Student Loans Company problem

cganesh

My son's student loan amount has been wrong since he started last September. He left Uni in December and we want it paid off. I have paid off what it should be and after 7 months of arguments and complaints they have admitted the amount is wrong, we have both agreed what it should be, but they seem unable to correct it. They have apologised several times for delays and for the error but still haven't sorted In fact today, although the account should be nil and closed I looked at the online balance to check and it has gone UP again by £2000. This saga has been a nightmare and I have gone through their complaints procedure with umpteen letters and e-mails. They say I can't take it to a financial ombudsman and I really don't know what to do. Should I take it to my MP or Watchdog or what? We do not owe this money and I have no idea who to speak to now. Any ideas?

Tixy

Are they actually chasing for the debt?

Or do you have it in writing from them that they agree no debt is owed despite his online account showing an outstanding balance?

According to their website if your complaint remains unresolved then you can escalate it to an independent assessor appointed by BIS.

DunPin

cganesh wrote: »

They say I can't take it to a financial ombudsman.

Why not? The student loan is a loan like any other and if you're being messed around then you should be able to take it to the financial ombudsman if you so wish.

cganesh

Apparently the complaints procedure which has been escalated 3 times does not go to a financial ombudsman and I have requested an independent assessor to take it to the next level but they don't tell me how to actually do this. They are not 'chasing' me for the money. They agree the online figure( which is amounting interest all the time) is wrong and that I don't owe it. However, they aren't able to correct it and have now after months added on yet another payment, I presume to the uni my son left in December. Every time I email it takes weeks to answer and they say they will sort it and they don't. Its so frustrating and I don't understand why they can't just close the account. They are not a 'normal' loan company, who I am sure would admit an error and correct it immediately.:mad:

ilovelondontown

The Student loan company are notoriously unorganised and work like a charity and take money like a company. They make you feel like they do you a favour lending you the money and then treat you terribly when you need to communicate with them on matters to your benefit.

The only thing you can do is press them on it, keep all paper work that confirms the agreement that nothing more needs to be paid and know that it will be settled eventually.

cganesh

Yes I did relax a bit after they agreed it was wrong even though the 'amount' still showing is adding interest every day! But now they have made another payment to the uni, after saying no more payments will be made back in January,and I can't help worrying about 2 grand I don't owe, also adding interest each day. How can I trust it will be sorted when they really don't know what they are doing and keep adding more to the bill?

Tixy

If you have it in writing that nothing is owed and in writing that they accept that the online account balance is incorrect then I wouldn't worry about it too much. That evidence would stand up in court or if they ever started chasing for the debt.

But if you are worried about it then you need to write a formal complaint and state that you wish this to be escalated to be reviewed by an independant assessor.

cganesh

I do have it in writing so I suppose I'm not worried in that sense, but it is still disturbing that they cannot sort it out and that more 'loan' has been added. I just want the account closed and to end it all. Quite frankly, I am shocked at how inept they are, how many different amounts have been quoted to me over the past year and how much time I have spent trying to sort it. They even blamed the university at one point (subsequently retracted) that they had not 'returned' the money they had sent them in error! If I told Watchdog everything they had said to me, I don't think they would actually believe it!

dbullet

Hi cganesh,

I used to work for SLC after uni. The place is indeed inefficient but not malicious.
If the payment are due to tuition fees they can only be returned to the SLC from the uni, first once the student has been fully withdrawn from the course and the uni have notified SFE/SLC and secondly the tuition fee payments can only be reversed back to SLC during the same time periods as when TF's are paid, from memory I think the two dates are February and May.
As long as you have a letter from SLC confirming the loan is paid off you will likely be fine.
Also, if you do speak to them again, ask to speak to the Bothwell Street call centre, that's where the permanent call centre team are, there are several other offices with temp workers - I was one of them - and the standard of knowledge my coworkers had was sometimes terrible.

Naf

cganesh wrote: »

I do have it in writing so I suppose I'm not worried in that sense...

Don't be worried at all. Sit back & relax.
You have it in writing that its their mistake, and you're paid up completely, so even if they did try to do more chasing, you can just send a copy of the letter and tell them to go away.

cganesh

I'm glad you admit ,dbullet, that the organisation is rubbish, even your comment about only being able to fix it only in feb and may sounds typical. The point is my son left in December, all payments were apparently stopped,and as well as the figures being wrong since last year yet another one has just gone out in July ? In normal financial organisations, like a bank, where I have actually worked, it would take a phone call, an e-mail and one or two clicks on the computer to amend a figure! Not 7 months and counting.
I am not concerned about having to pay this now, or however much they say he owes later on when he earns the £21k, but I don't really want to go through the battle with them later on when they no doubt will start taking money from his salary, if or when he does earn enough. I can honestly see no end to it and this looks bound to happen if we sit back and do nothing.
Also, I don't want it on any record that he owes a lot of money, for instance if he applies for credit in the future. Wouldn't this figure show up somewhere?
I have tried to relax and let them sort it in their own time but I can't.:mad::mad::mad: