$1.77 trillion in outstanding US student loan debt

Source: Federal Reserve / Dept of Education · 2024

Student loan servicers have faced sustained regulatory scrutiny. The CFPB has taken enforcement action against multiple servicers for misapplying payments and giving incorrect repayment information.

RANKINGS · STUDENT LOANS

Student loans Complaint Rates

CFPB complaints about student loan servicers — repayment plans, income-driven repayment, PSLF and forgiveness processing, ranked per 1,000 borrowers.

All BanksCredit CardsMortgageChecking & SavingsPersonal LoansStudent LoansAuto LoansMoney TransferDebt Collection
INSTITUTIONS RANKED
4
CATEGORY AVERAGE
0.01
complaints per 1k customers
BEST PERFORMER
0.003
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
WORST PERFORMER
0.03
KEYCORP
Not sure if your provider is good enough?See what the data means for you and what to do about it.

How to read this table: Ranked from worst (most complaints) at the top to best (fewest complaints) at the bottom. Hover column headers for metric explanations.

The student loan servicing market has a documented history of administrative errors that cost borrowers money. A high complaint rate in this category is a meaningful signal. Read our full methodology →

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

A bad student loan servicer can silently cost you years of progress toward loan forgiveness.

If you have private student loans, refinancing to a top-rated servicer can cut your rate by 2-3%. If you have federal loans on a forgiveness track, do not refinance - but do check your servicer's complaint rate to know what to watch for. The best-rated alternative in this category has a complaint rate 3× lower than the highest-rate institution shown.

BETTER ALTERNATIVESi
#1 LOWEST RATE2.5× lower
WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
0.01complaints per 1,000 customers
1,895 total CFPB complaintsView WELLS
#2 LOWEST RATE
KEYCORP
0.03complaints per 1,000 customers
495 total CFPB complaintsView KEYCORP
View full rankings →
Borrowers at high-complaint servicers are 2x more likely to have wrong PSLF payment counts
The worst-rated servicers take an average of 45 days to resolve a complaint
Refinancing private loans can cut your rate by 2-3% if you have good credit
Income-driven repayment disputes are 60% more common at bottom-ranked servicers

Rate = CFPB complaints ÷ estimated customers × 1,000 · Source: CFPB + FDIC BankFind · Data & pricing

Further reading
Know your rights - what happens when you file a CFPB complaint →