`Attempting to make a complaint from the student loan lender or servicer may feel like yelling into the void. The most common complaints dealt with repaying loans. Before you send off a fiery email, place reasonable expectations concerning the outcome — it might not be exactly what you want. But it’s possible to get a result if you know the ideal steps to take. You’ll see results fastest by contacting your private creditor or federal loan servicer first, says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors.
Start with your lender or servicer
Reach out into the lender or servicer’s highest office of consumer service, whether that’s a consumer advocate, ombudsman or claims division. Its overall call center may not give you the answer you’re searching for or have the authority to make account changes.
Send an email at first into the organization’s general customer service speech, which will get your message to the ideal person, says Mayotte. Written correspondence ensures you have a paper trail. A telephone call may seem simpler, but it’s more difficult to monitor interactions with your creditor or servicer.
Whenever you make a criticism, record everything and keep your story consistent, specialists say. Additionally, it helps to be clear about what you’re requesting, says Bonnie Latreille, director of research and advocacy in the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center.
“But if a borrower says,’I’ve called and sought relief, and you promote relief on your site and I want to understand what’s available to me,’ then the servicer should provide what strategies you are entitled to and a copy of the applications.”
Escalate your complaint
If your issue isn’t resolved with your creditor or servicer, bring it to the authorities. Private loan borrowers ought to submit complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
When you submit into the comments system, you can expect a response through email or letter within 15 days and typically get a settlement within 60 days, based on an email from the Education Department.
Seek outside help
There’s also no wrong time at the complaint process to look for advice. Nonprofit consumer advocacy groups such as the Institute of Student Loan Advisors provide free help to student borrowers to browse the process.
You can pay for legal services, but these services may be expensive, says Adam Minsky, a Massachusetts law that specializes in student loan issues. He recommends contacting an attorney just once you’ve exhausted all of your choices.
- Learn how to change your creditor or servicer
If all else fails, it’s possible to change your lender or servicer.
You are able to refinance private and federal loans with a private lender. And federal borrowers can select a new servicer after merging with the government.
But refinancing federal loans costs you benefits like income-driven repayment options and chances for forgiveness, and consolidation raises the amount you repay overall. You are better off staying with your existing servicer if you can, and going through complaint and dispute channels.
- Your complaints issue
Seth Frotman, previously student loan ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says complaints matter — and not just for resolving your problem.
“At almost every single law enforcement agency or regulatory agency, this is how they spot tendencies, this is how they see what’s going wrong in the markets,” states Frotman, currently executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.
For example, at 2017 the CFPB sued the federal loan servicer Navient based on borrowers’ complaints regarding its loan management clinics. Adhering to the CFPB’s action, attorneys general from across the nation also sued Navient.
“Mistakes aren’t usually one-off scenarios,” says Frotman. “If it’s happening to you, it might often be happening to tens [or] hundreds of thousands of people.”
