Have you been getting calls about your student loan? Action 9 sees who's behind them

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The calls are professional, polite, and conversational.

The names are different (for example, Patricia Hoffman and Debra Baker), but the rest of the script is almost the exact same. Even the "Ums."

One call Action 9's Jason Stoogenke got says "and, um, I'm going to go ahead and give you a reference number. Another call says "and, um, I'm going to give you a reference number."

Stoogenke found even more examples of the calls online. All of them are almost identical. But, the messages never give a company name, just a phone number.

So Stoogenke called. People answered both numbers Stoogenke had.

The first said the company name is Student Doc Advisory and that it is in California. When Stoogenke asked which city specifically, she hung up. Stoogenke researched that business and couldn't find anything definitive about it online. He found businesses with similar names, but not that one.

The person who answered the second number Stoogenke called said the business is Student Loans of America and that it is based in San Diego. She said the company is a third-party business that helps people restructure their student loans.

Stoogenke looked it up online. Its website says it helps with "student loan problems." The Better Business Bureau gives it a B rating. It counts 34 complaints against the group.

Stoogenke emailed Student Loans of America Friday. He has not heard back.

His advice:
Companies are allowed to help you rework your student loans. But -- like anything else -- there are good ones and bad ones. So do your research.

Remember, they can't do anything you can't do on your own and for free. You can always contact the U.S. Department of Education directly and cut out the middleman

Cox Media Group