Alerta para consumidores
Hace unos pocos meses, te dijimos que el Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. anuncio cierta flexibilidad a los deudores de préstamos estudiantiles federales. Comprender estas opciones puede ayudarte a tomar decisiones más informadas sobre el pago de tus facturas y cómo priorizar tus deudas. Estos beneficios se han extendido hasta el 30 de septiembre de 2021.
Entonces, para repetirlo resumidamente ¿qué significa la Ley CARES para ti si tienes un préstamo estudiantil federal?
1. El prpgrama les ofrece un alivio temporario de pago a los prestatarios que tienen préstamos estudiantiles federales calificados para este programa. Pero hay algunos préstamos estudiantiles federales que no califican – por ejemplo, los préstamos más viejos del Programa Federal de Préstamos para la Educación Familiar o FFEL o los Préstamos Perkins otorgados por la escuela donde estudiaste. Para averiguar si tus préstamos son elegibles, comunícate por teléfono o en internet con el administrador de tus préstamos federales.
2. Si tus préstamos federales están cubiertos, el Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. ya colocó automáticamente tus préstamos en lo que se llama “tolerancia o aplazamiento de pago administrativo”. Eso significa que puedes dejar de pagar esos préstamos inmediatamente hasta el 30 de septiembre de 2021. Si tus pagos se debitan automáticamente de tu cuenta bancaria, verifica si se procesó algún pago desde el 13 de marzo de 2020. Si así fuera, es posible que obtengas un reembolso como parte de esta medida de tolerancia de pago.
3. Si quieres seguir haciendo los pagos de tus préstamos estudiantiles federales calificados, la tasa de interés hasta el 30 de dseptiembre es 0%. De modo que los pagos que hagas durante el período de tolerancia pueden ayudarte a cancelar más rápido tu deuda. Si estás en un programa de repago basado en los ingresos y/o en un programa de condonación de préstamo, deberías consultar la página de Ayuda Federal para Estudiantes y Coronavirus para ver cuáles son las opciones más convenientes para ti.
4. Si tus préstamos estudiantiles federales están en mora, el Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. ha suspendido las llamadas de cobranza y el envío de cartas o resúmenes de facturación hasta el 30 de septiembre de 2021. Y si tus préstamos federales estaban en mora y tu empleador sigue haciéndote retenciones de tus salarios, recibirás un reembolso.
Este programa se aplica únicamente a los préstamos estudiantiles federales. ¿No estás seguro de qué tipos de préstamos tienes? Dos cosas que puedes hacer para averiguarlo:
- Consigue una lista completa de tus préstamos estudiantiles federales y privados solicitando tu informe de crédito. (De hecho, puedes obtener tu informe de crédito de manera gratuita cada semana hasta que se acabe la pandemia). Léelo detenidamente y toma nota de las compañías que son tus prestadores o los administradores de tus préstamos estudiantiles. Compara tu lista con la lista completa de administradores de préstamos federales disponible en este enlace.
- Verifica cuáles de tus préstamos son federales. Inicia una sesión en FSA o llama al Centro de Información de Ayuda Federal para Estudiantes (FSAIC) al 1-800-433-3243.
Una cosa más: no tienes que contratar una compañía para que te ayude a conseguir este alivio de pago de préstamos estudiantil. El programa ya está funcionando y no tienes que hacer nada para inscribirte.
Actualizado el 22 de febrero de 2021 con nueva información sobre cómo se han extendido las flexibilidades de pago para los prestatarios de préstamos federales para estudiantes hasta el 30 de septiembre de 2021.
41 Comments
May 04, 2020
Hello, are the federal loan companies allowed to mark your federal loans (that fall under this) as in deferment to the credit bureaus? My understanding was that they were supposed to report to bureaus as they normally would, not mark as deferred.
Thank you!
