ATLANTA — The Department of Education says it plans to start collecting on defaulted student loans starting May 5.
The loans were temporarily paused during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but approximately 5,000,000 Americans haven’t made payments on them since then.
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Channel 2 Consumer Adviser Clark Howard says President Donald Trump’s administration isn’t playing around, so it’s time to take action so you don’t end up with garnished wages.
Howard says if you haven’t been paying, they’re either going to start drafting from your account or turn you over to student loan collectors and debt collectors.
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He says that if you can come forward and start making payments, it’s in your best interest. Otherwise, you might realize a bunch of money has come out of your bank account all at once.
The Department of Education says about 42 million borrowers owe more than $1.6 trillion.
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