Navient Corp., the nation’s largest student loan company, violated state laws that ban unfair or abusive practices by paying call center workers based on how quickly they could get struggling borrowers off the phone, a group of more than two dozen state attorneys general alleged.
The states’ findings are the result of a two-year investigation launched at the end of 2013 that analyzed thousands of Navient documents, more than 4,000 consumer complaints, and an unspecified number of recordings of calls between borrowers and Navient call center workers.
The coalition of 29 state attorneys general, led by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, shared their findings with Navient on April 13 and proposed terms for a legal settlement, officials said. The company has not yet formally responded.
The allegations are devastating, several officials involved in the investigation said, calling into question Navient’s ability to provide basic customer service to the more than 12 million Americans whose private and government student loans it services. The company formerly was known as Sallie Mae, and the investigation covers practices under both names.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-prosecutors-navient_us_57214218e4b01a5ebde47a02