CFPB to distribute more than $240,000 to consumers harmed by student loan debt-relief scam | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

FAQs

Is the CFPB lawsuit real? ›

In a lawsuit filed on June 9, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, against Gebase, the CFPB alleged that Processingstudentloans obtained student loan account and billing information for hundreds of former SAI consumers without their knowledge or consent and used that ...

Online or by calling us at (855) 411-CFPB (2372). Online or by calling us at (855) 411-CFPB (2372). Depending on your issue, you may also want to file a complaint with your school's accrediting agency or state approval agency.

Over the past decade, Navient has faced consumer protection lawsuits from state and federal regulators and law enforcement officials and continues to defend against allegations that it systematically cheated millions of its customers out of their rights to affordable loan payments.

To maintain a low student loan repayment burden, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests student loan payments should not exceed 8% of your gross salary.

The CFPB supervises a range of companies to assess their compliance with federal consumer financial laws. We have supervisory authority over banks, thrifts, and credit unions with assets over $10 billion, as well as their affiliates.

We protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law. We arm people with the information, steps, and tools that they need to make smart financial decisions.

We'll share your complaint with the company so it can review and respond to the issues you've described. If we can't send your complaint to the company for response, we'll send it to another federal agency and let you know.

In most cases, you'll get a refund for any overpayments beyond 20 or 25 years. The extra payments made on forgiven loans will be refunded back to the most recent of these three dates: The date you reached the required number of payments for IDR forgiveness – 20 or 25 years of monthly bills.

Disputes can be sent to the loan servicer's or holder's general customer service address, which you can find on their website or by calling them. Like you did during your initial phone call, provide a clear, concise description of the situation and be specific about how you would like the situation resolved.

The 18 states are suing the Biden administration to block the SAVE plan. SAVE is the Education Department's newest income-driven repayment plan, providing more affordable monthly payments and, in some cases, an accelerated track to student loan forgiveness.

What company owns the most student loan debt? ›

Since the government owns most student loans, start by logging in to your Federal Student Aid account. (If you don't already have an account, you'll need to create one.) All of your federal student loans will show up on your dashboard.

Federal student loans are owned by the U.S. Department of Education while private student loans are owned by the financial institution that granted them.

Who has student loan debt? Roughly 43 million Americans have outstanding federal student loan debt — that's about 13% of the U.S. population, per census data. Source: Federal Student Aid, Portfolio by Age Q4 2023.

Yes, some or all of your federal student loans may be canceled if you are eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The Department of Education oversees this program. After you meet all of the requirements, you can apply to have your loans forgiven.

What is considered a lot of student loan debt? A lot of student loan debt is more than you can afford to repay after graduation. For many this means having more than $70,000 – $100,000 of total student debt.

Sometimes the CFPB will send a warning letter to advise recipients that certain actions may violate federal consumer financial law. These are not accusations of wrongdoing. Instead, they are meant to help recipients review certain practices and ensure that they comply with federal law.

Here's how to tell if it's legit. If you have received a check from the CFPB, it is because we have taken an enforcement action against a person or company for violating a consumer financial protection law, and you are eligible for compensation as a result of this violation.

On November 2, 2020, the Bureau entered a Consent Order in federal court against SMART Payment Plan, LLC. The CFPB alleged that the defendants, who offered a “payment accelerator” program to consumers for auto loans falsely claimed its individualized benefits would save consumer's money.