Democratic senators raise alarm over credit reporting errors from student loan servicers

Skip to content

A group of Democratic lawmakers are pressing the three largest U.S. credit bureaus over allegations that the agencies have let incorrect reports from federal student loan servicers go unchecked.

In a letter shared exclusively with The Hill ahead of its release on Wednesday morning, Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns that Experian, TransUnion and Equifax have failed to catch credit reporting mistakes and that the Trump administration’s actions have complicated their ability to resolve these errors.

Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) also signed the letter.

“Credit reporting companies’ histories of failing to correct this faulty credit reporting data provided by servicers, along with the Trump administration’s dismantling of servicer oversight, make it concerningly plausible that these errors may be occurring at a large scale,” Warren wrote.

The lawmakers alleged that credit reporting companies are “taking advantage of this lack of oversight” from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Trump administration has taken steps to downsize the independent watchdog agency, ordering a 90 percent reduction in staffing last year.

“Without a functioning CFPB committed to holding them accountable, two of the three major credit reporting companies have been resolving drastically fewer complaints in the consumer’s favor in 2025, compared to about 20% in 2024,” Warren wrote, citing the results of a 2024 Senate investigation. “As a result, many borrowers have much less recourse even if they do identify an error on their credit report.”

The letter requests that the three companies respond by June 30 to questions about their process for verifying data from student loan servicers and their confidence in the Department of Education’s ability to monitor the issue.

A new analysis from Protect Borrowers, a nonprofit advocacy group, found that student loan servicers have cost borrowers “billions of dollars in unnecessary interest charges” and misled them about options for debt relief.

Even before the Trump administration’s cuts to Federal Student Aid, Protect Borrowers Senior Policy Advisor Chris Hicks said that “most servicers did not meet the performance standards for accuracy.”

“Student loan servicers are failing, and borrowers are paying the price,” Hicks wrote in the analysis. “Today, millions of student loan borrowers are struggling amidst the worsening affordability crisis, as the rising costs of groceries, utilities, and healthcare continue to bury families in debt.”

Hicks also cited the upcoming July 1 deadline for over 7 million borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan to switch to a new repayment plan, after the Trump administration eliminated the Biden-era program.

A spokesperson for Merkley’s office told The Hill on Tuesday evening that the letter builds on the senator’s efforts “to enshrine the SAVE Plan in law and ensure borrowers have strong consumer protections.”

TransUnion responded to the letter in a statement shared with The Hill saying, “We appreciate the opportunity to engage with policymakers regarding how TransUnion supports consumers. We look forward to responding.”

The Hill has reached out to Experian and Equifax for comment.

Tags

Chris Van Hollen

Elizabeth Warren

Jeff Merkley

Joe Biden

Mazie Hirono

Richard Blumenthal

Ron Wyden

Tammy Duckworth

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.