§ 5-20-109 — Prohibited acts of student loan servicers

(1) A student loan
servicer shall not:

(a) Directly or indirectly employ a scheme, a device, or artifice to defraud or
mislead student loan borrowers;

(b) Engage in an unfair or deceptive practice toward any person or
misrepresent or omit any material information in connection with the servicing of a
student education loan, including misrepresenting the amount, nature, or terms of
any fee or payment due or claimed to be due on a student education loan, the terms
and conditions of the loan agreement, or the student loan borrower's obligations
under the loan;

(c) Obtain property by fraud or misrepresentation;

(d) Misapply student education loan payments to the outstanding balance of
a student education loan;

(e) Provide inaccurate information to a consumer reporting agency;

(f) Fail to report both the favorable and unfavorable payment history of a
student loan borrower to a consumer reporting agency at least annually if the
student loan servicer regularly reports information to a consumer reporting agency;

(g) Refuse to communicate with an authorized representative of a student
loan borrower who provides a written authorization signed by the student loan
borrower; except that the student loan servicer may adopt procedures reasonably
related to verifying that the representative is in fact authorized to act on behalf of
the student loan borrower;

(h) Make any false statement or omit any material fact in connection with
information or reports filed with a governmental agency or in connection with an
investigation conducted by the administrator or another governmental agency; or

(i) Except as otherwise provided in federal law, federal student loan
agreements, or a contract between the federal government and a student loan
servicer, fail to properly evaluate a student loan borrower for an income-based or
other student loan repayment program or for eligibility for a public service loan
forgiveness program before placing the student loan borrower in forbearance or
default, if an income-based repayment or other program is available to the student
loan borrower.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2019: Entire article added, (SB 19-002), ch. 157, p. 1867, � 2, effective August 2.