Erudio Student Loans Continued part 3

[erudioed]

I dont know if this is the right way to do it and i apologise if it isn't but this is the continuation of www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/a2057131-Erudio-Student-Loans-Continued

they say they 'MAY' register it as on payment holiday, not 'will'. There is a suspicion that this is just a threat they may not follow through with. I suspect they will do it because of their agreements with Experian but their forms seem more like a threat than anything else...it is about the only weapon they have to make legitimate deferers consider paying.
On a FOI request reply today, interesting, SLC's deferment process is presented in booklet form, and one of the things they say is that they will refuse a deferral application when the form is not singed.
It is also made clear in the same FOI request reply that Erudio's deferment process is not related to that of SLCs and is in the hands of Erudio alone. So, no built in protections...and if that isnt a scandal, i dont know what is!

Surely if they didn't defer you when you were eligible AND provided all necessary evidence (as per t & c) they have already breached the contract?So if they SHOULD have deferred you as of that date - you are in deferral from that date and no backdating needs to occur as you never owed. There should be no need to 'wipe' arrears, as you haven't actually got any! Hope that makes sense!

Yes, thank you Pluthero and Sarebear. When you look at it like that...

It's just the worrying and waiting until it all comes to a head. And what that ugly great head will look like!

This whole sorry affair is a true scandal Erudioed!

Thanks, it's good to have the support on here when people around me just want me to sign the bloomin form, so I can stop worrying and put it all behind me.

The overall important thing to remember over all this is that Erudio have breached the contracts by threatening to give deferers' information to Credit Reference Agencies. This was forbidden under the original agreements so is a breach of contract.

They are most likely also breaking the law in that they were also forbidden under the Student Loans Act 1990 and 1998 to pass any info to companies which would be used for soliciting for custom or goods or services (eg selling that info). Credit Reference Agencies sell the info. Theses Acts above were later repealed but are still binding on the original agreements. Student Loans Company cofirmed the Acts were still binding in the agreements.

By signing anything from Erudio, they were attempting to try to trick people into accepting Erudio's NEW terms and conditions which varies the orginal terms and conditions.

Hi. Have been following this thread for over a week. Great advice from you all. I have contacted bis also. Not very encouraging. Contacted student loan and got copy of last student loan cca. This was in 1996. Copy sent to me was a waste of time. All relevant bits have been omitted. - section 16 and right to defer Not on it. Copy looks like it has been tampered with. Spoke to Ico also who wants my concerns in writing.
3 contacts with Erudio. Cheers for the non 0845 number. Used the international number instead.
I have 4 loans. 93 to 96. I think my loans are the ones that Erudio believe they can share.
Other info I got from erudio
All loans will be registered. Deferred or not. So if making repayments this will also be registered. I thought it was only for deferrals. So anyone who is thinking of repaying or has to repay might want to check out this information

That is what Erudio keep inferring (and stating) they will do...and maybe they will...but we have no evidence yet it is anything other than a threat. If they do start registering our loans with CRAs, then i think Arrow understand that it will be making the news one way or the other, and in the most negative and damaging of ways for them. No matter how they explain it away if they were to do it, the gates of hell will break loose for them legally and in negative publicity. It will also send a very negative message out to all other students of the future who will not only have historic debts but also no chance of credit because there will be a chance of their loans being registered in the same way by some similar underhand future trick they didnt sign up for.

On Friday the Erudio Website had put on their recently asked questions that deferrals will be registered as payment holiday. I just checked their site today and can't see this info anymore. I don't believe I imagined it but very strange. Has anyone who has deferred had this payment holiday applied. My loans should be cancelled in December. Age 50. For me it would be 2 months of payment holiday. For others it will be the lifetime of the loan if this continues. How can that be justified. Payment holiday has negative implications. Also what honourable loan company would offer this long period.

It still has it on its website. Its been on there website a while now...well, the threat to do it that is.
That it quite clearly would be a negative against each individual one us concerning getting future credit is probably the reason why they have yet to take that step and register us all on mass with CRAs.

