SoFi Chief Steps Down, NYT Reports Sexual Harassment
Whoa. Check out this report by the New York Times: 'It Was a Frat House': Inside the Sex Scandal That Toppled SoFi's C.E.O.
Dept of ED Throws Consumers Under the Bus
The Department of Education barely bothers to pretend it has the best interests of student loan borrowers in mind anymore. In announcing its intent to cut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau out of federal student loan servicing oversight, ED admits that it is declawing the CFPB because the CFPB had the nerve to actually handle borrower complaints. How dare it? In a half-hearted attempt to spin its obviously anti-consumer announcement, ED asserts that the CFPB's efforts on behalf of borrowers add "confusion".…
Massachusetts sues FedLoan for Public Service Loan Forgiveness failures
That's what I'm talking about! Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her team are on the job protecting consumers! In a lawsuit filed today, the office calls for relief from unfair and deceptive student loan servicing practices including: depriving borrowers of months that should have counted toward the 120 required to earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness, misprocessing applications for Income Driven Repayment plans. and overcharging borrowers in Income Driven Repayment plans Review the complaint Read New York…
Cost estimates for Income-Driven Repayment plans are unreliable
For the fiscal year 2017 budget, the Department of Education (ED) estimated that Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans will cost $74 billion. Actual costs will depend on how many borrowers participate in IDR plans and how much (or how little) those borrowers earn over time. After reviewing how ED produces its cost estimates, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized aspects of ED’s methodology and concluded that ED’s cost estimates are not reliable. GAO found that ED’s methods may both over- and under-state actual…
Amazon with Wells Fargo on Private Student Loans? It’s a Jungle Out There
I love me some Amazon Prime. But what's this? Amazon announces a partnership with Wells Fargo to promote private student loans?! Don't do it! Private loans come with significant risks. Private loan contracts are carefully drafted to benefit banks and investors; they are not designed to provide flexibility for students and families. If you need to borrow private loans, shop around for the best combination of terms (cosignor required? deferrments permitted? flexible repayment options? default triggers?…
