About 0.15% of the country’s student loan borrowers will get their debt cleared as part of the settlement between the lender and dozens of states.
Navient, one of the largest student loan lending companies, was accused of giving out loans to recipients who couldn’t afford to repay them.
Under the settlement agreement’s terms, another 350,000 federal student loan borrowers will get a small check for $260 in the mail from the company.
While Navient has agreed to the settlement terms, the company denied all allegations.
“The company’s decision to resolve these matters, which were based on unfounded claims, allows us to avoid the additional burden, expense, time, and distraction to prevail in court,” Navient’s chief legal officer Mark Heleen said in a statement.
Eligible borrowers include those who hold subprime private student loans, which Sallie Mae gives to loan applicants with low credit scores.
To qualify, the loans also had to be taken out between 2002- 2014, and your mailing address must be in one of the states that participated in the settlement. Your loan account must also have been in delinquency for at least seven months.
Another group who qualifies for the cancellation are those with private student loans from Sallie Mae that attended specific “for-profit colleges” that have faced federal or state level law enforcement action.
“Borrowers do not need to take any action to receive relief under this settlement. In Spring 2022, the settlement administrator will send a postcard to each federal loan borrower eligible for a restitution payment, using the most current address on file with the U.S. Department of Education,” a statement on the website www.navientagsettlement.com explained.
Navient will contact all impacted borrowers by July 2022.
