Write a letter to your private student loan servicer asking them to give you information on how to apply for cancellation of your private student loans on the basis of fraud and/or misrepresentation by your school.

Tell your servicer that you are entitled to a process for private student loan relief because of your school’s misconduct and describe what that misconduct was.

You can submit your letter to your servicer by:

• Uploading it through your servicer’s portal

• Mailing them a copy (if you do this, make sure you send it certified mail with a return receipt)

• Via Email (if this is available)

Make sure to keep a copy of your letter for your own records. (*TIP: make sure to put your name and your account number on each page you submit).

Be thorough but concise in explaining to your servicer why you should be entitled to relief from your private student loans. Be specific and include details such as dates, amounts owed, and how specifically your school lied to you, did not deliver what they promised to you, and/or otherwise deceived you about the education you were getting and the total costs you would owe. (*TIP: If you already filed a federal borrower defense application, you can include the same information here).

Examples of documents that you can include in support of your letter are:

• A copy of a notice from the Department of Education approving your federal borrower defense to repayment application for your federal loans for the same school that your private loans are for (this includes a Sweet v. Cardona approval letter).

•          A copy of a Department of Education public announcement of school misconduct related group discharge for students that attended certain for-profit schools. These schools include:

  • Marinello Schools of Beauty

  • Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (including WyoTech, Heald and Everest)

  • ITT Technical Institute

  • Westwood College

  • College America

  • The Art Institutes

In January of 2022, Navient entered into a settlement with 39 state attorneys general regarding its lending practices at a number of for-profit schools. If you attended one of the schools listed under the terms of the settlement, reviewablehere, you can highlight that in your application.

Public information about lawsuits, enforcement actions, and investigations related to your school. A broad overview of enforcement actions, lawsuits, and investigations against many predatory, for-profit schools can be foundhere. These cases can be cited and included in your application as proof of your school’s wrongdoing.

Any original documentation you may have from your school that includes proof of misrepresentation, deceptive recruitment tactics, or substantial misconduct (i.e. enrollment agreements, financial aid claims, recruiters’ statements, job placement claims, etc.).

If you don’t receive a response from your servicer in 30 days, you should file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) here, which is a federal agency tasked with supervising certain financial institutions and enforcing consumer rights. The CFPB requires the companies it supervises to respond in writing to consumer complaints. Although there is no guarantee that your complaint will lead to the result you want, your complaints help the CFPB to understand and prioritize the problems that student loan borrowers are facing and helps its mission to protect consumers from unfair and unlawful treatment.

Similarly, you should submit a complaint to the CFPB if your servicer tells you that you do not have a right to challenge your private student loans. Also, please email us at info@ppsl.org with a copy your denial letter.