At Fortify, we understand that financial difficulties can happen unexpectedly, making it hard to keep up with payments.
If you find yourself in a situation where you can't make an upcoming payment, it's important to know that you have options. Here's what you can do:
Reach out to us
The most important thing to do is to contact your servicer. This might seem like it won’t make a difference, but here’s why it does:
Financing plans may include penalties for missing payments, such as late fees and NSF fees (bounced payment charges) if you have autopay scheduled to run. By reaching out to your servicer, they can sometimes help you avoid these additional charges. If you’re having trouble paying your standard monthly payment, this step can help stop additional fees from building up and making your loan even more difficult to repay.
There may be flexibility available to accommodate your financial situation, and communicating with your servicer gives them time to come up with a solution that works for you.
Simply communicating with your servicer during periods of financial hardship can sometimes help keep your credit score up. Preventing negative hits to your credit score is important to reduce financing costs on future credit you take out, such as for credit for a house or a car. Having a higher credit score can mean lower interest rates and less fees in the future, which would save you money in the long run.
When unexpected financial difficulties arise, we understand that things can be stressful. We’re here to help, so proactively reaching out will help you to navigate any periods of financial instability.
Flexibility in your loans
When you reach out to your servicer, here’s a preview of what could be available:
Revised repayment schedules: Your servicer may be able to help you develop a new repayment schedule that better fits your current financial circumstances. This could involve extending your repayment term to lower your monthly payments, or temporarily adjusting your payment amounts.
Temporary pause in payments: In some cases, you might be eligible for a temporary suspension of payments. This option, which could be referred to as either forbearance or deferment, can let you pause your payments for an agreed-uponn period, giving you time to recover financially without the pressure of immediate payments.
Note that there might be requirements before you qualify for deferment or forbearance, like getting the permission of your school, and these options may or may not be available. The most important thing to remember is to communicate proactively with your servicer, so they can help.
What penalties will apply if I can’t make a payment?
It’s important to understand the penalties and fees that might come with missing a payment. Here are two to be aware of:
Late payment penalties: Your financing agreement will define your specific late fees, but usually, if any part of your payment is unpaid for more than 10 days past the due date, a late charge may be applied. A typical late charge might be either 5% of the missed payment, or $10.00, but your specific late charges can depend on the state that you live in. For example, if you have a $154.60 monthly payment that’s overdue by 10 days, you might be charged a $10.00 late fee.
Returned check charges / Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fees: Sometimes, a payment that you make could have issues, such as insufficient funds or a stop payment order, and these cases are called “returned payments”. These returned payments can lead to additional fees. Specific NSF fees are defined in your loan agreement, but usually a typical returned payment fee might be around $15.00 in order to cover administrative costs.
How can I avoid these late penalties?
By communicating with your servicer, you can create a repayment plan that helps you avoid late fees and NSF fees, and keeps your credit score from getting harmed by missed payments.
Contacting your servicer
Your loan servicer might be either ZuntaFi or Ion Tuition, depending on the servicer you were assigned when you signed your financing agreement through Fortify.
Here's the contact information for ZuntaFi:
(800) 592-1270
You can log in to your ZuntaFi portal here: https://www.zuntafi.com/Account/Login.
Here's the contact information for Ion Tuition:
(800) 677-8200
You can log into your Ion Tuition portal here: https://app.iontuition.com/