Pioneer and Conserve Hold Down Top Spots in ED Contract for January

The two leading contractors serving the U.S. Department of Education’s student loan collection contract solidified their positions in January, coming out on top of the monthly rankings released recently by ED’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) division.

Arcade, N.Y-based Pioneer Credit Recovery, a division of student loan giant Sallie Mae, scored a win in the unrestricted – or large business – category in January. Pioneer earned the best overall score for the month besting Des Plaines, Ill.-based Van Ru Credit Corp. which narrowly edged NCO Group, headquartered in Horsham, Pa., for the second-place position.

The monthly rankings are based on a weighed scoring system which factors in total dollars collected, total accounts serviced, and administrative resolutions. The scores are determined by FSA, the ED unit that administers the contract.

Pioneer collected the most money for ED in January, bringing in $19.4 million. There was a close race for second in total dollars collected with Minneapolis-based Allied Interstate notching $16.1 million followed closely by Van Ru with $15.9 million and Livermore, Calif.-based Diversified Collection Service (DCS) with $15.4 million.

For the 35 months that the Ed contract has been in force, Pioneer has brought in a total of $430 million, by far the most of any collection agency on the contract. NCO Group has collected the second most at $320 million.

In the small business category, Fairport, N.Y.-based Continental Service Group (Conserve) won the day with a perfect score from FSA. The firm collected nearly $7 million in January for ED, with Canoga Park, Calif.-based Account Control Technology (ACT) coming in second in both points and dollars collected, bringing in $5 million in the month.

Conserve is leading its small business peers in total dollars collected over the length of the contract moving above the $100 million mark in January to $101 million. ACT stands in second place in that category as well with a total of $80.2 million collected for ED.

The coveted ED student loan collection contract is up for renewal this year (“Dept. of Ed. Gears Up for Collection Contract Conference,” Jan. 8). FSA anticipates awarding the contract to collection vendors in September.