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Important Updates

News of Note

Explore affordable repayment plans, including the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan (formerly the REPAYE plan). To learn more about the SAVE plan and other student loan benefits, use the Loan Simulator Tool at StudentAid.gov.


Be on the Lookout for Updates

In Spring 2024, you will see improvements to your experience in managing your federal student loans. Beginning March 11, 2024, we will release updates to the look and feel of our website and you will then need to visit us at our new web address, Edfinancial.StudentAid.gov. Additionally, our emails will now come from .gov email addresses. 

Credit Reporting

We are required to report information concerning the repayment status of your student loan(s) each month to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies (also called “credit bureaus”). If you allow your loan(s) to become past due, it can result in negative credit reporting. This can affect your credit score and may make it difficult for you to obtain credit cards, mortgage loans, car loans, or other types of consumer credit.

If you’re having trouble making your student loan payments, there are several repayment options available to help keep your loan(s) in good standing. You may be able to defer or suspend your monthly payments depending on your circumstances. Log in to your online account to explore your options or to apply. You can also contact us directly for assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Although you only have one account with us, each loan that you take out has its own "tradeline" (i.e. account or line of credit) that is reported to the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Depending on the number of years that you were in school, you may see several loans that will each display separately on your credit report. If you consolidate your loans, your previous loans' tradeline will reflect a $0.00 balance and should be reported as refinanced, and you will have a new tradeline for both the subsidized and unsubsidized portion of the consolidation loan.

Education loans will typically remain on your credit history for seven years from the last reported date. The status or reason for loans paid in full include: paid in full by the borrower, claim paid, paid due to consolidation, and paid due to transfer. Example: If your loan was paid in full in March 2012, the final report of paid in full will most likely remain on your credit history until February 2019.

The type of repayment plan you use to repay your student loan is not reported to the credit bureaus. Using a deferment or forbearance for your student loans should not adversely affect your credit history. Making a late payment or not making a payment at all may hurt your credit history. Requesting a deferment or forbearance to clear delinquency on your account retroactively may not always remove negative credit history that has already been reported.

No, we are unable to remove anything that was reported accurately on your credit. In this case, you are still responsible for any monthly payments on your student loan even if you do not receive a bill. Sometimes, deferment or forbearance can clear delinquency from credit, but those situations require you to meet specific qualifying criteria. If your address changes, please notify Edfinancial Services as soon as possible to ensure you continue to receive your monthly statements. To notify Edfinancial Services of an address update, log into your online account or contact one of our customer service specialists by phone or email.

Deferments and forbearances can allow you to bring your account current without making a payment to do so, but they do not always clear up negative credit reporting that already occurred. Certain eligible deferment periods, such as an in-school deferment, will clear any previous negative reporting if the qualifying deferment period occurred at the same time as the negative reporting period. Forbearances, even if applied retroactively, rarely clear prior negative reporting.

Both parties are liable for the loan even if the court declares one party to be solely liable. If your former spouse doesn't make payments, the delinquency will be reported on your credit history as well as your former spouse's credit history. Also, any person who is an endorser on a loan is liable and could have negative reporting due to delinquency on an account.

If you have researched and discovered that student loan information truly does not belong on your credit report, you can contact the three credit bureaus either online or by calling their toll-free numbers to dispute the information. The process can take up to two months to be completed, but the incorrect items should be removed from your credit history. Click the name of a credit bureau for more information about credit disputes:

Each loan has a tradeline on your credit report. When a federal student loan defaults, it is transferred to the guarantor or to the U.S. Department of Education for continued collection, which creates a new tradeline. Once the loan is rehabilitated and taken out of default, the loan may return to Edfinancial Services where a third tradeline is opened for current reporting.

No, this is not true. If the information reported on your credit history is inaccurate, it will be updated with the first dispute that you file. Data furnishers are required to report the account information accurately and in an unbiased manner.

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