Who Is Contacting Me?

You borrowed money to pay for school. Now all these different companies are contacting you about it, which can be really confusing.

Before just ignoring the phone calls and letters, know that many organizations are involved with federal student loans—and they can help you.

  • The U.S. Department of Education sets the interest rate and administers regulations that protect your best interests.
  • Lenders provide the money for you to attend school.
  • Servicers handle billing and offer customer service on behalf of the lender.
  • Guarantors, like American Student Assistance® (ASA), help you manage the loan and own the loan if it defaults.
  • Collection agencies assist guarantors with collection efforts.

When you leave school and start paying your loans, guarantors or servicers will usually be the ones contacting you.

  • They may send you information on things like repayment options and loan management.
  • If ASA® guarantees your loan, you may receive materials when you change repayment status, such as at the end of a deferment or forbearance.
  • If you start missing payments, your servicer will try to contact you to find out why.
  • If you do not resume making payments promptly, your guarantor will also try to contact you to help you get your loan back on track.

If your loan is severely overdue, it will default. Your guarantor will then take over collection efforts, either alone or in partnership with a collection agency.

Default has serious consequences. By working with your guarantor, you can recover from default.

ASA offers help and guidance to all borrowers with defaulted loans—no matter their situation. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Not Sure Who Your Servicer Is?

Find out how the people calling you are related to your loan—log on to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). NSLDSSM is the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for federal student aid records. It includes up-to-date details about your federal student loans, including your servicer and current loan holder.

It is important to know what you owe—NSLDS makes this easy.