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  1. User picture
    • Robert_R on Wed 14 Oct 2009
    • 06:45:14 PM UTC

    www.fafsa.com - Please help

    I am the CTO responsible for http://www.FAFSA.com . Our site has received a poor reputarion based on numerous people indicating that we are a scam. But we are most definately not a scam. We are a service authorized by the US Congress (H.E.A. 2008) to help people fill out their Fafsa, for a fee, when they are having trouble. Yes, filing out the form is free on the government site and we clearly explain that on our home page. But it you give the wrong information on the government site, it could cost you thousands of dollars of aid for college. We help prevent that for those who are having trouble with the form. We have trained phone advisors and a 400 point check looking for issues. Also evry FAFSA is reviewd by an expert before it is submitted to teh government.

    We are no different than TurboTax or H&R Block. In fact, I would argue we are better. Go to http://www.fafsa.com/clientfeedback and see our unedited comments from our clients. Every person who uses our service is invited to rate us and leave a comment on a survey system. The apporval ratings are real-time. We are very proud of our focus on helping people and offer a no-questions asked refund if you didn't like the service.

    Please check out the site and give us an honest rating. Also, any suggestiions on how we counter these ratings from people who call us a scam when we aren't would be helpful.

    Thanks

Comments:

  2. User picture
    • evilfantasy on Wed 14 Oct 2009
    • 07:38:06 PM UTC

    BBB

    The BBB seal is authentic. But I do see an conflicting issue with this website, http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ which is what your website claims to offer, only it's a real .gov website.

    Personally speaking your website should be rated red for ethical issues. Your charging students for what should be free.

    Student Financial Aid Services meets all BBBOnLine participation and Better Business Bureau accreditation standards and is authorized to display the BBB Accredited Business seal.

    # This business has been operating since 01/01/1976
    # This business was accredited by BBB on 08/20/1998
    # This business was approved as meeting BBBOnLine standards on 09/21/1998
    • User picture
      • Robert_R on Thu 15 Oct 2009
      • 03:03:09 PM UTC

      Is TurboTax a scam?

      Filing your income tax is free. So is TurboTax a scam for charging you money for helping you fill out your income tax? When you save thousands of dollars in taxes because of deductions you wouldn't have otherwise included, is it worth the $60 fee? We offer exactly the same service and succeses except for the Fafsa form, which by the way is much longer that the 1040 tax form and much more complicate. We have over 600,000 customers that would adamently disagree with you.
      • User picture
        • evilfantasy on Thu 15 Oct 2009
        • 03:09:26 PM UTC

        One subject

        Keep the argument about your service. Throwing in a completely different service doesn't help your argument.

        I haven't rated your site and probably wont. I said, personally. I don't speak for the greater WOT community and that's just my opinion.
  3. User picture
    • jpvip on Wed 14 Oct 2009
    • 08:03:48 PM UTC

    No comment and no rating

    I am not physically going to test it, but a yellow rating and an Ethical Issues comment might be necessary.

    ~DragonMaster Jay, malware researcher,
    Admin, helpmyos.com
    • User picture
      • Robert_R on Thu 15 Oct 2009
      • 03:57:28 PM UTC

      Why ethical

      Is this simply because our domain name has fafsa in it? Doesn't all our disclaimers and instructions on how to get to the governement site on our home page address that? Or are you suggesting that is too much for people to understand?

      Thanks
  4. User picture
    • g7w on Thu 15 Oct 2009
    • 02:19:15 AM UTC

    wow

    this can get deep...

    fafsa.com registered via an email address at:
    sfas.com (Student Financial Aid Services) which is a subsidiary of:
    rezolvegroup.com (The Resolve Group) who lists as their "official" subsidiary:
    studentaid.com

    Getting dizzy going in circles, but I know 1 thing - every domain charges for free services found elsewhere such as http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ that jpvip mentioned.

    All but the .gov and the fafsa.com are unrated
    This needs a good dig, domains to IP to associated domains (any that share a-records for example) along with MX and subdomains. Then to actually check the BBB ratings (if any) as well as complaint forums, etc.

