On September 24, the CFPB published its annual report from the Office of Servicemember Affairs. The report highlighted difficulties that active duty and veteran students have experienced with student loan servicers, including complaints of long wait times and unresolved issues — especially for those stationed overseas. According to the report, service members reported loan servicing errors associated with enrolling and calculating income-driven repayment plans, including errors that can impact a service member’s eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The report further noted the rise in scams targeting older veterans, particularly involving money transfers and virtual currencies, and described findings that unaccredited claims agents targeted veterans for their benefits, often charging high fees for claims assistance.
The report indicated that the CFPB has seen a 27 percent increase from 2022 to 2023 in financial complaints from the military community, noting that the most frequent complaints were related to credit or consumer reporting, debt collection or checking and accounts. The CFPB recommended to federal student loan servicers for addressing the issues described in the report, including that servicers should streamline and apply payment options and forgiveness programs automatically for eligible service members and ensure that service members have reliable access to online tools to meet their customer service needs.
