Like so many of you, we have spent the last several weeks attempting to adjust to the impact felt across the world by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We want to assure you that protecting the well-being of our employees, customers and community has been a top priority for Higher Education Servicing Corporation, and while this situation hasn't been easy for anyone, we remain committed to your needs and to providing the best possible customer service we can during this difficult time.

We also understand that some of our borrowers may be impacted financially by the effects of the Coronavirus. Over the last couple of weeks, you may have seen the news regarding the recent federal stimulus package indicating that interest would be waived on all federally owned student loans. Unfortunately, this benefit does not apply to your loans serviced by us, because the loans we service are not federally owned loans.

How we are helping borrowers

To help our borrowers cope with this on-going crisis, HESC has instituted three benefits to help you if needed:

1. Late Fees waived
2. Up to 3-month Disaster/Emergency Forbearances available
3. No interest capped on Disaster/Emergency Forbearances

First, we are waiving all late fees effective March 26, 2020. This will not affect any late fees assessed prior to this date, and once the crisis subsides, we will reinstate our late fee policy.

Second, anyone affected by the Coronavirus, we now offer a 3-month Disaster/Emergency forbearance to postpone loan payments upon request.

Third, to help minimize the overall cost of placing your loans in forbearance, HESC will not capitalize any interest that accrues during this period. We will continue to monitor this pandemic as it unfolds and will consider extending this forbearance option if the pandemic persists.

So, how can you apply for the Disaster/Emergency forbearance

HESC offers a variety of ways you can submit the form including: mail or fax, uploading the form through your online account, completing the form online or over the phone. Please do not email completed forms to us. Only submit your forbearance form using one of the options listed.

• Complete the form online: go to www.hescloans.com, login to your online account, select Forms in the menu, scroll down to the appropriate forbearance form (General Forbearance for federal loans, Discretionary Forbearance for private loans), click the Complete Online button and fill out the form through DocuSign. For federal loans, be sure to enter “COVID-19” in the box for Question 1. For private loans, select “Yes” to indicate you have been affected by the Coronavirus. If you complete the form online, you are not required to submit any additional documentation or information to our office.
• Upload through your online account: go to www.hescloans.com to download the appropriate forbearance form (General Forbearance for federal loans, Discretionary Forbearance for private loans), complete it in its entirety, indicate on the form that you have been affected by COVID-19, scan the form or take a picture of each page of the form, login to your online account, select Document Center in the menu and follow the instructions to upload the form. Note: we only accept PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF and BMP file formats. Files must be less than 10 MB.
• Mail: go to www.hescloans.com to download the appropriate forbearance form (General Forbearance for federal loans, Discretionary Forbearance for private loans), complete it in its entirety, indicate on the form that you have been affected by COVID-19 and mail it to HESC, 4381 W Green Oaks Blvd., Suite 200, Arlington, TX 76016.
• Fax: go to www.hescloans.com to download the appropriate forbearance form (General Forbearance for federal loans, Discretionary Forbearance for private loans), complete it in its entirety, indicate on the form that you have been affected by COVID-19 and fax it to (817) 792-7878.
• Over the phone: Call us at 1-800-366-4372 to request a Disaster/Emergency forbearance over the phone. Please be aware that our wait times may be longer than normal.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service department at service@hescloans.com. You may also contact us by phone at 1-800-366-4372. Representatives are available between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday.

Sincerely,
Higher Education Servicing Corporation