CFS Affinity Services, which oversees the AFT Student Loan Consolidation program, has suppressed all mail to hurricane-affected areas until further notice. In addition, personal loan counselors at the inbound call center have been trained to handle the special needs of borrowers in the affected areas.

The program's primary servicing agent, CFS Suntech, will automatically process national disaster forbearance in the counties and parishes listed by FEMA (go to http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/hurricane_season.shtm to find out if your parish or county is on the FEMA list). This forbearance, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Education, allows suspension of payments and any ACH (auto-debits from a bank account) drafts scheduled on the accounts for 90 days.

If unsure, borrowers should call the CFS Suntech customer service department (see number below) to confirm that their loan is being serviced there and that they fall into the automatic forbearance.

Borrowers affected by the disaster outside the designated FEMA areas can qualify for a national disaster forbearance by calling CFS Suntech's customer service department 800/489-5005 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Central Time), Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Central) on Saturday.