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?

The only letter I have from Errudio say that they give 8 weeks notice to defer - I'm still waiting for my deferment letter to arrive, yet know my deferment runs out in 4 weeks time...
In the past I missed deferment returns twice. The first time was SLCs fault and they refunded the payment they took - they took to long to process my form and missed the date. The second time I sent the forms late. They took a payment but I didn't bother to claim it back.

On my letter it said your deferal expires on 11th May I think which was put back a month from the usual time in April. It didn't give a deadline for when the forms had to be back.
It said we will aim to give you a decision within 28 days but if you haven't heard within 40 days - contact us!
However, it did say (which probably counts as notification under the Direct Debit Guarantee)
that if I didn't defer please ensure I had adequate funds to cover the repayments on the 11th of each month.
So, basically, I guess they were saying, if your deferment is not processed by 11th of May, we're taking the money.
I got the online confirmation that they've signed for receipt of my forms so that gives them more than 28 days to come to a decision.

Hi all. I received my deferment form from the SLC but when I called them to organize the deferment they told me that they had sold the debt to Erudio and that I they have no further dealings on my mortgage style debt (taken out 1997). So far, I have not received any letter from Erudio and it's almost April so I'd like some advice on you guys on the best course of action, should I just wait until they write to me or is it wise for me to take the initiative and phone them? I would like a couple of months of extra leeway but then again I don't want to use the time delay to punish me with some fine or whatever, again, i still havent received any letter and the SLC won't deal with the deferment. Secondly, if one is attempting to pay the entire debt off (I have around 1500) in one go can one haggle a bit to negotiate down the total, I wonder if they would be willing to accept a lower amount to settle the account?

I have only just received a letter from Errudio - last couple of days so I think they are working through them slowly.
Somehow I think they won't haggle despite buying loans at cut price, but it has to be worth a try.

Thanks for that LittleMissGreen

Request a copy of you loan agreements. (£1 required)

www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/39%20EW%20Credit%20agreements%20-%20getting%20information/Page-04.aspx

If Erudio struggle to get the paperwork that can give you more bargaining power.

Working link www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/39%20EW%20Credit%20agreements%20-%20getting%20information/Page-04.aspx

leica - my normal renewal notification time from slc (february for april) was replaced a monthish later with the first erudio communication and new deferment application form. Erudios accompanying letter states my current def period will now end a month later to the day in May. There was no clarification as to why I got an extra month, but I feel, like "emptycoffers", it was gratuitous on erudios part. I actualy decided to play safe however and am working around the original slc end date with erudio. I did phone them up to try and clarify, but was given I felt, a very uncertain affirmative response from a young girl called "Neela", with not a few ums and ers. They have my def application now, so a response should reach me soon. I am more than a little apprehensive about what I'll receive, but will keep all informed just in case it is useful.
martin lewis on board would be good, it was via his website i stumbled across the fact i could have my loans wiped when i reach 60. I actualy ran this by erudio on my second call, which they confirmed for what its worth. one thing's for sure i'm not counting my erudio chickens.

Really pleased to find this thread - I am in the same situation.

I received my deferment application from SLC mid feb but found out in a phone call to them that my loans had been sold to Erudio. Anyhow long and short of it Erudio advised that I could send the SLC deferment application to them with the info requested. I sent it by special delivery on 12th March and had it confirmed by Royal Mail that it had been received.

However, I phoned Erudio yesterday and they denied all knowledge of it! I stated that they had essentially lost my personal data and that they needed to do something about it!! I requested that at the very least my direct debit be cancelled as my application would obviously not be dealt with by the deferment end date of 14/04/14.

I'm now questioning whether I should have done that - am I playing into their hands!! I don't want to risk not meeting the terms and conditions and may reinstate the DD agreement.

Will let you all know how I get on with the deferment and will be following with interest! Good luck peeps

I am in situation whereby I just deferred end of the year and now this has happened and I have just had a pay rise and currently get childcare vouchers if they calculate my deferment this year and don't take into account the childcare vouchers I am over and will have to start paying am only 15 yrs into my loan so nowhere near being written off sadly

thing is on the letter I just got today telling me all about this sale it says under the current status of loan box repaying on the cover letter from slc

this is not the case I am in deferment I dont get it is this in error do I need to call these guys and get caught up in deferment nightmare now it took long enough with slc and if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have called and backdated my deferment three months i'd have left it so in effect I only had 9mnths of deferment I had paid those three months so it came off my loan it wasn't like it was repaid to me when they backdated the deferment

arrgghh

Mandakl: thanks for that. My period of deferment ends mid-May, so I would essentially have until mid-August to get a deferral accepted? Sorry, this whole thing has fried my brain so I'm finding the simplest things difficult to grasp.

