retired trout farmer says it all

You are apparently can't read. I have already called and informed these people that they were calling the wrong number twice. No one in my family has ever had anything to do with the UOP....period!  Before, it was constant calls from UOP. Now it's you I-3 clowns.

If you do work for I-3, YOU SHOULD GET YOU RECORDS STRAIGHT and UPDATED. Between you and the UOP, this has been going on for over two years. I'm not the one doing the telephone harassing here and making robo-calls. It is also not my responsibility to educate you on a daily basis!  Oh...... you folks were only trying to make me feel warm and fuzzy with all the daily robo calls & you just made a mistake because you have to deal with thousands upon thousands of records. Gee, I really should be thankful that you call me everyday looking for someone that does not live in this household.  Gee, I really should get to know about your company because your group is so great to the world in solving student money problems and this is so important to me as a retired trout farmer.

Imbecile.

I-3 doesn't ask for your whole SSN - just the last four digits.  They must, by law, ask for that or your Date of Birth to verify who you are before they can disclose any personal information.  And if they don't verify your identity and start talking about helping you with student loans, they are breaking the law.  They are not bill collectors.  They are not telemarketers.  They are not a scam.  They are counselors that assist students and past students into Federal programs that can postpone or lower payment - even as low as $0/m.  They are paid by the school and it is no cost to you.  There is nothing predatory about them and you are doing a disservice to people who could be helped by them if they don't talk to i3 because of your unknowlegable comments.

No - i-3 group is NOT a debt collector.  They do not ask for payments nor could they take or process payments.  They help you get into Federal programs that can postpone your payments with no negative concequences or even into programs that can be as low as zero dollars per month payment that show you are in repayment and can get the loans forgiven after 20 - 25 years.  Good idea to answer their phone call and talk to them.

if you get calls everyday then call the number back and say you have the wrong number. if you're not the student, why would they take the time to call you, they have no reason to talk to you. common sense. don't act so offended. mistakes happen. this company works with thousands of records, don't act so offended.
if  you're a student that has attended any one of the schools that they work for, you signed forms which you were SUPPOSED TO READ BUT PROBABLY DIDN'T that state that universities can give your student records information to their affiliates without your "permission" because they are working as an extension of the school you attended. and also, since you probably also didn't read your master promisory note, you have no idea of what your responsibilities are or  the consequences of failing to own up to them, these are the people to keep it short and sweet and to the point. if you don't talk to your servicer because you think that by ignoring it these loans will just go away, then good luck to you. ignore the preventative measures your school has given you for FREE and have fun with the collector calls, because those guys are very nice, enjoy having your checks cut and your taxes taken by the federal government to pay back the entire amount that you owe.
as for this company being a scam and wanting your full social, these guys never ask for full social. they verify you by first and last name, and then EITHER date of birth or the last 4 of your social, which is pretty much telling them nothing they don't know considering they work for the school and have all your information in front of them anyway and are under strict rules to protect your privacy which is why they won't tell you anything about your account unless they know they have the right person.

sure, you're all paranoid about giving out your information. if only you were as worried about figuring out a way out of whatever hardship you're going through and let them actually help you..

These people are relentless. Call my phone number every business day to collect on a past due student loan from University of Phoenix. They are looking for the person that had my number previously. I have already contacted UOP about this and the calls stopped for 4 weeks then started again. Their phone record data is obsolete and they apparently do not update it. I consider this to be telephone harassment when it continues for over 2 YEARS! I also do not care what anyone else has said in defense of this I-3 company. THEY ARE DEBT COLLECTORS. You can call them what you want. They use the same telephone harassing tactics as all the others.

sorry james, but that is exactly what they are  --- debt collectors. please do not provide them with any of your personal info. if they are so trustworthy, get a p.o. box and tell them to write you a letter. they called me from a town very close to me, but gave me the 877 area code number to call back. so much for transparency.

I have been getting phone calls from the University of Phoenix and their operative debt collectors for TWO YEARS now. I have never had anything to do with them. They have been calling for the person that had my phone number previously and obviously owed them money. I personally called UOP and informed them that they were harassing the wrong individual and had the wrong number. The calls stopped for about 2 months then started again. Now I am being phoned every day by these I-3 group collection clowns. Their phone number data is obsolete and they apparently don't update despite my calls to UOP.  Despite what others have said about I-3, these people ARE debt collectors.

