OVER 23,000 Americans who were defrauded by student debt relief companies will get some of their money back.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that those who were charged “unlawful advance fees” would start getting payments.
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Checks will be sent in the mail from Epiq Systems, which is a contractor working with the CFBP.
In total, over $19million will be sent back to 23,505 borrowers.
The CFPB filed a lawsuit against Docu Prep Center, Certified Doc Prep Services, Assure Direct Services, Direct Document Solutions and Secure Preparation Services for violating the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
The suit alleged the companies had deceived borrowers about the services they offer, including misrepresenting interest rates and collecting advance fees, between 2015 and 2017.
The suit also claimed that Monster Loans and Lend Tech Loans violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by marketing debt relief to consumers using credit information that was “illegally obtained” from a credit-reporting company.
Checks began getting mailed out on December 12 and there is currently no timeline for how long it will take to complete the process.
The CFPB uses a victims’ relief fund to compensate victims of schemes like this one.
National student debt relief
While president Joe Biden has fought to cancel some of America’s student debt, he’s faced many challenges.
Biden’s debt-relief plan has not seen the legal breakthrough much hope for yet, but the employed can look to their companies for help with payments for school.
Some companies offer direct financial assistance, while others will allow their workers to borrow against retirement funds.
About 87% of Americans with student loans agreed that college savings funds and student loan debt offers are key benefits, CNBC noted.
Further, 84% said that they were more likely to select an employer that offered the perks.
A site called Goodly Jobs Board allows employment seekers to find companies that will support their employees in paying off student loans.
The site names 250 companies of varying sizes that give workers this highly-sought benefit.
FlexJobs lists about 30 companies that offer the perk, including Google.
A company match is something that should definitely be on the radar for anybody who wants help paying their student loans.
This means that the business will meet the payments that the worker makes on their student loans with a matching amount.
Through 2025, companies can give $5,025 tax-free to an employee in support of their financial student ventures.
Mark your calendars for the day student loan payments resume.
See the steps one woman took to pay off $52,000 in student loans.
