There should be a rant warning attached to this article, but I am going to try and provide some tips, so it’s a rant with tips. Odd, but utter frustration with the student loan servicers is the place where many of us are today. I know I am frustrated with the level of “service” many students are getting. 
An audit reportby the Department of Education Inspector General was released back in February, and it was a doozy. Between 2015 and 2017 Federal Student Aid, which provides oversight for servicers, found that there were many instances where the servicers failed to meet requirements with respect to borrowers, follow the federal rules, and actually harmed borrower’s rights.
But my rant isn’t only with the government oversight failures. The servicers are contracted to “SERVE” borrowers. Taking payments, updating the accounts, making arrangements to change plans or prevent default, etc. For weeks there have been reports within our listserv of borrowers waiting on the phone 90 minutes or more to get to a human. Or a fax number that isn’t working. In some cases there was no response from the loan servicer to any communication by a borrower (or lawyer) at all, be it email or fax. I haven’t tried a carrier pigeon dipped in the blood of a virgin, but not sure who to address it to.
And while systemic problems with the system aren’t limited to only one servicer, NelNet has recently come under fire, again, for their servicing problems. A year ago Nelnet acquired another servicer, Great Lakes Educational Loan Servicers, and made themselves the largest of all the student loan guys. And they are currently in six lawsuits for their shenanigans… well done, guys. Don’t get me started on FedLoan either- they also left the “service” out of “servicer.”
So what can a borrower do? Know their rights. Keep trying to contact the servicer, and if they don’t respond, get help. Document everything. And know what your servicer cannot do. If you are getting the run around, or the servicer is doing any of the behaviors listed below, you can, and should, always file a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
1. They cannot threaten you with late fees.
2. They cannot just “steer” you into forbearance, there may be an affordable payment option available, they need to let you know about those.
3. They cannot allocate your payments in a way that hurts you.
3. They cannot “thwart” your extra payments to reduce the loan or pay off early. It is in the servicers best interest to keep you in your loan as long as possible. If you are making extra payments, DO NOT let the servicer put you into a payment holiday, skipping payments ahead. Make them put your payment on principal. And keep records!
For more things loan servicers cannot do to you, read “9 Things Your Student Loan Servicer Isn’t Supposed to Do”. Here is the most current link to servicers with contact info. And here is the link to the complete list of phone numbers for the Department of Education departments that “handle issues” related to federal student aid”