Change Request - Student Loan Form

Justification for Non-material/Nonsubstantive Change to Currently Approved Collection
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Information Collection Request
Consumer Response Intake Form
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) submits this memorandum to provide justification for
changes to the form associated with information collection 3170-0011 Consumer Response Intake Form
(Intake Form), approved by OMB on November 18, 2011.1 These revisions are reflected on previouslyapproved information collection media (i.e., telephone script, “paper” form, and web form) and do not
represent a new collection instrument. For ease of discussion, all references will be to the provided
screenshots of the web version of the form.
In revising the student loan form, hundreds of previously-submitted student loan complaints were
reviewed. The proposed changes to the Intake Form for student loan complaints include plain language
improvements and re-worded questions for clarity.
More specifically, the following changes will be made to the Intake Form:
1. Rewording Subject Matter Primarily at Issue. As with all product-specific versions of the Intake
Form, the student loan complaint form includes certain options that identify consumers’
primary concerns. In reviewing several hundred consumer complaints, it became clear that
some consumers had difficulty distinguishing between the two options: “Repaying your loan”
and “Problems when you are unable to pay.” For clarification, consumers with concerns related
to student loan repayment will be prompted to select the plain language option “Dealing with
my lender or servicer.” The issue “Problems when you are unable to pay” will be shortened to
“Can’t repay my loan.” These minor changes will be flanked by the appropriate revisions to
helper text. 2
2. Sub-Issues for Clarification. In order to bring structure to concerns raised by consumers, as
they relate to the primary issues (described above), a series of sub-issues will follow the primary
issues. In reviewing the hundreds of complaints submitted, certain patterns and similarities in
consumer concerns were identified. By taking these identified concerns and making them subissues, the revised form relieves the consumer of the burden of providing an unstructured,
manually entered report of such concerns. These sub-issues will appear in drop down menus
associated with the primary issues. 3

1

Originally approved as a Department of Treasury/Department Offices form, the approved information collection
was transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on November 21, 2011. ICR Reference Number
201111-3170-004.
2
See Attachment A, page 1.
3
See Attachment A, pages 2-4.
1

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File a student loan complaint
We'll forward your issue to the company, give you a tracking number, and keep you updated on the
status of your complaint.

1. W ha t
ha p p e ne d ?

2. Desired
resolution

3. My
information

4. Product
information

5. Review

Form trouble?
C hat now.

My loan is *
Federal loan (Stafford, Direct, consolidation, PLUS, Perkins)
N on-federal loan (Private, alternative, other student loan)
I am not sure
Describe what happened so we can understand the issue. Include the name and location of your
school. *

4000 characters remaining
Which of these best describes your issue? *

Getting a loan
Denial, confusing advertising or marketing, sales tactics or pressure, financial aid services,
recruiting, fraudulent loan
Can’t repay my loan
Deferment, forbearance, default, bankruptcy, payment plan, refinancing
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Making payments, getting information about my loan, managing my account  

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Log In

File a student loan complaint
We'll forward your issue to the company, give you a tracking number, and keep you updated on the
status of your complaint.

1. W ha t
ha p p e ne d ?

2. Desired
resolution

3. My
information

4. Product
information

5. Review

Form trouble?
C hat now.

My loan is *
Federal loan (Stafford, Direct, consolidation, PLUS, Perkins)
N on-federal loan (Private, alternative, other student loan)
I am not sure
Describe what happened so we can understand the issue. Include the name and location of your
school. *

4000 characters remaining
Which of these best describes your issue? *

Getting a loan
Denial, confusing advertising or marketing, sales tactics or pressure, financial aid services,
recruiting, fraudulent loan
Can’t qualify for a loan
Qualify for a better loan than the one offered
Can’t repay my loan
Deferment, forbearance, default, bankruptcy, payment plan, refinancing
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Making payments, getting information about my loan, managing my account  

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O MB #3170-0011

Log In

File a student loan complaint
We'll forward your issue to the company, give you a tracking number, and keep you updated on the
status of your complaint.

1. W ha t
ha p p e ne d ?

2. Desired
resolution

3. My
information

4. Product
information

5. Review

Form trouble?
C hat now.

My loan is *
Federal loan (Stafford, Direct, consolidation, PLUS, Perkins)
N on-federal loan (Private, alternative, other student loan)
I am not sure
Describe what happened so we can understand the issue. Include the name and location of your
school. *

4000 characters remaining
Which of these best describes your issue? *

Getting a loan
Denial, confusing advertising or marketing, sales tactics or pressure, financial aid services,
recruiting, fraudulent loan
Can’t repay my loan
Deferment, forbearance, default, bankruptcy, payment plan, refinancing
Can’t decrease my monthly payments
Can’t temporarily postpone making payments
Can’t get other flexible options for repaying my loan
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Making payments, getting information about my loan, managing my account  

Privacy act statement

Continue

O MB #3170-0011

Log In

File a student loan complaint
We'll forward your issue to the company, give you a tracking number, and keep you updated on the
status of your complaint.

1. W ha t
ha p p e ne d ?

2. Desired
resolution

3. My
information

4. Product
information

5. Review

Form trouble?
C hat now.

My loan is *
Federal loan (Stafford, Direct, consolidation, PLUS, Perkins)
N on-federal loan (Private, alternative, other student loan)
I am not sure
Describe what happened so we can understand the issue. Include the name and location of your
school. *

4000 characters remaining
Which of these best describes your issue? *

Getting a loan
Denial, confusing advertising or marketing, sales tactics or pressure, financial aid services,
recruiting, fraudulent loan
Can’t repay my loan
Deferment, forbearance, default, bankruptcy, payment plan, refinancing
Dealing with my lender or servicer
Making payments, getting information about my loan, managing my account  
Trouble with how payments are being handled
Don’t agree with the fees charged
Received bad information about my loan
Need information about my loan balance or loan terms
Keep getting calls about my loan
Having problems with customer service

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