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

Can i just confirm with people, has anyone been successfully deferred WITHOUT signing the crappy form? I was told categorically that this was impossible by Erudio, and am looking for evidence if it is happening.
Thanks

*powerpooh

This may refer to your case, but i cant find your earlier posts sorry...

@Lilypiesmum

You are only technically in arrears due to their incompetence, so complain saying that you will be taking it to the FOS if they don't defer you immediately and cancel them or backdate your deferment.

Setting a collector on you for one month's arrears when it is their fault and you are entitled to have it backdated anyway is also totally out of order and disproportionate thing for them to do. Even if it should be just another part of their company they refer it to.

Add that to the complaint.

Contact the FOS and ask if they will write now on your behalf setting out your complaints.

They say they will here, though sometimes takes a dew calls to get through to an FOS employee that will do it.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Grrrr They have not suspended my account as promised and have taken a DD payment today. So now I have to fill out complaints forms, claim back DD etc :-(

@calise

Not surprised. They are still telling everyone else lies, so you can't believe them one bit no matter what they say they will do.

Claim it back under the DD guarantee.

Received a second deferment acceptance letter today, this one has the deferment start date exactly one month after last deferment ended and also mentions the DD requirement (first letter has correct start date and no mention of DD).

Complete numpties.

@insanityme

I reluctantly ended up filling out their form as I was getting no where without it.. I game them minimal information. Said my details were correct, and that DD was current. Confirmed my earnings. Black markered through EVERYTHING regarding disclosure of information to CRAs etc and the fair processing nonsense signed it and dated it.

Now before i had done all of this Erudio had already done a CRA check on me, can't remember the exact wording but it was to do with identity check or something. This was done before I had contacted the FOS too.

My defered loan as of yet is not on my credit file. But I suppose time will tell. . Interestingly when I got my recent letter from them saying they were upholding my complaint they also enclosed a leaflet from the FOS telling me the next steps if I wasnt happy.. I beleive had I not contacted FOS then I wouldn't have been defered so soon after complaining about their crap service nor would they have upheld my complaint and gave me an apology.

I haven't heard anything about my credit agreement requests or a final response to my complaints - sent over 8 weeks ago (just holding letters) - so I have now complained to the FOS. My main complaint is that I HAD to use the form, therefore trying to get me to change the t & c, and want them to confirm this not to be the case for next year. I did block out the last bit of the form (and wrote I didn't consent to any changes) but it is a matter of principle to me that they think they can do what they like!

I also made a subject access request to Erudio - asking for all data the have on me and who they share it with. Will I receive a response before next years deferral debacle?

My friend received a letter saying she has successfully deferred...yet she still hasn't posted the required extra evidence they requested! It would seem they don't know their arses from their elbows and are using different rules per person.

I've received a new deferment form for my other loan - annoyingly 1996 and 97 are linked together, but 1998 one has always had to be separately deferred and a separate letter from hubby, all 3 loans were taken out from same company, so why won't they use one set of info? If I've proved in May I can't repay my loan.....why write again in June asking for evidence to defer the third loan?

Oh and just to add, I stuck a post it note to the bank detail section and said I don't have a current account and will not provide one, as I know they take payments even On deferred loans...and then take 3-5 days to repay people! I said I'd pay by credit card if needs be....but if you're entitled to defer, why the hell should you give any bank details? I will never earn the £2,400 pm or whatever it is.

@insanityme

Nope. They've admitted I am eligible to defer but won't process unless form is signed so they've now put my account in arrears. They are really sticking to their guns on this.

FOS now involved but I don't think they're being much use - other than getting Erudio to answer my complaint.
MP is on the case and writing to David Willetts.

The morons have backed themselves into a corner on it. They know that they have no right to refuse deferments simply because you chose not to use their forms, but they have gone too far and built their house of cards too high based on their forms for them to easily admit it and see it all collapse. It would be total humiliation for them.

Just another positive update here - I filled in the forms (1996 loan so didn't bother blacking out the blurb), didn't give info as to home ownership or phone numbers, but they already had my email because I wrote to them ages ago asking for clarity on the terms.
As I am self-employed overseas, I did the same as I always did with SLC - got a letter from my accountant confirming the pitiful amount I earn, translated it myself, and included a link to the national bank site for curency exchange rates so they could check it. I also included my previous year's tax return (all in Polish, so presumably useless to them) and just highlighted the big box at the bottom where my total annual income is stated and wrote in the margin that they should divide by 12 and check the Polish national bank website to work out my previous year's monthly earnings.
Sent it off by "signed for" 3 weeks before deferment date and have been bricking myself ever since because Polish post is so incompetent I never got confirmation of the delivery. I got a letter back about 2 weeks ago (well after deferment date) and had been too scared to even open it (numpty) but plucked up courage this morning and it is DEFERMENT!
Just proves they can pull their finger out when they want as it is dated just 2 weeks!!!! after I sent the letter from here! (and the woman at the post office said it would take around a week to reach them).
Interestingly, after reading all this, I asked my mum to try and find out whether they'd tried to activate my old DD to SLC (ha ha, my bank acct in the UK is dormant as I haven't used it since I left university 17 years ago) and yep: they had a register of an attempt by "ESL" (no full name) to draw money on it a week before my information and deferment pack was even sent to me, back in March!! Ratarses.

