Being taken to court by student loans - very worried! Advice needed please!

[MoneyTooTight]

Hoping for some advice please - I appreciate I may not have acted in the best way, but now I'm in a mess so any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I took out student loans in the 90s student loans Scotland - under the old system where the payback threshold was quite high

I was constantly in a period of deferment until the loan was sold to Erudio. I had a whole carry on with them about 4 years ago when I moved house they said they didn't receive my deferment forms I had sent them, asked the to resend, I didn't receive them (possibly due to house move although they claimed to have sent them to new address) while this was being sorted out they passed me over to a debt company and the refused to deal with me.

Though the debt company I raised a dispute as I should have been allowed to defer they were looking into it and then I never heard back. To be fair I never chased this up or done anything about it.

3 weeks ago I had a phone call at work from a debt collecting agency but I didn't call back. A week later they tried again and I ignored it again. Not ideal I appreciate.

Today 2 sheriff officers appeared at my door with a court citation.

So I have phoned the debt company and there is no way to stop this unless paying full amount (just under £8k) which I don't have. So they told me to get a solicitor and to fill out form 03 and return to the court with the highest amount I can pay.

So I am in a panic, I am a single parent and I am trying to support my dc through uni. I don't have a lot of disposable income, but I could pay something back every month but I don't know how much they would expect.

I have been saving for years to pay for my dc through uni and I have £4K in an account for this, could they take this from me? I know the debt is mine and I would be willing to pay it off but this is money I have put aside for the kids and the next few years would be really tough without that.

Any advice much appreciated, I'm in a bit of a panic.

Sorry for the length of post.

Anyone?

Sorry have no idea about what you need to do just bumping for you.

Thanks very much 😊

So, were it not for the lack of forms, would you owe them anything? It sounds like a c** up on Erudio's part too. Can you get in to see CAB?

I dont get it; surely you dont earn enough to have begun repayments?

If I were you I would take the £4000 out your account. If Sheriff Officers are involved they can apply to the court to arrest your bank accounts. This happened to me over Council tax. They only have to leave you with £450 and can basically take the rest towards your debt.

I would contact citizens advice about how you can arrange repayments. They can’t just demand £8000. Definitely get the £4000 out your account until you have a repayment plan in place.

Thanks all for replying.

Yes if it wasn't for the mess up with the forms a few years ago. I would still owe the money but I would still be eligible for deferment as I earn below the £30k a year threshold for paying it back as I was in the pre 1998 system. I did have another student loan after 98 which was in the other system with different thresholds which I have paid back in full.

I will move all the savings for the dc I have out of my accounts and into accounts in their name. Worried this will look suspicious but I couldn't bare to lose it. It's literally taken me 18 years to save it for them!

I have a day off next week I will try to get the the citizens advice then.

I have also emailed Erudio and asked for all the information they hold on my on file to be sent to me to see if I can see where it all went wrong. Not sure if this was a good idea, but it's done now! 

Thanks again!

OP

Instead of saving you should have been paying off this debt!

But easy to say that now.

You should open an isa for you children. Now. Right now. And transfer the money.

No! Phone the court clerk and get the form 265(?) To have the judgement set aside. They can only send out sherrif's officer's if a judgement has been made against you. However because you weren't even aware it was going to court - how the fuck were you supposed to submit a defence?

If you're on a low income you can get the fees set aside too.

It will all need to be dealt with of course - but not at this pace when it's come at you like a sledgehammer surprise!

Under the terms I took the loan out under I wasn't eligible to begin paying it back, I suppose yes perhaps I should have maybe tried to pay it back sooner but while still under the threshold and bringing up kids on my own other things always took priority over this.

I will look at an isa thanks, assuming the cash could be accessed if needed?

The sheriff officers have already been to my door and gave me the papers so I assume that I am too late.

I will get the money out of my account and go to the cab next week. I think from reading some things online that a wages arrestment might be an option. I am going to fill out the form 3 that I have received and offer £100 a month. That would be a struggle but manageable so you think this would be acceptable? Anyone in the know?

But a judgement has been made against you without you knowing you were being prosecuted! This is the UK - we don't convict without "trial"! Presumably this is a CCJ which has been issued due to Scots law.

