U.S. Warned on Student Debt Peril, Financial Times Reports
No parent should ever have to endure losing a child. Financial Times' writer Anjli Raval tells us a tragic tale made worse by a private student loan company's insistence that a grieving mother pay for an education that her deceased son will never use. Heather contributed to the article. Below is an excerpt from the article: Four years ago, Ella Edwards lost her 24-year-old-son Jermaine. Depressed and unable to work after the unexpected death of her only child, the 61-year-old retired, hoping to grieve in peace. But Ms Edwards…
BarMax Supports Public Interest Law
This one’s for law students and folks in legal education— Many of you know that I borrowed a boatload of money to pay for my legal education. Then I borrowed a boatload more to pay for an expensive bar review prep course that consisted of a bunch of books and videotaped lectures. Why did I do this? 1) Because my law school (Go Duke!) didn’t teach me how to pass the bar exam, and 2) I didn’t really see any other options. Today’s law students can decide not to borrow risky private student loans to pay for…
The Private Student Loan Problem…
As many of you know, Heather is not a big fan of private student loans, considering their lack of borrower protections and flexibility when it comes time for repayment. In an editorial published Wednesday in the New York Times, the authors note how inconsistent loan servicing on the part of private lenders and a general lack of clear information on repayment terms during loan origination put private student loan borrowers at far greater risk of falling behind in their payments or defaulting than those who take out federal student loans. The…
Frustrated Student Loan Borrower Sings the Blues
According to a recent comprehensive study on private student loans by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Americans now owe more than $150 billion in private student loan debt! Cumulative defaults on private student loans exceed $8 billion, and represent over 850,000 distinct loans. As many of you already know by now, Heather has a generally low opinion of private student loans due to their higher than average default rates, less flexible repayment plans, and fewer borrower protections as compared to their federal loan counterparts.…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Annual Report on Student Loans
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established an ombudsman within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Pursuant to the Act, the ombudsman prepares an annual report and makes appropriate recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Secretary of Education, and to Congress. The first annual report on student loans was issued yesterday and for those of us who follow the industry closely and who listen to frustrated student loan borrowers…
