Mar 12, 2014 03:55 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

If you have ever wondered how your student loan lender stacks up against others in terms of customer service, the U.S. Education Department (ED) has got you covered.

In a sudden change of heart, the Huffington Post reported, the ED has released customer service ratings for the four major federal student loan lenders. Perhaps a surprise to almost no one, Sallie Mae ranked at the bottom among borrows, schools and federal personnel.

Nelnet, Great Lakes and FedLoan Servicing join Sallie Mae as the four preferred companies to handle the ED's federal student loans.

The customer servicer scores for a three-month period ending Sept. 30 (found here) are as follows:

FedLoan Servicing

Borrower survey score: 74.33

School survey score: 77.33

Federal personnel survey score: 75

Great Lakes

Borrower survey score: 76.67

School survey score: 83.67

Federal personnel survey score: 70

Nelnet

Borrower survey score: 75

School survey score: 80.67

Federal personnel survey score: 69

Sallie Mae

Borrower survey score: 73

School survey score: 74

Federal personnel survey score: 69

While Great Lakes appeared to have the best all-around score, ED employees only found them slightly easier to deal with than Nelnet and Sallie Mae. Great Lakes, however, scored highest with both borrowers and schools. Sallie Mae also recorded the lowest scores for the year that ended on June 30.

The ED's decision to release this info is also a full 180-degree turnaround from previously stating they would not release customer service data. The ED recently renewed a lucrative contract with Sallie Mae to keep the company as its preferred student loan lender despite increasingly loud criticism and alleged violations.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Justice Department, as well as more than half a dozen states, are investigating Sallie Mae for alleged violations of borrowers' rights. For example, Sallie Mae is accused of intentionally steering borrowers away from certain repayment plans in favor of a forbearance or deferment, which both drive up interest rates in the long run.

Because of these alleged violations, the ED has been under fire from borrower advocates, such as the CFPB and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for not paying close enough attention. Such critics of the ED have called the move to not release customer service info an attempt to shield their biggest student loan contractor.

It is not yet clear if the ED plans to release data for the three-month period ending on Dec. 31, but it is reasonable to imagine they do not look much different from the Sept. 30 figures.

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