I'm sorry that so many of us are stressing out about this. It's horrible.

leica - I think if you choose that route, Erudio will be taking payments while the three months passes so you will be paying them for the privilege and you won't get 3 months extra added on to your deferral date next year - they will backdate it to three months earlier. Would you be 100% confident getting the 3 months DD payments back from Erudio would go smoothly?

Blondie79 - sounds like the best thing you could do would be to begin the deferal afresh with Erudio. If your original deferment end date was 14/04/14 then Erudio will have automatically extented it to 14/05/14. They said they were extending deferrals by a month for all to cover the changeover - your DD issue is covered by the DD Guarantee scheme and if you are deferred you will get any money back.

babyboos - can't really understand your sequence of events as described - like speaking without drawing breath but if you've just deferred 3 months ago - then surely they won't be asking you to go through the process again until next December?

Hi emptycoffers: no, I wouldn't trust them at all! I'm just trying to understand by when I need to get my deferral form/letter back and understand what mandakl means. I'm hoping to get my stuff sent off next week (after I've spoken to the lawyer) so hopefully that will be in good time.

Quote from leica: thanks for that. My period of deferment ends mid-May, so I would essentially have until mid-August to get a deferral accepted? Sorry, this whole thing has fried my brain so I'm finding the simplest things difficult to grasp. wink

No I don't mean that. It's not there for you to take an extra 3 months buffer to defer for no particular reason. if you don't defer by the due date or when they say, then arrears will build up or they can start taking payments.

The provision that allows backdating is their I think so account can be taken should there be mistakes or genuine delays in getting deferment done. So for example if you mess up and forget saying if you've moved and don't get the forms, or they mess up an lose your form or similar.

Then it allows them to backdate it to when it should have been, as long as the delay hasn't been more than 3 months. I f they had been demanding payments and building up arrears, or had been taking payments in that interim, then they would then cancel the arrears or refund the payments.

That is how I understand it anyway.

Babyboos I think the SLC looked at income after child vouchers are removed.
One year with child benefit and salary (before vouchers) I was about £10 a month over the level. With vouchers into consideration I was under the level and SLC deferred without any comment. However since reading this thread it appears SLC may have been ignoring the CB rather than the vouchers, so I am no longer confident it was the vouchers.

mandakl: thanks for the clarification

Of course, this would all be easier if Erudio had actually given me a date!

leica - I think I know what you mean, perhaps, ... you wish Erudio had put a 'return by' date on your forms?

But, if you have a 'deferal approved/deferred until' letter from SLC from last year - this will tell you when the period of deferral expires - perhaps April of this year? 12 months after the last deferral date?

Erudio has extended the April date to May to cover the changeover

Regardless of whether you have a 'return this form by' date - your period of deferral WILL EXPIRE on the 12 month anniversary of the last deferral date (+ 1 month extension from Erudio.)

To avoid DDs leaving your account, you would ideally have your forms back with Erudio before the anniversary date, facilitating deferment before the payment due date falls.

If you miss this date, as mandakl says, there is a further 3 month period when deferment can still be permitted (backdated to the original anniversary) but payments will be taken by DD during this 3 month period. Refunded if deferment then approved.

babyboos - sad to say that in the handbook issued by Erudio it says gross salary before childcare vouchers.

Thanks, emptycoffers - I've got it now!

As I said upthread - my poor old brain is completely fried by all of this.

Hi
Unfortuantly i have sent back my deferral application before finding this site. Do you think its worth replying to erudio regarding the fair processing notice to state i don't agree with it, or have i missed the boat???

Thanks emptycoffers! Appreciate the advice!

Just to update - Erudio phoned me today and confirmed my deferment application HAS been received and they are processing the deferment application as we speak, although they did say it could take 6-8 weeks to process !?!?.

I asked about cancelling the DD holding up the deferment process and they told me that it does delay things but because of the inconvenience that has been caused they will put notes on my record to process it anyway.

This lead me to think of this thread - I wonder if they're trying to make me default on the agreement by not following the terms and conditions originally set out by SLC of having an up to date bank acc / DD set up with them? Or am I turning into a completely paranoid wreck?

