Student loan a mess

rallymad

Statements are sent out every September after the interest rate is changed (or not), when you enter repayment and/or if you request one.

I don't seriously believe you think that the payments you make "just go missing"...

ericthekidstoner

they "go missing" when they don't appear on the statement, which may or may not arrive/be accurate

both has happened to me

kar

Anything that relies on two completely separate entities (the taxman and the SLC) communicating efficiently and correctly leaves room for error. Interdepartment communication often leaves something to be desired let alone intercompany. The idea just makes me uncomfortable. I'm not even going to be paying the SLC so what happens when/if someone makes a mistake. Who do i complain too the Inland revenue or the SLC?

Those of you who have noticed mistakes how did you get them sorted (if you did)?

Lady_K

I just looked at my daughters annual statement as she's away at uni and it says 'due to enter repayment on 06/04/2006' She graduated last summer but then in september she started uni again as a student nurse so she isn't working and wont finish the course till July/Sept 2008. Will they charge her for not informing them she had started another course? and who should she speak to regarding updating details does she have to defer in writing every year? She didn't know she had to tell them she thought they would know she wasn't working and just not take it out. Can she do it by email and can I ring them for her and get the details updated? as she only has a mobile phone and its an 0870 number

ericthekidstoner

RE: 0870 number

don't think you can access her account unless nominated.

to cut cost of phone call, try the switchboard number suggested by rallymad

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=187742

Lady_K

Thankyou very much thats very usefull especially as most students only have mobiles at uni it can be used as free minutes

I did actually call and pretend to be her and the lady said it doesn't matter she doesn't get charged and doesn't have to inform them in writing that she has started another full time course and is not in work. But if she starts work and earns over 15k per year not to be surprised when money starts coming out of the account to pay student loans.

She said it's the tax man that informs them if she's working and earning enough other than that it doesn't matter and to leave it.

I just want to know if thats ok to do that? I don't want her to end up getting letters asking why she hasn't informed them and being charged £25. I don't think it's a mortgage type student loan it's just an ordinary one and it started in 2002 till 2005, 4 years worth and a lifetimes worry

sockospice

The SLC are worse than useless. My advice would be if you are sending anything to them, send it recorded delivery. They routinely claim not to have received correspondence, don't call you back despite promising they will, and don't seem to have a clue about what their job is.

I don't know a single student who has ever had an easy, hassle-free dealing with them.

surfcat

Lady_K, the deferment only applies to the mortgage style loan (pre sept 1 1998). Let PAYE take the strain for them working out if your daughter earns enough.

beefturnmail

My girlfriend has been having a similar problem, regarding payments going missing. First informed them of this in November. Still not sorted out 7 months later. SLC claim they recieve the info from the inland revenue and they've messed up so we've sent a letter of complaint to both the SLC and the inland revenue informing them that we are holding them both jointly responsible for the account mis-management and to sort it out ASAP.

I personally have not received a statement since I began repaying. Have just written to them informing of a change of address and asked for a statement at the same time. I'm 90% certain this will be incorrect if and when it arrives! From my experience both the SLC and the inland revenue are worse for mistakes than any private organisation I've dealt with

welf_man

Believe me, I really, really hate to defend SLC, but my ex-husband used to be a computer programmer for them and it is actually true that the Customs and Revenue end is causing most of the problems at the moment.

Having said that, previous comments about difficulties with documents getting lost are also true - because the document-handling centre is based at a different place from the account-handling centre!

This is because SLC did not have sufficient staff to handle the workload in the first few years, and the complaint level was so high that the Govt. decided to hive off the document-handling to another company.

My advice is to use 3 methods every time you tell them something - phone, fax and post.

Mel.