the Firm Line

Photo: AP/Kris Tripplaar/SIPA USA

Read about this putative nationwide class action, Navient's bumpy regulatory history, and how the US Bankruptcy Code applies to various kinds of "educational" loans.

Credit Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The New York Times: Loans 'designed to fail' / States say Navient preyed on students

Ashley Hardin dreamed of being a professional photographer — glamorous shoots, perhaps some exotic travel. So in 2006, she enrolled in the Brooks Institute of Photography and borrowed more than $150,000 to pay for what the school described as a pathway into an industry clamoring for its graduates...

Bloomberg: Why this state's Navient lawsuit could affect your student loans

If you’re one of the 44 million Americans who have a student loan, there’s a good chance the customer service representative who answers your call when there’s a problem is in Pennsylvania, where as much as half of the nation’s $1.5 trillion student loan tab is serviced.

Reuters: Student loan borrowers, herded into default

The Education Department and its loan servicers, many of them accused of steering debtors away from affordable repayment plans, are clawing back billions of dollars by going after wages, tax refunds and even Social Security benefits...

Bloomberg: Americans are paying $38 to collect $1 of student debt

The federal government has, in recent years, paid debt collectors close to $1 billion annually to help distressed borrowers climb out of default and scrounge up regular monthly payments. New government figures suggest much of that money may have been wasted…