Hi, I've just received a very worrying letter from Drydensfairfax Solicitors telling me they will take me to court on behalf of Erudio if I don't contact them within a few days.

Can they do this?

The debt is from when I was a student in 1996, from The Student Loan Company.

I haven't corresponded with The Student Loans Company since 2011.

I asked for a complete breakdown of what they think I owe them using the Data Protection Act and the numbers they produced were incorrect!

The amount owed was wrong in all their correspondence, it bore no relation to the numbers in the documentation they produced!

I've paid, deferred, paid in alternate cycles over the years but according to them, I still seem to somehow owe them over £3000! I moved house.

I am not on the electoral roll at my new address and have never been - 4 years and counting - so can they actually take me to court given that there is no proof that I actually live here?

Is being on the electoral roll necessary for the commencement of legal proceedings?

Can they really take me to court or is this an exercise in evoking deep horror and distress?

Also, I am now 49 years old, will this debt simply expire when I'm 50?

Of course they can take you to court using any address they have traced you to. Nothing to do with electoral roll.

Has there ever been a period of 6 years, where you have not paid anything or deferred repayment of this loan ? This is a very important question. You need to be sure there has been a period of 6 years without deferment or payment.

I think my last payment was 4 years and 9 months ago.

How would they have otherwise traced me without searching my credit file?

Is taking someone to Court a process that requires verification via the Electoral Roll?

I checked with Noddle and there is no Electoral Roll information and there have been no searches for many years.

Also, I got so many salesmen knocking on my door years ago that I ignore it completely now,

they couldn't have obtained confirmation from me directly.

Thinking back, I deferrered and then disputed the asking sum based on the data they provided - Data Protection Act request, therefore it's been just over 5 years... but not 6.

hiding is not doing you favours

i'm not sure what sites you are reading that leads you to believe not registering on voters prevents legal action...:lol:

anyway.

don't go rushing into anything yet and most def don't ring talk or phone them.

erudio are a dca [arrows] and drydens are part of the same group

next desk

what you have is a phishing letter.

read it PROPERLY

it does NOT say WILL anywhere.

and yes you are close to age deferment but paying might blow that out the water.

let me go find a document.

NOTHING to do with electoral role.

It is very very difficult to live in the UK in secret. If you have ever entered a competition or completed online information on say a comparison site, your data will have been sold on. There are companies out there who trade in personal data. If you have a mobile phone which you have registered to the address, there will be a data record. If you have taken out Insurance at the address, another data record. Etc etc.

You have been traced using data that is available, so they know you are very likely to live at the address.

Don't ignore the threat of a court claim. If there is a dispute about the loan and the amount owed, then you are probably best to write back asking for more details.

I'm wondering if this is a real or phishing letter.

Here's what it says about legal proceedings in the letter itself:

"If we do not receive clear proposals to repay this debt by 6th March 2017 we will commence proceedings against you and a claim form will be issued for the full outstanding balance".

Then refer to post#6 above.....it does appear to be a genuine LBA.

Andy

If they do take me to Court, would my income level be taken into consideration and at that stage could a repayment plan be agreed upon?

It's an old style loan pre 1998, so when I turn 50 next year would any outstanding arrears be written off?

Court claims are being issued for these student loans, so if you don't respond, you may get a court claim through the post.

As advised, if there are issues of dispute regarding the loan, you would be wise to raise these by writing to them. While they are looking into your letter of dispute, it should stop them issuing any court claim, until they have responded and you have had time to consider their response.

Won't there be Bailiffs next?

Would they be Court Appointed?

If I receive a Court Claim through the post

, can I request a Variation Order at that stage or so I have to go to Court and request this at the hearing?

Also does Legal Aid exist anymore and would I have to represent myself?

Is Student Debt a priority debt?

Are there any links on this website (or another) to more information regarding exactly what happens when they make a Court Claim?

Is Student Debt a priority debt? Are there any links on this website (or another) to more information regarding exactly what happens when they make a Court Claim?

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?356814-The-Process-of-Litigation..-Court-Claims-Defences(1-Viewing)-nbsp

Won't there be Bailiffs next? Would they be Court Appointed? If I receive a Court Claim through the post, can I request a Variation Order at that stage or so I have to go to Court and request this at the hearing? Also does Legal Aid exist anymore and would I have to represent myself?

Hold your horses ! You are jumping too far ahead !

1) first enter into a dispute by writing back to Drydenfairfax querying anything that you want to. They should not issue any court claim, if there are any issues of dispute, which they could respond to. Following any letter, they might respond with more information and you could offer them a repayment plan based on what you could afford to pay over a period of time. This would most likely stop any court claim being issued.

2). If you cannot resolve and a court claim is issued to you, then the court claim would give you a choice of admitting to the debt and you could submit a form asking them to consider an affordable repayment offer. You have the option of defending the claim and going to arbitration where you discuss the claim by phone via an arbitration service. This is where you admit to owing a sum, but not the amount of the claim and you can try to negotiate to an amount which you believe is correct.

Only if you received a CCJ and you did not pay would bailiffs ever become involved.

