The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it may sue Navient, Inc., the parent company of Sallie Mae, the student-loan giant, for cheating student loan borrowers. Among the practices being investigated are practices designed to maximize late fees.
If you have a loan being administered by Navient, and you have had a problem with late fees, I suggest that you send a few payments by certified mail, and check the date the payment was credited against the date your certified mail receipt shows the company received the payment. If there is a discrepancy, file a complaint with the CFPB and/or contact a consumer lawyer. If you contact me, I will find one in your area.
COMMON DEFENSES TO STUDENT LOAN LAWSUITS If you are sued by Navient, Sallie Mae, or a collector for either, contact a NACA consumer lawyer through www.naca.net. Most student loan borrowers think that because student loans are usually not dischargeable in bankruptcy, there is nothing they can do if they are sued. Often that is not the case, especially in the case of private student loans. The collection agencies who collect student loans often have problems proving the assignment. Sometimes they add extra fees (especially attorney fees) that aren’t owed. Sometimes they violate the statute of limitations. (We settled a case against a student loan collector based on a student loan suit filed past the statute of limitations.) Sometimes underlying problems with the schools and their promises create defenses to the student loans. The crumbier the school, the more likely you have a defense. Sometimes the lender sues people in the wrong jurisdiction, especially cosigners, and that can lead to a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim against the cosigner. Sometimes the collector engages in unauthorized robocalls to the borrower’s cell-phone.