Gov't regulator: Troops still haggling with loan companies over student debt, despite law

A government regulator says military personnel are still being hassled over their student loans despite the federal laws and programs put in place to protect them.

In a report released Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it has received more than 1,300 complaints from military borrowers since 2012. Most of the problems stem from military personnel trying to defer loan payments or cap their interest rates while on active duty or after being disabled, as is allowed under the law. But the bureau says many military personnel are getting denied or ignored by companies that handle their loans.

Officials say they worry problems facing military families signal a broader problem in the $1.2 trillion student debt market in which loan servicers are putting unnecessary burdens on Americans.