The private student loan industry generated huge profits for lenders and investors for many years. Over time, however, the defects in these expensive, unsustainable products became clear and the loans began to fail. The industry hit a wall, exposing the risks of making unsecured, expensive loans to borrowers with little or no ability to repay.…
Before the credit crash in 2008, many proprietary schools partnered with third party lenders to provide private student loans to their students. Private student loans are made by lenders to students and families outside of the federal student loan program. They are almost always more expensive than federal student loans. High rate private student loans…
The astronomical growth in for-profit higher education has exposed increasing numbers of students to the rampant fraud in the sector. Federal and state oversight has generally been lax. In a positive sign for students, the federal government has begun to act more aggressively, expanding disclosures for students, strengthening rules on incentive compensation and misrepresentations, and…
Read More about State Inaction: Gaps in State Oversight of For-Profit Higher Education
Despite the amount of attention garnered by student loan defaults since the 1990s, few studies provide answers about why borrowers default and how best to help them. The lack of research helps perpetuate unproven theories about default, including the idea that the recession is solely to blame for increased default rates. The stakes are high…
Read More about The Student Loan Default Trap: Why Borrowers Default and What Can Be Done
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) relies on an increasing number of private collection agency contractors to recover defaulted student loans. Although the use of student loan collection agencies is not new, the impact of this policy on borrowers is greater than ever. By contracting out its defaulted loan portfolio and failing to provide…
Student loan debt levels keep growing. There are nearly 39 million borrowers carrying over $1 trillion in federal student loan debt. About $120 billion of federal student loan debt was delinquent in 2012 — a 30.5% increase from fiscal year 2011. Most borrowers fall behind on student loan payments because they are unable to complete…
Read More about The Sallie Mae Saga: A Government-Created, Student Debt Fueled Profit Machine
A college education usually pays off. According to College Board statistics, individuals with higher levels of education earn more money and are more likely to be employed. College is a key ticket to social mobility in this country, but punching this ticket is rarely straightforward. On one hand, the earnings advantage is due more to…
Read More about No Lost Causes: Practical Ideas to Help Low-Income Students Succeed in College
Predatory private student lending has shattered the dreams of many individuals who sought to better their lives through education. These loans have become a curse, rather than an opportunity, for a large and growing number of private student loan borrowers who are defaulting on their loans. Data is not publicly available on precisely which borrowers…
NCLC released a new report today, Searching for Relief: Desperate Borrowers and the Growing Student Loan Debt Relief Industry. This industry has sprung up in response to the demand for student loan borrower assistance and this report documents multiple problems as well as potential violations of consumer federal and state laws. Given the many misrepresentations…
Read More about Student Loan “Debt Relief” Industry Targets Desperate Borrowers
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) supports the End Debtor’s Prison Act (Assembly Bill 1266), introduced by Assemblymember Ash Kalra. This bill would amend the penal and vehicle codes to end bench warrants to arrest people for infractions when they do not appear in court or pay a fine. Under current state law, people who…
The undersigned organizations and municipalities urge Congress to allocate $1 billion to continue the existing separate and independent Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) program to help families with growing water debt and rising water costs.
Data collected by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) on earned wage advances and other fintech payday loans show a cycle of repeat use and high costs typical of traditional payday loans. DFPI analyzed data covering nearly 6 million transactions by California consumers from seven companies. Three companies had a tip-based model…
