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Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

bloomberg.com

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Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#121

Post by jimktrains2 »

kchoudhu wrote: post #36

Why is a student loan servicer any different from a mortgage servicer? I don't go to my mortgage servicer for leniency or charity; why should my student loan servicer be any different? If we want student loan servicer behavior to change, we need to legislate it. Just like we did (or didn't, depending on your point of view) for mortgage servicers.

Not to actually argue for or against, but mortgage holders don't hand 5 or 6 figures of unsecured debt to an 18 year old without any due diligence on if the loan has a chance of being repaid.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#122

Post by [deleted] »

55555 wrote: post #119
techsupporter wrote: post #4

> There is no expectation that the servicer will act in the interest of the consumer... Navient says its public statements encouraging borrowers to contact the company didn’t mean it would act in their best interest. So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? I'm getting real damn sick and tired of "what the big print gives, the spidery print takes away" and how we'r…

I have had the idea for a long time that the FTC should basically work as follows: put a few dozen randomly chosen people through a sales funnel and then give them a quiz at the end about how much they will be charged and other terms of service engagement. If more than x% of people fail the quiz, then you are guilty of misleading advertising.

[deleted]

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#123

Post by jlarocco »

kelnos wrote: post #101
rayiner wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? Because that's the default rule when it comes to arm's-length transactions in the economy? Unless there is a special relationship ( e.g. doctor-patient), everyone takes care of their end of the transaction. The government offers very generous loan repayment options for student borrowers. It's Navient's job to collect payme…

I don't think it should be, unless they publicly advertise that they will help borrowers... which they did.

Common sense would suggest that a loan collection agency's idea of helping the borrower will be helping them find ways to pay off their loan, which is not necessarily the same as working in the borrower's best interest.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#124

Post by throw2016 »

metaphorm wrote: post #24
techsupporter wrote: post #4

> There is no expectation that the servicer will act in the interest of the consumer... Navient says its public statements encouraging borrowers to contact the company didn’t mean it would act in their best interest. So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? I'm getting real damn sick and tired of "what the big print gives, the spidery print takes away" and how we'r…

> So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? shareholder capitalism. they have zero accountability except to their shareholders.

This mythology needs to rest. There has been little shareholder capitalism action in recent history when one would think it would be at its highest.

Let's just look at the financial crisis from 2008, all the fraud, mismanagement, downright criminality with serious consequences for the companies involved has seen little to no shareholder activism. No executives or CEOs have been held accountable for their behavior or called to action by shareholders inspite of taking huge hits on their holdings.

The agency problem, 'short termism' and extravagant compensation and golden parachutes has also seen little action from shareholder activism.

Yet when it comes to anti-social behavior in regard to customers, employees and wider society 'shareholder interests' is rolled out on cue as some 'central plank of capitalism' when it barely works. It's become self serving and meaningless.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#125

Post by pharrlax »

Lazare wrote: post #86
techsupporter wrote: post #4

> There is no expectation that the servicer will act in the interest of the consumer... Navient says its public statements encouraging borrowers to contact the company didn’t mean it would act in their best interest. So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? I'm getting real damn sick and tired of "what the big print gives, the spidery print takes away" and how we'r…

> So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? I dunno, why wouldn't it be okay? I interact with a lot of companies on a day-to-day basis; big ones (Facebook, Google), small ones (the corner shop I bought an energy drink at on my way to work), and everything in between. Offhand I'd say that none of them have a legal expectation to work in my best interest, nor would I…

>Or do you think there's something special about this particular product that makes it different than every other good or service in the economy?

The difference is that we have drawn a line beyond which that company cannot operate by passing a law that bans certain practices, and the CFPB is alleging Navient violated that law.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#126

Post by VonGuard »

My wife and I have dealt with these goons before. Their favorite trick is missing a payment, leaving it on a desk and then despoiting it weeks later, after charging fees. Or, if you have 2 loans, they are sure you never pay any of them down, even if you literally tell them (pay loan #1 all of this months payments, ending it). They purposefully screw up...

All roads lead to money in politics allowing them to do whatever they want and not have repercussions.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#127

Post by [deleted] »

adventured wrote: post #27
paulpauper wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO, reality paints a sightly more optimistic picture...the average debt per graduate is $30,000--about the price of a new car, but as measured by wages, a degree gains value (this is because since 2009 wages for grads have seen much stronger growth than wages for non-grads) http://greyenlightenment.com/is-college-a-big-waste-of-time-... I read stories on Reddit about grads who have debt but are also making decent 5…

The median student debt is a lot more interesting, it's much lower than $30,000. The median of all outstanding student debt is around $14,000 today (for households that have any student debt). The median debt for individuals that went to public universities is closer to $10,000. The average is massively skewed by the top few percentage of all borrowers that have taken on almost unfathomable loans.

[deleted]

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#128

Post by HarryHirsch »

djrogers wrote: post #107
techsupporter wrote: post #4

> There is no expectation that the servicer will act in the interest of the consumer... Navient says its public statements encouraging borrowers to contact the company didn’t mean it would act in their best interest. So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? I'm getting real damn sick and tired of "what the big print gives, the spidery print takes away" and how we'r…

> why the is this OK? From any company? For the same reason that it's always been expected from any company. Do you expect a local car dealer to act in your best interests if you show up as a result of a radio ad? Caveat Emptor is in Latin for a reason - people have been living by the maxim for a really really long time.

bona fides is a Latin word as well. The Romans used to live by it. Why don't we, and why do we think that's acceptable?

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#129

Post by fapjacks »

blimblam wrote: post #3
fapjacks wrote: post #2

So we shouldn't believe something an enormous corporation says? Shocking.

I take it you have no student debt?

No, I don't. But why would that matter? This is yet another story about yet another enormous business lying about putting the interests of their "customers" first.

Re: Student Debt Giant Navient to Borrowers: You’re on Your Own

#130

Post by lr4444lr »

OrwellianChild wrote: post #97
rayiner wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, pardon in advance for the vulgar language, but why the fuck is this OK? From any company? Because that's the default rule when it comes to arm's-length transactions in the economy? Unless there is a special relationship ( e.g. doctor-patient), everyone takes care of their end of the transaction. The government offers very generous loan repayment options for student borrowers. It's Navient's job to collect payme…

Okay, then... New rule: the primary loan provider for higher education in America - education that is argued in many circles as being a public good and benefit to society - shall be considered to be in a "special relationship" with the student borrower... Let people know what they're getting into. I don't see how this should be any different from the relationship a fiduciary has with his/her client. Can we make this…

* Let people know what they're getting into.*

Are you suggesting that when people signed for the loan - which was not with Navient, as they're on the servicing and collections side - that they didn't know what the terms of repayment would be?

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