Oct 25, 2013 03:53 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

According to a new report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has helped hundreds of borrowers receive monetary and non-monetary relief for their student loans.

The Huffington Post reported the CFPB helped at least 330 student loan borrowers repay their debt with compensation.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) released a new report stating the CFPB has helped borrowers file and close complaints. Those who received monetary relief were awarded as much as $75,000 (for more expensive private loans) and as little as $700. The consumer advocate agency helped more than 500 borrowers in non-monetary settlements including loan payment restructuring.

The agency recently encouraged borrowers to make their complaints known in case they were having trouble making payments easily and efficiently. CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra said last week "too many borrowers have to run through an obstacle course to get their payments processed properly."

PIRG praised Chopra and the complaint program for its effectiveness and only wished for more exposure to student loan borrowers.

"The CFPB uses the database not only to serve aggrieved consumers on an individual basis, but to spot trends and use that to dictate their guidance and rulemaking, which is completely unprecedented," said Chris Lindstrom, higher education program director for the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, in a statement. "We'd like the bureau to do even more to make the database both a definer of what's right and wrong in private student lending as a whole, and a deterrent against borrower abuse."

Private loans only account for about 15 percent of all student borrowing, but the CFPB estimated four out of five students who took out loans totaling at least $40,000 used private loans. Federal lenders offer various programs to help borrowers pay off their debt, like income-based plans, but private lenders are not required to do the same.

Sallie Mae is the largest student loan provider in the U.S. and is the Education Department's preferred servicer. As such, it received the most complaints through the CFPB.

"We offer customized assistance, including current modifications on more than $1.4 billion in private education loans," said Sallie Mae spokeswoman Patricia Nash Christel. "We're committed to working with our regulators to continually improve our customers' experience."

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