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June 22, 2017

CFPB report, field hearing highlight student loan borrowers' complaints

The CFPB on Thursday issued a report highlighting complaints from student loan borrowers about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which provides people in public service jobs with a path to loan forgiveness after 10 years.

During a field hearing Thursday in Raleigh, N.C., CFPB Director Richard Cordray discussed the report, which spotlights borrowers' complaints that student loan servicers delayed or denied access to loan forgiveness through "wrong information about their loans, flawed payment processing and bungled job certifications."

The CFPB also issued updated servicer guidelines for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and launched the "Certify Your Service" campaign, which is aimed at helping public servants stay on track for federal loan forgiveness.

The bureau estimates that 25 percent of the workforce in the U.S. is employed in some form of public service – teachers, social workers, first responders, servicemembers, nurses and other public health professionals – and many may be eligible for loan forgiveness under this program. So far, the CFPB said, more than 500,000 people have signaled their intention to pursue debt relief under this program.

The CFPB's report released Thursday analyzes complaints about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program from March 1, 2016 through Feb. 28, 2017.