Social Security

May 22, 2020

The Secret Price of Student Debt Shows Why We Need A Student Debt Stimulus for Everyone

New evidence underscores the importance of broad-based student debt cancellation in reducing the economic drag this debt imposes on American families’ financial lives. This is more important than ever if we are trying to get our economy back on track.

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Reports

May 21, 2020

Federalism to the Rescue

Today, the Student Borrower Protection Center released new research developed as part of its Student Loan Justice Fellowship Program to help answer this question. The report, written by SBPC fellow Brian Shearer, builds a case for how states can oversee the nonbank companies at the center of the $1.6 trillion student loan market. The report also offers a path forward for states to oversee other critical nonbank financial institutions that play large roles…

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May 21, 2020

A Roadmap for States to Protect Borrowers

The report, written by SBPC fellow Brian Shearer, builds a case for how states can oversee the nonbank companies at the center of the $1.6 trillion student loan market. The report also offers a path forward for states to oversee other critical nonbank financial institutions that play large roles in our consumer financial markets.

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Lawsuits

May 20, 2020

Credit Reporting Complaint Against Great Lakes, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian

Individuals representing a class of millions of student loan borrowers sued Great Lakes and the three national credit reporting agencies for unlawfully reporting borrowers’ student loan payments in violation of the CARES Act.

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May 20, 2020

Great Lakes, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian Sued for Damaging Millions of Student Loan Borrowers’ Credit, Mishandling Pandemic Relief

Today, individuals representing a class of millions of student loan borrowers sued five of the nation’s largest financial companies for illegally damaging borrowers’ credit and mishandling CARES Act pandemic relief.

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May 20, 2020

Debt from an unfinished college year almost kept me from getting back on the college track. Ohio can fix this: Brandon Copeland

We keep hearing that we may have to accept a new normal going forward. However, when it comes to helping Ohioans pursue their education, a new normal can — and should — be a good thing.

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May 15, 2020

California Borrowers Advocates Respond to Governor’s May Revise and Urge Consumer Protections for Student Loan Borrowers in the Wake of COVID-19

Today, the Campaign for California Borrowers Rights responds to the Governor’s May Revision of the state Budget and urges the Legislature to pass The Student Borrower Bill of Rights.

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Reports

May 15, 2020

The Secret Price Tag of Student Debt

This report, by the SBPC and the Credit Builders Alliance, highlights the secret price student loan borrowers pay for common consumer credit products like a mortgage, auto loan, or credit card. Using novel consumer reporting agency data, the report shows how student debt affects borrowers’ experience with other consumer financial products.

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May 15, 2020

New Research Shows Student Debt’s Secret Price Tag

The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and Credit Builders’ Alliance (CBA) released new research revealing the secret price American families pay when taking on student debt.

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May 14, 2020

Student debt task force meets for first time amid pandemic

“The most important thing for you all to keep in mind is that September 30 isn’t all that far away,” Frotman said. “And on that day, the Department of Education and it’s handful of student loan companies are responsible for turning back on 35 million accounts. What really concerns me is, we have kind of seen this before, where this is kind of what happens after natural disasters like hurricanes. The government will…

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May 13, 2020

Evers’ task force on student debt meets for first time

One person, from the Student Borrower Protection Center, said even with the freezes the federal government has put on student loans right now, student debt has been and will continue to be an issue, if not get worse. That’s just one piece of what the group will talk about and eventually try to solve. “Our goal is really to come up with a set of workable, practical, implementable solutions that we can put…

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May 6, 2020

For-Profit School Accountability

States have the power to fight back against the abuses perpetrated by for-profit colleges. States can use their long-standing authorities to protect their residents from being swindled by this multi-billion dollar industry. Read below to see all of the ways states are holding the for-profit school industry accountable.

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May 6, 2020

How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts

The business of state civil courts has changed over the past three decades. In 1990, a typical civil court docket featured cases with two opposing sides, each with an attorney, most frequently regarding commercial matters and disputes over contracts, injuries, and other harms. The lawyers presented their cases, and the judge, acting as the neutral arbiter, rendered a decision based on those legal and factual arguments. Thirty years later, that docket is dominated…

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May 6, 2020

As Coronavirus Crisis Rages, ISA Companies Ramp Up to Reap the Reward

Before the ink had dried on 30 million Americans’ layoff notices, companies peddling “income share agreements” (ISAs) were already trotting out crafty PR pitches, misleading marketing materials, and new predatory programs aimed at exploiting this crisis.

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May 1, 2020

Help Us Stop Betsy DeVos’ Illegal Wage Garnishments

If you have had your wages garnished to repay a federal student loan, we want to hear from you. We know that borrowers across the country have had their wages illegally seized by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. That’s why we have partnered with Student Defense and National Consumer Law Center to bring a new class action lawsuit against the Trump Administration.

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May 1, 2020

Advocates and Veterans Groups Urge Financial Institutions to Follow Military Consumer Protection Law During COVID-19 Mobilizations

Groups send letters to the nation’s major financial institutions urging them to ensure that service members—including those called up to support COVID-19 emergency response efforts—are not being mistreated or denied their rights under federal law.

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Letters & Memos

May 1, 2020

SBPC, Military, and Veterans Groups Demand Industry Leaders Uphold SCRA Protections for Military Consumers

Groups send 21 letters to financial industry leaders reminding them of their obligations under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

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Lawsuits

May 1, 2020

Administrative Wage Garnishment Complaint Against Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

The lawsuit seeks to end unlawful wage garnishment by Secretary DeVos and the Trump Administration for hundreds of thousands of borrowers and to return the money illegally seized from these borrowers’ paychecks.

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