Be Wary of College Financial Advisors with Shoddy Training and Hidden Agendas

Paying for College
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<p>"College Aid: Don't Take the Bait" by Kim Clark (CNN/MONEY) is worth reading, especially if you have been "invited" to a "free" seminar on college financing. See College</a> aid: Don't take the bait - Jan. 14, 2013 </p>

<p>Note that insurance policies, often billed as silver bullets that protect assets and lower EFC's, may be most profitable for those who sell them.</p>

<p>Over the years, I've been contacted by a number of "college financial planners" who want to team up to advise families entering the admissions maze. They propose that they'll provide the financial know-how and I can provide the college-selection and application info.</p>

<p>But when I start asking them even basic questions related to financial aid, it becomes clear very quickly that they don't know their stuff at all.</p>

<p>I know that there are responsible advisors out there, but do tread cautiously, especially when you encounter scare tactics. (Yes, this process CAN be scary, but be suspicious of anyone trying to scare you more than you already are!)</p>

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<p>Thanks for posting the link, Sally…</p>

<p>There is a scam going on in my area where one of these guys is using my name to attract clients…not happy at all…</p>

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<p>That’s scary! And it underscores the need for caution when engaging an advisor. Even when someone seems to be connected to a reliable organization or individual, dig deeper. (Note, too, that in the MONEY story, some of the advisors who claim to be connected to a non-profit organization really aren’t. Apparently they use the “non-profit” ruse to gain access to schools or other facilities that wouldn’t host a commercial outfit.)</p>

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<p>We worked with a private college planner starting at the end of freshman year of HS. While the financial information was somewhat helpful, the promises for the actual college application assistance were non existent. The online SAT prep classes were not helpful, the essay coach was a sham and the college search selection process was completely absent. As soon as we decided, NOT to allow this person to invest any of our assets or purchase life insurance from him, we were pretty much ignored. He even lost copies of our tax returns, claiming we did not provide them. Thankfully, I am a very resourceful person and I can say that the college process can be 100% carried out with a little research and asking questions from the very kind and knowledgeable people on CC. This person was actually recommended by our town’s youth board and he is really a big windbag, with great promises and zero delivery on them. I am just sharing this because I want to warn others. It was a complete waste of money. So, buyers beware. He seemed like an up and up planner at the time, with a nice office and a big company behind him, recommended and endorsed by the town youth bureau and he is a totally in it to get your money and your investment portfolio. We will relay our experiences to the town youth board in a letter. He obviously hasn’t been vetted and yet he continues to be holding seminars. If we were communicating with him anymore, I am sure he would claim that he got my D into all the schools she applied to, with merit aid to boot!</p>

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<p>“Even when someone seems to be connected to a reliable organization or individual, dig deeper”</p>

<p>I knew there was a real problem when I started getting text messages from acquaintences “thanking me” for thinking of them…Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about it at this point other than tell them I wasn’t involved and forwarding them the article you just posted…</p>

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<p>Did you contact the guy who was using your name and threaten him with legal action?</p>

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<p>As Sally said, most of these folks hawking insurance/annuities to college kids’ parents are really new or failed financial folks who can’t attract any real money. I’m an advisor who works with higher net worth individuals (mostly business owners) and I have just started doing some help for those with kids/grandkids near college aid. However, it’s more an added service and not something I try to “sell products” through. There is just very little real money to be made - unless you’re selling improper products to unsuspecting buyers who aren’t your life-long clients. </p>

<p>Next year, after I have a bit more knowledge in this area (my oldest is a HS senior, so I’m learning as much as I can because it’s of interest to me) I plan to do some seminars for parents at low-income High Schools and charter schools in the city near me totally free of charge and with absolutely no charge to consult with them and I will sell no products to those I help. It will be completely pro-bono as I believe it’s an area I can really give back and maybe help a few understand the opportunities (and pitfalls) out there. As far as mass seminars for “potential clients” … nah, that’s an entry-level “advisor” tactic for mostly pushy insurance salespeople. To REALLY do all they claim, it would take a LOT of man-hours from my assistant and not pay what our regular asset-management business pays.</p>

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<p>I went to one of these.</p>

<p>The idea was to suck out every penny of equity I had in my house and buy life insurance.</p>

<p>No sale.</p>

<p>I got a free dinner out of it, though.</p>

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<p>College Financial Advisors in Tomball, TX promised to make the college and financial aid application processes virtually stress free for us by making sure we made all of the submission deadlines, and get us the most financial aid possible by only submitting the minimum required financial information.</p>

<p>Jeff Farmer didn’t complete my daughter’s UT profile on time causing us to have to file a last minute appeal. This resulted in her not being accepted to the school. He filed our FAFSA and CSS profile with incorrect information. When I pointed out that he entered $318K instead of $10K for the retirement account on the CSS Profile he said that number doesn’t factor into need based aid. I confirmed with a university financial aid counselor that it does. He lied. He also told us erroneously that if we just ignored the request to provide the noncustodial parent’s profile the schools would forget about it and award need based aid. This was not true and cost me additional time and money to submit it myself at the eleventh hour. As a result one of the school’s my daughter was accepted to was unable to provide any need based aid because they had already dispersed all the funds for the school year.</p>

<p>They gave us false hope that private universities cover the gap between the cost of attendance and the expected family contribution. I have since learned that not all of them do cover 100% need, and their counselor convinced my daughter to apply to ones that don’t. She fell in love with University of Miami and was heartbroken when she found out, two days before the commitment deadline, that they don’t cover 100% of need and there was no way we could afford to send her there. </p>

<p>They also promised personalized service and their availability. The counselor who met my daughter in person later referred to her as a him in an email to me, and most of the times I’ve called the office I’ve gotten voice mail. Messages have rarely been returned. I have sent an email requesting a refund and have not gotten a reply. The actual money we have paid to them is $4741.75, but we estimate that the loss of financial aid from schools is as much as $150,000. I have the signed agreement, a 100% satisfaction or your money back guarantee and emails to back up my claims against them.</p>

<p>We have filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau. They responded by blaming me and my 17 year old daughter for their failure to uphold the promises they made to us. Mr. Farmer also stated that they are attempting to contact me to resolve the issues. That is a lie. I have not been contacted by phone, email or US post.</p>

<p>I have also submitted complaints to the TX OAG department of Consumer Protection and the Federal Trade Commission.</p>

<p>I have spoken to an attorney who said I probably have a case under the Texas Deceptive Trade Protection Act, but that it might be hard to prove because of the deliberately vague verbiage in the agreement we signed for their services. </p>

<p>We want to stop these people from preying on unsuspecting and overwhelmed families. We don’t want them to disappoint any more kids when they find out there was never any real chance of being able to go to their dream school.</p>

<p>Please help us stop them from preying on other families.</p>

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<p>Wow–what a horrible story. I’m sorry you had this experience</p>

<p>The BBB website shows only one complaint for this firm and says it was “resolved” with BBB assistance, so it appears your complaint just evaporated. That’s disturbing, though I have to say I don’t believe anyone should put any stock in BBB ratings. The organization exists for the benefit of its members, not consumers.</p>

<p>I think the best way to stop them is to make your high school’s guidance department aware of your experience so they can warn people away. Use of social media is another option, though you have to tread carefully.</p>

<p>I’m curious to know what credentials/experience Farmer had and whether you sought the opinions of former clients before signing up.</p>