You Can Get A Refund For Student Loan Payments Made During Lockdown!
I’ll tell you what I did
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Yes, you’re reading the title correctly. I read an article from CNBC confirming it! If you made at least one payment during the student loan pause, you can call your loan provider and ask for a refund.
Here’s How It Went For Me
After I read the article, I called my loan company, Great Lakes Borrower Services. I expected to be on the phone for hours, but the wait wasn’t long.
I asked the woman about how the refund worked. You’ll get your money back, which goes back to your debt. At first, I wasn’t going to take it. I was ready to say, “Never mind,” and move on with my life. But the lady explained why it was a good idea.
As long as I’m keeping my refund to my maximum forgiveness, I can still benefit from Biden’s loan forgiveness.
Let’s talk about it. If you had $23,000 in debt but paid $5,000 during the lockdown, you’d have $18,000 left. And since you made payments voluntarily since March 2020, you didn’t have to worry about interest.
If you had Pell Grants in college, asking for a refund would work for you. You could ask your loan company to refund you $2,000. Then, come October, you apply for forgiveness and get $20,000 forgiven.
If you didn’t have Pell Grants in college, asking for a refund would be pointless. You’d be adding more to your principal than what gets canceled.
There is a small catch. You wouldn’t see the money in your bank account right away. If you have Great Lakes Borrower Services, like me, it could take 60–70 days before it shows up in your bank account.
I have no idea how long it’d take other companies. I’m curious if anyone wants to share.
If You Made One Payment Between March 13, 2020, To The End Of The Payment Pause, You Need To Act Before You Apply For Forgiveness
The beauty of finding out about the refund is that you don’t have to worry about it getting in the way of the loan forgiveness. Applications for loan forgiveness aren’t showing up until early October, and the…