Found it thanks. I have not checked any of the Credit Reference agencies yet to see if they already have any info on us by ERudio. I m reluctant to give them more info especially Experian as they seem to have a deal if my understanding is correct.
I hope the government and Erudio will be exposed and shamed if this is allowed.

Thought you might like my further comments.
I would agree with Free123 about the 1990 and 1998 Acts still being applicable to the original agreements.
I will have that Opinion by early next week. The initial view is that Counsel agrees with me but I am of course going to await his final conclusions.
Do get in touch if you want me to take up the fight on your behalf.

Anthony Reeves

Thanks Anthony. It will be very interesting to hear the opinion.

Got a reply fom BIS regarding concerns about t@c's and CRA's. most of the reply reiterated their official response. Here is a summary. It did confirm that section 16 in the pre1998 agreement allowed this thus Erudio can do this as not a change. Erudio can register students with CRA's regardless if they are in repayment, deferral or arrears. Deferrals will be treated as a payment holiday inline with any other loan (i interpret this as private loans) and as long as you are not in arrears or defaulted your loan will not be flagged up. If repaying or deferring you are satisfying t&c 's.

So from this it would seem that ALL students will be registered one way or another despite the fact that this was never highlighted to us when taking out the loans. Indeed we all know that these loans were offered to us because of this. As Erudioed in prior posts pointed out it could cause an avalanche. Past and current literature from all advice centres will also need to change their advice and literature if this happens. I wonder if the government has informed them of this.

BIS have also said that Erudio are in the process of reviewing the form used in consultation with colleagues,external stakeholders and customers.

Does anyone know if those who are repaying have had any literature with this documented from Erudio?

@Student1983. Well that is good news as it opens up the whole Miss selling argument about these Loans not being registered with CRA's. Even today the govt is telling students and their parents that these loans

'are not like commercial loans /credit cards, that they are unsecured lending from the govt and will not appear on credit files or show up on credit checks'.

That quote is from current student loan literature:

Section 8 - Myths and facts about student finance - parents resource (page 2 of 2)

Myth — Student debt will stop my child getting a mortgage or other loans

Fact — Student loans are unsecured lending from the government and are very different to credit cards or commercial loans. They don’t go on credit files and don’t show up on credit checks.

ENDORSED BY
SFEngland sf_england

                                                  <a class="break-all" href="//www.practitioners.slc.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.practitioners.slc.co.uk</a> 

www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/683141/sfe_myths___facts_fact_sheet_1415_pf.pdf

Erudio told MSE they would redesign the DAF months back...but they are still sending out the old ones, getting people to fill out the same stuff, and signing over the same things we all have (whatever they will turn out to be). To me, this means that a new DAF would be rather meaningless after they have our signatures from the first one and know whether we own a home for them to try and snatch at a later date. However, i am still very interested to see what direction they take, especially if they do it via the MSE forum like they said they might.

Thank goodness for this thread. Received my deferment form from Erudio yesterday and going crazy with worry: the form is so intrusive. I have Aspergers and finding it all oh so intrusive and frightening. Was always so straight forward with SLC.
I want to run this by you please; need to get this right as my loan will end in 3 years. Took it out in 1992. Always been well under the threshold,

I thinking of filling in the form but not answering home owner or NI question, do I put N/a or blank it out? Not keen to complete DD info but worried they will refuse to honour the end of my loan in 3 years if I don't? Was going to give them my bank statement to confirm monthly allowance from husband and child Benefit, blacking out everything else and 3 months wage slips from p/t job. What should I black out on the signature page? This threads is so informative but I am not great with abbreviations and going out of my mind with the change of agreement they want me to sign and the scare tactics on the back page. I know to take copies and record the delivery. I would be most grateful for any assistance.

@ Teddy02 - I have been deferred and didn't give homeowner status - just ignored box/left blank
Same with NI questions and tel number - gave email address
Did same as you propose with bank statements - Erudio will be looking at total payments in to your account and working out how much it would be over the course of a year - so be careful you didn't have any inheritances or tax rebates going in (they would not be income)
You may need letter from your partner confirming the amount of their financial support for you.
On the signature page I crossed through all of the Data Rules (T&Cs) in the box below the signature box and where I signed it - I wrote I do not consent to any changes in the terms and conditions of my loan(s).
Also wrote this on covering letter, stating that I understood that as Erudio had stated there were no changes in the terms and conditions of my loans I have provided the same information as enabled deferment in previous years.

