American Education Services Customer Service: What It Can Do and How to Contact

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.

• Enroll in autopay. American Education Services can deduct your payments automatically from your bank account. Signing up for autopay will reduce your interest by 0.25 percentage point.

• 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, which caps payment at a higher percentage of your income compared with other income-driven options like Revised Pay As You Earn, or REPAYE. (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.

» MORE: Federal student loan servicers: Who are they and what do they do?

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.

American Education Services lawsuits

On May 31, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a lawsuit against PHEAA, which does business as AES. The CFPB alleges that PHEAA illegally collected payments on private student loans which borrowers had discharged in bankruptcy, and that the company sent false information about these borrowers to credit reporting agencies.

» MORE: How to discharge student loans in bankruptcy

Between 2017 and 2021, PHEAA attempted to collect on nearly 8,000 private student loans after a bankruptcy proceeding, the CFPB said.

“PHEAA has ignored its responsibilities and illegally pursued borrowers for loans they no longer owe,” said CFPB director Rohit Chopra in a statement. “The CFPB is suing PHEAA for demanding money from borrowers that they do not owe and for reporting false information to credit reporting companies.”

If the CFPB is successful, PHEAA will be required to stop this conduct and pay a civil penalty. PHEAA would also pay settlements to affected borrowers. There's no timeline for when this lawsuit could be resolved.

This is the CFPB’s second public enforcement action against PHEAA in 2024. In early May, the CFPB filed a complaint about PHEAA servicing failures, including incorrectly denying forbearance requests, between 2015 and 2021. If the lawsuits succeeds, PHEAA be partly responsible for more than $5 million in fines and settlements for affected borrowers.

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 transferred, 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 - 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

American Education Services website: www.aessuccess.org.

American Education Services email: Log in to your AES account.

American Education Services social channels: AES Facebook & AES Twitter.

How to complain about American Education Services

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:

• Federal Student Aid Feedback System.

• Your state attorney general's office.

• Your state consumer protection office.

• Your congressional representative.

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

You can also reach out to a student loans nonprofit such as The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, which provides free dispute resolution.

The federal student loan servicers

Learn about each of the federal loan servicers for direct loans, including what they can do and how to contact.