Today, more than 130,000 Rhode Islanders owe more than $4.5 billion in student loan debt. Second only to mortgage debt, student loan debt outpaces the amount owed on credit cards or car payments. It is more important than ever for student loan borrowers to know their rights as they work toward repayment.
In recent years, many student loan borrowers have reported difficult and concerning experiences with the loan servicing companies that are hired to help borrowers pay off their loans. Among the most common stories are student loan servicers drawing the wrong amounts from borrower bank accounts, servicers failing to notify borrowers about the full range of repayment options available to them, servicers failing to notify borrowers about the impact that loan modifications may have on their eligibility for loan forgiveness programs, and servicers sending inaccurate information about borrowers to credit agencies.
In 2019, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, and Department of Business Regulation worked with leaders in the General Assembly to pass the Student Loan Bill of Rights, which provides student loan borrowers with important legal protections and gives borrowers a place to go for assistance if they suspect they have been mistreated by their student loan servicer.
This site is a resource for Rhode Islanders with student loans to:
- Understand your rights as borrowers
- Find answers to common questions and learn from the experiences of others
- Connect with a consumer protection expert who can help you determine if your rights have been violated and what your options may be to seek recourse
- Report servicers that fail to meet their legal obligations to borrowers