Student loans - advice needed

[summer30]

My OH has been having problems with student loans for a long time, after deferring but then they put charges on, this went on for a year amounting to £1800 and growing arrears

Anyway he kept calling and sorting it out , I wont go over all of it but it ended up that in September the accepted £20 a month Direct debit but never took the money. So he rang and they didnt know anything about it apparently

So then we get a SOA to fill in, its filled in as best as he can as he still has other debts he is trying to sort out with DMP

So today he gets a letter from SL basically telling him he lied on his SOA! and that based on what they thought he would have spare they want £150 a month for 6 months or it goes to Debt collectors

Theres no way we have this spare, he has to spend £300 a month on petrol just to commute to work, and they said because he didnt add how much he was paying to creditors we had filled it in falsely!

I cant beleive it the amount they want is more than they asked for in the first place, he said it might aswell go to Debt collectors now as at least they might be able to get things right

Every one Ive spoken to has said Sl are really goodto deal with but hes been trying his hardest to sort this and it just keeps going wrong.

Any ideas?





*updated, OH jsut spent 30 minutes on the phone, once the phone was put downo n him the second time the woman said they want a written letter from all creditors within the month saying how much each of the accept!

Ye right, he offered £20 just until this got sorted out a month but they refused, so ended up tell ing the mto send it to debt collectors, I really don't know what on earth this planet is coming to*

And to top it all the have said they cannot aknowledge any letters unless sent recorded delivery. even if proof of postage is obtained.

[hedgey06]

Hi summer, sorry this post has gone unanswered.

Having argued plenty of times in the past with SL I can understand your frustration with this, they're not the easiest to deal with.

Have you had any further progress with this? Hopefully, if you post back with an update somebody should be able to advise further.

Best of luck

[summer30]

Hiya

As previously said the lady OH talked to basically said they had no mail, and hes now had a default letter.
Its so annoying because they are stating hes refusing to pay and has missed 18 repayments, when in fact he only stopped in August when I lost my job and was told he could pay 3 months at £20 then see how things were.
But they said this didnt happen, no letters were received, and wouldnt even look into the issue with the defferment.

Do you think theres anything that can be done about that period in 2006?

We sent in the form, and heard nothing so thought it had been deffered then months later he gets this charge for not paying and they said they never got the forms!

As he doesnt pay through wages (student till 2001 I think) would it go through the normal debt collection channels? they told him that was the case but the default letter looks far more intimidating.

[noomill060]

First thing to do is force them to remove the charges and interest on the charges.

Write to them disputing the debt on the grounds it contains unlawfully applied penalties and interest levied thereon and that you want a complete list of all penalties debited to the account.

The default notice is void as the amount claimed as owing includes unlawful charges.

Tell them that until the matter of unlawful penalties is settled you will regard any further demands for payment as harassment and that a small claim will be started for damages at £50 per contact.

Have a look at my SLC thread as to how I did it.

Could you scan and post the Default Notice? (After removing all personal details.)

Failing that, could you carefully type out the wording of the notice?

When was the loan taken out?

[noomill060]

noomill v Student Loan Company ***WON***

[noomill060]

SLC are complete ****ers to deal with, but dont be under any illusions that debt colletors would be any better. They are bottom feeding scum who will ring you incessantly and hound you without mercy.

Get the charges removed and then see how much is really owed.

If he was defered, why are there arrears on the account, anyway?

[noomill060]

Do you have the letter from them agreeing the £20 a month payment by DD?

[noomill060]

From now on keep a record of each contact from them, just to keep a running total of the £50 damages you will claim from them and as proof of harassment.

[noomill060]

Apologies for not finding you sooner.

Dont worry, we will put them back in their box if you are prepared for a fight.

[summer30]

thanks all, will find the notice, I don't think he got the £20 in writing although I'm sure he said he had a letter so will go look now and see if i can scan the default.
I could'nt believe the woman he spoke to refused to help and cut him off at every turn.
The problems been hes spoken to one person on the phone whos said ok this is happening but then months later then contact saying whres our money and no we didnt say this and they refused to aknowledge any letter that wasnt recorded.

The arrears as stated came about when OH deffered after loosing his job, he got the forms and sent them back, nothing was heard until several months later they said he owed over £1000 which has now grown to £1800 and the charges were something like £100 a month plus interest.

We have moved house 3 times since it all started so Im hoping I can find al lthe letters, its been lack of them thats the problem, they send ones that dont make any sense like its a completely different account. be back with info asap

[summer30]

OK here we go this is the default, hope you can see it, you will also notice its now gone up to £2300 odd ot the £1800 it was a few months ago but no statements have been issued.



Now Ive also found a weird letter from May stating repayments as follows they will debit £26 a month then £36

But then in bold underneath it states they will take £126 a month! but this was prior to the £20

I think we might be stumped with that but I want to sort out the arrears, Are there any template letters I should send first off? I want to ask for a complete breakdown of charges? and to state they are unlawful or just ask for the breakdown first?


Ive also noticed they are saying they only added £160 charges and its been far more than this.

[noomill060]

Get all the letters from them that you can find.

You should send them a Subject Access Request for all data relating to this, and a Consumer Credit Act s.77 request for a true copy of of the original agreement. Send these by Recorded Delivery.

The CCA request effectively puts the brakes on any any action until they PROVE there is actually an agreement and gives you a bit of a breathing space.



I'll pop back later with the links.

[noomill060]

Did you by any chance send the deferment forms by recorded delivery?

[noomill060]

For future reference, ANY letters to SLC should be done by RD.

They are very good at losing letters, to their advantage.

[noomill060]

In the meantime, get ojn the phone and tell them you want a list of all charges debited in the entire history of the loans.

[summer30]

thanks have emailed OH to ring them, also have got him to print off CCA requests for this and his other creditors.

[noomill060]

Use the wording for the CCA request as stated on this site. You MUST include a £1 postal order and send it recorded delivery.

To be honest, i would be thinking in terms of going to court myself and asking for a judgement on the enforcabillity or these so called arrears.

If your OH wasnt working during this time and sent a deferment form which wasnt processed by SLC, he wasnt liable to repayments, as you know. SLC would have to convince a judge that he was.

As he could prove he was unemployed during this period, it would a strange judge who would rule that he was liable.

SLC expect people to allow them to bully them. they dont expect them to fight back, never mind take action against them!