Student Finance Overpayment

KittyCat1

A little advice please. My son owes just over £2,000 due to an overpayment from student grants last year.Its from when he submitted his student finance application and said it was my husbands income being slightly over the threshold which was why he was overpaid the grants.They didnt even give him a breakdown of the figure,just told him how much the overpayment was and to pay.

He received a letter from them telling him he has to pay this immediately or call them. He called them and arranged to pay £10 p/m.He is not working and gets JSA.He has been paying them for the last 6 mths and they've just reviewed it and demand he now pays £20 p/m to be reviewed in another 3 mths. He felt really bullied over the phone and gave bank details even though he knew he wouldnt be able to afford this,even telling them that but still gave details anyway.

Any advice welcomed as to what he can do.He wants to pay this money back but cannot afford the figures as he is not working at the moment. Is there a template letter or something he could send to them as he feels this wasnt his fault he was overpaid and is made to feel pressurised into paying back money he just doesnt have at the moment.

Fire_Fox

Make an offer of payment in writing, supported by a breakdown of income and essential outgoings. Regardless of whether the proposition is accepted continue to make the payments every month without fail as recommended by the debt charities CCCS and Payplan. You should be able to find a template letter if you use the advanced search function or check the stickies on the 'Debt Free Wannabe' board.

If SFE telephone again, refuse to answer any security questions and the debt cannot be discussed under Data Protection. Politely and calmly ask them to put everything into writing.