04:57 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Reported by: Janet Roach

It starts with a letter addressed to high school students. “You've been invited to a free personal interview … to help maximize your eligibility to receive financial assistance …. and … minimize you family's out of pocket expenses," it says.

With the price of college into the thousands a year, it sounds like a chance to get some help. And you wouldn't have to go far away. The seminar was coming to Hampton Roads.

Our 13News undercover investigation took us to a hotel to hear representatives of Edifi Financial Services, based in Albany, New York. Listening costs nothing but your time. Getting their help costs $1,295. Signing up at the event would save you $400.

AP

What many parents and students don't know is the federal government warns about these types of companies that you had to pay to get help for college costs. The Better Business Bureau received 27 complaints on Edifi in one year - two from Virginia.

According to our video, Edifi promised to fill out all your financial aid forms to help ensure you get the most aid possible.

The head of Norfolk State University’s financial aid department looked at our tape. Estherine J. Harding gave us her "fact check" on Edifi’s claims about financial aid -- in particular, what it said about students who make mistakes on their forms.

The presentation says, “if you mistake on the form, do they tell what the mistake is? No. Or how many mistakes you've made? No.”

Harding says , “That’s not quite correct. That data is corrected.”

Will it cause you to get less money?

"Not necessarily. It depends on what the correction is. It may make you receive additional money," Harding noted.

You don’t have to pay for financial aid information.

“It definitely makes me angry because I know that those services, especially in south Hampton Roads, are available through the ACCESS program," said advisor Anita Aymer.

ACCESS is part of the Tidewater Scholarship Foundation. It’s a free program available to high school students who need help getting scholarship and financial aid information. Aymer says it’s simple to get, too.

Through Edifi, parents and students are made to believe the daunting task of getting aid is one you shouldn't attempt on your own. They call it the jungle of financial aid.

But keep in mind, their presentation is thorough, organized and can sound like exactly what someone needs.

"What appealed to me with this company is they packaged that information and made it available to you readily," said one parent.

On a recent visit, 13News tried to question Edifi representatives but was handed a press kit and told to fax questions to the home office.

The company does admit the information they provide could be found for free.

Company chair Bill Davidson responded to our fax and called us.

"It's very frustrating to me to be criticized for providing what seems to be a helpful service," he said. "We do everything that we say we are going to do."

We asked what else Edifi does besides fill out forms that people can do themselves. We were told they provide students with year-specific handbooks and give students materials on SAT or ACT prep. 13News found materials like that at the bookstore for under $30.

The Edifi presentation also tells students that the company looks at your income and assets

"It's really unfair to charge someone for a free application and I think the federal government tends to agree with that," said Aymer.