If you have never had to deal with a federal student loan servicer like FedLoan Servicing, Navient, or Great Lakes consider yourself lucky. For the forty-five million people buried under a collective $1.7 trillion in debt, the mere mention of their servicer likely inspires fear and loathing. When servicers aren’t collecting the last dollar you have at the end of the month, they are often screwing up your account in ways that are extremely difficult to correct.

Technically speaking, a student loan servicer is a kind of middleman between the debtor and the creditor to manage the account, collect payments, and penalize noncompliance. Or, as the Department of Education puts it, “A loan servicer is a company that we assign to handle the billing and other services on your federal student loan on our behalf, at no cost to you.” The last bit could not be further from the truth.

Servicers often give false or misleading information that can result in life-altering consequences. Sometimes this means getting hit with late fees or defaulting, negative marks on your credit which can prevent you from getting a job or renting an apartment. Sometimes it means finding out too late that you didn’t file the correct paperwork to qualify for loan forgiveness and the light at the end of the tunnel was a mirage. Trying to do anything with the “customer service” at companies like FedLoan and Navient is always a frustrating and often degrading experience.