Arete Financial E Dyer Rd, Santa Ana

I am keep calling to this company after pandemic but no one response…. They disconnected phone too so I paid one year to solve my debt ….. how am I fix my issues at the court?????😡😡😡😡😡

My name is Deborah Graham. When I contacted Arete 8 months they said doing this would only hurt our credit score slightly. What really happened was most of the other creditors either closed our accounts or severely lowered our credit limit. This damaged our credit score. It went from 750 to 571. Due to our FICO score, when I tried to refinance our home, we could only do it at a higher interest rate. So when I tried to contacted Arete, I couldn't reach them after trying for 5 business days. I've gone to my bank and stopped the automatic payments. But now they have over $2,500 which I doubt I'll be able to get back. Eight months ago this company had 4 stars rating and no bad reports with the Better Business Bureau. Now they have numerous bad reviews and the Better Business Bureau is updating the information on this company. After my experience I won't use any debt consolidation company. I feel this is a scam. Don't do this! Find another way.

This company took over $1000 for a "income driven repayment plan" however once I contacted the loan servicer who actually held my loans I found that the payments due for the time being were $0 and my loan was in good standing. These guys are crooks and that's why their numbers no longer work and the website is down. They're still trying to pull monthly payments and sending me emails about the payment being declined. Ridiculous

So it seems Arete has been shutdown by the FTC and I as well as 100's of other individuals left out in the cold, only one of my creditors was negotiated with and the other never was contacted, the legal company Veritas Legal plan terminated my account as they were getting paid through Arete and I now no longer have legal representation. I did consult with another debt settlement company and they told me in my situation they cant help me, as they would have to charge me 21% to take over the accounts and no guarantees they can even renegotiate the current terms. I was told I need to contact the creditors myself and negotiate the current terms or try and get new terms, I am not a debt management expert and the FTC has no options for any of us as all they do is shut down companies like these and sell off all remaining accounts/assets to the highest bidder.

This company, at first, was very promising and amazing as well as very cooperative. My fiance and I each set up a debt consolidation account about 4 or 5 months ago as we are trying to purchase a home so we are working on our debt. As of the middle of November 2019 we have not been able to make contact with the company despite numerous phone calls and emails. No one will respond or pick up on the other end. DO NOT trust this company. I am second guessing the legitimacy and will pursue legal action.

They rip you off I do not recommend this place for your debt relief. Customer service does not explain all that you need to know. All these bad reviews I can’t believe they are still in business. I should have done my research before I got into business with them! Please be careful with this company people!

I have been a client with Arete going on 2.5 years now. I had received a letter in the mail informing me about student loan assistance options and I just called in. Till this day I still receive updates on my account and great customer service, they always work with me when I need to reschedule payments. I was assisted by Raquel A. when I started and she made me feel comfortable and was able to help me get a more affordable monthly payment . She has also taken care of some friends that I referred to enroll with their programs. Thank you Arete for helping me!

Please don’t fall for this scam company like I did. When I signed up for their program I was a 27 yr. old battling 2 types cancer, which I explained to the “advocate.” I feel incredibly stupid for falling for this scam now, but I was in a very vulnerable position at the time. Arete provides people with a “service” that you can easily do yourself for free through the US Dept. of Education. You’re essentially paying for a middleman to work on your behalf when you don’t need one. Arete will not take on your loan (although their confusing language and sales tactics will make it seem like it). Companies like Arete take advantage of financially inexperienced people who are in vulnerable positions. They will make you feel like they have your best interests at heart. For the past year I paid $49/mo for NOTHING. All they did was choose which payment plan I would be on and paused my payments because of medical necessity. This is something I could have done in one phone call to Fedloan FOR FREE. I’ve paid $735 to these people for them to make a phone call on my behalf. This money hasn’t gone to my student loan. It hasn’t gone to my medical bills. I would be in the same position if I lit $735 on fire. To sum it up: Don’t fall for scam student loan services like Arete Financial. These people are not on your side. Just get in touch with the U.S. Dept. of Education, and they’ll work with you.

I received an email stating my card was declined, this card I've used for the last year-So I know it was not declined. I tried emailing the card repayment form twice and called both numbers on the emails & out of service. I should have known "reoccurring" was misspelled. I plan to go back to NelNet & work with them on a more reliable company. I hope all employees reap the karma of working for this company.

I received and email from them that they were not able to take my payment from my bank. That my bank had return because of insufficient funds. Well I called my bank and they told me that they hadn’t returned anything and to tell them to bill again well for the past three weeks I have emailed them to different emails that I had and everyone of the emails come back as undelivered to senders. Every time I call the # I am not able to leave a message. The other day I called a different # I found for them and they told me that all the lines were busy and that someone would call me back. That was two weeks ago. I’m kind of worried and concerned.