erudio student loans

[mrsbug]

Hi, I have an old student loan from 1998 which I have been deferring since then as I have never earned enough to pay it back (there are some advantages to being poor )

I recently had a letter from a company called erudio student loans saying they have bought my student loan from the government. All very reassuring about how the t and cs of my loan won't change, etc.

Now I've had the regular deferral letter from them and it's much more detailed than before. They want my bank details which I'm not really happy to give, and they say my details will be checked with a credit reference agency, which I don't think they used to do - my loan has never shown on my credit file.

Has anyone else had this? Do I have to give them this info?

I've emailed the NUS link and their press office about this. I also emailed a complaint to BIS earlier this week but have yet to receive a response. I also tweeted Simon Read in response to his tweets about Erudio.

Keep the pressure on.

Good news - Simon Read replied to me on Twitter saying he's had lots of emails on this and is planning a story.

Although common sense tells me that, despite their agreement to stick to the original T&Cs, there is no way Erudio will handle the loans in a morally appropriate way to the same standards as SLC, I've had to reign myself in over this whole scenario.

The best advice I could give to people joining this debate now is PLEASE stop wasting your time and money phoning Erudio - the operators on the end of those lines are not empowered to soothe your pain.

They are taking notes on the telephone numbers you use and those numbers will be used later to harass you.

The call centre people are frankly, even with the best will in the world, making it up as they go along and nothing they say can or should be relied upon by you.

There is more than enough information on this thread now for anybody to submit their application for deferment without contacting Erudio.

We know the T&Cs Erudio have already broken - Many of us have told Erudio and complained to them and others.

Until Erudio start replying to deferment applications, and responding to those complaints, there is absolutely no further point in engaging with them.

If people are going to complain they should use the official/written channels and or BIS or MPs and so on.

There are so many people complaining about conflicting information given over the telephone - don't phone them!

The operators don't know any more than you and they will not be the people who make any decision on whether you get deferred or not.

That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!!!

EDIT: "The call centre people are frankly, even with the best will in the world, making it up as they go along and nothing they say can or should be relied upon by you. "

SHOUL HAVE READ: *The call centre people are not your friend - they are debt collection agents - they will be on performance bonuses based getting info and money out of us.

Don't sentimentalise them as jobless youngsters just doing what they can to earn a crust - given the chance - they will stitch you up - royally!*

SHOULD HAVE READ:

• The call centre people are not your friend - they are debt collection agents - they will be on performance bonuses based getting info and money out of us.

Don't sentimentalise them as jobless youngsters just doing what they can to earn a crust - given the chance - they will stitch you up - royally! *

should be bold too!

bugger

Awesome sleepdeprived!
iwillwin123 I have emailed khurrum at nus too.

I was amazed Mr. Cameron replied within 48 hours! He has helped me before when I had redundancy issues while on maternity leave, so I have good faith.

Good work everyone! We must bring these suckers to attention of those who can make a difference.

For those who have written to their MP's, is it possible that you could cut & paste a template for others who might like to do this too? I'm a bit clueless as to the wording of these things!

TIA

This thread has scared me quite a lot- am I supposed to have done something about my student loan? It just get a statement letter every year telling me how much I owe but saying it's not a demand for payment. I haven't had a job since my dc were born so obviously I haven't earned anything to pay it back with. What are deferment forms? Do they only become relevant once you have a job? Am I likely to get a letter from this new company wanting information I can't give them?

This is what I wrote, it's just my way putting things please feel free to use it, or alter it to your needs :)

Dear (name of your local MP),

As a resident of (place where you live) in your constituency I would like to draw to your attention a problem that I have encountered recently and that I think is a huge concern especially with family finances being stretched as they are right now.

Some years ago I took out a student loan to help me cover the costs of University, The Student Loans company have recently sold some loans to Erudio Student Loans, who I believe are pressuring borrowers into repaying before they can afford to.

They apply pressure by requesting evidence of income and benefits that was previously not necessary with the Student Loans Company. They say the terms and conditions haven't changed but they require additional evidence, many individuals have started to make repayments because of the poor advice given and pressure applied, when they should qualify for a deferment. I have also heard people complaining that they threaten people to make repayments saying that any deferments will appear on their credit rating, which I can't believe is true or lawful. This is yet another bully tactic to get people to make repayments, who needn't.

