Borrower Defense for Private Student Loans

The latest on private student loan applications:

While we have heard from a handful of borrowers who have had their applications approved, we have also heard from many borrowers who have applied and been denied. The denials have been issued inconsistently and without sufficient or any reasoning at all.  We still encourage those who have not yet applied to consider the application and to stay informed about the process. Filing a misconduct application with Navient/MOHELA is a necessary step toward relief, but it is still a challenge to get them to cancel private student loans. We are monitoring and investigating these denials and we will continue to fight for cancellation of loans where there was school misconduct.

Prior to PPSL’s effort to increase awareness of Navient/MOHELA’s application, similar private student loan cancellation application processes had not been established or widely communicated. In 2024, PPSL learned of a misconduct application for AES. We encourage borrowers to continue to contact your servicer to contest your private student loans on account of your school’s misconduct.

Were you misled or lied to by your school?

New applications for cancelling fraudulent private student loans:

Navient/MOHELA has a form allowing borrowers of its private student loans to apply for cancellation on the basis of school misconduct. More recently, AES has released a similar form. PPSL is working to increase awareness of the new applications — which have not previously been made available to the public — and encourages borrowers to apply.

Private student loan borrowers also have protections against the repayment of loans based on school or lender misconduct. There are differences, but the basic premise is the same: students should be relieved of the obligation to repay their loans when they were cheated. To learn more about private student loans, visit here. For too long, lenders have failed to honor borrower defense rights on private student loans, by offering no clear path or process. Recently, student borrowers’ persistence has paid off.

See Below for Resources to Apply:

Navient Private Loans (Serviced by MOHELA)
AES Private Loans
Other Private Loan Lenders

You could also be eligible to have your federal student loans forgiven through a process called borrower defense. The borrower defense process for federal student loans is well-established. If you have federal student loans from a school that lied to you or misled you, you should apply for federal borrower defense to repayment. You can learn about that process from the Department of Education and apply here. For advice on how to fill out your borrower defense application, visit here. PPSL has fought alongside students to win borrower defense cancellation on federal student loans. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Important Notes:

Please note that this information is intended as information only and does not constitute legal advice and does not create a client-attorney relationship with PPSL. 

For more information on help with private student loans, you can go to the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Borrower Assistance website.

For more information about how to stop private loan lenders from contacting you, visit the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s website. 

You can search for organizations offering free legal assistance on student loan issues through the Legal Services Corporation website. To search for a private lawyer to help with your student loan issue, you can visit the National Association of Consumer Advocate’s website.

  • There are two general categories of student loans, federal and private. To see your federal loans, visit studentaid.gov, log in or create an account. There you can request your NSLDS report or view a summary of your loans from the Department of Education. Private loans do not appear on this site. If you are unsure whether you have private loans, you can request free credit reports. Both private and federal loans should appear on your credit report.

  • An indicator of who is collecting on your private loans is that often you will receive statements or bills from the collector, and those should appear on your credit report. It may be process of elimination and/or matching to determine who is collecting on which loan.

  • You should submit a complaint to the CFPB if servicer/lender denies your application or tells you that they will not consider it. In addition to filing a complaint with the CFPB, you should also contact servicer/lender for information on why you were denied, and what additional information or documents you can submit for reconsideration of your application. Also, please email us at info@ppsl.org with a copy of your denial letter.

    If you are currently residing in California and have experienced issues getting your predatory private student loans discharged, you can submit a complaint with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation here.

  • When a loan is cancelled or forgiven, it's necessarily cancelled for everyone who was previously obligated to pay it, including co-signors.