If you have ACS student loans, your servicer is now Conduent. Conduent acquired ACS Education Services in 2017, an acquisition that’s caused some confusion among borrowers whose student loans were serviced by ACS.
If you have federal or private student loans serviced by Conduent, here’s everything you need to know about paying off your student loans.
What is Conduent Education Services?
Conduent Education Services was formed in January 2017 after Conduent, a business process services company that was formerly a part of Xerox, acquired ACS Education Services.
If you had student loans serviced by ACS when the company was acquired by Conduent, then Conduent Education Services is now your student loan servicer, which means they’re responsible for handling billing, repayment, and helping you with any other services you might need regarding your private and federal student loans.
In addition to managing and collecting payments from borrowers, Conduent performs a number of other essential duties including:
It is important to note that Conduent does not originate student loans, but instead acquires them from lenders.
Pros of Conduent student loans
Cons of Conduent student loans
Making Conduent student loan payments
If your student loans are serviced by Conduent, you can choose from a number of payment methods to make your monthly student loan payments, including:
- Check by mail: Address varies depending on which type of student loan you have
- Direct debit/ACH: Called “Checkmate II” by the company, these are recurring payments automatically withdrawn from your checking or savings account each month
- Phone: One-time payments made through Conduent’s automated phone system
- Online: One-time payments made through your online account, called “ExpressPay” by the company
- Bill pay: Payments made by a third-party bill pay service
What to do if you’re having trouble making student loan payments
If you’re having difficulty making your student loan payments, you have a number of options at your disposal.
1. Change the due date
Though Conduent’s website doesn’t list out specific details about how borrowers can change their payment due dates, if you’d like to request a change of due date you can do so by contacting a Conduent student loan representative.
According to a Conduent representative, if you have federal student loans serviced by Conduent, you may choose from one of three payment dates that they offer: One at the beginning, middle, or end of the month. If you have private student loans or campus-based loans serviced by Conduent, whether or not you can change your payment date will depend on the policy of your specific lender or university. The only way to know for certain will be to call and ask about your options.
It may seem like a small thing, but changing your payment due date can make paying back your loans a lot easier. By choosing a date that is further away from other monthly bills, or that coincides with a time that you know you’ll have money (think: payday), you may be able to ease your monthly cash flow problems.
2. Find a new repayment plan
If you need to reduce your monthly student loan payments, your options will depend on what type of student loan you have.
Repayment plans for campus-based student loans serviced by Conduent (including Federal Perkins Loans) are dependent on the policies offered by your university.
Repayment plans for private student loans serviced by Conduent are dependent on the policies of your original lender who originated the loan.
Repayment plans for FFEL student loans serviced by Conduent are required by law and include:
3. Consider your deferment and forbearance options
If you are experiencing true financial hardship that is preventing you from being able to make your student loan payments, you may be eligible for student loan deferment or forbearance.
These options are available to all borrowers of federal student loans and to some borrowers of private student loans (depending on your lender).
Precise eligibility requirements for deferment and forbearance vary depending on a number of factors, including your financial situation and the type of student loan you have.
To make it easier for borrowers to know whether or not they are eligible, Conduent has outlined the eligibility requirements for both deferment and forbearance.
Conduent interest rates and fees
It’s important that you understand your interest rates are set by your lender, not Conduent.
In the case of federal student loans, your interest rates are set by the U.S. Congress; in the case of private student loans, your interest rates are set by the individual private lender who originated the loan.
If you’re not sure of the interest rate for your student loans being serviced by Conduent, you can find that information in a number of ways:
Though some student loan servicers offer incentives to help borrowers lower their student loan interest rate (for example, by signing up for direct debit), Conduent offers no such incentives. That means that if you want to lower your interest rates, you’ll need to consider refinancing your student loans.
Refinancing your student loans is the process of taking out a new loan to pay off the existing loan, and is often done to:
Refinancing your student loans has the potential to help you save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan, depending on the terms of your original loan and the new loan.
If interest rates have fallen significantly since you took out your loan, or if you have significantly improved your credit or have improved your debt-to-income ratio since taking out your loans, refinancing may be able to make paying off your student loans easier.
