NCLC Sues Dept of Education for Debt Collection Records
The National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy group that we love, is suing the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) over the department's refusal to release documents showing how the federal government awards bonuses to debt collection companies it hires to recover defaulted student loans. In its lawsuit filed yesterday, the NCLC asserts that the department violated FOIA by withholding records relating to the performance and incentive pay for the government’s contracted debt collectors. The NCLC…
Sallie Mae to Pay $97 Million Fine for Overcharging Troops
As some of you may know, in addition to being Heather's Communications Director (and husband), I am also a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, so this story hits a little close to home. Sallie Mae and Navient, previously a loan servicing unit of Sallie Mae, have agreed to pay $97 million to settle allegations by federal regulators that military service members were charged excessive interest and fees on student loans, according to an article by Tara Siegel Bernard in Tuesday's New York Times. The U.S. Justice Department…
What Every Class of 2014 Graduate Needs to Know Right Now
Student loan borrowers have about 6-months following graduation before they have to start making payments on their student loans - a grace period. For the class of 2014, that means their grace period for their federal student loans will end around October. The first step is to get a clear picture of your situation. Get a clear inventory of your loans It's always important to start by figuring out exactly what kind of loans you have and what the "status" is of your loans. You can look up your federal loans on the National…
Heather Joins ABA Task Force to Address Legal Education Costs
The American Bar Association announced last week that it has formed a new task force to examine the costs of obtaining a legal education in the United States. The ABA Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education is charged with looking at the cost of legal education for students, the financing of law schools, student loans and educational debt. It will also consider current practices of law schools regarding the use of merit scholarships, tuition discounting and need-based aid. Heather will join 13 esteemed colleagues…
Federal Student Loan Interest Rates Movin’ On Up
And in the “It Could Have Been Worse But It Still Sucks” category, the envelope please… Interest rates for new federal student loans are going up by 0.8 percent on July 1, 2014 (and are likely to go up again this time next year, and the year after that, and the year after that…). Under current law, new federal education loan interest rates are determined based on the 10-Year Treasury Yield (a benchmark economic indicator) as measured at auction each May. The interest rates you'll get next semester Subsidized…
