Nelnet Student Loan Servicing Review

Here is an in-depth review of the Nelnet loan servicer. Explore more about the refinancing options and know if you can change your service provider.

Updated by Priya Shah on 28th September 2020

Nelnet is a service company that helps in the collection of loans, billing processes, and more. Nelnet Student Loan company is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is a public company which deals with student educational, financial services. This company provides several services for loan borrowers, like technology-related loan customer service, which includes payment of student tuition and education planning tools. 

Nelnet provides customer service for a student loan, help to borrow the loan, and outsourcing services. Nelnet can provide detailed information about the process of loans, payments, scholarships, and other requirements related to money.

The Nelnet company not only provide loans but also keeps track of all records related to money. Getting a loan for studies sometimes can be challenging due to various procedures of loan processing.  Nelnet is one of the nine federal student loan servicers that keeps a track and record of money lent and borrowed payments.

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Nelnet student loan servicing review

The U.S. Department of Education allocates a loan servicer when providing federal student loans. A list of complaints against Nelnet may not accurately represent everyone’s experience with the servicer. Yet, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received 1,013 in the year 2017 against Nelnet.

If you’ve experienced some problems with the service Nelnet provides, it’s essential to understand that you don’t have to keep putting up with it. Student Loan Planner helps you find a new loan servicer by consolidating your loans with another federal servicer or by refinancing them with a private lender who might be more user friendly.

Who are they, and what they do?

They are an U.S-based company that is assigned by the U.S. Department of education keeps track of all money transactions and loans that are significantly given to the individual once the loan is disbursed to your college. It maintains a record of all money transaction loans. Bills are paid every month.

For beginners, those who are freshers and have no idea of what to do can go to their servicer or even log in to My Federal Student Aid to get to know about it.

Every servicer has specific terms that may offer choices that are best for the company but don’t have the best interests in mind for the borrower. Nelnet is one of the companies which provide service for federal student loans by keeping an eye on all the recorded payments. 

Here are some points that will help you have Nelnet as your servicer -

  1. Online registration for detailed information: Once your loans are disbursed, please log in to their website to keep track of daily and monthly transactions. Bills and transaction details are provided accurately on the website.

  2. Autopayment deductions: Nelnet helps accessing and monitoring transactions and also deduct payments automatically. And the changes are updated without any manual efforts. Enrolling to autopay will reduce your interest rate by 0.25%, which can be a great benefit.

  3. Income-driven repayment: This is the option of paying the loan as per individual income salary. Henceforth, you can request for the new income-driven repayment, which limits the payment according to your salary, i.e., you have to pay a certain percentage of payment on your salary and won’t be a burden of paying a fixed amount but can be commenced as per salary.

  4. Request for Deferment and forbearance:  It is the period given to make arrangements for your payments to avoid default. This is considered to be very beneficial as we can request for the deferment and forbearance when we are not sure of making payments as after the advisory note. It can help to stop the temporary payments, which allow you to avoid default. Although note that interest payments continue to build.

  5. Procedure for extra payments: Making additional payments for the monthly balance is a personal choice. You are not forced to pay a different amount, but in case if you want to pay extra installments, you need to instruct Nelnet via phone, online, mail, or SMS to apply additional payments to the current balance instead of paying the next month.

Advantages of Nelnet loan servicing

  1. Transactions are made easy as it is accessible online through Nelnet’s mobile app, by phone, or by mail.

  2. Nelnet ideally helps with options like Loan consolidation and Repayment options for service members.

Disadvantages of Nelnet loan servicing

Nelnet received a vast number of complaints about the service provided to its customers. Considering the below measures can be helpful: 

  1. The main limitation of Nelnet is they do not offer good customer service, so enhancing their customer support can be a significant advantage.

  2. Nelnet does not have its service provided at the location of Vermont. Therefore reaching this region can help the students in this location.

  3. Also, it will be helpful if they assist loan borrowers by providing them a loan advisor as part of their service.

  4. Also will help the functionality of payments by providing an autopay option for biweekly payments.


                                                                  Learn more about the Best Student Loan Servicers


Major complaints about Nelnet services

Nelnet files a complaint only when the borrower cannot resolve the issue by oneself. There are existing issues and resolutions to it that can be found on their website. But if you happen to face a unique problem? Changes in filing a complaint about the same can be difficult.

As per the survey, Nelnet is rated 3.3 out of 5. The feedback varies, depending on the interaction and contact. Though in some situations, borrower-paid more money than required.

Some of the top trending complaints that often come from are :

  1. Consumer service: A survey conveys more often, the customer service at Nelnet would never hold responsibility or any error caused at their end. And will redirect the customers, informing that its the law enforced by the department of education. There were incidents were loans in deferment for two months cost more due to capitalized interest. Some users were never given a stable answer for the same questions asked multiples times. When a user intent to ask for specific details regarding the loan, they were disappointed because they were very generic and not very useful information.

  2. Communication: Student loans are a complicated product, and for one who is interested in taking these loans, proper assistance must be provided. Communication plays a crucial role in getting the right loan and other details regarding the repayment procedure. 

  3. Payments: According to the department of education, all servicers must honor the grace period, which starts after the completion of graduation. That is when the student starts earning and can avoid default.


Worried about your college tuition? Learn more about student loans


Refinance your Nelnet student loans

If you absolutely can’t stand working with them, refinancing your student loans with a private student loan company is another option.

This requires a lot of caution, however. It’s not a decision to be made without seriously thinking. When you refinance your federal student loans with a private lender, they’re no longer federal student loans — they’re private student loans, and that means they come with way fewer protections and benefits.

It is always recommended that you exhaust all your options available with federal student loans before refinancing it with a private lender. Nelnet is a federal student loan servicer, offers its student loan forgiveness programs. Federal student loans contain benefits that private lenders hardly provide.

For example, if you’re aiming to apply for PSLF or any other student loan forgiveness program, you’re no longer eligible for forgiveness once you refinance. You aren’t eligible for any income-driven repayment plans and financial hardship forbearance, depending on how generous your new lender is. When you are in dire need, you will get some help.

Unless my loans are paid off, am I stuck with Nelnet?

You must know about loans, and the amount which lender provides has a two-way benefit, which is to fulfill the requirement of the borrower by providing a loan to pay off for the education whereas on the other is offered to gain a large amount of interest. 

So loans are sometimes are transferred by the department of education.  When you are interested in any requirement, Nelnet gets multiple notifications.

Unless you don’t pay the loan installment to Nelnet, you are not permitted to choose the different services. 


How to contact Nelnet? 

For more details regarding servicing your loans you can contact Nelnet at: 

Phone : 1 (888) 486-4722

Email: help@nelnet.net

Fax: 877.402.5816

Address : 

Loan discharge or forgiveness claims issues

Nelnet
Attn: Claims
P.O. box: 82505
Lincoln, NE 68501-2505

Deferment, forbearance, repayment plans, or enrollment status changes issues

Nelnet
Attn: Enrollment Processing
P.O. Box 82565
Lincoln, NE 68501-2565