It’s important to keep in mind that there is no federal student loan refinancing program. If you would like to refinance your federal student loans, you can only do so by going through a private lender.
This may mean giving up valuable benefits like deferment and forbearance options, forgiveness eligibility, and more, so it’s important that you keep the trade-off in mind before deciding either way.
If you’re not interested in refinancing your student loans to achieve a lower interest rate, but instead simply want to make your student loans simpler to handle, then student loan consolidation might be a better option for you.
While similar to refinancing in some regard, consolidation and refinancing are different. It would be wise to fully understand both options before settling your plan.
Conduent reviews
Student borrowers typically don’t have any say over who their federal student loan servicer will be. That being said, if you find that you would like to transfer your student loans to a new servicer, you can do so by choosing to refinance your loan.
It’s important that you have all of the information you need and understand what your servicer is and isn’t allowed to do.
As with any financial organization, Conduent has received many reviews from student borrowers around the country. Unfortunately, many customers with loans serviced by Conduent are unhappy with the level of service that the company has provided, especially since ACS Education Services was acquired by Conduent.
Negative reviews largely express frustration with how the merger was carried out, as well as dissatisfaction with Conduent’s communications and customer support practices.
You can read customer reviews of Conduent or ACS at the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs.
How to contact Conduent
You can reach Conduent online, by phone, or by mail. In order to send Conduent a secured email, you will need to log into your online account through their website.
Otherwise, Conduent’s hours of operation are and contact information vary depending on which type of student loan you hold.
FFEL student loan program
If you have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) serviced by Conduent, you can contact them using the information below.
Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 8am through 11pm EST
Phone: 1-800-835-4611
Fax: 1-315-738-2232
Mail: Conduent, P.O. Box 7051, Utica, NY 13504-7051
Additional contact details for FFEL student loans serviced by Conduent can be found here.
Campus-based student (CPS) loan program
If you have campus-based student loans—including Federal Perkins Loans, Nursing Student Loans (NSL), Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL)—serviced by Conduent, you can contact them using the information below.
Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 7am through 5pm CST
Phone: 1-800-826-4470
Mail: Conduent Inc., Campus Products and Services, P.O. Box 7060, Utica, NY 13504-7060
Additional contact details for Campus-based student loans serviced by Conduent can be found here.
Specialized servicing for private loans
If you have private student loans serviced by Conduent, you should contact them using the information below:
Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 8am through 11pm EST
Phone: 1-800-508-0806
Fax: 1-315-738-2232
Mail: Conduent, Attention: Specialized Servicing Department, P.O. Box 7052, Utica, NY 13504-7052
Additional contact details for private student loans serviced by Conduent can be found here.
ACS legal troubles
In November of 2016, just months before ACS was acquired by Conduent, ACS settled a lawsuit being levied against them by the state of Massachusetts charging them with abusive collection practices and sloppy handling of accounts.
The charges included:
Upon settling, ACS paid the state of Massachusetts a $2.4 million fine, a portion of which was paid to Massachusetts borrowers who had ACS student loans and were denied access to income-based repayment plans.
The settlement also required ACS to credit borrowers with any late fee overcharges, refrain from calling borrowers more than twice a week, and correct the interest rates of borrowers under the purview of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Conduent student loan issues: How to get help
If you are experiencing difficulties as a borrower with Conduent’s actions and practices, there are a number of resources available to help you resolve the matter.
First and foremost, you’re encouraged to reach out to a Conduent representative to see if they can help clear up the issue. This self-resolution checklist from the Federal Student Aid Office clearly outlines the steps you can take to attempt to resolve an issue without getting outside agencies involved.
If they cannot help or refuse to help, and you believe that you are being wronged, your options for resolution include:
Final thoughts
If you’re interested in refinancing or consolidating your Conduent student loans with another lender, you have options. Credible lets you instantly compare student loan refinancing rates from Conduent Education Services as well as other top lenders.
With Credible, you can compare the best options with no hidden fees, without affecting your credit score, and with the assurance that your data is totally secure.