting and demeaning when I asked for the details such as interest rate and payment term. He told me that if I wanted to get my loan out of default I had no choice but to consolidate and that I had to do it immediately. I was confused and wanted to know what my interest rate and payments would be with the new company. John told me he could not answer my questions until I filled out paperwork.  He told me that I must go to a website while I was on the phone with him, print paperwork, sign it, and mail it out before the end of December. I read the forms and it just looked like an approval for DCS to share my information with William D Ford so that I could get further details.

The next thing I know paperwork arrives telling me that my loan has been transferred to William D Ford  Direct Loan Servicing PO Box 530260 Atlanta, GA 30353. I'm completely mystified at how this was possible with out my permission. I called Direct Loan Servicing, who was very friendly and open, but not very helpful. They told me that they had already consolidated my loan and that it was too late for me to do anything on their end and that I would have to speak with DCS.  

I called DCS and talked to John Simpson, who became even more rude and outright lied.  I asked to speak his manager and was transferred to voicemail. I still have never received a call back. I received further paperwork from the new company about setting up my payments. I called and explained the situation to them, but because they couldnt do anything on their end they recommended that I make my payments until it was resolved. We set up my new payments based on my income and I continued paying on my student loans with the new company. At this point I had paid full consecutive on time payments for over a year.

I did call DCS again after not hearing back from Johns manager the first time. I left a second message about a month after the first in March of 2012. 

Around the fall of 2012 I received a notice from DCS that my student loans were in default. I had been making payments to the company their account manager, John Simpson, had pressured me into consolidating with. I had NEVER received a single call or bill from DCS after the forced consolidation. I immediately called DCS to tell them they were mistaken because I had been making payments for over a year. The same John Simpson handled my call and told me that I had stopped making payments in January of 2012 and that if I did not immediately make a payment they were going to garnish my wages. I was furious.

I screamed that he had pressured and scammed me into consolidating 7 or 8 months earlier and that he had told me I had to or that my loans would stay in default and my credit would be ruined. He called me a liar and hung up on me. I called back and asked for his manager. He handed me off to some girl who eventually admitted that she wasnt his manager and said there were none available. I was forced to leave another message. The following week I still had not received a phone call back so I called Direct Loan Servicing and after a very long time on the phone with different people (all of which kept saying Ive never seen anything like this before)

I eventually find out that DCS had taken my loan back after consolidating. Nobody knows why or can explain to me why I was still receiving bills for the new company, why DCS wasnt billing me, why I was never notified of any of this. Everyone keeps telling me theyve never seen anything like this. I called DCS and couldnt get away from John because if I called from work or my cell phone the caller ID would send it directly to him. Each time I got him I would ask for a manager and would have to leave a message. It has been 10 months since my first message for a manager at DCS and I still have never received a call back. By blocking caller ID I finally got a new person at DCS. I told her not to transfer me to John but that I needed help.

I explained to her that I had been making payments, that I had bake statements that proved I had continually been making full payments on my loan for over a year. She told me she understood but there was nothing she could do and that I would still have to enter the rehabilitation program again. At the time I was saving up for a house and trying to improve my credit. I asked if this was going on my credit report and she said yes. I asked to speak with a manager and again I had to leave a message. I left a message saying that I needed someone to take care of this because I had made all of my payments and could prove it. I asked for a call back and said that I would make a payment when I got a call back. They never called. The next thing they did was garnish 15% of my wages. I am so angry and upset that they can lie and intimidate people and get away with this.

I have proof that I was making payments. I have proof that I want to show someone, but nobody at DCS will even talk to me unless its to give them my bank account number to automatically deduct money. Not a single person will listen to me or look at the proof I have. Nobody will give me a clear answer as to why Im in default. I have never felt so powerless in my life. I am being completely scammed by this company. A simple Google search of both Performant Recovery and Diversified Collections will tell you they have taken advantage of hundreds of people.

In the end to stop my wage garnishment I had to agree to enter the same rehabilitation program I had completed over a year ago. Its like the past 2 years of payments never happened. I have no choice but to do what they say or they are going to garnish my wages. Their tactics are suspicious and underhanded. They use a method of confusion and intimidation to get people to do what they want. I feel cheated and helpless against this company that bullies people to get what they want. Whats to say they arent going to do this to me all over again in a year?

I understand that there arent a lot of details in here, but I do have my bank statements that show I was making payments to the new company. If you call Direct Loan Servicing they will tell you that my loan was sold to them, but was taken back. The information is there I just need someone to help me make these people listen. I dont deserve to be back in this rehabilitation program. Not only that, but PRI (DCS) should not be allowed to treat people this way. I am one of hundreds, probably even thousands who have been scammed by them.