FTC Finalizes Consent Order Against Online Student Loan Refinancer

On February 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that, after a public comment period, it approved a final consent order that had been negotiated in October of 2018 with an online student loan refinancer.

The FTC had charged the company with misrepresenting how much student loan borrowers could save if they refinanced their loans through the company’s television, print, and internet advertisements in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act)​, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a).  The FTC alleged that the company inflated the amount that could be saved through refinancing, sometimes by double.

Under the final consent order, the company is prevented from making claims about the amount that can be saved by refinancing unless reliable evidence supports the claims.  The company must also submit compliance reports for 10 years after the issuance of the order.​