Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan companies, will provide $1.85 billion in relief to borrowers to settle claims the company steered them away from favorable repayment plans as part of a multistate agreement announced Thursday.
The settlement involves 39 states, including Delaware. It will affect 66,000 borrowers nationwide, who will receive relief in the form of restitution payments or private loan forgiveness.
More than 1,500 Delaware borrowers will receive a payment of around $260. In addition, 145 Delaware borrowers will have a combined $4.8 million in private loan debt canceled.
“Addressing the student loan crisis is one of my biggest consumer protection priorities,” Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a statement. “We have to recognize that even when the playing field is level, student borrowers are fighting an uphill battle. Between rising tuition and a generation of teenagers who were told that a four-year degree was vital to their success, student debt has become a crisis.