A group of Democratic senators recently sought more information on the actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against a student loan servicer for predatory practices.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Patty Murray (D-WA) are concerned that, according to reports, the CFPB may have let student loan servicer Navient off lightly for predatory and unlawful practices.
Navient was the subject of more CFPB complaints than any other company in the country during the first quarter of 2017, including Wells Fargo, Equifax, and other national banks and credit unions.
In January 2017, the CFPB sued Navient for illegally failing borrowers by creating obstacles to repayment, processing payments incorrectly, and failing to act when borrowers complained. CFPB said the company also cheated borrowers out of their rights to lower repayments. The suit sought to recover significant relief for the borrowers harmed by these servicing failures.
“Recent reports indicate that the CFPB is considering a settlement with Navient. These reports have also noted that some staff appear concerned that ‘the bureau’s enforcement team will be ordered to agree to terms that let Navient off lightly,’” the senators wrote in a letter to CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.
They added that Mulvaney was evasive on the subject during recent testimony.
“Additionally, in response to a question for the record following recent Congressional testimony about whether you would commit to vigorously pursuing and continuing the CFPB’s existing litigation with the student loan industry, including Navient, you evasively responded that you were ‘reviewing all of the Bureau’s enforcement matters to ensure that the ongoing work adheres to the proper interpretation of Federal consumer financial law,’” the senators wrote.
Further, Navient is facing lawsuits brought by Attorneys General in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington for violations of state consumer protection laws.
The senators request more information on the case from the CFPB.
“We write to request a record of all meetings and communication between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Navient Corporation since January 18, 2017, to determine the extent of industry influence over ongoing consumer protection enforcement efforts,” the senators wrote.