Firstmark Student Loan Servicer Review: What You Should Know

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For many college students, Firstmark Services will be their partner in the quest to be debt-free. Federal loans don’t always cover the entire cost of a college education.

As a result, many students take out private student loans to cover the difference. Instead of collecting student loan payments themselves, many private lenders hire third-party loan servicers to do that task — Firstmark is one of them.

If you have federal student loans, you may already be familiar with Firstmark’s parent company, Nelnet, which services the student loans of more than 5 million borrowers.

But there’s a key difference — unlike Nelnet, Firstmark only handles private student loans.

Many private lenders prefer to focus on lending money rather than handling payments and providing customer service, so they partner with servicers like Firstmark who handle all of the customer interactions.

If your lender uses Firstmark to collect your payments, here’s what you need to know.

How Firstmark can help student loan borrowers

One of the first things you should understand is that Firstmark is not a lender, and it is not the issuer of your student loan.

Your lender determines the terms of your loan — your interest rate, repayment plan, and repayment term.

On the other hand, Firstmark is your partner in ensuring they:

• Help you repay your debt in a timely manner
• Collect your payments
• Be your first line of aid if any questions or problems arise

If you are not sure whether Firstmark is your private student loan servicer, you can check a recent student loan statement or contact your lender and ask them. You can also check your credit report to see who services your student loan.

Once you are certain that Firstmark is your student loan servicer, you should contact them if you have any questions about paying back your student loans.

Consider Firstmark to be the intermediary that connects you to your student loan lender and helps you to pay the debt off as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Setting up your account with Firstmark

Firstmark takes a customer-centric approach, giving customers multiple ways to reach them. You can get in touch with a member of customer service via telephone, email or written correspondence.

You can log into your online account to make payments to Firstmark Services. You can also mail payments to Firstmark Services, P.O. Box 2977, Omaha, NE 68103-2977. If you want to reach Firstmark by phone, you can do so by calling 888-538-7378.

How to pay off your student loans faster

The more you know about the repayment process, the more strategic you can be about paying off your loans.

Like most people, you probably want to pay your student loans off as fast as possible, and you want to pay as little interest as possible.

Here are some tips to help you do that:

• Pare down your budget: When you set up your daily spending budget, cut some expenses, such as cable or your daily coffee fix, to come up with extra money to go toward your student loans.
• Brainstorm new streams of income: Explore other creative ways to raise cash that can go toward your student loan debt. For example, driving for Uber, doing freelance work or selling items on eBay could provide enough money to make a dent in your balance.
• Pay more than your minimum: Even if you can only put an additional $25 toward your student loan debt each month, it can make a difference over time.
• Put windfalls to work: Instead of using that bonus or inheritance for a last-minute vacation, let it help you wipe away those student loans.
• Focus on high-interest loans first: If you have extra money to put toward your student loans and you have multiple private loans with different interest rates, begin by paying off the loans with the highest interest rates first. Keep in mind that when you make a payment, that payment is typically divided between all your loans. But if you pay more than the minimum due, the extra payment amount will go toward the loan with the highest interest rate, a strategy that will save you money over time.
• Avoid the temptation of partial payments: You may think that a partial payment is better than no payment, but partial payments can come back to haunt you. If you make a partial payment, the partial payment will first be applied to the loan with the lowest current amount due. If your account is delinquent, partial payments will first go toward the most delinquent loan and then toward the loan with the lowest monthly payment amount due. However, you could end up having to pay late fees and accruing more interest, which costs you even more money.

What happens if you can’t make your student loan payment?

It’s very important that you make your monthly student loan payments on time. Not only can late payments cost you money in late fees, but late payments can negatively impact your credit score. The lower your score, the more difficult it will be for you to be approved for a car loan or a mortgage in the future.

Even if you do get approved for a loan, a low credit score could lead to a higher interest rate, meaning you would pay more for the loan.

One way to avoid making late payments is to sign up for Auto Debit. Firstmark will allow you to have your payments automatically withdrawn from your checking account so you don’t have to even think about it.

Some people make late payments because the due date falls right before payday. If you run into this situation, you can call Firstmark Services and request a change to your due date as long as your account is current.

Life has its ups and downs, and there may be times when you face challenges paying off your private student loans. The worst thing you can do in this situation is to put your head in the sand. You want to work with your loan servicer to see if there may be a solution that can make both parties happy.

If you are in danger of making late payments because you don’t have the money, contact Firstmark immediately and let them know your situation. They will let you know if your lender offers an option that will help.

What co-signers should know about Firstmark

When determining whether to approve you for a private student loan, lenders consider your credit history. Unfortunately, many students entering college have a thin credit file, meaning they have a limited credit history.

In these cases, adding a co-signer — someone who has a solid credit history — to the loan can help the primary borrower qualify for better rates.

Essentially, the co-signer promises to pay back the loan if the student is unable to pay it.

Having a co-signer can also help you get a lower interest rate on a student loan. Often a parent or a relative will act as a co-signer for a college student on a private student loan. If you have a co-signer, Firstmark allows the co-signer to also set up an account so that they can have access to all information about the loans they co-sign..

But remember, there are some downsides to being a co-signer. If a borrower fails to pay back the student loan, not only will the co-signer be obligated to pay, but their credit score will take a hit as well.

On the flip side, if the co-signer files for bankruptcy, that could impact the borrower. A Firstmark customer service representative can answer any questions you have about your co-signer agreement.

Some lenders allow co-signers to be released from a loan if certain conditions are met. For example, the borrower might have to make a certain number of consecutive loan payments or prove that he or she now has the income and creditworthiness to qualify for the loan. You can contact Firstmark to find out if your lender allows co-signers to be released.

Customer reviews of Firstmark services

One of the best ways to find out what it’s like to work with a company is to see what other customers have to say. If you know someone else who has worked with Firstmark, ask them about the company’s customer service.

You can also learn more by checking social media to see what others have said about Firstmark in the past.

The Better Business Bureau, which collects complaints about companies, gives Firstmark Services a B+ rating. There have been 61 complaints filed against Firstmark, and the website has 32 customer reviews, which can shed light on some of the concerns that other Firstmark customers have had.

Paying off private student loans can be a challenge, but with persistence and a strategic plan, it can be done. Consider Firstmark Services a partner in your quest to pay off your private student loans, as you take steps toward a stronger financial future.

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