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(Loans) Subject: Loan Servicing Information - Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) Transfer Completion and Availability Information

Posted Date:September 6, 2013

Author: Jana Hernandes, Service Director, Operations, Federal Student Aid

Subject: Loan Servicing Information - Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) Transfer Completion and Availability Information

In earlier announcements (January 10, 2013 and July 12, 2013), we informed the financial aid community of our preparations for the forthcoming end to our contract with the Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) and shared high-level information about the closure of all functions performed by ACS (Xerox), including its servicing of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans.

In a recent August 16, 2013 Electronic Announcement posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we provided an update on the last month of transferring Direct Loans serviced by the Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) as well as detailed information about the availability of the Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) prior to its closure.

In this announcement, we report on transfer completion and the reduced availability of the Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS). We will refer to this servicer as the “Direct Loan Servicing Center” throughout the rest of the announcement.

We present the information in this announcement as follows:

  • Transfer Completion

  • Direct Loan Servicing Center Availability Information

  • Contact Information

Transfer Completion

The last set of Direct Loans that remained on the Direct Loan Servicing Center’s system was transferred on August 29, 2013. As a reminder, since January 2013 we have transferred the majority of the Direct Loans on the Direct Loan Servicing Center’s system to FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA), Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc., Nelnet, or Sallie Mae.

In the final month of this transfer initiative, we transferred the loans of all remaining borrowers even if they had a status change in process. In such cases, all information related to a status change request has been transferred to the new federal loan servicer for process completion. New requests from borrowers who were transferred in the final month will be handled as follows:

  • Through September 30, 2013, new status change requests submitted to the Direct Loan Servicing Center will be forwarded to the new servicer for processing.

  • Beginning October 1, 2013, new status change requests submitted to the Direct Loan Servicing Center will be properly discarded. The requests will not be forwarded to the new servicers.

Note to Schools: The reporting of a loan made to an ineligible borrower who has been serviced by the Direct Loan Servicing Center must be made to the borrower's new federal loan servicer. The new servicer will take the appropriate action.

A newly transferred borrower must start making payments to and communicating solely with his or her new federal loan servicer. Each borrower will receive a welcome letter from his or her new servicer informing the borrower of the loan transfer and the new servicer's contact information. After the borrower's loans have been fully loaded to the new servicer's system, the new servicer will also be identified in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

Important Reminder: Once they have been notified of their new servicer, it is critical that borrowers who use a bank or bill paying service to make their payments update the bank or bill paying service with the new servicer's name and address.

For other key information about the transfer process in question and answer format, refer to the January 10th Electronic Announcement's attachment titled “Direct Loan Transfers – Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) to New Servicer.”

Direct Loan Servicing Center Availability Information

In the attachment to the August 16th announcement titled “Direct Loan Servicing Center (ACS) Availability Information August 30, 2013 – November 15, 2013,” we provide detailed information about Direct Loan Servicing Center availability from the day after all Direct Loan transfers were completed through November 15, 2013.

  • On August 30, 2013, the Direct Loan Servicing Center transitioned from full contact center hours to reduced contact center hours. The contact center is now open from 8:00 A.M. – 5:30 P.M. (ET), Monday through Friday.

  • Beginning on October 1, 2013, the Direct Loan Servicing Center will only offer informational messaging.

  • On November 16, 2013, all Direct Loan Servicing Center support and messaging will end.

Refer to the attachment to the August 16th announcement for complete information.

Contact Information

We appreciate the community's ongoing support of our approach to servicing federally-owned loans. We will post additional Electronic Announcements as we progress through the Direct Loan Servicing Center's closure transition. Please monitor the IFAP Web site.

If you have questions about Direct Loan Servicing Center availability explained in this announcement, contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center. Contact information for the servicer can be found on the Loan Servicing Centers for Schools Contact Information page on the IFAP Web site.

If you have questions about a loan that has been transferred from the Direct Loan Servicing Center to a new federal loan servicer, contact the new servicer directly. Contact information for the appropriate servicer can be found on the Loan Servicing Centers for Schools Contact Information page on the IFAP Web site.