If you have federal student loans, the first person to talk to about student loans is your federal loan servicer, and every service they provide is free. Your servicer handles billing, repayment plan changes, deferment, forbearance, consolidation, and the payment counts that feed forgiveness programs. When a servicer can’t or won’t fix a problem, there’s a short list of other offices and professionals built for the specific issue you’re facing. The right first call depends on whether your loans are federal or private, whether the problem is an account error or something bigger, and whether you need legal, tax, or financial-planning advice rather than customer service.
Start With Your Federal Loan Servicer
Federal loan servicers are private companies under contract with the Department of Education. They process payments, calculate interest, evaluate income-driven repayment applications, and handle deferment and forbearance requests. Changing a due date, updating your address, switching repayment plans, or applying for consolidation all start with your servicer.
The current federal servicers are Edfinancial, MOHELA, Aidvantage, Nelnet, ECSI, and the Default Resolution Group, which handles loans already in default.1Federal Student Aid. Who’s My Student Loan Servicer? To find yours, log into studentaid.gov and look under “My Loan Servicers” on the account dashboard. Without login credentials, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.
Servicers also track qualifying payments toward forgiveness and maintain the records that determine whether you’ve met program requirements. Payment-count errors are one of the most common servicer problems, so compare your monthly statements against your own records. A missed or misapplied payment that goes unchallenged can set your forgiveness timeline back by months. MOHELA is the designated servicer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness accounts.
You never need to pay a third party to enroll in an income-driven plan, apply for deferment, or submit a consolidation request. Your servicer will walk you through all of it at no cost.2Federal Student Aid. How To Avoid Student Loan Forgiveness Scams
When Your Servicer Won’t Fix a Problem: The FSA Ombudsman
The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group is your escalation path when a servicer won’t correct an error. This office sits within the Department of Education and acts as a neutral intermediary for borrowers who have already tried normal customer service channels and hit a wall.3FSA Partner Connect. Office of the Ombudsman FSA
Before you contact them, document your attempts to resolve the issue. Keep notes of every call, including dates, representative names, and what was said. The Ombudsman expects you to have used the servicer’s own complaint process first. Open a case through the online assistance request form at studentaid.gov, or call 1-800-433-3243.
The Ombudsman can investigate payment-count errors, incorrect balance reporting, misapplied payments, and other systemic data problems. They don’t take sides, and they can’t overturn court decisions or change the law, but they can verify your account history and push for corrections when a servicer has applied federal policies incorrectly. This office is especially useful when you’re tracking payments toward forgiveness and your servicer’s records don’t match your own.
When the Problem Is Misconduct: The CFPB
If your servicer problem goes beyond a data error, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts student loan complaints. The CFPB has documented servicer failures including steering borrowers into costlier repayment options when they qualified for income-driven plans, debiting incorrect amounts from bank accounts, providing inaccurate payoff information, and taking months to process applications for loan relief.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Report Details Student Borrower Harms from Servicing Failures and Program Disruptions
Filing takes about ten minutes at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Describe the problem, attach supporting documents up to 50 pages, and identify the company. The CFPB forwards the complaint to the servicer and asks for a response, generally within 15 days. Complaint data is published in a public database, which creates accountability pressure a private phone call doesn’t.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
The Ombudsman and the CFPB serve different functions. The Ombudsman works within the Department of Education’s own system to correct account-level errors. The CFPB is a separate federal agency with enforcement authority over servicer conduct. If your issue is “my payment count is wrong,” start with the Ombudsman. If it’s “my servicer misled me about my options” or “they’re billing me incorrectly and won’t stop,” the CFPB complaint may carry more weight.
When You Need Help Choosing a Path: Non-Profit Credit Counselors
If you feel overwhelmed and aren’t sure which repayment plan or forgiveness program fits your situation, a non-profit credit counselor can sort through the options with you. These agencies offer free or low-cost one-on-one counseling, help you compare repayment plans, identify forgiveness programs you qualify for, and build a strategy for getting out of default.
Look for agencies affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or certified through the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors, which offers a dedicated student loan counselor certification. A legitimate non-profit counselor won’t charge large upfront fees or promise instant results. If an agency asks for hundreds of dollars before doing anything, that’s a red flag.
Counselors are especially useful if you carry both federal and private student loans, since the strategies for each are completely different. A counselor can map out how federal income-driven plans interact with your private obligations and help you prioritize debts based on interest rates, balances, and your other financial goals.
If Your Loan Is Private, Call the Lender
Everything above applies to federal loans. If you borrowed from a private bank, credit union, or online lender, those companies operate under a different set of rules. Private loans are governed by the terms of your promissory note, state contract law, and federal disclosure requirements under the Truth in Lending Act.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1601 – Congressional Findings and Declaration of Purpose There are no standardized income-driven repayment plans, no forgiveness programs, and no Ombudsman office for private loans.
The lender listed on your promissory note is the only party that can modify your repayment terms. If you’re struggling, call customer service and ask about hardship options. Some lenders offer temporary interest-rate reductions or short-term forbearance, but these are voluntary concessions, not rights. Asking specifically for the loss mitigation or hardship department tends to produce better results than a general representative can.
Private loans also come with a statute of limitations on collection, often four to six years depending on your state. Be careful: making a partial payment or acknowledging the debt in writing after default can restart the clock in many states. If a private lender sues you on an old debt and you believe the statute has run, talk to an attorney before responding.
Ask HR About Student Loan Benefits
Your employer may offer benefits you haven’t claimed. Under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code, employers can contribute up to $5,250 per year toward an employee’s student loan payments on a tax-free basis through 2026.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 127 – Educational Assistance Programs The employer pays it, you don’t owe income tax on it, and it goes directly toward your loan principal or interest.
