The Problem

It is unjust that student loan borrowers are afforded less consumer finance protections than those who borrow to finance a house, a car, or a business. At the same time that our higher education financial system pressures 18 - 22 year old young adults to take out insurmountable mounds of debt, we do not provide them the needed expertise, counsel, or outlet for complaints against their student loan servicers.

What YOU and Your Legislators Can Do

Urge your legislators to support moving “An Act Establishing a Student Loan Bill of Rights” (Bill H.3977 at House Ways and Means Committee) out of the House Ways and Means Committee and to the floor of the House for a vote!

This bill would ensure that loan servicers handling YOUR loans on behalf of the Federal government are licensed, that they abide to basic consumer protections, and that borrowers would have access to an ombudsman - an official, strengthened office for student loan borrowers within the Attorney General's Office to advise, field complaints, and pursue malpractice.

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More Information on the Student Loan Bill of Rights

Student loan servicers are contracted by the federal government to service your student loans. They are your primary point of contact. But recent reports show alarming trends where servicers are systematically failing to advise borrowers about the right repayment plans, leaving them saddled to pay debt that they shouldn’t have to repay. According to the Federal Student Aid own reporting:

• 92 percent of the monitored calls had at least one instance of a servicer failing to inform a borrower about all available repayment options

• 61 percent of the oversight reports included examples of loan servicers not following guidelines or the law

The Trump/Betsy DeVos administration is aware of the systemic malpractice, but has been unwilling to fix it. They have fiercely defended the servicers making it clear that they are not in favor of regulating them. Inaction at the federal level must be met with emboldened action at the state level! States like Massachusetts are taking matters into their own hands and enacting their own student loan bill of rights, which include consumer protection and licensing rules to regulate the industry so they can no longer profit at the expense of borrowers.