Hundreds of thousands of Americans are still without access to their paychecks after a glitch struck RushCard, Russell Simmons’ prepaid debit card company.
According to an article in Rolling Stone, accountholders, many of whom are low-income and lack access to other banks, found that they had lost access to their accounts nearly two weeks ago. Although the company has assured customers that they are working around the clock to fix the error, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has launched an investigation into the organization. Many customers have been without access to their funds since October 12th.
“It is outrageous that consumers have not had usage of their money for more than a week,” bureau officials said in a statement.
They are currently working with other agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in a joint effort to hold those responsible for this problem accountable.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the investigation on Friday. A director with the bureau, Richard Cordray, said they’d reached out to RushCard CEO, Rick Savard, spoke of the “cascading financial effects of consumers not having access to their funds for more than a week.”
Simmons issued a statement reassuring customers that they were working hard to correct the problem and doing everything they could do. Savard blamed the glitch on transferring to a new processing system. To aid in customer communications, he added that command centers have been set up to help field customer complaints.
As of right now, RushCard has promised that it would waive the $1 fee that clients incur each time they use their card through Feb. 2016, and business executives have said that users will receive additional compensation for their struggles.
“Very soon, RushCard will be making a significant announcement on how we plan to make this right with our customers who were severely inconvenienced, and in some cases, suffered hardships,” Savard stated.
Millions of Americans are managing money or property for a family member or friend who is unable to pay bills or make financial decisions. We’ve heard from these financial caregivers about how tough it can be.
Kristin in Virginia had to take over financial management for her 35-year-old brother when he suffered a traumatic brain injury in a devastating car wreck. “Taking over financial caregiving for my brother was especially challenging when coupled with the physical and emotional trauma of his accident. Even though I’m a financially savvy individual, I had no idea where to get help…. Unfortunately, there was no guide, no checklist, or a book of best practices to refer to.”
In Florida, Hector stepped in to help his elderly mother after a niece stole nearly $ 100,000 from her. Despite his own severe disability, he works every day to make sure her nursing home bills are paid and her accounts are in order. “When you have to take care of someone else’s finances, you feel more responsible for their affairs than you do for your own. It’s overwhelming.”
Managing Someone Else’s Money
We listened to consumers about the need for easy-to-understand tools to help manage a loved one’s money. Two years ago we released the Managing Someone Else’s Money guides for financial caregivers all over the country, and we’ve distributed over 600,000 printed copies so far. The guides are for:
Agents under a power of attorney
Court-appointed guardians of property and conservators
Trustees
Government-benefit fiduciaries (Social Security representative payees and VA fiduciaries).
The guides help financial caregivers in three ways: they walk them through their duties, they tell them about protecting their loved ones from financial exploitation and scams, and they tell them where to go for help.
But, because people’s powers and duties overseeing another person’s finances vary from state to state, we’ve learned that people need more than a one-size-fits-all guide. That’s why we are releasing specially adapted guides for six states. We’ve already launched guides for Florida and Virginia, and soon will release guides to help financial caregivers in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon.
But, what about the other 44 states and the territories?
Today we are releasing new tools to help experts in other states adapt the CFPB’s guides. These tips and templates are meant for key state professionals to develop guides for states that don’t have them. (If you are wondering who a key state professional is, check out tip 2, in the tips document.) Our tips and templates will make it easy for experts to create state guides with specific information that financial caregivers need to know. The tips tool explains how to adapt the guides in ten easy steps. The templates highlight the parts of our guides where experts can add information about your state’s laws, practices and resources.
[box_success]We want to hear from you!
What do you think? Are you doing any financial caregiving duties currently, or do you foresee this in the next few years? Wherever you are in status on this issue, we would love to hear your comments below.
[/box_success]
We’ve all heard the stories. Whether from our friends, colleagues, adult children, or through our own experiences, we know that student loan debt is taking a huge toll on students and graduates across the country. With the total volume of outstanding student debt amounting to well over a trillion dollars, we’ve heard stories of its impact on home buying, saving, the start of new businesses, new families, and more.
