CUSO loans are private loans held by Student CU Connect (the CUSO). Most of these loans began as “temporary credits,” which ITT issued directly to students for tuition costs not covered by federal and private loans. When students were unable to pay back these temporary credits, ITT worked with private lenders such as the CUSO to convert the temporary credits into high interest private loans. Because these private loans were not controlled directly by ITT, they were not cancelled as a result of the student class settlement with the Trustee. The settlements between the CUSO and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 44 states plus the District of Columbia, in conjunction with an earlier settlement between the CUSO and the Trustee, compel the CUSO to cancel and stop collection on all loans it owns relating to ITT.

You can tell if you have CUSO loans by:

1. Looking to see if you receive billing statements from Student CU Connect (the CUSO); or

2. Checking to see that Student CU Connect (the CUSO) is on your credit report. You can check your credit report for free using https://www.annualcreditreport.com/. Anyone can request one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).

No, if you refinanced or consolidated your CUSO loans with a third-party lender, unfortunately, these settlements do not affect those loans and they will not be cancelled as a result of these settlements.

The CUSO is being compelled to:

1. Stop collection on and cancel all outstanding CUSO loans relating to ITT; and

2. Request that the credit reporting bureaus delete all CUSO related trade lines.

The settlements took effect immediately on June 20, 2019. Please note that it may take up to 30 days for the cancellation of the loans to take effect and that you may still receive billing notices from the CUSO. You can disregard any requests for payments and you are not required to make any payments after June 20, 2019.

The CUSO will attempt to reach every person affected by the settlements to notify them that their loans have been cancelled. Still, you may not receive a notification if the CUSO does not have your current contact information.

As of June 20, 2019, you no longer need to make payments on your CUSO loans. You should stop making payments immediately and cancel any automatic payments you have arranged.

No, you will not get any money back for payments made before the settlements were approved on June 20, 2019. The CUSO settlements only cancel any outstanding balance as of June 20, 2019.

If you made payments towards CUSO loans after June 20, 2019, the CUSO will make every effort to return those payments to you. To ensure receipt of this refund, you should provide the CUSO with your current contact information. You can provide the CUSO with your contact information via their hotline at 1-877-662-2470.

No, the CUSO settlements DO NOT affect any federal or other private loans.

• Federal Loans: We continue to work towards, and we are pressuring the Department of Education for, the cancellation of all federal student loans relating to ITT.

• PEAKS Loans: Many loans owned by PEAKS also began as temporary credits with ITT, but they are not affected by these settlements. The Trustee has sued the PEAKS Loan Trust, but this lawsuit is still ongoing.

• Other Private Loans: Any other private loans not owned by the CUSO are not affected by these settlements.

• Temporary credits NOT converted to private loans: Any outstanding student debt that was owed directly to ITT at the time it declared bankruptcy, including temporary credits, was cancelled as a result of the student class settlement.

The CUSO must request, within 30 days of June 20, 2019, that all CUSO loans be removed from your credit report. Please note that it may take longer than 30 days for the CUSO to make the request and ultimately, it is up to the credit bureaus to remove the loans from your report. If the loans remain on your credit report 60 DAYS after June 20, 2019, you should contact the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to dispute the account, and submit evidence of the settlements.

Below are links to the various settlements mentioned in this FAQ:

The CUSO settlement with CFPB: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/bureau-settles-student-cu-connect-cuso-over-itt-private-loan-program/

The CUSO settlement with the Trustee:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/62d6e418e8d8517940207135/t/62f3c5825e0fc3411ccd3da9/1660142980424/3391-CUSO-Settlement-Motion.pdf

ITT students’ settlement with the Trustee:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/62d6e418e8d8517940207135/t/62f2c61a6702375a66979f01/1660077597924/2290-1-student-settlement-motion-exhibits.pdf

If you would like information about your specific CUSO loans, you can contact the CUSO hotline at 1-877-662-2470. If you would like information about the settlements, you can contact your state’s attorney general’s office or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.