As millions of student-loan borrowers make payments this year for the first time since 2020, many are grappling with maddening bureaucratic problems, the Wall Street Journal reported. Borrowers described waiting on hold for hours, trying and failing to get answers from their loan servicers. Some received inaccurate or conflicting information about amounts owed and the status of their loans. Others heard barely anything at all — only to be hit with surprise bills. The logistical morass, which comes less than a year before the 2024 election, has complicated President Biden’s efforts to ensure that voters credit him for slashing student debt. Biden’s initial plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student-loan debt for people making less than $125,000 a year was struck down by the Supreme Court in June. Since then, the administration advanced narrower loan relief, wiping away $132 billion in debt for 3.6 million borrowers. Meanwhile, the federal government is investigating allegations of botched customer service by the main loan servicers. Infractions could lead to civil fines. More investigations, including of the government’s handling of the payment restart, are expected in the coming year. The Education Department’s internal watchdog listed the resumption of payments and the transition to new loan-servicing contracts as two target areas for probes in 2024.
