Some states are taking action to help borrowers with private student loan debt in addition to other general debt relief steps. A number of state attorney general offices have reached an agreement with private student loan lenders to provide assistance during the Covid-19 crisis. Those lenders have agreed to offer the following forms of relief for private student loan borrowers:
(1) A minimum of ninety days of forbearance (i.e. no payments will be due for 90 days),
(2) Waiving late payment fees,
(3) Ensuring that borrowers are not subject to negative credit reporting,
(4) Stopping debt collection lawsuits for ninety days, and
(5) Working with borrowers to enroll them in any other borrower assistance programs they are eligible for, like income-based repayment if borrowers also have federal student loans (which offers some help if borrowers are facing uncertain employment).
The following states have established agreements with private loan companies to allow students to opt-in to relief:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois Note: FAQ and included servicers here
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Vermont
- Washington
- Michigan—only offering limited relief for the MI Loan program
- Rhode Island—only offering limited relief for the RISLA program.
The loan servicers included in many of these states’ programs are:
- Aspire Resources, Inc.
- College Ave Student Loan Servicing, LLC
- Earnest Operations
- Edfinancial
- Figure Lending
- Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation
- Lendkey Technologies
- MOHELA
- Navient
- Nelnet
- Rhode Island Student Loan Authority
- Scratch Services
- SoFi Lending Group
- TFC Credit Corporation
- Tuition Options
- United Guaranty Services
- Upstart Network, Inc.
- Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority
- Vermont Student Assistance Corporation
To take advantage of this relief, borrowers in these states must contact their servicer.
Are you a borrower who lives in the above states and was denied relief by one of the above servicers? Please share your story.
