ERUDIO student loans help

fermi wrote: »

Are they stating or relying on that anywhere else apart from the annual statements?

Sorry, I've not had time to go through everything to check.

Page 11 of the 'How to' guide states:

You may be eligible for a longer period of deferment or even for the loan to be cancelled if you are unable to work through disability or long-term sickness. Please contact our Helpline on 0333 003 7188 and we can provide you with more details.

This isn't what paragraph 11 of the Regs states -surely a declaration along the lines of the one for a 12 month deferment (along with proof of receipt of a disability-related benefit), would be enough, confirming income will not (or is unlikely to be) over the threshold for the next 36 months?

Edit: I had a look through the SLC's deferment processing manual, there's no mention of 3 year deferment (it does mention the right to have loans cancelled if permanently unfit for work - no criteria other than in receipt of PIP or Armed Forces Independence Payment).

Does anyone know how SLC processed 3 year deferment applications?

Thank you Helen for taking the time to investigate.

Interesting read but fails to point out the facts of when they are legally entitled to report to CRAs.

Thanks BorderReiver14 and Jill18. I've put your questions to Erudio to confirm so I'll come back to you/and update the story as soon as I hear back. Kind regards, MSE Paloma

MSE_Paloma wrote: »

Thanks BorderReiver14 and Jill18. I've put your questions to Erudio to confirm so I'll come back to you/and update the story as soon as I hear back. Kind regards, MSE Paloma

MSE Paloma. Please do ask Erudio if or indeed when they will be registering Our loans with CRA's as the term 'payment holiday' would not reflect the ICO definition of A payment holiday. See below for a brief summary of why. Hopefully the ICO will back the honest consumer if/when our loans are registered and fine Erudio accordingly.

I sent this to the ICO:

[FONT=&quot]I wish to complain strongly that it will be wrong under the DPA (Data Protection Act) and ICO (Information Commissioners Office) guidance to report that my ‘deferred’ student loans are on ‘payment holiday’ as this will not accurately describe my account. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]My argument is with the use of the term ‘payment holiday’ to describe my deferred loans and the reporting of my monthly repayments being on hold. This is not a true reflection of my account/information and flies in the face of the ICO’s definition of ‘payment holiday.’ The ICO provides a link on its website to guidance on 'payment holidays' in the document Principles for the Reporting of Arrears, Arrangements and Defaults at Credit Reference Agencies. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]http://www.scoronline.co.uk/files/sc...ment_final.pdf[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

The ICO describes this as:

'Guidance for lenders and others who provide credit about when and how to file information about defaults with the credit reference agencies to ensure credit reference agencies are able to hold fair and accurate records about the financial standing of those individuals'

The foreword by the ICO says:

'We thought it best for this 'principles' document to become the main source of advice for the public on the reporting of arrears, arrangements and defaults with the credit reference agencies (CRAs).

A record lodged with a CRA must be a reliable reflection of an individual's credit standing. The Data Protection Act 1998 is likely to have been breached where, for example, inaccurate, out of date or excessive personal data is being used to assess your credit-worthiness.'

This ‘principles’ document 'drawn up by the credit industry in collaboration with the ICO', defines a 'payment holiday' as 'a temporary change in terms' and goes on to say:

'Should a temporary reduction in the payment amount be jointly agreed between you and your lender, this 'arrangement' will be recorded at the CRAs.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]My student loans being ‘in deferment’ are not the same as a ‘payment holiday’ as defined in the above ‘principles document’ and it is categorically wrong to state that they are or list them on CRA’s as such. The ‘deferment mechanism’ is an integral provision in the terms of the Student loans legislation and the original loan agreement. Deferment is not something that I ‘jointly agreed with Erudio’, it is my right under the original loan terms. ESL state in their DAF guidance ‘This will confirm to the CRAs that we have agreed to temporarily stop your monthly repayments.’ I never asked ESL to temporarily stop my monthly repayments. I am not asking for any ‘amendment of loan terms’ from ESL and I am not seeking a ‘temporary reduction or cessation’ in payment: that has already been granted to me by the deferment mechanism of the original loan agreement. It is because of this that it is misleading/inaccurate to describe and record deferment as a 'payment holiday' with CRAs. The ICO states that it would consider 'the Data Protection Act 1998 is likely to have been breached' if 'inaccurate' personal data is used to assess credit worthiness. I am not taking a ‘payment holiday’ if I am in deferment. I do not have to repay my loans if I am earning under the deferment threshold. I get deferred for a year at a time under the original loan terms. I don’t get a ‘payment holiday’ for a year under the terms of the loan: so for ESL to place my loans on a CRA as ‘payment holiday’ is incorrect.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Furthermore this could hardly be described as a ‘temporary arrangement’ as the ICO also define a ‘payment holiday’ as it has been ongoing for the 15 years my loans have been in deferment. No responsible lender would very grant a 15 year ‘payment holiday.’ Indeed few if any lenders would grant a one year ‘payment holiday.’ ‘Payment holiday’ is described by the ICO as ‘a temporary change in terms.’ However being ‘in deferment’ is a permanent part of the original loan terms and emphatically not a temporary change in those terms.

So how can it then be 'accurate' for ESL to report deferment to CRAs as a ‘payment holiday’ where it will be used to assess credit-worthiness? ESL is threatening borrowers in deferment with action that, from the publically available guidance of the ICO, appears certain to result in the deliberate recording of inaccurate information. It is malicious on the part of ESL to do this and the real reason they are threatening to do it to get people to PAY UP when they do not legally have to do so as they fear the ruin of their credit rating. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]It is an abuse of the spirit and function of the original loan terms and breaches the DPA/ICO guidance on the accurate reporting of student loans on CRA’s. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]By threatening to report deferred loans erroneously as on 'payment holiday' and thus affect/ruin my credit rating ESL are denying my right to deferment. This is a violation of the original loan terms[FONT=&quot].


[/FONT] [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]The ICO will only address this complaint IF[FONT=&quot]/WHEN our loans are placed on p[FONT=&quot]ayment holiday. S[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT] I suggest anyone concerned about this contact them[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot] with these concerns.

[FONT=&quot]Keep fighting folks.[/FONT]


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