Student loan servicer Navient canceling $1.7 billion in student loans

The massive debt wipeout concludes an almost five-year-long investigation into complaints against the servicer. Navient will be required to pay $1.85 billion, which includes: $1.7 billion in student loan cancelation $95 million in restitution $47.4 million in fees paid to the states and the District of Columbia Among the accusations brought against Navient was one that the student loan servicer made predatory subprime loans to students that they know would be unable o repay the loans. These private loans were made to students attending schools with low graduation rates. In addition was the accusation …

Experian, Equifax, & TransUnion received over 700,000 CFPB complaints in 2021

In 2021, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion collectively received over 700,000 consumer complaints filed against them at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The three major credit bureaus, who are responsible for collecting and maintaining credit records, received more than half of all of the CFPB’s complaints in 2021. The CFBP noted that the pattern of complaints revealed that all three bureaus routinely provided consumers with form or template responses instead of meaningful responses to consumers who had concerns about the validity of data in their credit reports. According to the CFPB, TransUnion and Experian …

Roughly 15 million federal student loan borrowers to receive new loan servicers

Some student loan servicers, including Navient and FedLoan Servicing, have opted to stop servicing federal student loans. Around 15 million federal student loan borrowers are serviced by these particular servicers. Roughly half of the affected borrowers will be reassigned to a new servicer by the time student loan repayments begin. The other half can expected to receive a new servicer by the end of 2022. Federal student loan repayments, interest accrual, and collection attempts have been suspended until May 1, 2022. If your servicer is reassigned by then, it’s important that you know who …

Open enrollment for Obamacare ends on January 15th

Although automatic re-enrollment is offered, you may be missing out on better-fitting plans if you don’t review the available plans and select one that’s right for you. In fact, if you didn’t enroll in or update your Marketplace health insurance for 2022 coverage by December 15, 2021, you may have been automatically re-enrolled. So, you’re encouraged to log into your HealthCare.gov account to update your personal information and select the best plan that’s right …

How having too much credit can affect you

Yes, you can have too much available credit. There’s not a specific dollar amount of credit that’s considered too much. But, the factors normally come down to your financial and credit history and, of course, the lending guidelines of your financial institution. Every financial institution has their own underwriting policies. What’s considered “too much” credit at one company may not be a concern at another company. Your personal financial and credit history are probably the biggest factors in the decision to deem you as having too much available credit. The lender will want to …

Asking for a recon after credit approval

If you apply for a credit card, for example, and are declined, you can contact the credit card company and ask that they provide a recon or reconsideration of your application decision. During a recon, the credit card company reviews your application and determines if they can and will approve your application after all. The recon process is not reserved for application denials. You can request a recon even when your application has been approved. A recon can be used on virtual all financial instruments, including credit cards and loans. But, let’s continue with the credit …

Important things to do after acquiring a new credit card

In our “Important things to do before applying for a credit card” article, we encouraged credit card applicants to reach out to their prospective credit card issuer and inquire about a few things, including the credit card’s payment grace period, credit limit increase policies, and payment methods. If you haven’t done that already, be sure to read the article and come back to this article afterwards. After you’ve been approved for a credit card, there are some things that you should before using it. Activate your card right away, even if you don’t intend to …

Different ways that credit cards without grace periods cost you

When relating to credit cards, the grace period is the number of days between 1) the end of your credit card billing cycle and 2) your payment due date. During this timeframe, you are typically not charged interest. Luckily, most credit cards have a grace period of at 21 days. However, some credit cards do not have a grace period and you’re expected to pay your bill when you receive it. How you’ll gain money with a credit card grace period Let’s say that your credit card has no balance. You charge $2,000 to the card …

Debt collectors now permitted to contact you through social media, text, and email

The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) now allows debt collectors to contact you on social media. Why this is bad for consumers Unethical debt collectors It’s now unknown how debt collectors can contact you on social media. It’s unknown if they have to send you a private message or (hopefully not) if they can post a public message on your social media feed or contact someone from your ‘friends’ list. But, if unethical debt collectors stay true to form, they will violate the rules and use unscrupulous methods to connect with their debtors. Debt collectors …