Conduent Education Services (Originally ACS Student Loans) Review

Key points:

• Conduent Education Services ceased servicing federal student loans as of September 1, 2019, and all Conduent Education loans were transferred to other lenders.
• Conduent changed its name from ACS student loans after facing charges for abusive collection practices and mishandling of borrower accounts.
• You cannot choose to borrow from Conduent or another student loan servicer, but you may refinance with a private lender.

Conduent Business Services acquired ACS Student Loans, one of the major servicers for both federal and private student loans, at the beginning of 2017.

The acquisition resulted in a change of name for ACS Student Loans to Conduent Education Services. While the name change caused some confusion, borrowers using ACS Student Loans experienced no change in their loan terms or payment options.

However, the change to Conduent Education Services came after ACS faced lawsuits for mishandling borrower accounts, and as of September 1, 2019, Conduent has ceased servicing student loans. This review covers historical information about Conduent student loans.

In this review:

• ACS Student Loans Lawsuit and Acquisition
• Conduent Education Services Benefits
• Issues With Conduent Education
• Contact Information for Borrowers
• Switching From Conduent Education Services

ACS Student Loans Lawsuit and Acquisition

In 2016 in Massachusetts, the student loan servicer ACS was fined $2.4 million for several reasons, including allegedly delaying applications for income-driven repayment plans for thousands of borrowers.

The servicer was also fined for reportedly charging excessive fees on some loans and failing to comply with caps set on interest rates under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. ACS Student Loans admitted no wrongdoing.

Some argue the change to Conduent Education Services was due to the bad press surrounding the charges and subsequent fine. A re-branding seemed necessary to improve borrowers’ perceptions of the company, but little has changed in terms of how student loans held with Conduent are serviced.

Conduent Education Services Benefits

Conduent Education Services, like most other student loan servicers, provided several options for borrowers to manage and pay their student loans.

Through its online platform, Conduent offered access to payment information, express payment options, recurring payments, e-billing and e-mail reminders, and electronic delivery of tax forms.

The student loan servicer also gave borrowers the option to apply for deferment or forbearance on FFEL student loans through its online platform.

Conduent serviced several types of student loan accounts, including:

• Private student loans
• Perkins Loans
• Campus-based loans
• FFEL (Federal Family Education Loans).

Under the FFEL program, Conduent gave borrowers the option to select a standard 10-year repayment plan, a graduated repayment plan, or an extended repayment plan for up to 25 years. Automatic payments are available through the servicer, as is prepayment for certain loans.

Issues With Conduent Education

In addition to the notable lawsuit with ACS Student Loans, Conduent’s student loan servicing practices have come under fire from several borrowers complaining about the transition period.

Some borrowers were locked out of their accounts as ACS became Conduent, meaning they were unable to make payments on their loans easily.

Other complaints involve the high call volume the company consistently experiences, which leaves borrowers with little to no way to get in touch with a loan representative for help.

Contact Information for Borrowers

Most borrowers interact with Conduent through its online platform, whether it is for a deferment or forbearance application, making a monthly payment, or requesting documentation on student loans.

However, borrowers may also contact the student loan servicer by phone. Conduent provides three different contact numbers for borrowers, based on their loan program.

• For FFEL borrowers, a loan representative can be reached at 1-800-835-4611 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.
• For campus-based student loans including Perkins loans, borrowers can call 1-800-826-4470 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
• Private loan borrowers can call 1-800-508-0806 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

However, as we’ve stated above, Conduent ceased servicing student loans as of September 1, 2019, and all former Conduent student loans were moved to other servicers. If your loans were formerly serviced by Conduent, you should contact your new servicer if you have any questions.

Switching From Conduent Education Services

One of the downsides of federal student loans is the reality that student loan borrowers cannot select the servicer to manage their loans.

The Department of Education selects the servicer that will handle the loan and its interest calculations, repayments, and deferment or forbearance applications. In order to change a servicer on a federal student loan, a borrower would have to refinance student loans through a private lender.

Private loans held with Conduent may be more easily changed to another servicer through the refinancing process. Refinancing requires a borrower to select a private loan company and then apply for a new student loan that will ultimately replace the current loan held with Conduent.

The benefits of refinancing include the opportunity for:

• A lower student loan interest rate.
• An extended repayment term (to lower monthly payments).
• Better customer service.
• Easier access to make payments or changes to an account.
• Other benefits, such as educational resources and borrower discounts on other financial products.

However, refinancing a federal student loan from Conduent to a private student loan with another lender takes away inherent federal loan benefits, including forbearance and deferment options, income-driven repayment plans, and student loan forgiveness in the future.