May 04, 2020
Fyi, it's a gsl loan in default I have paid monthly on since 2018 and every month prior to that except a default in 97. The second default was A short default during irma Where I didn't get reduced to zero income proof in timely after destruction of my entire community And when I called to reinstate I was told I could NEVER EVER REINSTATE No matter payments And would stay in default no matter. I have paid monthly since 2018 anyway hoping for a change in that dumb policy
May 26, 2020
En respuesta a Fyi, it's a gsl loan in por Dmmlaw
It happened to me . I paid 2000 like 7 times. Up to this date i have to ask for a letter to be able to process financial aid. That was an error from the institution that processed my loan in 2 different campuses
August 30, 2021
En respuesta a It happened to me . I paid por 1234
Any idea on how we can navigate through the mound of debt they put on use to see what was imposed by corrupt service providers? The balance on my loans has tripled, the serving companies have changed, payments not applied, pushed to default, tax refund of 8 K taken. but the balance is triple what was borrowed and it is not right and I cannot get answers.
May 04, 2020
This is useful if you are in a position to make the payments anyway. I am paying down other debt with the money I would have spent on student loans. I haven't been laid off yet, but it's good here to assume the worst.
May 04, 2020
I think this is good for the students
May 07, 2020
En respuesta a I think this is good for the por Ksan27
Sadly it is not. people should check their credit score. It showed up as a non-payment since May. Unbelievable
May 14, 2020
En respuesta a Sadly it is not. people por Cb40
same for me. I worked hard to improve my credit and just saw a 18 point drop in my credit score because of this. Just doesn't seem right when we are struggling right now. :(
September 14, 2020
En respuesta a Sadly it is not. people por Cb40
that's why mine dipped. anyway we can contest it?
December 03, 2020
En respuesta a Sadly it is not. people por Cb40
Mine hasn’t.
May 07, 2020
Yea great information. However, I just noticed my credit report. Since the refunded and stopped the payments, it now affects my credit score negatively.
May 10, 2020
So I just saw that my student loan went into administrative forbearance (without my consent) and Equifax tanked my credit score 53 points. Doesn’t sound like an intended consequence of this policy. Pretty insane that Equifax wouldn’t have thought this through, but if this is widespread, I can’t imagine how that’ll impact the broader economy as a whole, especially as lending standards get more stringent.
May 11, 2020
Is this why my credit score went down? I’m on the IBR plan.
May 15, 2020
En respuesta a Is this why my credit score por DawnBicker
Yep. Mine shot down 25 points because of it
May 17, 2020
My TransUnion score dropped 58 points, Equifax by 47, and my student loan balance went up by $320 after taking advantage of this opportunity and continuing to pay down my loans while no payments are due! No payments, no interest, and yet, after making a substatianal payment, my balance went up? Even in times of "forgiveness" this system is messed up and predatory.
May 26, 2020
except that your credit score still takes a hit during these times, mine went down 40 points.
August 02, 2020
So here it says that we can make payments while in 0% interest, but other places it says the 0% interest will be removed. Could anyone clarify?
September 14, 2020
En respuesta a So here it says that we can por Isaac
The interest rate will remain at 0%. So 100% of payments made through 12/21/2020 will be applied to principle.
September 16, 2020
En respuesta a So here it says that we can por Isaac
Hello, I suppose you should check with your specific Federal loan provider. However, I've been making manual payments throughout the administrative forbearance period and have not incurred any interest on my Federal loans throughout that time.
September 04, 2020
I returned the checks the treasury sent me. It was my federal taxes and 1 months payment that was taken for my default student loan. I sent them back because they were Uncashable. I was told by the treasury I would be getting new checks around the first of August. Ive still not received them. Im also not the only one that had these issues.
September 14, 2020
I have my own question. I opted to continue making payments via autopay during the initial administrative forbearance period. Now that it's been extended, do I need to make a second request to continue my payments via autopay through 12/31/2020?
September 15, 2020
What if I completely paid my federal student loan after March 13th and they refunded all my money back am I going to have to pay that money back eventually??
September 16, 2020
This is misleading. It depends on what prefix is before your federal loan. Not that we have a choice in what loans are given, but certain prefixes on federal loans disqualifies them. For example, I have loans with an E before the number and those are in this program, but my loans with J are not. As I literally paid back the cost of my education years ago, I am still just paying interest on these loans. It's abhorrent. All loans should be canceled - why is the government making money off of students?
October 29, 2020
En respuesta a This is misleading. It por Pepper
the blog explains that the CARES Act gives temporary payment relief to borrowers with qualifying federal student loans. But some federal student loans don’t qualify – for example, older Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL) program loans or Perkins Loans that are owned by the school you attended. Contact your federal loan servicer online or by phone to find out if your loans are eligible.
