This article is about Allied Enrollment Centers and their reviews.
I was puzzled to see a data entry company utilizing the marketing tactics usually employed by convicts and online scammers.
So, I looked into their operations and found out that Allied Enrollment Centers has received some scathing reviews online and it seems to me that their marketing team is trying to bury them with illicit marketing tactics.
This article will go over the claims of this company and help you decide if they are worth your money or not.
About Allied Enrollment Centers
Allied Enrollment Centers claim to be dedicated facilities that focus on assisting individuals with registration and enrollment processes for various services and programs. They also claim to help people with their student loan debt.
However, their numerous reviews and online discussions indicate that they might not be what they are claiming to be.
People aren’t Happy with Allied Enrollment Centers (Too Many Complaints!)
There are many discussions happening online where people are calling out Allied Enrollment Centers and alleging it to be a scam that targets vulnerable students.
Here’s a recent post where the user asked others if they know about Allied Enrollment Center. They point out that the company told them that they got approved loan forgiveness from $16,000 to $4,000.
Now they feel scammed.
In response, other users point out that AEC is indeed a scam.
That’s not all.
There are other discussions where many people call Allied Enrollment Centers a scam.
The user was contacted by a company with an offer for consolidation before forgiveness was struck down. The deal seemed enticing, with only a quarter of the debt to be repaid over 8 years, while the remaining amount would be completely erased. It was hard to resist the temptation. They searched extensively online and were able to confirm that it had Better Business Bureau accreditation, its own website, very few mentions on scam-reporting websites, and a few positive reviews. Feeling nervous, they made the decision to give it a try. The user completed all the necessary forms, including a clixsign document. The user was not charged at all for consolidating the loans, to be clear, which was one of the reasons they convinced themselves it wasn’t a scam.
A few days later, a letter arrived from the Department of Education, confirming the consolidation of the user’s loans. This brought a sense of relief and helped alleviate their fears. They were able to log into studentaid.gov at that time and it confirmed that they had filed a consolidation request around the same time (but not the same date) they signed the clixsign document. The website indicated that the request was currently under review. Upon examining the notification papers once more, it was noted that they bore the name “aidvantage.” The company appeared legitimate, but there was a lingering question about its significance.
A month ago, things took a turn for the worse and caused a great deal of stress. When the user signed up for all of this, their loans were being serviced by Nelnet, and they had no real issues with them. After making their first payment with Allied Enrollment Centers, well a month after signing all the paperwork, they received a notice from EdFinancial that they were taking over their loans. This obviously confused the user, but their loans had switched from GreatLakes to Nelnet, so this wasn’t unprecedented.
EdFinancial began to pester them about repayments. Signing up with them proved to be quite challenging and contacting them was nearly impossible. Additionally, the reviews I came across were overwhelmingly negative. They had their loans; they logged into Nelnet and according to them they were debt-free. There was even a small congratulations message, which seemed quite amusing. It all seemed rather amusing to them, so they decided to send an email to Allied Enrollment Centers through their website. They received a response stating that their loans would not vanish until they had completed the necessary payments. This explanation seemed dubious, yet logical at the same time. EdFinancial informed them that they had been scammed.
What frustrated them the most was that despite EdFinancial having their loans and contacting them regularly, they continued to receive emails from the Department of Education stating that Nelnet was listed as their servicer. When the user signed onto studentaid.gov again, EdFinanical was listed as their servicer.
They felt like they were being pulled in a million directions. There were indications that it wasn’t a scam and indications that it was, but the optimist in them still wanted to believe it was real. The user’s next payment to Allied Enrollment Centers was due in a week and a half, and they were unsure whether to block it or let it go through.
Allied Enrollment Centers Reviews Paint a Terrible Picture
Their Trustpilot profile doesn’t look very confidence-inspiring either. There, you’ll find 2 reviews, one of them being an extremely scathing one:
Here, Nicole says that Allied Enrollment Centers is a scam. You should read their contracts carefully as you’ll notice that they simply pocket your monthly payments in exchange for filing documents on your behalf.
Also, Nicole says that she thinks they only submit forbearance extension requests. So, the customers don’t even realize that the very low monthly installments they paid for years don’t actually matter and their actual debt was collecting interest the entire time.
This is a major red flag and it shows that AEC might not be as reliable as it claims to be.
Burying Criticism Through a Reputation Clean-up?
When you look up “Allied Enrollment Centers”, you will find a ton of articles and press releases talking about the company’s achievements.
There are rarely any mentions of the various reviews and discussions I shared with your in this article.
I suspect that it’s all because the marketers of this company are conducting a reputation cleanup.
Reputation repairs are pretty common for organizations but this time, things are a bit different. They are deliberately hiding truth and legitimate content from consumers while spreading misinformation online.
This is not called a reputation repair. Instead, it’s a reputation laundering operation.
Reputation laundering is the process of covering up or erasing misdeeds, negative business practices, or illegal actions of a company or individual in order to improve their public image. It often involves tactics such as:
- Making donations to universities, institutions, or charities to portray a positive public image
- Using public relations firms, lawyers, and lobbyists to change public opinion
- Spreading misinformation or creating fake grassroots movements (astroturfing)
- Greenwashing by making false claims about environmental practices in commercials and ads
- Aligning with athletic teams or sponsoring events to turn public opinion favorably
Reputation laundering is different from reputation repair, which involves fixing real problems within a company and developing a positive image based on true actions. In contrast, reputation laundering seeks to cover up illegal activities and bad practices.
Reputation laundering allows kleptocrats and corrupt politicians to consolidate power at home while simultaneously degrading institutions and norms in the countries that receive their illicit funds[3]. It enables them to manipulate democratic institutions in their favor once they have distanced themselves from the source of their ill-gotten wealth.
Conclusion
What do you think about all this? Do you think Allied Enrollment Centers are legit? Let me know what you think in the comments.
