The federal government is ordering student loan servicer Navient to pay a hefty tremendous aimed toward redressing exploited borrowers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a proposed order Thursday against Navient, fining the financial firm $120 million and recommending it’s permanently banned from servicing federal student loans. A part of that cash is earmarked for direct compensation to student loan borrowers who the buyer protection agency says were harmed.
“For years, Navient’s top executives profited handsomely by exploiting students and taxpayers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in an announcement. The proposed order is the end result of a protracted legal battle between the CFPB and Navient, spanning three presidential administrations.
In 2017, the CFPB’s lawsuit alleged that Navient — which was the most important student loan servicer within the nation on the time — steered borrowers into dearer repayment plans and interest-accruing forbearance periods, provided bad information to borrowers, processed borrowers’ payments incorrectly and didn’t adequately address formal complaints lodged by borrowers to the CFPB. Navient disputes these allegations but has agreed to settle the matter.
“That is the tip of one among the longest-running government enforcement actions against a serious financial firm in U.S. history,” tweeted Mike Pierce, head of advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center, or SPBC.
He later added in a SPBC statement that the federal lawsuit uncovered evidence that helped inform President Joe Biden’s student loan payment recount program and contributed to the forgiveness of over $50 billion of federal student loans held by greater than 1,000,000 borrowers.
Navient has racked up over 41,000 formal complaints within the CFPB database — far outpacing all general student loan complaints, which total about 23,000.
In 2021, Navient’s federal student loan servicing contract with the Department of Education expired. Since then, the corporate has sought to distance itself from student loan servicing altogether. Earlier this yr, the firm told investors that it will offload legacy student loans in its portfolio — an estimated $8 billion as of 2023 — to a different servicer, MOHELA.
Meanwhile, Navient has been shifting its focus toward other ventures, including student loan refinancing in addition to outsourcing and consulting services for businesses, while recent private loans are being handled by its subsidiary Earnest.
Though Navient agreed to the order, it’s not technically finalized yet. Unlike recent enforcement actions from the CFPB, the Navient order is subject to approval by a federal court in Pennsylvania, where the order was filed on Thursday.
“This agreement puts these decade-old issues behind us,” Navient said in response to the filing, noting that the firm doesn’t agree with the allegations and that it now not services or purchases federal student loans.
Borrowers could get direct relief by check
Borrowers potentially eligible for relief include those whose loans were serviced by Navient. Exact estimates haven’t been released yet, though officials told reporters on a press call that a whole lot of hundreds of borrowers are expected to receive checks.
Of the $120 million in fines ordered by the CFPB, about $100 million is meant to directly go to borrowers who were affected by Navient’s alleged deceptive practices. The opposite $20 million will go to a more general victim’s relief fund, which pays out to consumers who were harmed by other firms that were penalized by the CFPB.
The CFPB says that checks might be mailed out routinely generally. Sometimes more information is required to find out eligibility for relief, and the agency says it might send out claim forms by mail or email. Nevertheless, the agency won’t ever ask for payment to receive relief.
If (or when) the order is entered by the federal court in Pennsylvania, Navient can have 10 days to pay the CFPB fines in full, and the reimbursement process will begin from there. Borrowers can check from a list of energetic CFPB relief measures to confirm the disbursement process and timeline or call (855) 411-2372 directly to substantiate that the check — or a possible request for more information — is legitimate.
Unlike class motion lawsuits, receiving disbursements from the CFPB’s victim’s relief fund doesn’t bar recipients from pursuing further legal motion against the corporate.
More from Money:
The Best Colleges in America Right Now
Student Loan Forgiveness Is Blocked Again: 5 Key Updates Amid the Legal Chaos
Navient Is Quietly Forgiving Private Student Loans Amid Pressure From Lawmakers