^(I personally was horrified to find my loan had been sold, I had no letter
informing me and I was shocked that they had my personal and financial information without my permission.

I recently applied to the Student Loan Company for deferment and heard nothing back, payments were attempted to be taken and charges made by my bank, before I was even aware Erudio had taken over my loans or told that my deferment had been unsuccessful. )^ (please replace with your personal story)

Please read this thread on Mumsnet you will see how many people this is affecting and how distressing it is for individuals to feel this kind of financial pressure in an already difficult time.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2028211-erudio-student-loans?pg=17

I don't know if there's anything that can be done but I felt I should highlight this issue to someone! Please help if there is something within your power to do so.

Many other victims of these bullying tactics are being encouraged to contact their local MPs as we feel this issue needs highlighting.

Many thanks for your time,

@emptycoffers - to be fair they are just trying to do a job in difficult economic times. (could possibly have been me 15+ years ago)

However, its not a job I could do in all good conscience, and on that basis I don't trust anyone who would do it!

Apparently I have received confirmation in the post of my complaint I made on the 31st March via telephone. I shall post up details here if its anything new.

Fillie. That is brilliant. Good letter that I will use. Thank you and have a lovely weekend :)

Thank you, you too :)

emptycoffers:

bold only works if the * is at the beginning and end of a whole line. If you have a line break/carriage return between it doesn't recognise it.

*whole line or word I should say.

I've been following this thread since my partner received her deferment form earlier this week and the whole thing is worrying. We're not entirely sure how to approach this. She took out student loans in 95, 96, 97 and 98 and has deferred payments ever since. We are self employed, and each year she's submitted the previous year's tax return and been granted deferment as her share of the business has never even been near to the deferment threshold. So far, so good. Then when the form arrived this week she felt uncomfortable with all they were asking, just to get the loans deferred as usual. She had this nagging feeling that by simply returning the form in it's entirety, all signed etc., that she would be opening herself up to being re-contracted according to Erudio's Ts and Cs, and not what she originally signed up for all those years ago with SLC. That's what brought us here, amongst other forums, in the name of finding out the lowdown on how to approach this... and now we're more confused than ever as to what to do.

Our dilemma is this: My partner turns 50 at the end of next year, and technically that is when her loans would be cancelled. We've only got 2 more deferment processes to get through before we're free of this nonsense. Much as we want to challenge what Erudio are doing, we don't want to fall into a scenario where that challenge takes us beyond her deferment date and inadvertantly fall into a breach of contract position because she's not in a position to pay, and hence she falls into default with the loans, leading to a demand for payment in full and maybe scuppering the chance to have them cancelled next year.

However, we also don't want to have to submit to Erudio's invasive line of questions to get that deferment. I like the idea of omitting to answer certain questions and sending them an accompanying letter refusing to accept their Ts and Cs regarding the CRA reporting, but we don't want to push it too far so that they deny the deferment, even though she is legally entitled to it.

It is a dilemma and we're worried about how to proceed.

@ mandakl Never knew that! I'll get the hang of it eventually, I hope.

@LoobyLoo8 - similar position to me and same dilemma, although 50 is a bit further off. If you have a chance to read back through the thread and see my previous posts - my response to Erudio was along the same lines as you propose.

SLC have stated that the ONLY reason to deny deferment is earnings over the threshold - any other 'reasons' from Erudio are deliberate 'baiting' to try and make people cave in and pay.

right, just an update on some replies i have had today. I am not sure it is correct to post, please tell me if it isnt a good idea for whatever reason but i have heard from David Malcolm today at NUS. Here is the mail:

Thank you for your email. We have now received a number of complaints and expressions of concern, and is being discussed in a number of other forums.
It remains that the terms and conditions cannot change in the loan agreement but there is a lot of confusion as to what else can or cannot be requested or required. I raised the concerns in person to a senior civil servant at BIS today and it seems others have been directly in touch so this is something they are working on. They are currently seeking clarity on the legal status of the data sharing requests as well as other points and will communicate with us when they have an official response. In turn I will ensure we communicate this to you and other borrowers.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Best wishes
David

