What The Navient Lawsuit Means For Your Student Loans
California is now the fourth and largest U.S. state to file a lawsuit against Navient, the nation’s largest student loan servicer.
If you have a student loan, there is a good chance that it may be serviced by Navient. Navient, which spun off from Sallie Mae, has more than 12 million customers and services more than $300 billion of government and private student loans.
Here’s what you need to know and the action you can take.
The Lawsuit Against Navient: What are the allegations?
The student loan giant is being sued for unlawful business practices, including allegedly causing student loan borrowers to overpay for student loan repayment and not discharging student loan debt for borrowers with a total and permanent disability and those who are eligible for loan forgiveness.
The CFPB alleges that, among other allegations, Navient “systematically and illegally [failed] borrowers at every stage of repayment,” including:
- created obstacles to repayment by providing bad information;
- processed payments incorrectly;
- failed to act when borrowers complained;
- illegally cheated many struggling borrowers out of their rights to Loan forgiveness and lower payments, which caused them to overpay for their student loans;
- deceived private student loan borrowers about requirements to release their co-signer from the loan; and
- harmed the credit of disabled borrowers, including severely injured veterans
The CFPB also alleges that Navient improperly directed borrowers into forbearance when these borrowers otherwise might have qualified for income-driven forgiveness plans, and did not adequately keep borrowers in income-driven plans informed of deadlines to maintain their eligibility under such plans.
What Action Can You Take?
Consumers can check their eligibility for free through the certified enrollment center and see if they qualify for Settlements, Income-Driven Forgiveness and even have their loans removed from Navient completely if they choose.
To qualify call 866-418-8576, Monday through Friday 7am – 6pm PST, and speak to a certified enrollment specialist about checking your right for eligibility.
A Consumers Experience
Nicole, a graduate with a major in media arts, explains her personal experience dealing with Navient. She received her degree from UCLA in 2012, borrowing over $32,000 in federal student loans. She says it has been a constant struggle with with no help offered or given from her loan servicer, she has been trapped under excruciating debt. “With the job market being what it is, I knew how hard it was going to be to find a job in my field. After graduation I was happy knowing I had 6 months before I even needed to start paying my loans. Unfortunately, six months came and went and I was still stuck working my teaching assistant and serving job just to make ends meet. I had called Navient multiple times during the initial repayment period trying to “postpone” my payments. I was infuriated and dismayed when I had learned almost a year later that I had accrued thousands in interest due to being placed in to multiple forbearance’s, Only to find out much later that I had alternative options to repayment including income-driven forgiveness.”
What Are The Next Steps?
If you feel like you have been affected by over payment, misinformation and misguidance regarding your student loans, you’re not alone. Over 44 million borrowers have been burdened by these allegations and you are just one of the 45 million Americans who owed a combined total of more than $1.4 trillion in student loan debt at the end of 2017.
Fortunately, there is help available for those who have been affected. Here are the steps you can take to check your eligibility:
- Call the Certified Enrollment Center at 866-418-8576 and ask to check your eligibility for forgiveness due to the lawsuit, Monday Through Friday 7am – 6pm PST.
- Get your Free evaluation and see what all your options are.
- Get your loans forgiven, settled, discharged or drastically reduced by as much as 90%.
What is Student Loan Forgiveness?
Loan forgiveness is the cancellation of all or some portion of your federal student loan balance. Yes, that’s right—cancellation of your loan balance. If your loan is forgiven, you are no longer required to repay that loan
Borrowers may contact the Certified Enrollment Center to get information on individual borrower eligibility.
Certified Enrollment Center
Phone: 866-418-8576
Monday – Friday | 7am to 6pm PST
Tuition Savers 