As of July 2026, Americans with federal student loan debt will only have two options to pay it off: A standard repayment plan or the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
“RAP represents a meaningful step forward in simplifying the complex landscape of income-driven repayment plans,” said Ken Ruggiero, CEO of Ascent Funding.
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Even so, confusion surrounding student loans remains. With interest accruing, once again, on federal loans, TikTokers have started to dole out advice that, on the surface, may sound good, but has little basis in reality.
Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, helped us separate fact from fiction when it comes to student loan forgiveness.
Miscalculated Payments
The first myth is sending a letter to your loan servicer saying they miscalculated payments. If they can’t prove they didn’t, you don’t have to pay.
Why it’s wrong: Before taking any advice you see on TikTok, Buchanan urged student loan borrowers to read their loan contracts. He said, “Their loan contracts are clear that payment is obligated.”
If you feel your payments were misapplied or there were errors, you can, and should, contact the loan servicer to have it corrected.
“It happens,” Buchanan said. “There definitely have been issues, especially when people moved from standard repayment to an income-based repayment plan.”
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However, he noted that most of these errors were fixed “within a month or two, proactively, without borrowers having to reach out.”
If you feel there’s an error, you’ll want to address it promptly. But don’t expect your student loans to vanish overnight.
“Payment misapplication under the loan contract is not a trigger for any release of obligation to make payments,” Buchanan said. “There’s there’s no basis for that.”
Requesting an Account Ledger
The second myth TikTokers are suggesting is requesting an account ledger. If the loan servicer doesn’t provide it, you don’t have to pay.
Why it’s wrong: Buchanan explained that borrowers can easily download their loan transaction history online.
“It’s the same as logging into your credit card account online to see all the charges, interest and credits applied,” he said.
When TikTokers refer to requesting an account ledger, Buchanan explained, he believes they are looking for a list of day-to-day interest accrual calculations.
“We can generate those, but I’m not sure why it’s helpful above and beyond the payment history you can see online,” he said. “The intent here is to ask [loan servicers] for something that is really complicated and is not standard practice to provide.”
Ultimately, whether or not you receive the requested ledger, you still have to pay your student loans.
Filing Disputes With Credit Bureaus
Last but not least, some TikTok videos are urging viewers to file a dispute with the credit bureaus.
Why it’s wrong: Buchanan emphasized that if your student loans have been reported delinquent and you’ve been making on-time payments, you should definitely file a complaint to have the error corrected. But filing a complaint won’t make your debt disappear entirely.
“People are being encouraged to file a complaint, because if we get huge volumes of complaints, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if we don’t respond to and resolve that complaint within 30 days, that trade line is temporarily removed from the borrower’s credit file,” Buchanan explained.
“The loan still exists,” he added. “And your obligation to make payments on that loan still exists.”
As soon as the servicer investigates and resolves the complaint, that loan returns to your credit file. And if you haven’t been making payments, it will be reported as a delinquency.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: TikTok Loan Myths That Could Cost You
