Le Cordon Bleu class action lawsuit: what do students have to do next?

Student loans are one of the problematic issues that have been litigated in U.S. courts in recent years. The universities, colleges and the types of organizations used a variety of ways to cheat the students and force them to take the credits for attendance. These actions caused the students to borrow the money, and after that they could no longer handle the amount of debt. This article aims to address the issues related to one of these fraudulent universities, which is Le Cordon Bleu, and analyze the class action lawsuit against this organization. Let's start with the latest news on this topic.

There are several reasons why so many people are in student loans, such as unemployment and more. Most importantly, students take out the loans to build a better future and pay back the money as they earn it.

These students are victims of fraudulent actions by the universities and are trying to find ways to deal with these issues. The programs like student loan forgiveness, student loan consolidation, pay as you earn intend to help those students.

News on the topic

Am 3. January 2019 class action lawsuit against CEC finally settled. It is better to remind you that this company is the parent company of Le Cordon Bleu According to the class action lawsuit, it was decided that the organization must pay $500 million in student loan forgiveness benefits. These benefits are distributed to those students who were subjected to unethical actions by various universities that used CEC as a lender for student loans.

One of the key takeaways from this class action settlement was about classified students. It is stated that full student loan forgiveness can be obtained from these universities. Students must have taken the loan from the Career Education Corporation. If students have federal or private student loans from lenders other than CEC, then they would not be able to compensate themselves through this lawsuit settlement. What can students who attended the above universities do in this case? There are two main options that those who have quit can take advantage of. In the following sections, we will talk separately about these opportunities and give you instructions on the process.

Two important programs for dealing with Le Cordon Bleu student loan debt

In 2020, there is some good news for students who attended Le Cordon Bleu and have loan debt they would like to eliminate. It is not that hard to do this by following all the required steps. Although you owe the school thousands of dollars, that doesn't necessarily mean you should pay them. As previously mentioned, the class action lawsuit for Le Cordon Bleu University concludes that only students who borrow money from CEC are entitled to full loan forgiveness. For those of you not included in this category, there are two separate options: BDAR and CSLD.

If you're still leery of the case, don't lose hope, because both programs can help you wipe out the debt amount entirely. They are real, and certainly it is not another student loan scam. In this post we will provide the correct information about the details of both programs. Read on for more valuable tips on writing applications for the loan forgiveness program and learn who is eligible and if so, how they can apply for it. If you are one of the former Le Cordon students looking for help, you've come to the right place. Before we get into the details, let's talk briefly about the lawsuit and the illegal actions that Le Cordon Bleu has taken against their students.

Le Cordon Bleu class action lawsuit details

Le Cordon Bleu lawsuit led in February of 2018 when the university agreed to terms to repay 44 percent of the student's tuition that was paid to them over time. Remember, this is not a forgiveness or discharge; it is only the result of the settlement. Although the context is related because the university admitted its fraudulent actions in the past, It paved the way for other former students who had suffered the same things to use this as an argument and apply for loan forgiveness through BDAR.

As the parent organization, CEC approved all claims and also admitted its illegal actions, the case for students became even more favorable. As we talked in the previous paragraphs, there are two available programs for former students of this university. However, they need to be aware of the fact that students cannot go for both programs. That means you have to pick one and apply only to that loan discharge or repayment program. You will see the differences and fully understand both programs; we will discuss them.

What did Le Cordon Bleu accuse them of??

In a class action lawsuit against the university, we can clearly see that there are many aspects that Le Cordon Bleu has done wrong to students. They were accused of:

• Use high-pressure sales tactics
• Falsify job placement data
• Pretending that they have a high graduation rate
• Inflating graduation rates

The list goes on and on, and it's clear that Le Cordon Bleu is a fraudulent organization, but is it enough for the you want to compensate yourself? When you apply for student loan forgiveness, the main criterion is that you should face these criminal acts. Otherwise, even if you attended the university at the time they did these fraudulent things, you would not be classified as a victim. The actions must be against themselves to be eligible. Let's go over the illegal actions of Le Cordon Bleu separately.

In this act, the university misinformed students and convinced them that they would get their dream job and a high salary upon graduation.

Putting pressure on recruiters

Former university employees said Le Cordon Bleu forced them to meet high student recruitment quotas. They also argued that the university would fire them if they did not meet the stated numbers. To keep their jobs, recruiters used students and employed high-pressure sales tactics to get students to sign up with the university.

Inflating graduation rates

Graduation rates are one of the main aspects students look up to when deciding which university to apply to. Le Cordon Bleu falsified this information and spread nonsense like 90 percent of their students graduated with a degree. The percentage in each case was 29 to 30. This was one of the main reasons why many students applied to the university without knowing the actual statistics.

Presenting that the university is very competitive

In reality, Le Cordon Bleu enrolled students who were not qualified at all. However, they spread the information that classified the university as one of the best choices in the country.

