Student Loans Repayment woes

countthepennies

I have two sets of student loans; four pre-98 mortgage style loans taken out 1997-2001 for my undergraduate degree which I have always deferred payment on as I was under the threshold and one new-style loan taken out for a post-grad teaching degree in 2010-11.
I was due to begin repayment in April 2012 for the new-style loan through salary deduction but this didn't happen. I called SLC in Oct 2012 who said they had told my employer but they would send a second request and it should happen within three months. I also contacted my payroll to tell them this as they can't do anything other than tell me if the deductions are in their system. When it got to February 2013 and still nothing I called SLC again and my employer. Again I was told they should be coming off but there is nothing happening. Frustrating. Now I have also been told that they can take all the payments that should have been taken off since April 2012 in a oner once the payments start - this will now be around £1000. I'm not thrilled by this news but I have managed to put aside almost enough to cover it in a savings account to reimburse myself should they take it all from one months pay.
To further complicate matters I am now over the repayment threshold for my four old loans by about £70 so I will now be making payments to that of around £180 per month as of my next months pay at the end of April.
I have a few questions;

1. It was mentioned to me in one phone call from SLC that it may be HMRC who are holding this all up as I was self-employed until April 2012 and this may not have been updated on all systems. Is this possible? I am reluctant to call them as well as it already feels like I'm doing all the legwork when I've done everything I was asked to do and chasing my payroill and SLC feels like enough!

2. I have seen on SLC website and been told over the phone that as a post-grad teaching graduate with both kinds of loan I am eligible to pay back just my old loans first to lessen the monthly payments, but I cannot register for this until they start taking both payments - is this right? Surely I should be able to tell them that now anyway rather than starting payments to the new loan just so they can be stopped?!!

3. Am I now liable for the past year's worth of payments to the new loan whenever they finally manage to set up the repayments through my salary? Or do I have any possibility of saying that as they have now missed a complete financial year's worth of payments I now should be paying as of April 2013 - which I can potentially defer as I am now liable for the old-style loans???

Sorry for the complex and long-winded questions but if there is a way of not giving them close to £1200 out of one month's pay then I'd like to know! Totally accept I owe them money but I wish I could just give them it as it's sitting in a bank account now and I am sick of waiting to see what's happening every month - SLC have said it can take up to 3 months to set-up so I shouldn't call again until the end of May.....

Poolie

Response has been posted in the student board