September 17, 2020
Pandemic or not, Federally-backed student loans should have a 0% interest rate!
September 18, 2020
Thank u for this information because someone just sent me a message saying ftc is send 25000 each to Nigerians because of covid-19
October 08, 2020
DEAR SIR PLEASE HELP ME.
November 04, 2020
All being said and done, great idea to have my federal student loans go into administration forbearance, even though it dipped my credit score a bit. Question; is it advisable to refinance my loan loan with a private bank with a lower interest rate (4.49%) as against (6.875%) currently?
November 24, 2020
Can the CARES Act allow employers to give employees a break on their student loans? Up to 5,250 paid out by the employer tax free to pay off fed student loans.
December 03, 2020
I had a federal loan with Sallie Mae which was sold to Navient & converted to a private loan without my knowledge. I found this out when I called about the temporary payment relief due to Covid. How can they change this from Federal to private without my knowledge?
January 12, 2021
En respuesta a I had a federal loan with por slobrian
Navient is a loan servicing company that sometimes services Sallie Mae loans. Are you sure the loan was converted to a private loan? I have had loans serviced by Navient that were still federal loans.
February 28, 2021
If I had it to do over I would never go to college. Appointing Navient has been a nightmare for repaying student loans. Navient has dug me hole in debt. It’s not worth it. For ten years I have talked, begged, filled out forms, emailed and made phone call after phone call. Each time I call I get different information. Yesterday I am getting deferred until September 3 and today it’s an email demanding $254.00 and tomorrow it will be different still. My credit is ruined bc of Navient and everyday my debt grows.
March 18, 2021
I get calls from them every single day. Why are they doing this if they’re automatically deferred?!
March 18, 2021
So, I just got off the phone with Navient and after a very confusing conversation I was told that while my student loan is a federal student loan it is not eligible for the CoVID relief Administrative Forebearance. So, I proceed to inquire as to why and am told that my loan is held by a private "commercial" arm of Navient. As many of you know loans can be transferred without needing our authorization and apparently mine went into this category allowing Navient to continue circumventing ways to support their consumers. So beware because once again Navient's deceptive wording and practices which I guess we are all supposed to just "know about" are still in play despite federal relief administrative options.
March 19, 2021
En respuesta a So, I just got off the phone por GeeBee
That is so wrong. I suspect that's what they have done to me. I haven't heard from them since Feb. 2020 then suddenly in Feb 2021 they started again and reported both Feb and March late to the credit bureau. Doesn't make sense because if they were deferred for COVID from March 2020 then why have they started calling now? Why are they suddenly not eligible?? I swear we need to report this to anyone who will listen.
March 29, 2021
Why would we have to use our credit reports in order to determine who has our loans? That in itself should be a red flag...The information on mine has been wrong since 2008.
March 29, 2021
En respuesta a Why would we have to use our por Kimber Lee
You can dispute and take steps to correct errors on your credit report. This FTC article explains how and links to a sample dispute letter you can send to a credit reporting company.
July 29, 2021
I applied for PSLF and my loans were transferred from Nelnet to FedLoans (PHHEA). Nelnet noted the transfer on my credit report, but FedLoans has not reported this on my credit report. Meanwhile, the DOE sent me a letter to re-certify my Income- driven repayment plan amount, shows how much I owe. I applied for a mortgage. The mortgage company have not only ignored the DOE letter, they are flipping out because the loans are not on my credit report. They only have the DOE letter letting them know that I have student loan. It’s only been a couple months, but why are the mortgage people flipping out?
August 10, 2021
Thought a degree would give me a better future. Instead of a better pay I just got a debt. I give up on ever paying it off. I'm just waiting on my last elderly parent to die, so I can do the same.
August 13, 2021
En respuesta a Thought a degree would give por Pasthope
YES. Me too. I plan to take them to my grave.
September 16, 2021
En respuesta a YES. Me too. I plan to take por The Paul Famil…
We are in our fifties and have four boys, two of whom are in college. We will never allow them to have student loans, at least not with our agreement. My husband and I just had our credit score lowered by 111 because Navient was not calling us on the telephone (had wrong phone number.) It's a longer story than that, but it's taught me that I certainly don't want my kids to EVER have to deal with this kind of abuse.
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