Phone the court clerk in the morning and get more info. Do it soon and head them off at the pass. If you dilly-dally until next week as a way of burying your head in the sand it will be too late. The clerks are generally very helpful - they don't give a shit who's suing who... It's not a criminal case! Judges don't take kindly to financial institutions taking people to court without informing them - however if you don't show or contest the verdict then the judge has no option but to side with the SLC.

The letter I have just says citation at the top

Then the court details, Erudio details then my details and says you are hereby served with this copy of writ and warrant.

It then says there are the following forms
Form 03 application for time to pay direction or time order
Form 07 notice of intention to defend

If I defend I need to pay £127 and get a solicitor.

So I need to get form 03 back within 21 days

I will make some phone calls tomorrow in my lunch break. I am also going to contact step change who seem to be able to offer advice on this kind of thing. I have filled out their budgeting form which you must do before calling.

Thank you for all your advice 

I would say you don’t need to do form 03 as that’s admitting fault and agreeing to pay. You’re not eligible to repay so you’d be better off paying a smallish amount to a solicitor to defend. Otherwise you’re stuck repaying the full amount. Honestly get a solicitor or CAB appointment pronto and don’t deal with it yourself. They know what they’re doing - basically hoping as many people as possible panic and settle!

Thank you.

All of my local CABs operate on a drop in and wait basis. I can't get a day off until Wednesday next week (it's only opened weekdays) so I will be there for it opening.

In the meantime I have emailed them (they say they aim to respond within 2 working days). I have also emailed step change for advice.

Tomorrow I will call the original debt collectors and the court and see if I can get any further information or advice.

Don’t call the debt collectors - their only goal is to get you to pay the debt. I’d highly recommend getting a solicitor or filing the form 7 yourself as you aren’t eligible to repay based on the facts you’ve given. The tone of debt collection/court proceedings is designed to scare you into just paying quickly. You’ve got 21 days. Use them! Good luck.

Few judges will rule that a single mother with low income should pay 8k for not chasing a missing form. It is definitely worth you defending this!
In your shoes I'd be looking for a solicitor.

Totally agree with flamingo - they operate on intimidation and fear and hoping that you'll panic enough to take out a credit card.

Don't forget - you're in Scotland where the law is very different to England. We don't have debt collectors here - only court-ordered sherrifs. Which is actually brilliant news because it means you get to put your paperwork in front of a judge. It's all good and well them saying you didn't pay - but they will need to provide evidence they requested it and you received the request etc.

Pay the lawyer!

Thanks all. Against better judgement I spoke with the debt collecting agency. I felt I was getting nowhere with the agent so I got put on to a manager who was really very helpful.

He said I had 21 days so make sure I use them. He said any agreement I make with them would be agreed by the court as they are the client.

But as I've raised a complaint everything is on hold until Erudio respond.

He said we could go through the income expenditure which pretty much mirrored the court ones on the writ I received. At the end they decided I had £39 available () which would be acceptable for my monthly offer.

He said I could set up a direct debit for this and it would be reviewed in a year. I'm thinking as it has to be paid anyway this might be my best option. Although it will obviously take me forever to pay off at this rate.

Seems like a good option as I really can't afford solicitors or time off work or all the worry to be honest.

You shouldn't be paying anything back as you are below the threshold.

As pp said they will try to scare you into paying (which they are doing) and once you agree to pay you will not be able to stop. If you cannot afford it then don't start!

Get legal advice from CAB or a solicitor asap.

A day off work will cost far less than paying back the loan.

I can afford the £39 and hopefully through time I'll be able to increase this and pay it off.

I know I'm still not eligible but it will have to be paid sometime so at least I am making a start. I

I've been really stressed over this (I also have a lot of other things going on so this has been the final straw) so to be honest it's worth the 40 quid a month to not have to think about it.

I also couldn't get any time off work before Xmas, unless I explained to my line manager what was going on and I really don't want to have to go into it all with my work.

Sorry posted too soon.

Also within a year or so I will have reached the threshold (I think!) so in the long run would probably have to have paid back at a much higher amount then.

Thanks for all the advice given 

I thought student loans from that era have a shelf life before they are written off?

I think it's once you reach 50 with no repayment, I'm not there for a good while yet!

From MSE website:
Are not behind on any repayments under any agreement for a student loan and were under the age of 40 when your last agreement for a student loan was made and you reach the age of 50, or when the last agreement for a student loan has been outstanding for no less than 25 years, whichever is the sooner.