Getting the loan default message across

Creative ways that default prevention providers connect with borrowers

“We include in our emails a link to a brief video that explains that we are counselors, not collectors, working on behalf of the college the borrower attended, and that we work with borrowers and their loan servicers to resolve their loan payment issues. The video invites the borrower to call us.”

—Craig P. Anderson, senior vice president, business development, USA Funds

“Our lead counselor has a favorite success story where she had called the borrower’s grandmother for his contact information. The grandmother supplied the updated phone number and the counselor was able to speak with the borrower. When he realized it was about his student loan, he immediately disconnected the call. Our agent called the grandmother back and explained that the grandson had hung up on us. The grandmother asked for our phone number and within minutes the borrower called us back. We were able to resolve his delinquency and get him on the right path.”

—Judith Witherspoon, senior vice president, Edfinancial Services

“We have been testing a new contact strategy that includes sending the borrower a ‘birthday postcard’ within a few days of his or her birthday. At this time of the year, borrowers, or anyone for that matter, are usually more apt to read all of their mail, as they may be looking for cards and gifts from family and friends. Our hope is they will read the postcard and then contact us, so that we can ultimately assist them with their student loan repayment problems.”

—Dave Macoubrie, vice president of repayment solutions, Inceptia

“We send out a monthly e-newsletter to borrowers, called Ahead of the Game, which highlights loan information during specific times in the student/borrower’s loan cycle. It’s blended information provided in a humorous format, but it gets to the issue of repayment for specific periods. For those in their grace period, we let them know who to contact and why for repayment, or for those who have reached a delinquent stage we explain how that affects their financial health and how to restore their good credit standings.”

—Mark Brody, director of operations, TG

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