U.S. Department of Education Announces Withholding of Payment to Student Loan Servicer as Part of Accountability Measures for Harmed Borrowers

Recently, the Department found that MOHELA failed to meet its basic obligation by failing to send billing statements on time to 2.5 million borrowers – some within only seven days of their payment date - and over 800,000 borrowers being delinquent on their loans as a result. In response to identifying this error, the Department is withholding $7.2 million in payment to MOHELA for October, and has directed MOHELA to place all affected borrowers in forbearance until the issue is resolved. Any months these borrowers are in forbearance will count as credit towards loan forgiveness through Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income Driven Repayment plans.