Student Loan Charges: SLC, HSL and Interest

[rpgsx3r]

I'm planing to claim against charges made on my student loan account. My issue is with who to deal with, as my loan was passed from the SLC to Honours Student Loans (HSL) in 2003. My current thinking is that I should:

1) Send a CCA request to SLC (not HSL, as I signed the agreement with SLC, and I commenced my course in 1996). If this comes back ok then:

2) Claim back charges made by the SLC in 2000 and 2001 (£36).

3) Claim back charges made by HSL in 2004 and 2005 (£135).

Any advice on this is appreciated. Furthermore, I also want to claim back the interest they have added to my outstanding loan from these charges (I have the interest rates, ranging from 2.3% to 3.2 APR) as both SLC and HSL have been a complete pain in the past badgering and trying to bully me! I've little financial experience, how do I work out the interest? Any and all advice appreciated, thanks!

[noomill060]

You would better advised to get hold of a list of all the charges they have inflicted on you, then simply making a Small Claim in the way outlined by CAG.

Do this by either just asking them on the phone, or by way of a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request).

A CCA request simply forces them to provide you with a true copy of your original signed agreement.

[noomill060]

I am in the middle of a Small Claim against SLC.

I have claimed interest at 8% or simply whatever the Court deems just.

[noomill060]

The interest will be miniscule anyway, so not really worth worrying about.

Just let the Court decide.

Having the SLC forced to return all their unlawful £20 penalties to me will be satisfying enough for me.

[rpgsx3r]

Originally Posted by noomill060

You would better advised to get hold of a list of all the charges they have inflicted on you, then simply making a Small Claim in the way outlined by CAG.

Do this by either just asking them on the phone, or by way of a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request).

A CCA request simply forces them to provide you with a true copy of your original signed agreement.

Thanks for the prompt response. Yes, I want to see a copy of the agreement, as if they don't have it, I was under the impression that this could lead to the loan being wiped out. If they do (and provide me with it) then I have no complaints in that regard.

I already have a full list of all the charges they have made, I'm just unsure as to who to deal with, or both. I think the SLC will try and get out of the charges by saying HSL deal with my account, and I never actually paid the charges (they were added to my balance, which was subsequently handed to HSL).

I guess I'll just send Prelim letters (based on the CAG templates) to both SLC and HSL for the stated amounts though claiming interest would be preferable - 3% on 15 quid for 7 years may not sound like much, but it's the principle that counts!

[CAGisforME]

If they don't produce your Agreement, or it has anomalies, then this will not wipe the loan out.

However, it will make it unenforceable.

If you CCA them and they don't produce it within 12 WORKING days then they are in default, if they still don't produce it 40 CALENDAR days after that they commit a criminal offence. This should be sent to whomever is "looking after" the account now.

If it's JUST the charges you want wipes out and you are certain that you know how much they are, then you can claim them back (ie have them removed from what you owe) however, if you want the agreement you could to do a FULL Subject Access Request which will give you ALL the information on the account(s), which may potentially be very useful (Especially if they don't comply within the timescales )


Good Luck.

There are quite a few of us dealing with SLC. We are all behind you!

[rpgsx3r]

Thanks for the clarification. So what's the advantage (if any) of a CCA request over a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request)? If they fail to comply with the CCA it makes the loan unenforceable, does that mean they can never demand payment for it? If they still can, then I suppose I'm better off just doing the Subject Access Request.

I'm still unsure how it will work with SLC regarding the charges they made now that the account is handled by HSL.

[Falkirk1298]

Just to inject a note of caution here - I think the SLC are rather better at data storage and retrieval than some of the banks have proven to be. I would work on the assumption that they have your agreement and will be able to provide a copy, don't pin your hopes on any failure in that particular system.

[emmaf01]

They don't seem to have a good track record at producing a clear, enforcable agreement, though. And compliance to the CCA is everything, Falkirk!

[Falkirk1298]

Originally Posted by emmaf01

They don't seem to have a good track record at producing a clear, enforcable agreement, though. And compliance to the CCA is everything, Falkirk!

Let me rephrase my last point. The SLC can at least find a copy to send out, which is more than many banks or credit card companies can do.

I understand they store agreements electronically and what you are describing is a printout of a scanned document, which is really all they have to provide in the first instance. As for legibility, unless you are prepared to state unequivocally that what they have provided isn't a copy of your agreement it's a bit of a non-issue, isn't it?

However I also understand that the SLC do store original documents after they have been scanned and, while it may be an expensive process for them to retrieve your agreement, they almost certainly could. I would definitely work on the assumption that they could turn up your original agreement if they had to, and not just a bad copy. Even if that takes them 6 months they have still complied, have they not?

Hence my recommendation to work on the assumption that they have your agreement and will be able to provide a copy. I would give the same advice whether it was a bank, credit card company or anyone other financial institution, but I believe the SLC really could and assuming otherwise is a dangerous course of action.

[noomill060]

Just take them to Court.

I did.

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