A recent announcement in the Student Loans Lawsuit industry announced that Navient Corp. will pay off $1.7 billion in student loans and reform their business practices. As part of the settlement, students will receive 30% of the settlement. The announcement has for-profit college leaders furious. It will mean that students can get their money back without having to pay the debt, but what about Navient’s other practices?
Navient Corp. will cancel $1.7 billion in student loan debt
The announcement by Navient comes after a long investigation into its practices. Navient had been under fire for misleading borrowers into long-term forbearance plans, which may end up trapping borrowers deeper in debt. Forbearances allow borrowers to rebuild their finances, but the interest on the loans continues to accrue, making monthly payments higher over the life of the loan. Despite the investigation, Navient continued to deny wrongdoing and opted to settle the matter out of court. This prevented the distraction, expense, and burden of a court case.
The settlement also involves $95 million in restitution payments for borrowers affected by Navient’s shoddy loan practices. These funds will go to the 350,000 federal loan borrowers who had been in long-term forbearances and were affected by the company’s practices.
Navient’s agreement means that borrowers will not pay off their loans until January 2019. In addition to the money that will be wiped from the books, borrowers will receive billing notices three weeks before their first payment is due. These payments won’t be repaid in full, and borrowers will continue to make payments to Navient for years to come.
Navient will reform conduct in servicing and collecting student loans
The settlement with the Department of Education requires Navient to reform its conduct in servicing and collecting student loans, bringing the company in line with the federal government’s standards. This includes a commitment to prevent unfair practices and to provide consumers with accurate information about repayment options. It also requires Navient to eliminate some fees and train specialists to provide borrowers with proper advice.
The settlement also requires Navient to reform its conduct in servicing and collecting student loans, ending unfair practices and improving its operations. In addition, the agreement requires Navient to train borrowers and public service workers on how to apply income-driven repayment plans. It also prohibits Navient from compensating customer service agents in a way that limits the amount of time they spend counseling borrowers.
Navient is also required to reform the way it handles federal Direct Loans. In addition, it will transfer its contract with the Department of Education to another company called Aidvantage, a division of Maximus Federal Services. Meanwhile, Navient will continue to service private student loans.
Students will get 30% of settlement
If you are one of the 22 percent of American students who defaulted on their student loans, you are about to get a big windfall. You will get 30% of the balance of your student loans if you qualify for a student loan settlement. However, the amount you will get depends on your lender. In some cases, the lender may agree to settle for less than what you owe. Others may agree to settle for just 50 percent of your loan balance.
For-profit college leaders are furious
The new student loan lawsuit against Corinthian has for-profit college leaders on edge. The scandal began with a study by Bay Area News Group that found nearly half of all federal loan defaults in the Bay Area were at for-profit colleges. The report said that for-profit colleges enroll roughly one-tenth of college students in the area. The lawsuit also asks the court to force Corinthian to give up all of its profits and repay investors.
According to the suit, the government did not give the for-profit colleges time to respond to borrower defense claims. As a result, the lawsuit could damage their reputations. And, some of them did not even know they had borrower defense claims. The lawsuit has also created concerns about the downstream impact of wholesale forgiveness.
As the result, the Department of Education has agreed to forgive nearly $6 billion of student loan debt. This settlement will give relief to nearly 200,000 borrowers. It also will include refunds of loan payments and adjustments to credit reports. It will also provide a list of schools that committed misconduct.