NJ Ranks 9th in Student Loan Complaints [AUDIO]

The federal student loan giant, Sallie Mae, and the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority were one and two in the state for the most number of complaints about student loans.

The New Jersey Public Interest Research Group crunched the numbers, based on complaints about how lenders treated borrowers to the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Sallie Mae generated 81 complaints in New Jersey and 46 percent of the complaints nationally.

NJPIRG's Jen Coleman says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be a big help for borrowers, "because it is able to level the playing field, so that they don't have to feel like they are at the mercy of their student lenders."

Coleman says 65 percent of the complaints had to do with loan repayment. Issues with fees, billing, deferment, forbearance, fraud and credit reporting accounted for most of the complaints.

New Jersey ranked 9th nationally in how likely borrowers in the state were to complain about their student loans.

Student loan problems and student loan debt remain a big issue. The collective national debt from unpaid and delinquent student loans across the country is now estimated to be well over a trillion dollars and growing.

Check out the full report.