Report highlighted challenges facing borrowers, such as servicer failures that cause borrowers to pay inflated amounts that jeopardize their financial well-being.
Severe difficulties reported due to persistent loan servicing failures and disruptions.
Borrowers described problems with billing, including inaccurate or late statements and errors with autopay, including thousands of dollars incorrectly debited from accounts.
Servicers failed to give accurate guidance about income-driven repayment plans and imposed costly delays in processing refunds and applications for loan relief.
Because of ongoing litigation, enrollment in and implementation of SAVE is on hold.
Borrowers reported being shuffled between servicers repeatedly without receiving help, waiting months for responses, receiving inaccurate/misleading communications.
They reported waiting an average of eight months for servicers to resolve their issues.
Recommendations
Recommended several systemic reforms to improve the federal student loan system.
Including recommendations to hold borrowers harmless when they encounter servicing errors and ensuring that servicers are held accountable for performance failures.
The report also noted the importance of considering broader changes to the student loan system to reduce the persistence and prevalence of student loan debt.