Start with 1) first, by sending a letter of dispute asking for information.

can you scan up this letter please as PDF.

follow the upload

there have been no claimforms on erudio owned slc loans yet

only 2 and they were proved to be spoof

dx

I've just been through all of my folders in storage and discovered that my final deferment period ended on the 24th Feb 2011.

I checked my account and my very last payment was was on 7th jan 2012.

Does this mean it's Statute Barred?

No not sb'd

Can you scan the letter up please

Before you get frighten frozen

I haven't made a payment since jan 2012, over 5 years. Not long enough...

My scanner isn't working... I can type any parts of it or all of it if you like.

No need to see it

Mobile phone/digital camera?

Dear Sir

Our client: Erudio Student Loans Limited

Account number: (omitted)

Original creditor: Student Loans Company

Outstanding amount: £3211.26

IT IS IMPORTANT YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT

We are instructed by our client, Erudio Student Loans Limited, to commence legal proceedings against you in the County Court if you do not provide proposals for repayment of this debt by 2 March 2017.

If we do not receive clear proposals to repay this debt by 2 March 2017 we will commence legal proceedings against you and a claim form will be issued for the full outstanding balance. We are required by Court rules to provide you with certain information prior to issuing proceedings:

• The claimant will be Erudio Student Loans Limited (our client) who own the account

• We will tell the Court that you made a credit agreement with Student Loans Company but failed to repay it.

We will explain that your account was then sold to Erudio Student Loans Limited

• The claim will be for the balance outstanding on your account, £3211.26

• If you dispute the claim, we are willing to try to resolve that dispute without going to Court and we will be happy to discuss this with you or your representative

• If you don't comply with the instructions of the Court, the Judge can impose penalties against you which may increase the costs payable by you

• You can make payments by a variety of means that are shown on the back of this letter.

• If you need advice about this letter you should seek independent legal advice. There are organisations that offer free advice and assistance listed on the reverse of this letter

Please quote reference (omitted) in all correspondence or calls.

Yours faithfully

Also:

"It is not too late to stop the claim being issued. Please contact us to enable us to understand your circumstances and help you agree a repayment plan that is affordable and sustainable. The easiest way to contact us is by to telephone on 0113 823 3402 or via our customer website http://www.drydensfairfax.com/customer. You can email [email protected] or write to us at the address below."

I haven't made a payment since jan 2012, over 5 years. Not long enough...

It would be enough in Scotland

I started a business in 2012 and there was no way of deferring it till I did my accounts at the end of the year and then I simply had too much to focus on keeping my fledgling business afloat.

It's doing better now and I can afford to pay by instalments provided we can come to a sustainable arrangement.

I may dispute the amount they are asking for and submit a request for full disclosure of all the financial details using a Data Protection Act Letter.

Maybe this will keep them busy till next year when I turn 50 but if not, would they write off the amount left to pay when I turn 50 I wonder?

I'm very tempted to wait and see if they take me to Court.

I've had dealings with debtors before, they never seem to accept any reasonable offer but the Courts will if you show them evidence of income.

Even if you reach 50, you will still be liable for any arrears you built up, because you did not meet the terms of the loan, by either making required payments or obtaining deferment.

There is another thread in the legal folder on CAG, where someone has just lost in court, because there was a period their student loan was not deferred and it was in arrears before they reached 50.

Suggest you find out exactly how much you owe by disputing the matter in writing and advise that upon receipt of an accurate full breakdown calculation of any debt, you will consider the matter further.

My neighbour had a working scanner, so here's the letter.

I've taken out all the QR codes and all other tracking information.

Scan_Pic0001.pdf

I sent £10 off along with a letter quoting the Data Protection Act a few years ago and the Student Loans Company sent me a mass of paper and their sums didn't add up.

I'm pretty sure they knew it too because they kept on asking why I didn't think I owed the quoted amount

- this was much higher than what's being asked for since the debt was bought by Erudio.

The figures don't tally at all!

If we can't agree (out of Court [if I can keep it out of Court]) on what's owed by January 2018 and I don't make a payments in the meantime, would this mean that it'd be Statute Barred? It'd be 6 years by then.

thank you

what they are trying to do is find accounts they can get backdoor CCJ's on

then the more of these they get

the more they can threaten others that might not have the same set of 'protections' that you might have.

arrows purchased these loans cause they could see they cold quite easily make £1M's on them out of people that think they have to pay because they were once Gov't backed

and it was educational grants

and they did get educated etc etc

you know the score.

now why they've sent this so close to what could be your age cutoff date is quite interesting

its a two edged sword for them really...

either they let it age and lose the chance of anything

or

they send this threat out and get you in contact witht them

and get money out of you that way.

I would send them an SAR

and a CCA request.

the problem here being that the sar will give them you sig

so make it totally diff from anything you've used before.

we should be able to tie them in knots till its age barred

which, IMHO it will be

else why write to you now.

as for that recent lost case

that's not why they lost.

they didn't follow the advise given but decided to go their own sweet way

dx

as for that recent lost case

that's not why they lost.

they didn't follow the advise given but decided to go their own sweet way

 

dx