Pressley and Warren Raise Concerns About Navient Sales Tactics That Could Cause Borrowers to Lose Eligibility for Cancellation

“These tactics are unconscionable: just weeks after President Biden announced his plans to provide student loan relief for millions of borrowers, Navient is attempting to place them into refinanced loans that are ineligible for relief.”

Texts of Letters (PDF)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to the nine federal student loan servicers to inquire about the steps they are taking to ensure that borrowers are receiving accurate and timely information about President Biden’s cancellation of up to $20,000 of student loan debt, and other upcoming changes to the student loan system. They also sent a separate letter to Navient Corporation (Navient) in response to reports that Navient is attempting to scam borrowers out of student debt relief by encouraging them to refinance their loans under Navient’s private lender, NaviRefi.  

“We’re putting the servicers on notice. It’s imperative that servicers provide borrowers with accurate and up-to-date information on their student loans,” said Congresswoman Pressley in a statement alongside the letters. “Thanks to President Biden’s plan to cancel student debt, millions are now eligible for meaningful student loan debt cancellation and we need to ensure it is administered efficiently and felt by as many people as possible. Senator Warren and I want answers.”

“Following President Biden’s life-changing action to cancel student debt for millions of Americans, Navient appears to be misleading and misinforming student borrowers on their options – potentially keeping borrowers indebted with private loans while federal relief is in sight,” said Senator Warren. “Alongside Congresswomen Pressley, I’m working to ensure federal borrowers receive accurate information regarding student debt cancellation and will continue oversight throughout the implementation of this policy.”

“As borrowers await further guidance from the Department of Education about President Biden’s historic decision to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for as many as 43 million borrowers, we are profoundly troubled by reports that Navient is providing grossly misleading guidance to borrowers that could make them ineligible for loan forgiveness under the President’s plan,” wrote the lawmakers.

Following President Biden’s historic decision to cancel student loans for 43 million Americans, student loan servicers will be critical partners in ensuring that borrowers receive this life-changing relief, both leading up to and during the implementation of these reforms. Sen. Warren has a long track record of conducting oversight of federal student loan servicers, revealing that servicers like Naveint have a track record of communicating incorrect and misleading information to borrowers. Even prior to the president’s announcement, two servicers mistakenly notified some borrowers that their payments were due in September. 

Navient sent multiple emails to borrowers following the cancellation announcement offering refinancing options that would result in borrowers losing eligibility for the benefits offered by the President’s plan.

“Servicers must ensure that they are appropriately staffed to handle the increased volume of borrowers calling to get information about the administration’s recent announcements, that they are providing accurate information to borrowers, that they have strong systems in place to ensure balances and payments are adjusted accurately, and that borrowers are notified about these changes on a timely basis,” wrote the lawmakers.

Rep. Pressley and Sen. Warren are asking the loan servicers to provide clear answers to ensure that these companies are prepared to help borrowers and properly manage their loans as the administration works to implement student debt cancellation and reform the repayment system.

Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have consistently called on President Biden to cancel student debt. Last year, they led their colleagues in reintroducing their bicameral resolution outlining a bold plan for President Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis by using existing authority under the Higher Education Act to cancel federal student loan debt. 

• On August 24, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement applauding President Biden’s action to cancel student debt.
• On August 10, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Warren Massachusetts joined Massachusetts union leaders in Dorchester for a roundtable discussion on student debt cancellation.
• On July 18, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley delivered remarks at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) national convention and renewed her calls for President Biden to cancel student debt by executive action.
• On July 8, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley with The Debt Collective hosted a virtual roundtable with student debt holders from all walks of life to highlight the intersectional burden the nearly $2 trillion student debt crisis has had on individuals and families. 
• On June 22, 2022, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined AFL-CIO and union leaders for a roundtable discussion on the importance of student debt cancellation for American workers.
• On May 20, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley applauded the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) statement calling on President Biden to cancel student loan debt.
• On May 4, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1 million in federal community project funding she secured and continued her calls for President Biden to cancel student debt.
• On March 17, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley and Arisha Hatch, vice president and chief of campaigns at Color of Change, published an op-ed in Grio calling on President Biden to use his executive order authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower.
• On December 8, 2021, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a bicameral letter to President Joe Biden releasing new data about the adverse impact of restarting student loan payments and calling on him to act to cancel up to $50,000 of student debt.
• On December 2, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley delivered remarks on the House floor in which she reiterated her calls for President Biden to cancel $50,000 in federal student loan debt by executive action.
• On October 8, 2021, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar and their House colleagues sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging him to release the memo to determine the extent of the administration’s authority to broadly cancel student debt through administrative action.
• On July 29, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement reaffirming President Biden’s authority – and the urgency – to cancel student loan debt.
• On June 23, 2021, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Congressman Joe Courtney led their colleagues on a bicameral letter to President Biden calling on him to extend the pause on federal student loan payments.
• On April 13, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley testified at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy hearing to examine the student loan debt crisis in our country.
• On April 1, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, held a press conference calling President Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis.
• On February 4, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley, along with several Democratic House and Senate leaders, led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral resolution outlining a bold plan for President Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis. 
• On December 17, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters, and Alma Adams introduced a resolution outlining a bold plan for President-elect Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in Federal student loan debt for student loan borrowers.
• On December 10, 2020, Congresswoman Pressley was in Yahoo Finance urging the Biden administration to cancel student debt, stressing the impact on Black borrowers.
• On May 8, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Alma Adams, and Ilhan Omar, led 28 of their colleagues and sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling for the universal, one-time, student debt cancellation of at least $30,000 per borrower in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.
• On March 23, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar introduced the Student Debt Emergency Relief Act, legislation that provides immediate monthly payment relief for federal student loan borrowers.
• On March 17, 2020, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren were on The Hill calling on congressional leadership to include student debt cancellation in the next coronavirus relief package.
• On October 11, 2019, Congresswoman Pressley introduced legislation – the Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act – to protect consumers from abusive debt collection.
• On July 17, 2019, Congresswomen Pressley introduced legislation – the Student Borrower Credit Improvement Act – to provide much needed support to private student loan borrowers with a pathway to financial stability by helping them improve their credit. 

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