ACS education loan contract on the books

Affiliated Computer Services is letting out a sigh of relief now that the U.S. Department of Education has confirmed it will extend the company's largest contract until late 2007.

Thursday, the Education Department announced that stretching out a student loan processing contract with the Dallas-based computer services company was "appropriate." Back in November 2001, the Education Department agreed to extend the deal to Sept. 30, 2007, but reviewed its decision after student-loan services provider Sallie Mae protested, according to Affiliated's Chief Marketing Officer, Lesley Pool.

Pool on Friday welcomed the Department's move to stick with Affiliated. "It removes the cloud," she said. "It affirms the original extension."

The Education Department contract accounts for about 4 percent of Affiliated's revenue, which totaled $3.1 billion in the year ended June 2002. Affiliated's initial contract with the department began in 1994 and was set to expire in September 2003.

Under the contract, Affiliated handles tasks such as customer service and payment collection for roughly 5 million borrowers.

In its statement Thursday, the Education Department said it "has conducted extensive market research to fulfill its loan servicing needs between Oct. 1, 2003, and Sept. 30, 2007. In performing this market research, the Department has determined that the extension to the Direct Loan Servicing System with ACS contract is appropriate."

Affiliated processes student loans for individual universities, as well. Overall, it handles student loans worth a total of $8 billion, Pool said.

My dealings with them are a total disaster.
(1).They transferred my servicing in July of 2008 with no permission from me. Since then it has been a total mess.
(2). You must register to see your account and then to register your are forced to accept an agreement to an electronic statement in the place of paper.You also agree not to make check payments.
(3). Their site stated that you can order coupons (NOT!!!). They totally ignore these and keep badgering you to do an electronic payment.
After all the other incompetent activities I refuse to use their payment system and use my bank's bill pay. At least I can trust them.
(4). I have tried to determine the payments. It is impossible. All that ACS will say it "level". Everything I read says 10 years which means it should be about $50.00 a month but it is now over $80.00.
(5).Do not attempt to write them on Friday or within 72 hours os Friday. Almost every Friday response says :I am sorry but we cannot locate your account". Even though the email you are using is the one you log in to see your account.I guess getting out the door for the weekend is more important than you.

I have demanded that they send my email to a supervisor and they refuse. They state that I must phone their 800 number. I refuse to do this after all of the lies. I want it in writing.

(6). They send you a "Payment Reminder" 2 - 3 weeks before the payment due date every month stating that your payment is "due and payable". That thar be Credit Collection harassment to me. ALso, the email is incorrectly coded as "Content-Type: text/plain" which means that if your email clients does not assume that there is HTML in it you get to see all the nice coding.

Have fun folks.