I would like to point out something, though I may be too far into the thread to do much good.

I'm getting calls from numbers I don't know.  They caller is using an automated voice messaging system with a script that doesn't know how to correctly insert voice prints for any a) legitimate company or university names or b) the name of the PERSON they are calling.

AFTER doing my own research, I have confirmed with both the university I just graduated from and the university I'm attending soon (going through loan process with) that they HAVE NO IDEA who this i-3 group is or why they're calling me.  I have confirmed that my husband's loans are current as are my own.

So, we have the following:
1) an unsolicited call - by a group that couldn't POSSIBLY be representing a company that has an existing business relationship with me
2) Our number is on the National DNCL list (yes, I will be reporting them for the $11,000 fines).
3) The caller does not properly or clearly identify themselves on the message they leave, so that I'm forced to do a reverse look-up on the numbers themselves.
4) The complaint threads about this company being "defended" by people that do not bother to take the time to spell-check or grammar-check their posts make me wonder how they expect anyone to believe their argument when the errors are SO BLATANT and DISTRACTING from the message itself.  It might not be fair, but how we communicate is almost more important than what we communicate, people - perceptions are a huge part of communication.  I learned THAT in college.

In short, the lack of care or knowledge of the English language of the defenders almost calls the company's credibility into even more question.

And I'm sorry.  The calling and hanging up, or calling and leaving a message about something as important as helping someone not default on their student loans?  If they were legitimately contracted by the universities, why don't they have the student's correct name?  Why are they contacting those that have no default/forbearance/deferment even close?  Why would something as important as this be left to phone instead of sending a formal letter, which is less invasive, more secure, more reliable to reach the person in question (with mail forwarding), and easier for people to research than some garbled sounds on an answering machine or voice mail?  Cutting corners cuts quality - and low quality is not trusted.

If they are legitimate, they need to appear legitimate and use legitimate methods of contact and communication.  If the 'goal' of i3-group listed in the prior post is accurate, then they're CHEATING the universities out of any fees they're collecting by not following acceptable business practices.

Cause it's a wrong number.

I got the call at nine this morning but did not answer as I have the flu.  I looked them up now and got on this website. I have never gone to UOP. I went to college over 30 years ago and I never had a loan for it. Paid everything out of my own pocket.  so why are they calling me?

These people are idiots. They keep sending multiple emails to me saying "Your Federal Loans are delinquent..."...but they're not and never have been. I called them and they wouldn't tell me anything without me giving them personal identification. I refused because they're the one's bothering me. The person finally admitted that they send out blanket emails regardless of your status and then said that they would make a note on my account. Of course...they knew my full name without me even asking...and was looking at my "account" without any of my identification...but wouldn't tell me crap. I still get post cards in the mail, constantly. They're approach is dishonest, unprofessional and harassment at best. In other words, they send you emails lying about your delinquency in order to frighten you enough to call them. I see a lawsuit in their future.

Not true at all. i3 group does not garnish anyone's wages. But we do advise people that if they are delinq by alot that the government can do that. Nobody at i3 would ever say that. If you are behind, we can help.

Actually we do not document anything related to ssn or dob. We already have it on file. If we call someone and we ask them to verify which we have to because of FERPA, and what they say doesn't match then that's it, nothing happens. We remove the account or the number that was wrong. No big deal. It happens all the time.

First of all, what are you annoyed about? And second of all, when did you call back and had a problem with getting through to us? We receive hundreds of inbound calls a day and the phone number is listed on our website. We help all kinds of people all day everyday....for free. What's with the paranoia? Going into default is way worse than worrying about giving out your date of birth which anyone can get btw. Just sayin.

I have been receiving calls from this company (I-3) who has been hired to collect past due tuition for the University of Phoenix.  They must be using a skip-trace software similar to what many companies use, looking for known affiliates, previous neighbors, etc.  The flaw in this system is that when they are looking for people with unique names, who have similar demographic information (similar ages, previous employers, etc) they start pursuing you as though you are the person in default.  This has been happening to me for about 15 years...so much so that I even changed my name and moved to a different state, but it still does not stop.  That being said, I spoke with a very professional man from I-3 this morning, explained the situation, and that not only did I graduate from college 15 years ago...that I did it at a completely different university, in a different state, and he removed my contact information from their database.  
My best advice...they are trying to verify the information they have for someone else...do not give them any of YOUR own personal information for them to add to the file.  If it REALLY is for you, they will already have what was on the student loan application...by giving them your SSN or DOB, they can document it on the account erroneously, and then it may become more difficult for you to get rid of them.  Secondly, make sure that you get the name and direct extension of the person that you spoke with.  This is not a giant company, and it's much easier for you to get results with a level head, and by speaking to the same person.  Eventually, if you keep calling the same person over and over, they are going to be just as sick of you :)

For a company that's reportedly "so f-ing helpful", it's amazing that they looked up and found someone who is in NO WAY RELATED TO ME and called her, demanding to talk to me.

