Student Loan Company -General Info

[The_Badger]

Hi,

 

I've been reading a few thread about the Student Loan Company and thought I'd start a general one with information for all wanting to pursue the SLC.

 

Hopefully this can become a library of information rather than a discussion thread - if anyone has any useful documents to add to this please feel free.

 

I'll add in the next day or so

[The_Badger]

Smith Lawson & Co:

 

The Student Loan Company Ltd is the same as Smith Lawson & Company

The later is just a trading name of the Student Loan Company and is its own debt collection group. They use this differentiation in name to give the impression that your account has been handed over to a 3rd party.

This ploy works in that many people pay money worried that they are now dealing with a debt collection agency - in reality its just the Student Loan Companys' collections department.

 

If you end up speaking to the Smith Lawson & Co don't let them claim no knowledge of conversations etc. with the student loans company. Let them know your aware of the situation with regards their name.

 

Postage to the Student Loans Company:

 

I have had approximately 50% of my posted mail "not been received" by the student loans company. Many others I have spoken to also report that this occurs to them as well.

 

I suspect that the student loans company either is incapable of filling communications by post to the correct file or is intentionally ignoring such letters and deferment applications with a view to profit. I may be wrong but that is my opinion.

 

If you send a deferment application or anything else by post its best to send it recorded signed for - you get a proof of postage and a proof of delivery.

 

If you end up negotiating with the SLC then you should only ever send photocopies of these proof of delivery - or they will also get "Lost" in the post!

 

Pre 1998 or not?

 

There are two main student loan systems.

1. Those students who commenced their course of study between September 1990 and August 1998

2. Those students who commenced their course of study from September 1998 onwards.

 

The first type of student loan (old scheme from here on) is based on a credit agreement and is regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

The second type of student loan (new scheme from here on) is not regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

So how to tell which you are?

 

a) Firstly when did you start your course?

If you started your study before the 31st August 1998 then you would have been on the old loan scheme.

Its not when you took the loan (I took mine out in June 1999 but am on the old scheme as I started before the 31 August 1998)

 

b) do you pay for your student loan through your pay packet?

The new scheme works as an attachment to your earnings - if your payed more than aprox £17,000pa pre tax then you end up paying back your loan automatically through your wage packet.

 

Old scheme members: If you don't have the original agreement anymore then you are entitled under law to ask for a "true copy"

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 gives you the right to obtain a copy for £1 within 12 days of notification in writing. 

 

This does not mean that the loan is then written off - however not being provided with a copy of the credit agreement is a full defence in court if the lender attempts to get any money off you for the loan.

This would mean that in most cases a court would find in your favour and the loan would be set aside.

However if at a later date the Credit agreement is found then they can legally demand payment.

Some have argued that this would not occur as the lender, having committed a criminal offence would choose not to pursue it. I am not sure of this but it's possible.

If you find yourself in this situation I'd be extremely careful and seek legal advice.

 

Old Scheme (Pre 1998 students) Credit Agreement (terms and conditions).

 

I've scanned the terms and conditions on my copy of the original credit agreement: There are two pdf files.

Page 1:

http://thebadger.ifastnet.com/Docs/Agreementpg1.pdf

 

Page 2:

http://thebadger.ifastnet.com/Docs/Agreementpg2.pdf

 

The files are a bit big (1.6mb and 2.2mb respectively) but thats because the writting is very small so the resolution had to be high.

 

The Badger

 

Forgot to say:

Cheques for the SAR and the CCA requests are made payable to "Student Loans Company"

 

In case anyone wasn't sure.

 

Also the address of the data controller (a legally required position for all institutions holding personal data under the Data Protection Act) for the Student Loans Company is:

 

Data Controller

Student Loans Co.Ltd,

21 St. Thomas Street,

Bristol.

BS1 6JS

 

You can address your SAR there as an alternative to that given in the Template above.

 

21 St. Thomas St. is also the address of Smith Lawson & Company Ltd. as mentioned above - so if you're dealing with that pseudo-branch of the Student Loans Company thats where to send information

[kapowaz]

I just stumbled upon this thread following a search as I have just today sent a letter to the SLC demanding they cancel £40 in charges they have added to my account which are apparently for sending me letters concerning arrears on my account (I've just changed banks - ironically this is so I can claim back unfair charges from Barclays - and so my new direct debit hadn't been set up yet, hence payment failed). I basically used the existing letter template I have already sent to Barclays to ask them to prove the cost of the charges and if not, cancel them and confirm they won't attempt to levy them in future.

 

I'm disconcerted by the above saying that they tend not to acknowledge post... what can be done to ensure that they acknowledge it? It seems like this is yet another dirty tricks scheme to make money out of students (I knew there had to be some way they were going to try and make money, given the low interest rate on the loan)..

 

Anybody else had any similar experiences with the SLC?

