CFPB Launches Student Loan Debt Collection Assistant Online Tool

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Friday rolled out a new online tool to help student loan borrowers that are in, or at risk of, default.

The Student Loan Debt Collection Assistant is an information portal for education borrowers intended to guide consumers through their options if they have defaulted or are at risk of falling behind on their student loans.

Borrowers are walked through various options asking to detail their specific situation. For example, if a borrower is currently in default but is able to make payments on the loan, they are encouraged to speak with the servicer or debt collector assigned to the loan. But the CFPB cautions, “When speaking with your servicer or a debt collector, be sure that you have written documentation about what federal student debt you owe.”

The launch of the student loan debt collection tool coincided with the release of a report on private student loan debt which revealed that Americans owe some $150 billion in private student loans. Cumulative defaults on private student loans exceed $8 billion, and represent over 850,000 distinct loans.

The CFPB anticipates that private student loan totals will continue to decrease, however, as the federal government takes a more active role in direct lending.

Related Content:

• Local, State, and Federal Government Debt Collection Report
• Reading, Writing, and the Arithmetic of Student Loan Defaults
• The Student Loan Issue