I tried calling erudio to make a low settlement and was told that even if i offered 6000 of my 8500 they could not consider it, as they want the whole pie. I was of course only gping to offer less than the 17% my account averages out at that they paid for it.
I talked with a negotiator of the agreement at the department for Business, Innovation and Skills and was told that erudio's boss/a negotiator asked if they could take lower settlements, to which BIS answered they could. However, they have clearly decided they want it all.

I was also told that deferrers are the group they are least likely to get payments from, so refusing short settlements shows how greedy this lot are during this initial stage....or that they have a plan for us deferrers to make us feel like paying. I feel this is clearly shown in the deferment packs and the fear they resonate on reading them about CRA's (under the heading WARNING no less) and the fear of us deferrers about how hard they will come down on anyone who does the slightest thing wrong. BIS considered they would have more success tracking the 46% or so down who are in the sold package who are on the run so to speak, as well as the sweetener of people already paying back.
I dont want CRA's to have my info when i havent done anything wrong to warrant being on a shit list...even if they say it doesnt mean you are shitlisted, you are by association right. Nor do i want to give my bank details just because of a lack of trust in how they would use my info, or concerning the potential of them taking payments around deferment season.
It will certainly be very interesting to hear the replies from people who have already sent in deferment packages not including the 'new' info they ask for.

Hi Everyone

I have written a letter today to Erudio as I have already sent my deferment form in and did not realise that by doing this I was agreeing to allow them to add things to my credit file! Not good when I am hoping to apply for a mortgage in the summer :-(

Would someone mind scanning this and letting me know if its ok, I have pinched things from this thread, not sure if it will help but makes me feel a bit better!

Dear Erudio Student Loans,
I note in the small print of your deferment form it states that
In accordance with the terms of your original agreement We have the right to undertake checks to confirm you are eligible for deferment.?Accordingly therefore, by submitting this application you confirm that you consent for Erudio to perform relevant checks at CRAs and Fraud prevention agencies.

?If your application for deferral is accepted, information that you have a deferred loan will be registered with CRAs

I believe the information in bold is in addition the the original terms and conditions of my original student loans

Please note that I do not consent to any additions, amendments, or otherwise, to the Terms & Conditions of the original loan agreement by Erudio Student Loans Ltd. This includes the recording of any student loan deferment information with any Credit Reference Agency, with the exception of where a formal Notice of Default has been served in accordance with The Consumer Credit Act (1974) and The Education (Student Loans) Regulations (1997).??The recording of any information with any Credit Reference Agency in relation to the right of deferment under Section 11 (1) of The Education (Student Loans) Regulations (1997) will be constituted as a breach of the original loan agreement, and may result in civil proceedings being brought against Enrudio Student Loans Ltd.

That's a really interesting insight erudioed!

I suppose people who have formally deferred and kept in contact with SLC for 15 years or more, are the least like to suddenly spring a wad of cash - after all we've been legitimately not paying for years.

The CRA/credit record thing is the bit that really bugs - the thought that Erudio could mess with the T&Cs despite the committments made as a condition of the loan sale.

But for sure, even if they did successfully change the credit reporting (and I don't think they can) - as long as I earn less than the threshold - they will not manage to pressure me into repaying - no way!

Bugger me, from a purely mercenary point of view - if I was reluctant to repay the government, where there was a least a smidgin of feeling that I would be paying back society - there's not a cat in hell's chance I'm going to divvy up to a debt collector - who would hang me out to dry at the drop of a hat.

As far as I'm concerned now, the govt/society sold it's chance to get a repayment from me and they sold it at a bargain/clearance price - so that's it!
The govt. had its chance and they chose to settle for a pittance - now I know how much they genuinely value the debt at - I don't feel any obligation to pay Erudio top-dollar for what they got for peanuts.

Angepw - I don't see that there would be any harm in following up your deferral form with a further letter.
After all, if Erudio can attempt to change the T&Cs at any point it suits them - there's no reason you can't object at the point at which you become aware of their actions.
I woould be surprised if they attempted to have different T&Cs in force at the same time to different borrowers.

Taz I would definitely send that letter by recorded delivery, so they can't claim not to have received it.

To the person who asked about childcare vouchers (sorry hard to go back on my phone), I asked the same question earlier in the thread and no one had a definitive answer, but there was a thread on money saving expert (I think) where the advice was that the SLC counted income after the vouchers came out. Did it really mention them in the booklet? I obviously didn't read it very carefully . The income I gave on my covering letter was after the vouchers came out but my income is below the threshold before them too so it shouldn't matter. Do you have a dh or dp whose name you can put your child benefit in for future years if this would make a difference? Although obviously this doesn't help for this year.