    Anyone up for the task?
    -------
    WOT Services Ltd. - gives us safety through Web of Trust.
    WOT Community - gives us security through unity.
    Thank you all
    - G7W
  5. User picture
    • Robert_R on Thu 15 Oct 2009
    • 03:52:27 PM UTC

    Does anyone read the content

    Nice whois search, but we aren't trying to hide anything, we are trying to help students go to and pay for college. Go to rezolvegroup.com and READ the content. That will explain who we are.

    There is nothing in the marketplace, let alone on thegovernment site, like the College Cost and Planning Report that is offered at Stuudentaid.com. It is not about filing your fafsa!! It is a new company with a new product, 2 years in development, that provides transparency in college cost and planning. READ the content of the web site. Try going to http://www.studentaid.com/Report and you will also see that we provide this personalized service free to any family earning less than $40,000.

    As for the government Fafsa site, do they offer telephone support to help you fill out the form when you are having trouble? Does a human expert reveiw each fafsa and contact you if one of over 400 edit checks indicates that you may misstated income or assets costing thousands of dollars of student aid?

    I thought WOT was about the value of the site. But everyone seems to be stuck on the domain being too similar in name to the government site and because of that we are a bad site no matter what we offer. There also seems to be a concensus ( myself excluded) that Internet surfers don't bother reading content so it doesn't matter what the site says, it is all about the domain name. I guess we agree to disagree.
  6. User picture
    • jpvip on Thu 15 Oct 2009
    • 08:40:36 PM UTC

    the best point, imo...

    IMO, why should college students, or even future college students have to pay for this? Why not free? Then again, the word free has gotten diuted on the Internet...but still...college students have very little incomes, and cannot afford such a simple service that even I could do with training for a couple of weeks.

    I am a college student myself, and depend upon donations, three jobs (I own a website, work on another, then have two non-Internet jobs), and my family to help me pay for my bills. Ridiculous, to have a service cost so much. Ladies and gentlemen, there are free services on government websites that do this service for free, but fafsa.com does it for a lot of money.

    We are not rash over your website, but the ethics involved. Why charge, is our point.

    ~DragonMaster Jay, malware researcher,
    Admin, helpmyos.com
    • User picture
      • g7w on Thu 15 Oct 2009
      • 09:02:28 PM UTC

      Beyond WOT's scope

      First of all this is a business, therefore they are going to charge for their services. Let's not take this discussion beyond the scope of WOT which is to rate a website for it's online safety towards other WOT users. If a family decides to use and pay for the services provided by fasfa.com or the other domains referenced, that is their business, not ours. Our business is to review a website, test it for any malicious behavior, determine whether it fits as a Scam or is a Spam/PHISH site, etc. I do not believe that these domains fall into any category that would hinder a browser or computer, nor do they scam. They are upfront about their services and their fees which is all we can ask for as website reviewers. The intention of WOT is not to make life difficult for honest websites or their owners. Why... this group of sites might benefit from the Community Trust Network recently discussed in the Blog.
      -------
      WOT Services Ltd. - gives us safety through Web of Trust.
      WOT Community - gives us security through unity.
      Thank you all
      - G7W
  7. User picture
    • superficialmonkey on Wed 23 Feb 2011
    • 05:30:55 PM UTC

    RE: www.fafsa.com - Please help

    I work at a college, and I have to say your site is despicable. Through my work, I have encountered countless students who filled out a FAFSA with your site, and the application was never received by our school. Furthermore, when I go to check on CPS for the application, I cannot find it. That tells me either you company, FAFSA.com, is either fraudulent or neglectful. I have also encountered students who tried to contact your site to investigate the Mystery of the Missing Application, only to struggle to get anyone to address their grievances.

    What really burns me up is that any of these students struggling to fill out their FAFSA could walk into the financial aid office of their prospective school, and someone would be willing to help them with their concerns for free. I have done this countless times, and know professionals from other schools who would gladly do the same. And they would get better service. Your site is unnecessary and deceitful.