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American Education Services Customer Service: What It Can Do and How to Contact
American Education Services manages FFELP loans for the federal government.
Elin Johnson covers student loans for NerdWallet. She has written about higher education news and policy since 2019 for BestColleges, WorkShift, New America, Inside Higher Ed, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She is the former editor of The Cordova Times, and former content advisor to the Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. Her work has won awards from the Alaska Press Club and Student Press Law Center. She graduated from Linfield University with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies and International Relations.
Julie Myhre-Nunes leads the Auto Loans, Student Loans and Home Services teams at NerdWallet. Julie has over a decade of experience in personal finance. Before joining NerdWallet, she led editorial teams at Red Ventures and several startups. Her personal finance insights have been featured in Forbes, The Boston Globe and CNBC, while her writing has appeared in USA Today, Business Insider, Wired Insights and more.
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American Education Services, or AES, only services private loans and Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans by collecting and tracking payments. It operates under the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). The federal government stopped issuing FFELP loans as of June 30, 2010, so AES handles only existing loans. If American Education Services is your student loan servicer, here’s what it can help you do.
Register for online access to your account. Once you have access you can contact American Education Services, access your monthly billing statements and pay bills.
Sign up for income-driven repayment. If you qualify, you can request income-based repayment, which limits your student loan payments to a percentage of your income. FFELP borrowers are eligible only for income-based repayment. You can apply online on studentaid.gov and then recertify your income each year online as well.
Process deferment and forbearance requests. American Education Services can help you temporarily stop making payments or reduce your payment amount if you qualify. This helps you stay in good standing to avoid default. But during any periods of deferment or forbearance, interest can continue to build.
Process consolidation requests. American Education Services can help you consolidate your FFELP loans into direct loans with the federal government. You'll get a new servicer when you consolidate. Once you consolidate you can qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and additional income-driven repayment plans.
Process monthly payments and extra payments. American Education Services will track and collect your payments. If you want to make additional payments, you can instruct American Education Services (online, by phone or by mail) to apply extra payments to your current balance. Otherwise, it may apply the additional amount to next month’s payment instead.
Your loan servicer is assigned by the Department of Education when your loan is disbursed to your college for the first time. The name of the company sending you a federal loan bill every month is your servicer. If your loan payments haven’t begun or you’re not sure which company is your servicer, log in to My Federal Student Aid to find out.
Servicers are there to help you, but they may offer choices that are best for the company, not the borrower. That means they can’t change how payments are processed and may not suggest the most beneficial repayment option for you. It’s most important to know your repayment options so you can know the right questions to ask.
Am I stuck with American Education Services until my loans are paid off?
Loans are sometimes transferred from one servicer to another by the Department of Education.
You’ll be notified if this happens, and you’ll manage payments with the new servicer. All servicers deliver the same options and programs, but customer service may differ from one to another. If you are notified of a servicing transfer, you should do the following:
Download and save your payment history from your online account or request a copy from your servicer.
Update your contact information with your most recent address, phone number and email address.
Otherwise, you are likely to remain with American Education Services unless you act to switch servicers. Use this tool to find out what might work for you.
How to reach American Education Services customer service
American Education Services phone number: 1-800-233-0557.
American Education Services hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. ET.
American Education Services address for loan payments:
American Education Services (AES) P.O. Box 65093 Baltimore, MD 21264-5093
American Education Services address for conditional payments:
AES - Conditional Payments P.O. Box 2251 Harrisburg, PA 17105-2251
American Education Services address for general correspondence:
American Education Services P.O. Box 2461 Harrisburg, PA 17105-2461
If you’re having difficulty with American Education Services that you have been unable to resolve, start by filing a complaint with its Office of Consumer Advocacy:
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency The Office of Consumer Advocacy 1200 North 7th Street Harrisburg, PA 17102
If your issue goes unresolved, you can also make complaints about American Education Services to:
Make sure to keep records of conversations you have, including the day, time and customer service representative you spoke with. Keep copies of any letters, bills or emails about your account.
How to settle a dispute with American Education Services
If a complaint doesn’t help, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. This method should be used only as a last resort, says the federal student aid office. When you’re ready to do so, here's how:
Phone: 877-557-2575
By mail: U.S. Department of Education FSA Ombudsman Group P.O. Box 1854 Monticello, KY 42633