I call back to read them the riot act? The number doesn't work. The phone won't even ring. Cute.

I was called by i 3 group and they have called on behalf of University of Phoenix and my current phone number which is in the Federal Do Not Call list, also they assured me that they were not a collection agency but yet they said that they advise to pay any and all debts with all lenders and if not that THEY would take action, such as garnishing your pay, taking all your belongings with value, but not limited to any total amount of your pay.

The I-3 group is a legitimate company.  If you never attended the university in question its very likely that they are attempting to get a hold of someone with a very similair name (this happens quite often) if you're concerned about identity theft it might actually be benificial to talk to them.  

I suggest you verify the year of your birth with the next represenative you speak with, more than likely the year on file will not match and it will confirm that the call was placed in error.

I had a hang-up call on my cellphone from this number. I called the number back, and Carlita answered. She said that she was calling from I3, on behalf of Argosy University. I've never attended Argosy. She wanted me to give her the last four digits of my social security number or my date of birth in order to converse with me about the situation. I refused (if this is already a scam, I don't want to give them that information). She did say that there is a record that I've attended Argosy, so I'm pretty worried...

Just so that no one is confused any longer, the I-3 group is officially listed as a Student Counseling Line---no a collection agency, anyone who understands the law will immediatly understand why that is a major difference. The I-3 group is not subject to any of the law regarding collections agencies (Such as calling Places of Employment or Communicating with Individuals in the process of Bankruptcy)  The reason they are labeled as such is because (while they are a private company hired out by For-Profit Universities) they work directly with the Dept. of Education.  They abid by the laws of FERPA not by any law governing Collection agencies. (The I-3 Group does not ask or take payments on any account.)

Another thing if you are receiving unwanted calls or calls for someone you do not know simply tell the representative that you "do not know the preson they are calling for." They will immedialtly mark you as a wrong number and remove your number from the system, if for some reason that doesn't work ask them to add your number to a DNC list, that way they are legally and physically unable to call your number.  

The Goal of the I-3 Group is to lower the Default rate of many universities (including The University of Pheonix, DeVry, ITT Tech and many other for profit school---i.e. schools that have a career oriented coriculum and accept lower GPA students).  The Federal government regulates this particular type of school very closely, and some are better than others. If you attended on of these schools you have an idea of what I'm talking about.

The Problem is that the School administrators (With perhaps the exception of Keiser University) do not do a very good job of informing students of the role of the I-3 Group, which has probably caused alot of the confusion related to it. The company has experianced a large amount of growth in the recent months and the website and its Affiliate website Loanlook.com are now fully operational.  

So in closing, The I-3 Group is not a scam, collection agency or recruiting agency, and if they are trying to get ahold of you, it is probably in your best intrest to hear them out.

So, why do you keep calling for people who do not live and have never lived at my Address? I have told you people this every time you call. And I still get calls every day!  I am making a detailed record of the calls and plan on contacting the BBB and the state's attorney general for Iowa.

I keep getting messages left on my home phone from a company called I3 Group, saying that they are with the University of Phoenix. They are looking for someone named Margaret. They continue to call and no one by that names lives in my household. It's just me and my husband. It's a little annoying. I want the calls to stop. I come home from work everyday and the calls are consistent.

We've gotten calls from i-3group looking for someone that none of us knows - none of us are in default with any student loans and none of us attended the University of Phoenix.  Everyone here went to real universities.  I did some research on i-3group and found that they are located in Schaumurg, IL and that the various area codes for phones for that area are:  847/224 and 630/331.  Yet, for some *unknown* reason, the calls that we get - they leave messages identifying themselves - according to CID are all (509) numbers which covers a calling area that covers, roughtly, the eastern half of the state of WA.  the first call that we received was a month ago.  They call twice, three times maybe, a week.

