New Report Lifts Voices of Borrowers Trapped in Poverty by Draconian Student Loan Collection Tactic

This press release originally appeared on www.nclc.org

By: National Consumer Law Center | March 15, 2018 | Contacts: Persis Yu (pyu@nclc.org) or Jan Kruse (jkruse@nclc.org)

Boston – Today, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) released a report, Voices of Despair: Student Borrowers Kept in Poverty When Government Seizes Their Earned Income Tax Credit. The report compiles stories from borrowers recounting the hardship caused by the federal government’s seizure of their Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) because of a defaulted student loan.

In January 2018, NCLC asked student loan borrowers who had their EITC seized to share their stories and to tell us what they had planned to do with their tax credit. Many borrowers described the things their growing children would have to do without—clothing for the next season, a bed to sleep in, medical care, a roof over their heads, and in some cases, food in their bellies.

“The loss to these families is heartbreaking,” said Persis Yu, National Consumer Law Center attorney, director of NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, and author of the report. “The Earned Income Tax Credit keeps parents working and children out of poverty. Robbing families of these funds is counterproductive and makes absolutely no sense.”

Read the full post here.

Read the full report here.