Student Loans being checked out - Changes expected: Finally

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/cfpb-student-loan-servicing_n_7280002.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday launched a broad review of the often murky business of student loan servicing, questioning whether the roughly 40 million Americans with student debt are being treated fairly under a patchwork of rules and market forces that could leave them vulnerable to abuse.
The review, known formally as a “request for information,” is the clearest sign that the federal consumer agency intends to establish stronger rules governing the roughly $1.2 trillion student debt market. Nearly 90 percent of student debt is overseen by the oft-criticized U.S. Department of Education, and borrowers say dodgy practices are common, bad information rampant, and basic necessities like full payment histories or accurate pay-off amounts often hard to obtain.
“As a growing share of student loan borrowers reach out to their servicers for help, the problems they encounter bear an uncanny resemblance to the situation where struggling homeowners reached out to their mortgage servicers before, during, and after the financial crisis,” Richard Cordray, CFPB director, plans to say later today in Milwaukee. “Having seen the improper and unnecessary foreclosures experienced by many homeowners, the consumer bureau is concerned that inadequate servicing is also contributing to America’s growing student loan default problem.” He adds that it's "simply unacceptable" to leave borrowers "without robust consumer protections and a well-functioning servicer market.”