This summer, we had the pleasure of meeting Dani who shared her story with us. Her story was similar to many of the stories we receive on student debt. Dani, who graduated with a degree in elementary education, wasn’t making a lot of money. She was struggling to make ends meet and pay down her student loans. She was living in a family member’s basement located over an hour away from her job, driving a car in desperate need of repair, and trying to balance the cost of groceries against her student loan payments. At one point, she could not pay her student loans and received threatening calls as a result.
“I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve cried over my finances… It’s not like I’m going out and saying, ’Oh, I don’t have to pay those.’ I want to, and it’s really hard to deal with not being able to.”
Dani was on a one-year reduced payment plan, but it was about to expire. She knew that her income still wasn’t enough to manage a full student loan payment so, before the reduced payment plan expired, she contacted her student loan servicer to find out what steps she needed to take to stay on the plan. Although they assured her that she’d be able to do so, her request to extend the plan was eventually denied. Dani continued to try to work with her student loan servicer but she was getting nowhere.
“I needed help. I contacted the CFPB because I really needed someone else on my side. There’s nothing that I was doing with this private student loan servicer that was changing anything, and I was stuck in a position that felt hopeless…”
The loan servicer reviewed her account and determined she was indeed eligible to stay on the reduced payment plan for another year. By reaching out to the CFPB, Dani was able to take charge of her student loan debt.
“It’s such a relief to be able to not have to worry about if I’ll have money for gas to get to work; or, not have to worry about whether or not I’ll have something to eat that week; or being able to afford a place to live.”
We’re glad that Dani got the help she needed by reaching out to the CFPB. Whether you’re struggling with student loans or planning how you’ll pay for college, we have tools to help you. You have the right to take charge of your student loan debt, so let us help you along the way.
To learn more about our recent work to help student loan borrowers, read our report on Student Loan Servicing.
Earlier this year, we asked you to share your stories about student debt stress. More than 30,000 of you responded, telling us that student loan servicers (the companies that send you a bill each month) can make it harder to manage your loans and may contribute to our nation’s growing student loan default problem.
Last week, we published a report based on your stories and issued a call for industrywide reforms to protect consumers.
Building on this work, today, we released our annual report on student loan complaints , taking a closer look at the problems experienced by certain student loan borrowers. We are particularly concerned about repayment problems facing those with older federal student loans that were made by banks and other private lenders. We found that servicing issues may make repaying student debt even harder for this group of borrowers, in particular.
Federal student loan borrowers may have loans made directly by the Department of Education (Direct Loans) or loans made by a private lender. Most federal student loans were made by private lenders until 2010 when the program (known as the Federal Family Education Loan Program or FFELP) was ended. These loans were once the most common way to borrow for college and borrowers with these loans still make up nearly a third of all student loan borrowers— owing more than $ 370 billion in outstanding debt.
Today’s report found that federal student loans made by private lenders may have a greater rate of borrowers in default and delinquency than the broader student loan market. This raises concerns about whether distressed borrowers with these loans are getting adequate information on repayment options from their servicers.
In fact, while the CFPB estimates that more than one-in-four student loan borrowers are delinquent or in default market-wide, today’s report reveals that at least 30 percent of FFELP borrowers—more than five million in total— are behind on their loans or are already in default. As one FFELP borrower told us:
“I have a loan with [servicer] and I have not been given any help dealing with my payment options. I have filled out applications for an [income-based repayment plan] and forbearance. Customer service is constantly giving me false information and not helping me to get my payments lowered…Please, help me. I am trying hard not to allow my loans to go into default. I am not trying to ignore my loans but how can I pay a $ 2,000 monthly payment. They are not helping me to resolve this payment to a payment that I can afford.”
Today’s report also notes:
Borrowers with federal loans made by private lenders report that they run into roadblocks when trying to access income-driven repayment plans, despite the right under federal law to do so. Borrowers with these loans generally have a right to enroll in payment plans that set their monthly payment based on their income. The complaints we received show that some student loan borrowers had trouble getting accurate information, having paperwork processed on time and staying on track once they were able to enroll. These problems can increase costs for borrowers and may contribute to driving some borrowers into default.
More than 1-in-5 of these borrowers are past-due or are not making payments, but are not yet in default. We also asked some of the largest student loan companies to share information about how their customers with these loans are doing. We looked at a sample of this data and found that more than 12 percent of these borrowers are behind and more than 10 percent are in forbearance (asking their servicer to let them take a break from making payments)—potentially signs of significant distress. We also know that more than four million borrowers with these loans are already in default, based on data published by the Department of Education.
