CFPB to distribute more than $3.5 million to consumers who were charged illegal fees to reduce or eliminate their federal student loans

More than 7,100 people will receive checks in the mail this month who were charged unauthorised advance fees by Timemark, Inc. to renegotiate, settle, lower, or modify the conditions of their federal student loans.

On July 6, 2023, payments will be sent via Epiq Systems. If you haven't received a cheque but think you qualify for assistance, you can file a claim by going to https://www.CFPB-Timemark.org. Call 1 (866) 991-0913 or send an email to info@cfpb-timemark.org if you have inquiries regarding refunds.

The CFPB reached a settlement with Timemark, Inc. in July 2020 over telemarketing sales rule violations. In order to persuade borrowers of federal student loans to spend up to $699 in filing costs in order to lower or eliminate their monthly payments through loan consolidation, forgiveness, or income-driven repayment programmes, the company ran telemarketing efforts from 2016 until October 2019. However, the U.S. Department of Education provides these choices at no cost to borrowers of student loans. Timemark, Inc. used YouTube videos, Google Ads, two websites, timemarksolutions.com and loan-counselors.com, to promote its student loan debt relief services. Customers might contact the phone number listed on any of these marketing platforms to subscribe to Timemark Inc.'s services.