Transferred federal and private student loans to new loan servicers. Learn why your loan was transferred, and how you can find a new servicer.
The most important step in your financial journey is managing student loans. Unknown loan servicers could cause misplaced payments and missing information.
To ease the burden of paying student loans, the federal government has agreements with loan servicers. These companies take care of the extra labor required for student loans.
Private student loans are typically serviced by the same lender and loan agent, so it may be easier to find out who is servicing your loan. We will share all the information you need to find out who your loan servicer and why they may have changed, regardless of whether your loan is federally or privately.
How can I find out the name of my student loan servicer?
Before you can determine your student loans servicer you need to know if you have a federal or private loan. How do you know which loan you have?
Many borrowers have private and federal loans. To see all student loans, we recommend checking your credit report . The Department of Education will be listed on your federal loans.
Private student loans will show that your account is with a bank or credit union.
Federal loans
The U.S. government is your lender for federal loans. After your loan amount has been disbursed, the Department of Education will assign you a loan servicing company. If you have submitted a FAFSA or created a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA), this applies.
These steps will make it easy to find your federal loan servicer.
- Log in to FSA using your ID and password.
- Visit your account dashboard.
- Scroll down until the My loan servicers section appears.
- You will see the contact information for your loan servicer.
The Federal Student Aid Information Center can be reached by telephone at 1-800-433-3243.
Private loans
Private loans are easy to obtain. Private lenders typically service loans. Your lender and loan servicer will likely be the same. Log in to your loan account via your private lender.
Sometimes, private lenders are bought out of business or dissolutions, and your loan is transferred to another lender. Both lenders will send you notices.
If you do not receive the notification, follow these steps to locate your new private lender through your credit report.
- Visit AnnualCreditReport.com for a free copy of your credit reports.
- Click on “Request your credit reports free of charge.”
- Fill in the information and answer the questions.
- You can choose which credit reports are most important to you.
- Find your loan on your credit report. Use the credit information to contact your loan servicer.
This can take some time. You might not see the updated information immediately because creditors provide monthly credit reports updates.
To ensure that you are familiar with the new servicer, it is a good idea to go through your mail and look for notifications. For any unexpected circumstances, make sure to check your spam folder.
Why are federal student loans serviced by different servicers than other types?
The federal government does not issue student loans. Instead, it delegated several of its responsibilities to private loan servicing firms.
- Payment processing
- Answer questions and solve borrower problems
- Offer customized payment options
- Keep your loan records current
- Track loans
This is a huge task for millions of students. Therefore, the government contracts with multiple loan servicers to handle student loans. Some loan servicers only deal with certain federal loan programs.
American Education Services does not handle FFEL program debts.
These federal loan servicers may be your :
- FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA).
- MOHELA
- Aidvantage
- Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc.
- Edfinancial
- Nelnet
- OSLA Servicing
- ECSI
- Default Resolution Group (for defaulted federal loans)
If you choose to consolidate loans, your loan servicer will not be chosen. However, they are different.
There are some notable differences among service providers:
- Customer service experience
- Website layout
- Options for payment plans
You might either love or hate the new servicer when your loan is transferred. You may be able to transfer your loan with the servicer that disappoints you.
What can I do to change the federal loan servicer?
Many changes occur when your federal loan is transferred to a new servicer.
Among the reasons that borrowers want to change servicers are:
- Poor customer service experience
- There are no preferred payment options
- Recurring issues
When your loan is transferred, you don’t have any say in the new servicer.
You can choose your loan provider by consolidating federal loans. Note – This is the only way to choose your federal loan provider.
A private lender may also be able to refinance your student loans or consolidate them. It is important to weigh the potential benefits of switching from a federal loan to a private one.
What is the best way to change private loan servicers
You can apply for a loan refinance through another private lender by changing private lenders. This involves obtaining a loan refinance through another private lender.
Let’s say you want to refinance private loans and find a new servicer. You should expect terms to change in this case.
- Rate of interest will vary depending on credit score and financial standing
- The length of the term
- Different repayment options (deferment and forbearance, income-based plans, etc.)
- Options for repayment (monthly or biweekly),
- Monthly payment amount
You can no longer keep the same terms if you are approved for a new loan. The terms of your loan will be determined by the credit standards of the new lender.
You could receive a lower interest rate or a smaller monthly payment if your credit score has improved since you applied for the student loans.
You could be subject to higher rates if your credit score has dropped.
Learn more about how you can change loan servicers.
Why did my federal loan servicer make a change when I didn’t ask?
You might be transferred if you did not request a loan servicer modification.
- The contract between your loan servicer and the federal government ended.
- Your private lender was forced to close.
- Your private lender was bought by another company.
- You were accepted into a program, such as Public Service loan forgiveness or TEACH Grant.
Although uncertainty may arise from a new servicer, you will still be able to rest assured that your terms will not change.
These are the things that will not change:
- Loan balance
- Interest rate
- Date of Maturity
- Payment amount
There is no need to sign a promissory note again or go through a credit check. Everything is transferred to the new company.