The Navient settlement explains why you should ask your current servicer a specific question before accepting forbearance.

Most people receiving a Navient settlement check don't know what the machine behind it actually looked like. Here is how it worked.

Servicers are paid a per-account fee that varies by loan status. Enrolling someone in an income-driven repayment plan means paperwork, processing time, follow-up calls, and recertification tracking. Processing a borrower into forbearance means one phone call and moving on to the next account. The servicer gets paid either way. Forbearance is faster. Which is fine. Great system.

The CFPB found Navient steered hundreds of thousands of borrowers into repeated forbearances instead of IDR. Every month in forbearance meant interest accruing that didn't need to accrue. That is the practice behind the $120 million settlement.

Navient is banned from federal servicing. Your current servicer is not Navient. That does not mean the mechanism changed.

We all know when we are being handled on a call. So come armed with your own script.

Before you dial, have these ready and pull up studentaid.gov and keep it open during the call. If what they tell you doesn't match what you see on the federal site, ask them to explain the difference before you hang up.

Your most recent adjusted gross income. IDR payments are calculated from this number.

Your family size. It directly affects what you qualify for.

Your employer name and type. Government or non-profit matters for PSLF eligibility and you can ask about that on the same call.

Your loan servicer account number. It signals immediately that you came prepared.

When you call, get a name. "Hi, I'm [your name], who am I speaking with?" Then use it. You are no longer an account number and they are no longer a script.

Then the specific ask: "Can you walk me through every income-driven repayment plan I am currently eligible for and what my estimated monthly payment would be under each one?"

That question requires them to do the work. It is not a complaint. It is a request they are required to fulfill. If they say they cannot do that on the call, ask when they can call you back and get a commitment with a date.

Once you have those options, compare what your servicer told you against what studentaid.gov shows you are eligible for. If there is a gap, that gap is worth a follow-up call using the same person's name if you can get them back.

If your servicer cannot explain the difference or pushes back on IDR enrollment, file a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. It takes about ten minutes and creates a paper trail.

Source: CFPB enforcement action, September 2024. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-bans-navient-from-federal-student-loan-servicing-and-orders-the-company-to-pay-120-million-for-wide-ranging-student-lending-failures/