- On Wednesday, Biden canceled up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers.
- Student loan company Nelnet told borrowers “not to call” for more information.
- Borrowers are still waiting for more details on eligibility to apply for relief.
Millions of student borrowers want to know if there are any updates following President Joe Biden’s debt cancellation announcement. A student loan company has a message for them: we don’t know any more than you do.
On Wednesday, Biden made two major announcements that borrowers have been waiting for months — a four-month extension of the student loan payment pause until Dec. 31 and up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness for federal borrowers. . While the Department for Education has released preliminary information on the details of the relief, many questions remain, such as how borrowers can apply for the relief and how long it will take. Many of them ask these questions of the companies that service their loans.
But Nelnet – one of the biggest student loan companies – wrote on Twitter that it knows as much as borrowers know at this point.
“We know you are trying to find out if you are eligible for student loan forgiveness,” the company wrote. “Please do not call us as we continue to experience heavy phone volume. We have no more details on who is eligible for loan forgiveness than has been announced by President Biden.”
—Nelnet (@Nelnet) August 25, 2022
A Nelnet spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Ahead of the announcement, lawmakers and student loan companies warned of problems that could arise if Biden decides on the relief on such short notice. His announcement came just a week before the scheduled resumption of student loan payments on August 31. Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance — a group that represents federal loan officers — wrote a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Monday saying any decision at this point “risks disrupting operations.” .
“Ten days is largely insufficient notice to reprogram the massive, nested systems that manage loan accounts, provide appropriate system testing time, and also build and implement revised communication plans,” a- he declared.
Disruptions have already happened – just after the president’s announcement, many service sites were down as borrowers scrambled to access information and see updates to their accounts. The Ministry of Education has maintained that further details will be released in the coming weeks, including how borrowers can apply for relief and reduce their monthly payments, and in the meantime borrowers can sign up for updates on this link.