Three issues:  They are calling us cold, looking for someone that we don't know and it's been over a month.  They're skip tracing is sloppy or they don't have the resources that other debt collectors have which makes them 'those guys that just got out of prison with two nickels to rub together to buy a phone list.'

Or secondly, there's the issue of CID fraud - they're breaking two laws:  FDCPA which states that a debt collector has to be honest about who they are and the truth in caller ID act with refines the FDCPA mandate by including how debt collectors represent themselves in CID.

Or thirdly, there's the issue of sending off a demand letter.  It's been well over 5 days and these guys are still trying to skirt by on the phone which violates the FDCPA.

That's three strikes.  These goons can't possibly be legit.  They make too many intentional mistakes.  I wouldn't give them the time of day.  In fact, I'd recommend that you do what I do - I file complaints.  Each and every time.  Eventually, these will catch up to i-3group and these bozos will get what they've been asking for.

I just received a call from them, Like the idiot I am once they said the loan company I told them last four and birthday. After finding the information above my husband called back and went off. Cause then I remembered they said I haven't made a payment in 310 days. For one I haven't been in school for about 2 years and have never made an payment they called about Brown Mackie College, but the loan company was through Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana.

My wife works for i3 group . They are pretty much all americans that work there . There no in india . The are legit and are based out of the chicago rockford area. They dont need any cash  they just are ther to help  get you up  to  date with your loan for free FREE. Oviosly its your information and they cant give it out to just anyone ,so just verify . They call the lender with you on the phone to fix things. Yes there are mistakes wether your loan is up to date or not . Now if you get a call from there original company fms they want cash becuse your in federal default then fix it . Now I the fruad comes in if you work there . they make you go to parties somtimes paid somtimes not . Vaction and sick time is erned but unaccesible most of the time fmla is unrecognized and if your sick or got court your guilt triped into coming in or you will lose your job your anual reveiws a re always real late  and they dont back date your raise like fedral law states The managers are very young and dumb the owner is a hippy that has no friends so he makes every one come to his birthday party . As for bonuses they make up reasons why you dont get  one even if you get enuf cures. This company is full of jack a***s  and there cristmas parties make it so spouses cant go and  its open bar and the wemon have to go all out to get fancey  so put it this way  you got a spouse dressed faney   and drinking as much as he or she wants with others of opiset sex  this company should  be shut down for there dumb a** bull s***  it as a whole is now called centi corp or some bull s***

Got a call a little bit ago from a local number attached to this toll free number. Yes, the caller said she was representing I3 Group, hired by U of P to help students behind on their loans. She didn't ask for my DL#, but did ask me to confirm the last 4 of my SS# not the entire thing. Now I'm more cautious than most people probably, but she knew my exact creditors from school loans (why I have 2 I'm not quite sure) and once she mentioned them, I felt the call was legit enough. She politely asked why I was behind & I told her I'm unemployed. She said no problem and she contacted my 2 loaners so I can get my forbearance and deferment information in order. Very pleasant and polite and now I don't have to keep getting these letters in the mail since I don't have the means to pay them at this time.

Like I said I am more cautious and suspicious than most. But I do feel relieved that I took this call and got these affairs in order. No one likes being in debt, risking having their credit ruined, but these lenders will hound you straight into the grave. So I must say it was much easier dealing with these people than the lenders directly.

Unanimus's English is just fine.

unanimous
adjective
1.
of one mind; in complete agreement; agreed.
2.
characterized by or showing complete agreement: a unanimous vote.

I actually had help from them.  They called my work number, which was odd.  I didnt even know my loans were past due.  But after they called, I checked out my Sallie Mae account online and sure enough, I was past due.  I called up Sallie Mae and it turned out they weren't getting my payments.  Well, needless to say, the rep who called from this i3 group saved me a head ache.  It sounds like a scam, but they are legit.  Sure their website sucks, but the guy I spoke to said that they are a small conpany and have only been around for a while.

Hey Unanimous, first of all, it's spelled Anonymous, clearly your command of English is quite weak. Also, if you are a legitimate company, why are you searching for yourself on a scam website? Like real loan agents with real jobs have time to trace their phone numbers and make sure that no one is saying bad things about them on threads like these. Is it really that hard to get a real job in India? I mean, clearly you have some computer skills. Sure your English sucks, but you can work on that. Maybe someday you can work in a real call center for a real business. I'm pulling for you!