• Student-loan company Nelnet started notifying borrowers of their monthly payments in October.
  • Shortly after, borrowers took to X to complain about inability to reach the company's customer service.
  • Nelnet responded on X that its call center briefly shut down, and it's receiving an influx of calls and emails.

After student-loan borrowers got word of how much their payments will be this fall, they had questions — and their student-loan company couldn't provide answers.

Over the past few days, Nelnet — one of the major federal loan servicers — started notifying borrowers of their monthly payment amount once repayment resumes in October after an over three-year pause. The debt ceiling bill President Joe Biden signed into law at the beginning of June codified the end of the student-loan payment pause, and as a result, the Education Department instructed servicers to begin notifying borrowers of their monthly payments at least 21 days before the bill comes due.

Nelnet followed the department's instructions and began sending emails to borrowers informing them of the looming payment restart, but it appears it did not go smoothly. Many borrowers took to X, formerly Twitter, expressing confusion with the emails they received from Nelnet — but when they attempted to call the company for help, they experienced hours-long hold times, and some were even told the call center was closed.

"Hello, the call center line was closed to due some technical issues we were having. It is currently operating again," Nelnet wrote on X on Wednesday in response to a borrower who said she "just called your call center at 1:30pm on a Wednesday, just so the automated system can say your call center isn't open, yet your site says it is until 9pm. Hmm."

And on Thursday, in response to a borrower saying on X that they were experiencing a 54-minute hold time, Nelnet said that "we apologize for the higher than normal hold times as we are currently receiving an influx of calls."

Another borrower said on X that the website is not loading and they're unable to access their account, and a different borrower said that "the last 5 times I've tried logging into your system the past 30 days, I'm stuck at the Login screen with no errors, just a blank page."

Nelnet continued to respond to borrowers on X by citing the large volume of calls and emails they were receiving, most recently writing that "we are currently working emails as quickly as possible due to an influx of emails. There isn't an exact turn around time that I am able to give." It recommended borrowers with "in depth questions" should call 888.486.4722 or email nelnetcustomersolutions@nelnet.net. Insider was unable to immediately reach the company for comment.

The struggles borrowers are already experiencing could be a sign of the administrative issues to come once the student-loan system is officially turned back on. The Education Department and student-loan servicers have never transitioned millions of borrowers back into repayment at this scale. As Insider previously reported, the lack of funding for Federal Student Aid could contribute to the difficulties borrowers are experiencing.

House Republicans recently proposed $1.8 billion for student aid administration, which is a cut of $265 million below the current level — and it could jeopardize how effectively student loans are administered, how well servicers are staffed, and the department's ability to implement reforms to repayment programs.

Federal Student Aid acknowledged in a January report that "return to repayment will be a huge undertaking for FSA."

"FSA's loan servicing partners are integral to the success of the future return to repayment plan, but the world of servicing federal student loans is changing rapidly," it continued. "Collaboration with the servicers in the development of detailed outreach strategies will support a successful end of the administrative forbearance period."

Do you have concerns with the return to student-loan repayment? Are you running into issues with your servicer? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@insider.com.