On Friday, the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office announced a stricter set of standards for student loan servicers, the companies the government pays to oversee the billing and collection of student loan payments.
“FSA is raising the bar for the level of service student loan borrowers will receive,” said FSA Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray in a statement. “Our actions come at a critical time as we help borrowers prepare for loan payments to resume early next year. The great work done by our negotiating team here enables us to ensure that loan servicers meet the tougher standards or face consequences.”
In the past, servicers have been accused of harassing borrowers, misleading borrowers about their options, mismanaging the public service loan forgiveness program and poor customer service.
The new changes are intended to “ensure a smooth transition for borrowers out of the student loan pause ending on Jan. 31, 2022” and also come during a significant re-shuffling among servicers.
By the end of the year, nearly 10 million borrowers will have their student loans switched from one servicer to another. Millions more could face the same fate over the next several years.
“In a perfect world, these transitions would be seamless to the borrower, but it may not be,” says Kevin Walker, publisher of CollegeFinance.com. “And so borrowers have to pay attention to make sure that, for no fault of their own, they don’t miss payments.”