Ninety-five percent of these borrowers are not enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. For the first time, today’s report sheds light on how many of these borrowers are enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. We found that, despite the widespread availability of these plans, the overwhelming majority of borrowers in our sample were not enrolled. This is particularly concerning given that borrowers in the standard monthly payment plan default on their loans at nearly five times the rate of borrowers who enrolled in income-based repayment, by one recent estimate.
Continuing signs of student debt stress among borrowers with federal loans made by private lenders is cause for concern. There remain many unanswered questions about how these borrowers fare over time, in part because there is very little public information available about the performance of federal loans made by private lenders.
Today’s report also calls for better information about the entire student loan market, including more details about delinquencies, defaults, and how borrowers in income-driven payment plans fare over time. It also shows why last week’s call to establish clear and consistent industry-wide standards is an important part of the Bureau’s ongoing work to help make sure student loan borrowers are treated fairly.
If you have questions about repaying your student loans, check out our Repay Student Debt feature of Paying for College to find out how you can tackle your student loan debt.
If you have a problem with your student loan, you can submit a complaint online or call us at (855) 411-2372.
An ACH is an electronic fund transfer made between banks and credit unions across what is called the Automated Clearing House network.
ACH is used for all kinds of fund transfer transactions, including direct deposit of paychecks and monthly debits for routine payments. Merchants often enable consumers to pay bills via ACH by providing an account number and bank routing number. A number of online payment services also conduct transactions via ACH, including most banks and credit unions’ online bill payment services.
While many ACH payments clear quickly, because of the way in which an ACH is processed and precautions against fraud and money laundering, transactions can sometimes take several days to complete.
ACH transactions can trigger a return notification if there are insufficient funds in the account.
,An ACH is an electronic fund transfer made between banks and credit unions across what is called the Automated Clearing House network. ACH is used for all kinds of fund transfer transactions, including direct deposit of paychecks and monthly debits for routine payments. Merchants often enable consumers to pay bills via ACH by providing an account number and bank routing number. A number of online payment services also conduct transactions via ACH, including most banks and credit union
If you have more student loan debt than you can handle, or if you’ve been paying and paying (and paying) and can’t make headway, chances are you’ve wondered about student loan forgiveness. As you look into your options, keep in mind that everything you read (or hear — even from your student loan servicer) may not be accurate. We asked experts who work with borrowers all the time to share the most common myths they hear about student loan forgiveness. Here are their top picks.
Myth: You have to pay someone to get loan forgiveness help.
“There are lots of online scams that charge borrowers for things that are available for free from the government. The truth is you don’t have to pay anyone,” says Pauline Abernathy, vice president The Institute for College Access and Success. Borrowers can use the free tools offered by the Department of Education — starting with the National Student Loan Data System. If more help is needed, they may want to seek advice from a reputable counseling agency or consumer protection attorney who is well-versed in student loan law.
Myth: Student loans can’t be wiped out in bankruptcy.
“The bankruptcy laws require you to show that being held responsible for the student loans will amount to what’s called an ‘undue hardship.’ Though this standard can be difficult to meet, it’s not impossible,” says Jay S. Fleischman, a lawyer who concentrates in the fields of student loan resolution and consumer bankruptcy. He goes on to explain that if you attempt to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy, you’ll have the advantage of dealing with an attorney, rather than a debt collector. “Those attorneys often have the ability to resolve payment disputes more readily than non-lawyer collectors,” he says. “Many people who seek a discharge of their student loans in bankruptcy end up settling on a reduced balance or affordable payment plan, which may accomplish your goal of bringing the payments in line with your financial abilities.”
Myth: Only Corinthian students get relief from debts involving school fraud.
Students may be eligible for cancellation of federal loans from schools that committed fraud or broke state laws. It’s called a “defense to repayment,” and the Department of Education is working on a process to make it easier for borrowers who attended other schools to apply for this relief. More information is available from the Department of Education. “The Education Department is developing a comprehensive system to assist students defrauded by any school and to hold schools accountable for their actions that result in loan discharges,” said Abernathy. Borrowers who have been victims of fraud by their schools may also want to look into state tuition recovery funds. StudentLoanBorrowerAssistance.org maintains a list of state tuition recovery funds.
