04-13-2017, 04:22 AM
https://consumerist.com/2017/04/11/educa...borrowers/
Last summer, the Department of Education, in consultation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, released enhanced guidelines aimed at crafting the way in which the federal government contracts with outside companies to service federal student loans in order to ensure borrowers get the service and protection they deserve.
But today, in a memo sent to the Federal Student Aid office, Secy. DeVos withdrew two pieces of guidance from 2016 that required FSA to consider servicers’ past behavior when awarding contracts, including whether the company had misled or provided wrong information to borrowers or engaged in abusive consumer service.
In her letter, DeVos made vague claims that the previous administration’s processes lacked “consistent objectives.”
...“It is utterly baffling that Secretary DeVos would undo guidance that asks servicers to do the basic things that anyone – literally anyone – would expect a loan servicer to do, like respond to questions and help people access repayment plans they have a legal right to use,” Suzanne Martindale, policy counsel for our colleagues at Consumers Union, said. “Today’s move is very shortsighted and could lead to an even bleaker picture for student borrowers who are already struggling.”
Americans for Financial Reform condemned the Department’s move, adding that rescinding the memos pushes servicing toward less accountability and worse customer service.
“In order to have accountability, there must be real consequences when servicers violate the law,” Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst for AFR, said in a statement. “Secretary’s DeVos’s actions today moves us away from true accountability, and creates dangers for the very student loan borrowers the Department is responsible for protecting.”
...Persis Yu, Director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, says it’s “simply mind-boggling that the Department of Education would take away basic rights for borrowers,” particularly after the Navient allegations. “Today’s action by Secretary Devos could make it easier for the Department to hire servicers with a track record of harming borrowers.”
It's getting tempting to yadayadayada this sort of thing. All of Trump's appointees seem to be hell-bent upon hurting as many people as possible with their policies.
Last summer, the Department of Education, in consultation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, released enhanced guidelines aimed at crafting the way in which the federal government contracts with outside companies to service federal student loans in order to ensure borrowers get the service and protection they deserve.
But today, in a memo sent to the Federal Student Aid office, Secy. DeVos withdrew two pieces of guidance from 2016 that required FSA to consider servicers’ past behavior when awarding contracts, including whether the company had misled or provided wrong information to borrowers or engaged in abusive consumer service.
In her letter, DeVos made vague claims that the previous administration’s processes lacked “consistent objectives.”
...“It is utterly baffling that Secretary DeVos would undo guidance that asks servicers to do the basic things that anyone – literally anyone – would expect a loan servicer to do, like respond to questions and help people access repayment plans they have a legal right to use,” Suzanne Martindale, policy counsel for our colleagues at Consumers Union, said. “Today’s move is very shortsighted and could lead to an even bleaker picture for student borrowers who are already struggling.”
Americans for Financial Reform condemned the Department’s move, adding that rescinding the memos pushes servicing toward less accountability and worse customer service.
“In order to have accountability, there must be real consequences when servicers violate the law,” Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst for AFR, said in a statement. “Secretary’s DeVos’s actions today moves us away from true accountability, and creates dangers for the very student loan borrowers the Department is responsible for protecting.”
...Persis Yu, Director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, says it’s “simply mind-boggling that the Department of Education would take away basic rights for borrowers,” particularly after the Navient allegations. “Today’s action by Secretary Devos could make it easier for the Department to hire servicers with a track record of harming borrowers.”
It's getting tempting to yadayadayada this sort of thing. All of Trump's appointees seem to be hell-bent upon hurting as many people as possible with their policies.