Success!

Annual Statements

Received mine and noticed a few others have had theirs.

No major changes from SLC procedures - here's your statement - do nothing.

However, it does take Erudio TWO separate letters in the same envelope to say what SLC managed to say perfectly for 20 years in one letter.

One letter seems designed to confuse borrowers into thinking they will have to start repaying NOW!!!

The second letter in the pack then makes it clearer in BOLD that you do not have to do anything now until the end of your deferral and will be written to 8 weeks before expiry of deferment period.

It looks like Erudio might have drawn up the Statement letter template before all the protests kicked off and were going to act like snidey debt collecting weasels and try to pull the wool over peoples' eyes and trick them into making payments on money they didn't need to repay BUT have now backtracked and included a more TRUTHFUL letter stating the actual circumstances and that borrowers don't have to do anything til end of deferment

I just read Pluthero's link to current student loan literature and I started thinking I have had my loan for more than 20 years, I'm sure credit reference agencies where not a big thing back then? I had a google and found this on Experian's site........

www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditRefAgencyExplained.pdf

Why do we have CRAs?
CRAs have existed in the UK for about
30 years, but most lenders only started
using them 10 to 15 years ago. Before this,
consumers had to give lenders proof of
their creditworthiness (how likely it was
they would repay any credit) before they
could borrow money.

So how can they report our pre 1998 loans, to a body that hadn't really been heard of, much less used by anyone when we took our loans out!

Student 1983, I would be interested to receive a copy of that letter from BIS. Counsel who is giving that Opinion would no dount like to se it.

Thank you.
Anthony Reeves

@ calise - I know it'll be of no comfort but I remember being told I would be credit checked with Equifax for a car loan back in 1993/94... I don't remember thinking it was a 'new' thing BUT I do distinctly remember the publicity hoohaa around the launch of student loans and how they were 'safe' borrowing because they would 'supposedly' never affect your ability to get a mortgage... ha ha ha... fair enough it's taken 20 years but they got there in the end...

Thank you @emptycoffers. I appreciate the information. I am planning to black out everything else on my bank statement including balance and only leave the proof they are asking for. I don't think they have a right to any other info. Is this what you did?

Correction of my typing errors !

-----

"Student 1983, I would be interested to receive a copy of that letter from BIS. Counsel who is giving that Opinion would no doubt like to see it."

Mr Reeves sadly there is nothing in the correspondence that Erudio has not commented on when I asked.

As regards all students being registered whether repaying or deferring etc was answered by erudio when I phoned them.
Most of the posts so far are about the deferral form and signing we accept that we will be registered with cra if deferral accepted. My point to Erudio was to find out if those who are repaying will also be on cra. Which they said yes. So if you repay you would be showing you are fulfilling your terms and conditions also and like any other loan company this would be recorded. My point is more to do with the fact that this may not be something we had all considered. So even if anyone is repaying or thinking of repaying they will also be registered. Again this is due to their interpretation of clause 16.
I think the recent literature that student loans are giving out as found by Pluthero is suggestive that these loans would never be used for cra purposes. Defaulting might always have been an option.
Perhaps another case similar to PPI's is on the cards for government if Erudio carry this through!!!

Its also becoming increasingly clear that the annual statements currently being mailed out are a confusing mess. And all after they have admitted on their website that their 'system' made another mistake for the last few weeks about falsely including arrears on some! These vultures arent fit for purpose. Its a joke thats getting out of hand and in a just world, we could all give them a wide berth and let their venture fail. However, as we have had them imposed on our lives for the the next 10 or so years by BIS, its about time they stepped in and gave these cretins a dressing down! Who would have have taken out a damn student loan if they new it would end up like this? Its a disgrace thats turning into a joke!

Thank you Student1983.
Their interpretation of Clause 16 is debatable and I will shortly have Counsel's opinion on that.

I will post further in due course.

Anthony Reeves