Sallie Mae, the giant student lender, and Navient, previously a loan servicing unit of Sallie Mae, have agreed to pay $97 million to settle allegations by federal regulators that military service members were charged excessive interest and fees on student loans, the New York Times reported today. The Justice Department said yesterday that beginning in 2005, the companies failed to cap interest on loans to military personnel at 6 percent — a ceiling they are entitled to as part of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The department also asserted that the companies improperly obtained default judgments against service members.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/your-money/sallie-mae-to-pay-fine-ove…
For more information on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, be sure to check out Bankruptcy and Debt under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act available in the ABI Bookstore.
http://bookstore.abi.org/bankruptcy-and-debt-under-servicemembers-civil…