[princess jane]

I've sent everything to SLC recorded delivery and I've never had a problem with them not receiving letters.

 

Special delivery should nail it if you are feeling flush!

 

One nasty trick of theirs I would like to advise on is trying to get you to pay out large monthly sums in repayment.

 

Even after running through my meagre income and massive outgoings, the call handler I spoke to demanded I make a substantial payment to them because: "you are paying your other creditors that much so you must pay us as well", regardless of the fact my other debts are much larger and have higher rates of interest.

 

Stick to your guns and offer an amount you can reasonably afford.

 

If they get nasty, suggest they take the case to a county court and let a judge decide on repayment.

 

If you are making a reasonable offer within your means then no judge would expect any more, and neither should SLC.

 

All IMO.

[The_Badger]

kapowaz,

 

Signed for 1st class for a letter is only £1 and I'll be adding them to my claim the moment it gets to the county court claim stage - as its a "reasonable" cost. You can then ring up and find out the time and date the letter was recieved - which if the SLC/Bank/Credit Card deny you can remind them you have a Royal Chartered institutions evidence proving they are lying - tends to shut them up!

 

I've read elswehere on here that £3 per letter would be a "Reasonable" and justifiable cost on all letters to the bank/credit card/SLC as you can explain the £3 as a direct cost to you - postage, paper, envelopes, ink, electricity for the computer and your time.

You can only add them to your claim once you get to the court claim stage as you have to show you've tried to resolve your complaint reasonably before hand.

 

It has the benefit of stricking a stark contrast between your costs as a private individual being only £3 compared to £30 for a computer generated pro forma from a large company. It should be almost impossible in court for them to question it without screwing their own argument!

 

The Badger

[The_Badger]

I spoke to the SLC yesterday and they said "These charges have now been approved" - I pointed out that that was impossible without a chage of the law! she didn't reply to that.

 

SO beware they tell lies (not that you didn't know that already!)

 

The badger

[noomill060]

Did this person say who she believed these charges to have been approved by?

[a2222]

cheers badger... a great post with some useful information

 

Im in a bit of a pickle with them at the moment... I had happily deferred my 96/97/98/99 Student Loans year on year when (on july 7th 2004) I declared myself bankrupt, including the £7k student loan on the forms.

 

I then was on Job Seekers Allowance untill mid 2006 when I set up my own company and I am working on building now. I had had no contact from SLC and received no statements OR deferment forms from them, until I saw that they had done a search of my credit rating which I thought was strange.

 

I gave them a call and found out to my dismay that the law had changed on July 1st 2004 meaning that I could not include the loan in my bankruptcy. Not only that, but because I hadnt continued deferring the loan (as they had stopped sending me the forms!) I now owe over £2000 in arrears which they are aggressively pursuing me for!!

 

They have allowed me to defer the loans but not the 3 years of arrears since I declared bankruptcy which add up to approximately £2500 for which they are threatening me with court and bailifs and for which I have no means of paying without shutting and selling off my fledgeling business.

 

So am fully immersed in their complaints procedure as we speak!

[a2222]

and on a side point... is it just a myth that the student loan gets wiped out after a certain number of years?

[crackberry]

I spoke to the SLC yesterday and they said "These charges have now been approved" - I pointed out that that was impossible without a chage of the law! she didn't reply to that.

 

SO beware they tell lies (not that you didn't know that already!)

 

The badger

 

everyone knows that the SLC are theives.

[mlphw]

Hello,

 

Great advice Badger !

 

I sent off my Preliminary and then 14 days later my LBA and guess what - the time has expired and I have heard nothing. No suprise there then !

 

Guess my letters got "lost" too !

 

Mine is the old style loan with SLC rather than Honours Loans and is for £164.00

 

Does anyone know if I can send a copy of the 2 letters (obviously recorded this time!) and say here are two letters I have sent previously of which I have not received a response and give them 14 days from a new letter before MCOL or do I need to start the whole process again ?

 

Thanks

[The_Badger]

mlphw,

 

Why give them more time?

 

My advice is that if you have sent them in the post and they didn't reply thats their problem.

 

You have copies of the letters for later reference.

 

They can't ignore a court claim without giving you a default win against them.

 

As long as you gave them fair and reasonable oportunity to respond and settle your greivance before resorting to the court then your fine - in these cases thats two letters with 14days notice for each (28days for any company is more than enough to deal with a complaint)

 

Good luck - your ahead of me now as my first letter only went out last week after I found some nasty additions to my account and had to sort that first.

 

The Badger

[richyfingers]

Andybird -

 

Having just read the original credit agreement (thanks badger, God knows where mine went!) It appears that the debt IS indeed cancelled after 25 years at the most - "provided you are not behind with any repayments under any agreement for a student loan".

 

However considering the SLC's proven track record for conveniently messing things up, I should think that it would be almost impossible to find yourself in this situation anyway!

