Federal law bars debt relief services from receiving upfront fees before they’ve even renegotiated a single debt for a customer. But one student loan debt relief operation allegedly took in nearly $3.6 million in illegal fees, only to enroll borrowers in programs that are already available for free.
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student loans
Feds Shut Down Student Loan Debt Relief Operation That Collected $3.6M In Illegal Fees
By 3.30.16
Sallie Mae To Offer Increasingly Popular Parent Student Loans
By 3.29.16
For years, parents have assisted their children in shouldering the increasingly high cost of college: co-signing private student loans, taking part in federal loan programs, and saving for years to contribute. Private student loan lenders have been offering parent loans as an alternative for several years. And now the country’s largest lender plans to enter the fray with its own version. [More]
Former Corinthian College Students To Have Easier Time Getting Student Loan Discharges
By 3.25.16
For nearly a year, advocates and lawmakers have shared their dissatisfaction with the Department of Education’s pace and complicated process on discharging the student loan debt for students of now-defunct for-profit chain Corinthian Colleges. Today, the Department is expected to clear a path for debt relief for these students after determining that state investigations into the schools found enough proof that the company widely misled students about their futures if they attended the schools. [More]
$176M In Wages Garnished For Unpaid Federal Student Loans In Just Three Months
By 3.21.16
Millions of would-be students turn to the federal government in order finance their education, each taking out thousands of dollars in loans. While that influx of funds allows borrowers to seek a better life by obtaining a degree, it also has to be repaid. And when that becomes impossible for some consumers, debt collectors hired by the Department of Education sometimes resort to garnishing wages. [More]
Are Employee Student Loan Contributions The Next 401(K)?
By 3.18.16
Any help graduates can get when it comes to repaying their mountains of student loan debt is often welcome: from cities offering debt forgiveness to keep young adults in their areas to programs in which states will pay for portions of their education. Now, more employers are jumping on the assistance train by providing student loan payment contributions as part of their compensation plans. [More]
Student Loan Companies Tell Congress: Debt-Collection Robocalls Are In Borrowers’ Best Interest
By 3.10.16
Show me someone who supports robocalls, and I’ll show you someone that has very few friends. Which is why it’s baffling that the Senate has yet to act on a bill introduced last fall that would close a loophole allowing the government to make debt-collection robocalls. But you know who does support robocalls? The student loan companies that are currently trying to convince Congress that these invasive annoyances are really for our benefit. [More]
Student Loan Companies Could Face Enforcement Actions Over Automatic Defaults
By 3.9.16
In recent years, countless private student loan borrowers have found themselves placed in automatic default – even if they were up-to-date on payments – when their co-signer died or filed for bankruptcy. Federal regulators now appear poised to rein in this often devastating practice, warning student loan lenders and servicers that they could soon face enforcement action if they continue the practice. [More]
Man Claims He Was Arrested For Unpaid Federal Student Loan Debt
By 2.16.16
More than a century ago, the U.S. did away with the idea of debtor’s prison, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act explicitly forbids debt collectors from using the threat of jail time as a way to collect on owed money. So how does a Texas man end up with U.S. Marshals at his door, ready to arrest him for a nearly 30-year-old student loan debt? [More]
Dept. Of Education Working On Rules For Defense Of Repayment Law After Influx Of Claims
By 1.20.16
Under federal law, student loan borrowers may be eligible to have their debts discharged if they prove the school they attended deceived them with false promises related to their future careers. However, the measure has been used only sparingly in the past and few clear rules outline the forgiveness process. Now, after nearly two decades on the books, federal officials are finally getting around to crafting rules that could remove one roadblock for students seeking relief. [More]
New York Program Will Pay For Two Years Of Recent Graduates’ Student Loans
By 1.5.16
For many recent graduates, repaying their education debt obligations can be a struggle. For some in New York, that struggle just got a little less cumbersome thanks to a recently launched student loan forgiveness program that aims to help the debtors land on their feet after graduation.
Looking Ahead: 5 Big Issues To Follow For 2016
By 1.1.16
Now that 2015 is done and we finally learned that Luke Skywalker is actually Faye Dunaway’s daughter (and sister!), it’s time to take off the party hats, sweep up the confetti, and do the walk of shame forward into the uncharted territory of the year to come. [More]
College Financial Service Provider Higher One To Pay More Than $55M In Fines, Refunds For Misleading Students
By 12.23.15
Higher One, Inc. promises to help students reach their goal of achieving a degree by providing money management and refund services. But federal regulators say the company misled these students into paying improper fees, opening unneeded accounts through deceptive marketing tactics, and now it must pay $55 million in fines and restitution to harmed consumers. [More]
7 Things We Learned About Federal Student Loans & The Companies That Profit From Them
By 12.11.15
Fifty years ago, Congress created the federal loan program as a way to help Americans realize their dreams of a better life through higher education. While millions of students have no doubt benefited from the program, millions of others have found themselves burdened by mountains of debts, fielding calls from debt collectors and loan servicers, and watching as their paychecks are whittled down by garnishments. Today, seven million former college students are in default with a record $115 billion in federal loans. While those figures may be oppressing borrowers, it’s providing a stream of income – and profit – for companies contracted by the government to collect payments from debtors. [More]
Data Shows Borrowers With Less Student Loan Debt More Likely To Default
By 12.2.15
When you hear about someone defaulting on their student loans, you might assume this borrower took out several tens of thousands of dollars to pay for their education. But a look at the data shows that those borrowers who are most likely to default are often the ones who owe the least.
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Xerox’s Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Investigation Over Inaccuracies, Overcharges
By 11.3.15
When you think of Xerox, photos of large, office printers is likely the first thing to come to mind. But it turns out the company also dabbles in the education business. And it’s that venture that federal investigators are probing after discovering nearly a decade of errors. [More]
Student Loan Debt For Recent College Graduates Increases Again
By 10.27.15
With college tuition prices continuing to rise, you might assume that college students are entering the real world with more debt on their shoulders. According to a new report, that assumption would be correct.
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Sorry, Class Of 2015: You Will Have To Be At Least 75 Before You Can Retire, Study Says
By 10.21.15
Retirement always feels like forever away when you’re in your early twenties. But for the young adults among the most recent cohort of college graduates, the age of retirement really is receding further and further into the distance than it is for their older peers. [More]