If any of these aspects are used against you and you are enrolled because of these fake marketing tactics, take your chance and apply for either BDAR or Closed School Loan Discharge Program.

Discharge student loans through BDAR

Borrower defense against repayment is a program that helps students who attended universities that violated the law, as in the Le Cordon Bleu case. Therefore, students of this university had the opportunity to apply for this program. There are thousands of students who get rid of loan debt after the university lets them go. So they have a great chance of getting a release through BDAR as well. There are several factors that you need to consider. The main factor here is to connect your case with Le Cordon Bleu's student lawsuit and apply for the program by providing all the necessary details of the problem. When done right, BDAR applications are great solutions to these types of problems. In addition to full loan forgiveness, students can also receive a refund in certain cases. How to write your BDAR application?

What do you need to include in your BDAR application?

The most important thing the Department of Education looks at when analyzing applications is the student's decision-making process. You as a student should consider the reasons such as

• Why you visited Le Cordon Bleu, state clearly?
• How did their deceptive marketing tactics influence you in deciding to enroll?

If you cannot prove that you took out the loan only to attend the university and come to this conclusion due to the fraudulent actions of Le Cordon Bleu, unfortunately you will not be approved by DOE in terms of BDAR.

Be specific

You must explicitly point out how their lies have convinced you and provide evidence for your arguments. Evidence can consist of a screenshot of chats, emails between you and the university recruiter, phone calls, bills, etc. Remember that this university was found guilty in many aspects during the settlement of the lawsuit. Therefore, it is another plus for those students who want to cover their debt amount by applying for BDAR. The university admitted to most illegal acts; now it's your turn to prove you were directly affected by those acts.

As mentioned earlier, the results of BDAR application are personal. This means that two students who participated at the same time may not necessarily be eligible for the program. If you have specific details about your case and have documents that you can use as evidence against Le Cordon Bleu, then you must choose BDAR as your primary option for obtaining loan forgiveness.

Where to submit a BDAR application?

The only legitimate place for the student to submit their BDAR application is the official U.S. federal government website on the subject. Instead, you should not file your documents anywhere else. You will see the organizations, lawyers claiming that they are working with the government to solve the problems like these. But never believe these people. Remember that there are thousands of student loan scammers in the U.S., and be careful with them.

How to check if your application has been approved or not?

Just as with the class action, the outcome of the application may take longer than expected. For some lucky students, The process takes several weeks, while on the other hand, There are thousands of students who are desperately waiting for approval like 6 to 12 months. There are many applications in this matter. This is why DOE doesn't have the ability to solve all of them in several months.

You have to wait your turn and hope the results are positive. The time you apply for the program is critical. You need to write your BDAR application as soon as possible, because Betsy DeVos does not give the program a positive rating. So there is another possibility that the program will stop sooner or later. To be on the safe side, try to apply as soon as possible.

CSLD

If you are not on the side of students being cheated by Le Cordon Bleu, don't worry because you have other options to compensate yourself. This option is the closed school loan discharge. In order to be eligible to participate

• Attend the school while it was closed
• School graduation 120 days ago before closure

If either of these conditions are met, you are eligible to apply for this program.

Who may not be eligible?

Students who have transferred their credits to another university while Le Cordon Bleu is closed may not be eligible for CSLD program benefits. The class action lawsuit showed us some insight into the fraudulent actions of the university. But these students aren't the only victims of Le Cordon Bleu. Those students who left the university because of its closure can be a good example of the second segment. Both groups of students need to seek their rights and try to eliminate federal student loan debt. We've explained the BDAR application process, but what about being discharged from closed school?

How to apply for CSLD?

If you are not classified for BDAR for the reasons stated in the class action lawsuit, you can use the closed school dismissal program. The official website of Student Aid has the application form for this program. You can simply download the document and fill it out. The guidelines will be sent after you submit the documents. You need to follow the loan servicer's instructions so officials can approve your application.

Timeline of the class action lawsuit and how the university decided to close its branches

The class action lawsuit was one of the many incidents where officials and students accused the university of fraudulent actions. Students who attended the university from 2006 to March 2010 are the main segment of people to whom this lawsuit can be applied. Although things went differently in this case, it wasn't the first time Le Cordon Bleu faced a lawsuit. In 2011, a similar class action lawsuit was brought against Le Cordon Bleu and its parent organization – CEC.

As a result of this class action lawsuit, the company agreed to pay $40 million for the illegitimate advertising methods they used to attract students to the California Culinary Academy. (Another branch of this university). In 2015, the case got worse when LCB decided to close all cooking schools in the U.S. In 2016, all schools were closed and students stopped owing thousands of loan debt,

Final thoughts

Overall, for those students who can't handle their student loan debt, this is a great opportunity that can help them wipe out the amount. Therefore, if you were a former student of Le Cordon Bleu who has student loan debt, keep an eye on the latest news and follow the updates of this class action lawsuit.