A separate provision under the SECURE 2.0 Act, effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023, allows employers to make matching contributions to your 401(k), 403(b), or similar retirement plan based on your student loan payments. Even if you’re putting every spare dollar toward student debt, your employer can still deposit matching contributions into your retirement account as if you were making elective deferrals.8Internal Revenue Service. Guidance Under Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act with Respect to Matching Contributions Made on Account of Qualified Student Loan Payments You’ll need to certify your payments annually, including the amount, date, and confirmation that the loan qualifies. Ask HR whether either benefit is available under your company’s plan.
Talk to a Tax Professional About Forgiveness
Starting in 2026, forgiven student loan debt is generally taxable as federal income again. The American Rescue Plan Act excluded discharged student loan amounts for loans forgiven between 2021 and 2025, and that exclusion expired at the end of 2025.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-A and 1099-C If your loans are forgiven in 2026 or later under an income-driven plan, your lender will issue a 1099-C reporting the canceled amount as income. The resulting tax bill can be substantial.
A CPA or enrolled agent can evaluate whether any exclusion shelters you from the hit. The most relevant one for student loan borrowers is the insolvency exclusion under IRC Section 108: if your total liabilities exceed the fair market value of your total assets immediately before the discharge, you can exclude the forgiven amount up to the extent of your insolvency.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 108 – Income from Discharge of Indebtedness Many borrowers who qualify for forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of payments are, in fact, insolvent at discharge, but you need someone who can run the numbers and file the right forms.
Certain types of forgiveness remain permanently tax-free regardless of when they occur, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, discharges due to death or total and permanent disability, and closed-school discharges. A tax professional can confirm which category your forgiveness falls into and plan around it, ideally several years before the discharge date arrives.
Talk to a Lawyer If You’re Sued, Garnished, or Considering Bankruptcy
An attorney becomes necessary when you’re facing a lawsuit from a private lender, dealing with wage garnishment on a defaulted federal loan, or weighing whether to pursue bankruptcy discharge. Student loans are among the hardest debts to discharge in bankruptcy. Under federal law, education loans survive bankruptcy unless you can prove repaying them would impose an “undue hardship” on you and your dependents.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
Most courts use the Brunner test, which requires showing you can’t maintain a minimal standard of living while paying, your situation is unlikely to improve, and you’ve made good-faith efforts to repay. A minority of courts use a broader totality-of-the-circumstances approach. Either way, you need an attorney to file what’s called an adversary proceeding inside your bankruptcy case.
The process became more accessible after Department of Justice guidance in November 2022 directing government attorneys to recommend discharge when certain conditions are met. Borrowers complete an attestation form detailing income, expenses, and repayment history. The DOJ applies IRS financial standards and presumes in favor of discharge for borrowers who are 65 or older, have a disability, have been unemployed for at least five of the last ten years, never completed the degree the loan funded, or have had the loan in repayment for at least ten years.12Department of Justice. Student Loan Discharge Guidance An attorney familiar with the process can help you complete the attestation and present the strongest case.
Beyond bankruptcy, student loan lawyers handle collection-agency disputes, defend lawsuits from private lenders, and challenge improper wage garnishment. If you’re in default on federal loans, the government can garnish up to 15% of your disposable pay and offset your tax refund and a portion of your Social Security benefits without going to court first. A lawyer can help you assert defenses or negotiate a resolution before those collection tools hit.
Talk to a Financial Planner About the Bigger Picture
A Certified Financial Planner approaches student debt differently than a lawyer or credit counselor. Instead of focusing on which repayment plan has the lowest monthly payment, a CFP integrates your loans into your full financial picture: retirement savings, emergency fund, home purchase goals, and investments. The right repayment plan depends not just on what you owe but on what else you’re trying to do with your money.
A CFP can model aggressive repayment against pursuing long-term forgiveness, factoring in the tax consequences of each path. For someone ten years into an income-driven plan with a large balance, the math on paying the minimum and waiting for forgiveness versus refinancing and paying it off is genuinely complicated, especially with forgiven amounts taxable again starting in 2026. A planner provides independent advice that isn’t shaped by the interests of your servicer, your lender, or the government.
If You’re Still in School, Talk to Financial Aid
If you’re still enrolled or recently left school, your campus financial aid office handles things servicers don’t. These offices manage school-specific grants, coordinate federal work-study placements, and conduct the entrance and exit counseling required before loans enter repayment.13eCFR. 34 CFR Part 675 Subpart A – Federal Work-Study Program
Financial aid administrators also have a tool servicers lack: professional judgment. If your financial circumstances have changed significantly since you filed your FAFSA, an officer can adjust your reported data on a case-by-case basis to reflect your actual situation, which may increase your eligibility for subsidized loans or grant aid.14Federal Student Aid. What is professional judgment? Common triggers include a parent’s job loss, a divorce, or unexpected medical expenses. You’ll need documentation, and the decision is at the administrator’s discretion, but it’s worth asking before you accept a package that doesn’t reflect reality.
These offices also report your enrollment status to the National Student Clearinghouse, which is what keeps your loans in in-school deferment. Dropping below half-time enrollment can trigger your grace period or push loans into repayment sooner than expected, so check with financial aid before reducing your course load.
Who Not to Talk To
Every legitimate contact above is either free or a licensed professional charging transparent fees for specific legal or financial work. Companies that cold-call you, promise instant loan forgiveness, or charge upfront fees to submit paperwork your servicer handles at no cost are almost certainly scams.2Federal Student Aid. How To Avoid Student Loan Forgiveness Scams
Red flags include requests for your FSA ID and password, which no legitimate company needs; guarantees of total debt cancellation; and monthly subscription fees for “monitoring” your account. If someone contacts you offering loan relief, hang up and call your servicer directly. File complaints about suspected scams with the FTC and the CFPB.