 

Read section 7 of the credit agreement posted by badger for more details.

 

 

May The Force be with you all.

 

Fingers

 

PS that was my first post to the forum! Nice to be here.

[nattydred]

OK

 

Sorry to be stupid but thought I would ask the obvious question.

 

I am happy repay the last £50 on my loan. I borrowed it, I owe it.

 

I am not happy with the £175 worth of charges levied on the account. Some of these I can prove were the result of misaddressed letters despite other letters being sent to the correct and provided addresses.

 

What os the process to attempt to prevent the attempted collection of these disputed charges? I have previously and repeatedly disputed both in phone calls and in writing.

 

I even offered (without prejudice) to pay off all charges at a fair £1.50 per letter (i.e. £18). SLC refused this offer.

 

Any ideas anyone?

 

Thanks.

[emmaf01]

Had a funy conversation with the SLC thursday and friday of last week.

They say their charges have been ruled as fair by the OFT!

Understandably I have asked for further info regarding this supposed ruling!

 

They say they are going to send me details of this ruling, so if, and when, I receive this info from them I will be sure to share this with you all.

[Rebecca Bloomswood]

Is it right that if you spend more than 2 years outside U.K. your loan is written off? I know people who purport this to be the case, I wonder if anyone can clarify please?

[noomill060]

emma- I had an equally entertaining conversation with them just before Christmas.

 

I got through to one of their collection agents about a charge I had been given, despite my payment crossing with their £20 letter in the post. She cancelled the £20 and then I asked her straight out whether these charges were actually legally enforcable.

 

She said no, they werent!

[noomill060]

And no, their charges havent been ruled as fair by the OFT and no, you wont recieve anything in writing from the SLC confirming this.

[emmaf01]

oh- and I was so looking forward to that letter!

[mlphw]

Forgot to say:

Cheques for the SAR and the CCA requests are made payable to "Student Loans Company"

 

In case anyone wasn't sure.

 

Also the address of the data controller (a legally required position for all institutions holding personal data under the Data Protection Act) for the Student Loans Company is:

 

Data Controller

Student Loans Co.Ltd,

21 St. Thomas Street,

Bristol.

BS1 6JS

 

You can address your SAR there as an alternative to that given in the Template above.

 

21 St. Thomas St. is also the address of Smith Lawson & Company Ltd. as mentioned above - so if you're dealing with that pseudo-branch of the Student Loans Company thats where to send information

 

Hiya,

 

Is this address the one to use for SLC rather than Honours Loans. Mine is the pre 1998 one with SLC but the address I had for them was Glasgow - maybe that is why I didn't get a response ! Shall I try a recorded one to this Bristol address as one last attempt before MCOL ?

 

Thanks

[emmaf01]

After all, considering their record on managing post, admin, etc- I don't think they can manage to transfer post from one office to another;)!

[The_Badger]

Hi Mlphw,

 

The address I sent stuff to was the Glasgow address for most of the letters - I just used the data controllers address for my Subject Access Request to get the information out of them on my account etc

The Data Controller is the named person under law who must be responsible for the implementation of the Data Protection Act in each company/institution.

 

So I figured that I might as well go to the organ grinder not the monkey as it where.

 

For the general letters (like the initial request for payment and then the Letter Before Action) you can use either but I tend to use the Glasgow address anyway.

 

The Badger

[Nick SPX]

I have received the data protection act info from Student Loans Co.

They sent me a load of computer print-outs that I simply can't ascertain when the charges were.

 

Anyone know how to decipher these...............HELP !

[mlphw]

Hi guys,

 

Does anyone know which address to file with Student Loans Company on MCOL ?

 

I finally got a response from them saying they wont pay any of my fines back so I think it's time for MCOL ! It's only about £200 but I want it back ! I thought for such a low amount they would have just paid it.

 

[livity]

Signed for 1st class for a letter is only £1 and I'll be adding them to my claim the moment it gets to the county court claim stage - as its a "reasonable" cost. You can then ring up and find out the time and date the letter was recieved - which if the SLC/Bank/Credit Card deny you can remind them you have a Royal Chartered institutions evidence proving they are lying - tends to shut them up!

 

I've read elswehere on here that £3 per letter would be a "Reasonable" and justifiable cost on all letters to the bank/credit card/SLC as you can explain the £3 as a direct cost to you - postage, paper, envelopes, ink, electricity for the computer and your time.

You can only add them to your claim once you get to the court claim stage as you have to show you've tried to resolve your complaint reasonably before hand.

 

Couldn't agree more - I've got into the habit of sending all letters to the SLC by registered post - it adds to the cost considerably if you follow through with the complaints department - but being able to tell the SLC the exact date and time the letter they claim not to have received was delivered is priceless.

 

Interesting idea, claiming back the £3 costs. I'm actually looking forward to the inevitable letter from the SLC now!