Online resources help borrowers resolve past-due accounts and loan defaults

USA Funds enhances Web site to aid borrowers with student-loan-payment problems

INDIANAPOLIS — USA Funds®, the nation’s leading education-loan guarantor, has enhanced features on its Web site to help education-loan borrowers resolve payment problems. The online resources permit borrowers whose payments on USA Funds-guaranteed loans are more than 60 days past due or whose loans are in default to view their personal account information online in a secure environment.

The latest enhancements to the site include the following items:

  • Borrower Alerts. Borrowers who are 240 days or more in arrears on their education-loan accounts receive a warning message that they are “in danger of default.” The borrowers also are directed to contact default-prevention staff for immediate assistance.

  • Default Detail. Borrowers are provided further details about their loans in default, including the disbursement date, disbursement amount, outstanding balance, the organization that serviced the loan and the name of the school for which the borrower took out the loan. This feature helps borrowers more easily identify the loans in default.

  • Payment History. Borrowers in default can view an online statement of their account, including a roster of payments made since their default and a display of their total payments allocated to principal, interest, collection costs and other costs.

  • Letters and Documents. Borrowers who are in default may order additional copies of documents and letters that they previously received. Examples include their promissory notes and statements of student-loan interest paid during the year.

"Helping student-loan borrowers resolve payment problems is a fundamental role of education-loan guarantors and a top priority for USA Funds," said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. "These Web-site enhancements provide borrowers with convenient access to resources that help them address their loan-payment problems."

The Web features were developed with the advice of borrowers whose student-loan payments were past due, whose loans were in default, or who had resolved loan defaults.

Borrowers can access the new Web features by selecting "Loan-Payment Problems" from the "Express Links" menu on the home page of the USA Funds Web site.