A Student Loan Borrower Got A Bill For $108,895 — What To Do If It Happens To You

Student loan repayment is a bit of a disaster right now. Widespread billing irregularities are resulting in miscalculated payments, untimely statements, and rampant misinformation. Some borrowers have received massively inflated bills, with loan servicers asking them to pay tens of thousands of dollars toward their student loans. As a result, many are facing the prospect of delinquency or losing progress toward student loan forgiveness.

The problems are the result of a perfect storm of issues. Millions of federal student loan borrowers all resumed repayment last month for the first time in over three years, following the end of the student loan pause. Republican leadership in Congress opted to flat-fund the Education Department in protest over President Biden’s earlier student loan forgiveness plan. And loan servicers contracted with the department to manage the sprawling federal student loan system are under enormous strain as they deal with processing delays, understaffing, and call center backlogs while trying to implement a number of new Biden administration student debt relief measures.