2nd up, i have heard from another journalist not mentioned yet, other than in an email address kindly provided above:

Not going to be able to follow up any more on this until Monday, but this is the response I’ve had from the BIS department of Government, which is responsible for student loans. Let me know your thoughts.
“The terms and conditions of fixed term student loans, which are regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, have not changed as a result of their sale to Erudio Student Loans Ltd (Erudio). Borrowers have the same rights and obligations as they had when their loans were managed by the Student Loans Company (SLC).
“Erudio have adopted a different approach to the deferment application process which does not constitute a change to terms and conditions. The method of the deferment process is not part of the terms and conditions of the loan. Any decision about whether or not to offer short settlement is a matter for Erudio.”

I have replied in detail.

Good news as well about our beloved state leader being involved, lets hope he doesnt live in the same village as our true beloved leader Mr Mark Filer

Ha. So BIS haven't seen the part on the erudio forms about deferral and CRAs?! Somebody isn't doing their job right somewhere!

well, when you consider the scrutiny they will be under if anyone investigates their due diligence procedure (considering some of the things i've tracked down that are public record), i think they have a strong interest in playing things down. Because, if things do come down, it is BIS who will have the most to answer for.

As an aside, we cant understate the term "we aim to treat borrowers fairly at all times" as stated by Erudio. I have mentioned this in virtually all my chats with Erudio and it is the one thing that has always got me some leeway or shut them up and sent them away on one of their chats with a boss...as it should, because if that was true, i doubt any of us would be complaining right now, or losing sleep and getting potentially sick from worry!

Hi.
I too am affected by this fiasco. I've been following this thread and those on other forums (Money Saving Expert and Consumer Action Group) and I am worried sick about it. I am way below the threshold for being eligible to defer and have so since I graduated. The deferment form from Erudio is a joke, they are quite clearly trying to change T and C's and being very sneaky about it.

I have also discovered that they have submitted DD to my bank and it sitting as an active DD although no amount or frequency of payment is included. I guess its in place should I not get deferment.

I'm not sure of my course of action yet all I know is that is stressing me out to the point that I'm making myself sick with it. I am not normally that kind of person, however this has got me in a right state.
All I know at this stage is that I am eligible for deferment so I shall be applying. After that I have no idea.

you should be ok because you know you are below the payment threshold, so if anything were to happen (and you definitely wouldnt be alone) you would be fine when the ombudsman starts to get bombarded with complaints. I dont think anyone has got that far yet, but if changes arent made to the numerous issues complained about, the Ombudsman will be needing to hire extra staff. Just log times and dates of your deadlings in case anything were to happen.
You have to consider what the deferment form is asking you to concede or what new terms and conditions are being added by you signing. If you dont want your loan to be passed on and marked as in deferment with CRAs, you should lodge a formal complaint with Erudio and request them to send a new more applicable deferral form out, with irrelevant information excluded, so that it is 100% clear what you are signing. I think thousands have lodged complaints so nothing bad will come to you personally. But that will also help everyone, almost like a rights of passage if you like for being welcomed into the large Erudio family. Then sit back and await the response and see whether other actions have effected change in the 8 weeks that will buy you.

hey stay calm powerpooh
I was in a fizz
just read the thread we are getting to the point of responses this is going quite fast. only 2 days ago we new nothing now its unfolding

I had considered not using their deferment form and using the letter someone had drafted earlier in this thread. Or filling in the relevent parts of their form and black marking through the parts I don't feel are relevant such as housing status etc. They are also asking for a P60. This would bear no relevance to my current income as I am not due to receive the most recent one until May/June this year so I would be submitting one from the previous tax year. Its really doing my head in. Have you already complained to Erudio? Did you email them or write a letter? Sorry for all the questions.
P

me personally Powerpooh, i telephoned them. Tell them all the issues that you dont agree with and state i would like to register this as an official complaint. You then wait up to 8 weeks for a response. However, be aware that they are blagging on the telephone lines because they have not been trained to deal with our questions, and that the responses can be very contradictory. Others mailed a complaint i believe.
I had a semi answer but only cause i called them to ask if my concerns had been answered. My answer ended up being less than clear but i will update when the letter arrives.