Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1412 – Duties of student loan servicers
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1412
- Nonconforming payment: means a payment made by a student loan borrower that is more or less than the required payment for a student education loan account. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1411
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- servicing: means :
(a) Receiving any scheduled periodic payments from a student loan borrower or notification of such payments and applying payments to the student loan borrower's account pursuant to the terms of the student education loan or a governing contract. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1411
- Student education loan: means any of the following:
(i) A loan that is made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1411
- Student loan borrower: means a resident of this state who meets either of the following criteria:
(a) Has received or agreed to pay a student education loan. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1411
- Student loan servicer: means a person or entity who is engaged in the business of servicing a student education loan owed by a student loan borrower. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 6:1411
A. Except as required by a court order or federal law, a student loan servicer shall not do any of the following:
(1) Employ, directly or indirectly, any scheme, device, or artifice to mislead a student loan borrower.
(2) Engage in any unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice toward any person.
(3) Misrepresent information or omit any material information in connection with the servicing of a student education loan, including but not limited to the following:
(a) Any fee owed by a student loan borrower.
(b) Any payment due by a student loan borrower.
(c) The appropriateness or availability of a student loan borrower’s repayment options.
(d) The terms and conditions of the student education loan.
(e) The student loan borrower’s obligations pursuant to the student education loan.
(4) Obtain property by misrepresentation of fact or omission of material fact.
(5) Allocate a nonconforming payment in a manner other than as directed by the student loan borrower if, in writing or electronically, the student loan borrower does any of the following:
(a) Makes a one-time direction for the allocation of future payments.
(b) Directs an allocation of a payment at the time the payment is made.
(c) Directs an allocation in response to an inquiry by the student loan servicer.
(d) Changes an existing direction for the allocation of future payments.
(6) Misapply or refuse to correct a misapplication of a payment from a student loan borrower.
(7) Provide inaccurate information to a consumer reporting agency or refuse to correct inaccurate information provided to a consumer reporting agency.
(8) If a student loan servicer regularly reports information to a consumer reporting agency, fail to report the favorable history of a student loan borrower to a nationally recognized consumer reporting agency at least once a year.
(9) Refuse to communicate with an authorized representative of a student loan borrower who provides a written authorization signed by the student loan borrower, except as provided for in Subsection B of this Section.
(10) Negligently make a false statement or omit a material fact in connection with any informational report filed with, or any investigation conducted by, a state or local government agency.
B. A student loan servicer may adopt procedures to verify that an authorized representative of a student loan borrower is authorized to act on behalf of the student loan borrower.
Acts 2022, No. 710, §1.