When you borrow money for school, you deserve fair treatment and clear answers. Too often, student loan lenders and servicers break the rules meant to protect you. Borrowers end up spending hours on the phone, submitting forms again and again, and still not getting the help they need. Some schools and lenders trick students into paying more than they owe—or stick them with loans that should have been forgiven.
That’s where we come in. Public Goods Practice helps borrowers fight back. When servicers or schools make unlawful mistakes, you may have the right to bring a case against them in court.
Our work focuses on the most serious and complex student loan problems—whether that means holding servicers accountable for violations of state borrower protections, challenging unfair debt collection, or addressing false claims made by schools and lenders.
Servicer and Billing Errors
Loan servicers make mistakes all the time—misapplying payments, charging junk fees, or giving you the wrong monthly bill. When your loan is transferred to a new servicer, records often get lost, and income-driven repayment plans are calculated incorrectly. These errors can cost borrowers thousands of dollars, and we work to hold servicers accountable when they break the law.
Refund and Credit Reporting Problems
If your school or servicer owes you a refund, you shouldn’t have to wait months—or years—to get it. Servicers also hurt borrowers by reporting wrong information to credit bureaus, damaging credit scores and blocking access to housing, jobs, or other loans. We work to correct these harms and seek compensation when companies fail to follow the law.
Wrongfully Denied Relief
Many borrowers are entitled to loan forgiveness or discharge but are unfairly turned away. This includes denials of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, bankruptcy discharges, disability discharges, or co-signer release. If you met the requirements but your lender or servicer still said “no,” you may have a right to take legal action.
School Misconduct
Schools sometimes make false promises about job placement, future earnings, or program quality. Others use tuition payment plans, income share agreements, or transcript withholding to trap students in debts they cannot afford. When schools deceive students or block opportunities to collect unfair payments, PGP helps borrowers fight back.
School Debt
There are many ways that people come to owe their schools money, PGP can help in many situations where the debt itself or the collections tactics are unfair.
For example, when students leave school early, federal law requires colleges to return some of the federal aid that was already paid out. Many schools don’t explain that this can leave students owing a new balance directly to the school — even though they didn’t owe that money at the start of the term. These “Return to Title IV” debts often come as a shock, with schools demanding payment and even withholding transcripts. We believe schools should never put students into this position and if they make that decision, at a minimum they should disclose these risks clearly and fairly. We work to hold them accountable when they don’t.
If you need this kind of legal help, fill out our intake form. PGP will review your information and get in touch. We work with you to understand your situation and, when appropriate, develop legal cases to protect your rights. We frequently work on contingency which means if we take your case we will never ask you to pay for our work. We get paid when you get justice.