UPDATED | TICAS Statement: Amazon Ends Marketing Agreement with Wells Fargo
Statement of Pauline Abernathy, executive vice president, TICAS:
“We congratulate Amazon for deciding to stop promoting Wells Fargo’s costly private education loans. Private loans are one of the riskiest ways to pay for college, with none of the flexible repayment options and consumer protections that come with federal student loans. And Wells Fargo’s rates are among the highest at more than triple the undergraduate federal student loan interest rate of 3.76%. Undergraduate students under age 24 can borrow up to $31,000 in federal student loans, regardless of their income, and more if they’re older. Students should consider other schools if a school requires them to take out a private loan.”
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For more information on the differences between federal student loans and private loans see:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Q&A
U.S. Department of Education Side-by-Side
See our previous statement on the July 21, 2016 announcement from Wells Fargo and Amazon that they’re teaming up to promote costly private loans to college students.
TICAS Statement on Wells Fargo/Amazon Deal to Dupe Students into Taking Private Loans
“This is the kind of misleading private loan marketing that was rampant before the financial crisis. It is a cynical attempt to dupe current students who are eligible for federal students loans with a record low 3.76% fixed interest rate into taking out costly private loans with interest rates currently as high as 13.74%. Amazon and Wells Fargo are trumpeting a 0.5% discount while burying the sky-high rates on these private loans and without noting that they lack the consumer protections and flexible repayment options that come with federal student loans. Also buried in the fine print is a note saying, ‘Wells Fargo reserves the right to modify or discontinue interest rate discount program(s) for future loans or to discontinue loan programs at any time without notice.’ Private loans are one of the riskiest ways to finance a college education. Like credit cards, they have the highest rates for those who can least afford them, but they are much more difficult to discharge in bankruptcy than credit cards and other consumer debts.”
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Read the Washington Post article featuring Pauline Abernathy and our statement
