KNOW WHAT SERVICERS CAN (AND CAN’T) HELP YOU WITH Your servicer should be able to answer almost any question or concern you may have about your student loans, Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, said by email. Common call topics include:
• Switching repayment plans.
• Forbearance or deferment.
• Setting up autopay.
• Lowering payments with income-driven repayment, like the new SAVE plan.
• Where to send payments.
• Incorrect or late billing statements.
• Locating student loan-related tax forms.
• Enrolling in Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
However, servicers can’t help with everything. They don’t own your loans, or decide the terms — they only manage the repayment process. “We can help you access benefits and programs, but we can’t change them,” Buchanan said. “For example, we cannot change your interest rate, change the number of payments needed to access forgiveness programs or negotiate the loan balance amount. Those are all the terms and conditions that Congress and the government set.” DO RESEARCH AND PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS Before calling your servicer, it’s important to do your homework. You don’t need to be a student loan expert, but you should have a basic idea of the repayment plans, relief options and forgiveness programs that may be available to you. Trusted resources include StudentAid.gov, the Education Department’s loan simulator and the NCLC’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance project. Doing this research will help you ask informed questions and allow you to cross-check your servicer during the call. “I want the borrower to understand that no one knows their student loans story better than them,” says Taylor. “If you have a feeling that something is off, if you think that you’re applying for SAVE and a monthly payment you thought you were going to get is not the one that appears on your bill, chances are you’re probably right.”
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