Posted Date:October 2, 2014
Author: | Jana Hernandes, Service Director, Operations, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Loan Servicing Information - Navient Begins Servicing on October 13, 2014
In a February 25, 2014 Electronic Announcement posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we informed the community that Sallie Mae was splitting into two companies—Sallie Mae and Navient. From a business standpoint, the separation occurred on April 30, 2014. From a customer standpoint, the servicing transition was planned for fall 2014 and communicated to customers several times in the interim. Effective October 13, 2014, Sallie Mae will begin servicing its own private student loan portfolio and Navient will begin operating and servicing loans, including federal education loans.
As explained in the February 25th announcement, the new company, Navient, will service the following loans:
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William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans
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Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans owned by the Department of Education (the Department)
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FFEL Program loans not owned by the Department
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A majority of Sallie Mae private loans that existed prior to the change
In this announcement, we provide information on how the October 13, 2014 servicing transition affects schools and federal student loan borrowers.
We present the information in this announcement as follows:
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Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – System Outages Weekend of October 10 – 12, 2014
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Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Necessary Actions for Navient Customers
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Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Updates to Other Systems
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Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Additional Information
Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – System Outages Weekend of October 10 – 12, 2014
As the servicing transition is completed, there will be system outages during the weekend of October 10 – 12, 2014. The outage details are as follows:
Web Sites
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The Web site that has served Sallie Mae federal loan customers will be unavailable starting at 11:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, October 10, 2014. Borrowers whose loans are serviced by Navient are expected to have access to online account information at the new Web site, www.Navient.com, by the afternoon of Saturday, October 11, 2014.
Note: Some borrowers may have payments due on October 10, 2014 or October 11, 2014. If those borrowers choose to make an online payment, they will not be able to do so during the outage. -
A splash page explaining the outage will be presented to borrowers who attempt to access online account management information during the outage period.
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Schools will receive a system outage message as a reminder.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)/Voice Response Unit (VRU)
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The IVR/VRU will be unavailable starting at 11:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, October 10, 2014. Borrowers are expected to be able to access the IVR/VRU by the afternoon of Saturday, October 11, 2014.
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A message indicating that the system is unavailable will be heard by a borrower who calls the toll-free number during the outage period.
Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Necessary Actions for Navient Customers
As explained in the February 25th announcement, there are minor, but important, changes that will apply to Navient’s customers beginning October 13, 2014.
Necessary Actions for Borrowers
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Change the servicer’s name from Sallie Mae to Navient with bank or bill paying service if used to make federal student loan payments.
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Change Web site bookmarks to go to Navient’s Web site (www.Navient.com), as applicable.
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Make written checks payable to Navient.
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Change the addressee on mail correspondence to Navient.
Notes:
Payments made through automatic debit will continue automatically without any action required by borrowers.
Telephone numbers and mailing addresses will remain the same for borrowers.
Loan account numbers, terms, borrower benefits, and repayment plans will remain unchanged.
Necessary Actions for Schools
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Change the servicer’s name from Sallie Mae to Navient in systems, Web sites, and contact resources, as applicable.
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Change Web site bookmarks to go to Navient’s Web site (www.Navient.com), as applicable.
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Use Navient’s e-mail address (collegeserv@navient.com) to contact Navient via e-mail.
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Change the addressee on mail correspondence to Navient.
Note: Telephone numbers and mailing addresses will remain the same for school customers.
Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Updates to Other Systems
In addition to this Electronic Announcement for the financial aid community, we have posted a message about Navient on StudentAid.gov/Announcements.
We will update Federal Student Aid’s systems and Web sites by changing “Sallie Mae” references to “Navient” between October 10, 2014 and December 31, 2014. During that same timeframe, members of our federal loan servicer team will make the applicable name changes. Navient’s contact information will be reflected accurately on IFAP and StudentAid.gov beginning October 14, 2014.
After the servicing transition is completed on October 13, 2014, we will post another Electronic Announcement to bring closure for the financial aid community. We will also update the message on StudentAid.gov/Announcements.
Federal Student Loan Servicing Under Navient – Additional Information
For borrower information about the federal student loan servicing transition to Navient in question and answer format, reference the message on StudentAid.gov/Announcements.
If you have additional questions about the transition to Navient, visit www.SallieMae.com/future or www.Navient.com/future.