Myth: Forgiveness applies only to federal loans.
While it’s true that private loan forgiveness programs are few and far between, some borrowers are able to settle private student loans for less than the full balance says Steve Rhode, founder of GetOutofDebt.org and a Credit.com contributor. “Settlement offers I’ve seen have been in the 45% to 50% range with up to two years to pay,” he says on his site.
Myth: Only consolidated loans can take advantage of public service loan forgiveness (PSLF).
Not true, says Joshua Cohen, aka The Student Loan Lawyer. “As long as all of your loans are Direct Loans, they qualify.”
Myth: Payments don’t count for PSLF until an employer certification form is completed.
Or until it is transferred to FedLoan (a student loan servicer), or until you’ve enrolled in the program etc. … “Where is this stuff coming from?!” Cohen asks. The employment certification form is encouraged, but not required. And the reality is that qualifying payments made on Direct Loans while working for a qualifying employer made after Oct. 1, 2007, currently count toward the 120 payments required under this program.
Myth: If you are a teacher, you automatically qualify for PSLF.
“There are specific requirements and if you work for a for-profit school you may be out of luck,” says Rhode. (Here’s more information on teacher loan forgiveness.) Similarly, those working in other professions that may be eligible but can run into some hurdles when trying to qualify. Nevertheless, is important for borrowers who are hoping to take advantage of PSLF to understand the requirements of the programs for which they may be eligible, so they don’t wind up missing out on an important benefit.
Myth: Student loan forgiveness is for everyone.
“In reality, it really only provides relief to those with very large debts and/or low incomes,” says Andrew Josuweit, founder of StudentLoanHero.com where this issue is explored in detail.
It makes sense that borrowers who are able to afford their payments aren’t going to be able to take advantage of the most popular forgiveness options, many of which require a certain number of payments under an income-driven plan. A recent report from Equifax found that the income group most at risk of defaulting on their student loans were those earning less than $ 30,000. “This rings true across all age groups, with those earning less than $ 30,000 suffering from triple or even quadruple the delinquency rates of their higher-earning peers within the same age group,” say the authors of the report, Dann Adams and Naser Hamdi.
But even high earners may run into a situation where they lose their income, and for anyone who isn’t working, even small debts can become unaffordable. Additionally, there are programs for lawyers, doctors, nurses and other higher-earning professionals, too. No one should automatically assume they aren’t eligible. (And don’t always rely on servicers to provide correct information. Sometimes they don’t.)
Myth: Parents are out of luck.
While it’s true parents with Parent PLUS loans aren’t eligible for Income-Based Repayment (IBR), they may be eligible for Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), and that’s a “qualifying payment plan for PSLF,” Cohen points out.
Myth: Miss a payment or change jobs, and you start over.
If you miss a payment under one of these programs, “you just delayed it by a month for the missed payment, but you don’t start over,” says Cohen. However, if you were making payments under IBR and then consolidated you “ended the old loan and created a new loan. You start from Day One,” he notes.
Myth: I don’t have to worry about taxes on forgiven loan. (Or the reverse: Canceled student loans mean a tax bill.)
The truth is, it depends. Certain types of student loans canceled under PSLF are not taxable, but student loan debt discharged due to Total and Permanent Disability may be, unless you qualify for an exclusion. And currently, balances forgiven after completing an income-driven repayment plan are not tax-exempt. We’ve heard from borrowers who were shocked to learn that they owed large tax bill after they became disabled and were able to get their remaining balances canceled. Others were relieved to discover they qualified for the insolvency exclusion and wouldn’t have a tax bill to worry about. (Here’s a primer on taxes after student loan cancellation.)
Student loans can trap borrowers in debt for decades, and can make it difficult to buy a home or a car. If a student falls behind on payments, those late payments can ruin their credit scores for years to come. Even if loans are paid on time, debt can affect your credit scores. The programs today aren’t perfect and they can’t help everyone, but they can provide immediate relief for some. So borrowers will want to make sure they fully explore all their options for student loan repayment and forgiveness programs in order to take advantage of the programs available to them. It’s also wise to review your credit reports and scores (you can check two of your credit scores for free on Credit.com) to find out how your loans affect them.