I've just sent another deferment form off for my 3rd year loan, I did not sign any of it, just wrote name in block capitals with the date. I'm not sure that counts as 'signing' as it is not my signature, and if they start playing dirty with me, I can point this out to them.

Today I found out my bank account was credited with £25 by Arrow Global on behalf of Erudio.

I have NO idea why.

Their response to my complaint was it was too complicated to reply to.

Has this happened to anyone else?! Why would they be giving ME money????? And how the hell did they get my account details when they were blocked from having them????

No idea Becca, some sort of apology that no one has told you about? I would be suspicious.

I have cracked and phoned them since my deferment expired two weeks ago. Apparently it has been processed and rejected as incomplete as I have not signed and dated the form. I explained why I don't wish to and was told that there has been no change in T&Cs and that they will not defer without a form. I asked what I should do and they had no suggestions. I am awaiting a call back from a manager, not holding my breath.

I am inclined to wait for my letter and then return the form with minimal amounts completed and the new term blacked out. Then I will complain about them not complying with the regs by deferring when I provided evidence, and taking over six weeks to process it. Sigh. This is taking too much time and energy.

Just spoken to a very helpful lady who confirms that they will not process deferment without forms, even though they agree I have provided enough evidence. She confirmed they don't require the whole form complete so I will black out as required and sign it. Incidentally I only sent a letter from my husband confirming he supports me and they have accepted that. I know that hasn't been the case for everyone.

The bank are very suspicious. The woman I saw there said it was very dodgy and was shocked that arrow global are the same as erudio (of course we already know that!). MP has no idea either.

They did a check and arrow/erudio have tried to reset up a DD on my account again.

I am supposedly deferred, with a complaint being processed but by another department as it is so complicated.

Have way too much else hitting the fan right now for them to begin messing me around as well.

Interesting comment on the no2erudio blog

no2erudio.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/do-not-sign-erudios-new-student-loan-deferment-form/comment-page-1/#comment-33

Quote: Anyway, a few weeks later a deferment notice came through, great all seemed fine.
TODAY I SEE THEY HAVE EMPTIED MY ACCOUNT and left me with £2 for the rest of the month. I phoned immediately, surprise surprise they said there’s a bug in their system which means anyone who has set up the direct debit (as we are all being forced to do when applying for deferment) is having payments taken regardless of whether they got the box ticked for a defermnet or not. PLEASE CHECK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT!

Bug?

More like they are just thieving **s.

Of course. Computers all have minds of their own and never need to be told what to do at all do they? Ever. It's all the bad computers fault so we should all feel sorry for Arrow/erudio

This was basically what I was told by them the last time I contacted them before dumping it all on my MPs office (the guy sorting it is having a right run around by them), I was told that just because someone was deferred it didn't mean money wouldn't still be taken, because the computer must check each month someone still has a direct debit in place and wouldn't know not to take money at that point

What complete tosh.

They must be having some sort of office competition to see who can make up the most absurd lie or excuse each week.

I suggest all of those with Direct Debits stolen after being deferred to call BIS and ask for the student section. They directly communicate with Zach Lewy. If you do call, tell them many many others seem to be in the same situation on the forums and that trying to deal with Capita is an absolute nightmare and shambles. If you do get through, they will definitely act. It was from BIS pressure that Lewy had to admit over 500 had been taken before, after initially lying to BIS and saying it was 50 or so. It was our pressure that brought that issue to light in the media and beyond. Its time to do it again if we want this reported. Calling BIS's student section is the only path through which this will reach the top quickly, unless they are reading these forums still!

Hell hath no fury like a mummy scorned, we can all be as difficult with them as they are with us and complain like crazy about their devious ways!

I see there has been a reply to the FOI request here:

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/215581/response/532845/attach/4/image2014%2006%2024%20133728.pdf

Does that mean that if different people ask for different elements of this then they each would get one of the bullet points and could add it together for a full picture? (Hope that makes sense!)