Recently we had a good question from one of our readers, Pam:

How do I go about contacting my lenders?? I see the "notify your lender(s)" things everywhere, but nobody actually tells me how to do this!!

Sometimes we do forget to cover the most basic questions! That's why we're glad Pam asked it.

Contacting your lender sounds simple enough, but it's possible—especially if you have multiple student loans—that you may not know who your lender is. It's common for student loans to get sold, so the lender you originally borrowed from may not be the lender you contact when you're in repayment.

So what to do?

1. Check your student loan paperwork. Anything your lender has sent you in the mail should have contact information on it. If your student loan has been sold, you should have received notification in the mail with contact information for your new lender. (If you haven't been saving your paperwork all along, start now!)
   
   
2. Do some research. If you don't know who your lender is, and you don't have any paperwork with contact information, it's time to do some research. It might be easiest to contact the financial aid office at your school and ask them who your lender is. (You can probably find the phone number for the financial aid office on your school's website.)
   
   If you have federal student loans, you can also learn who your lender is by checking the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)  website. If you have private student loans , you won't be able to research them on this site, so you may have to rely on your school to let you know who your private loan lender is.
   
   
3. Find your lender online. Once you know who your lender is, look them up online to find their phone number(s). Many student loan lenders offer their phone number pretty prominently online (proof that they really do want you to stay in touch!). Some lenders offer a way to email them as well.

If Wells Fargo happens to be your lender, you can reach a student loan representative by calling 1-800-658-3567.  Here are some other ways to contact us as well.