ERUDIO student loans help

anna2007

Thought it might be an idea to try and generate some media interest in BIS' 7% drop in the deferment threshold, so have put together a mailing list. If enough of us send the email, it might be enough put some media pressure on BIS to justify the reduction. You should be able to just copy and paste the email addresses into the "To" box in your email browser, so will only take a couple of minutes to copy and paste and fire it off. If anyone wants to add to the mailing list, or I've got any of the addresses wrong, let me know and I'll amend it:

[EMAIL="biscom@parliament.uk"]biscom@parliament.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@moneysavingexpert.com"]news@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="s.read@independent.co.uk"]s.read@independent.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="money@paullewis.co.uk"]money@paullewis.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="moneybox@bbc.co.uk"]moneybox@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="emmalunn2002@hotmail.com"]emmalunn2002@hotmail.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news.london@ukmetro.co.uk"]news.london@ukmetro.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="money@theguardian.com"]money@theguardian.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="which@which.co.uk"]which@which.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="editor@thisismoney.co.uk"]editor@thisismoney.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="weekend.money@thetimes.co.uk"]weekend.money@thetimes.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="newsdesk@sunday-times.co.uk"]newsdesk@sunday-times.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="watchdog@bbc.co.uk"]watchdog@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="uknewsplan@bbc.co.uk"]uknewsplan@bbc.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@sky.com"]news@sky.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="james.smith@pressassociation.com"]james.smith@pressassociation.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="ean@ft.com"]ean@ft.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="News.desk@express.co.uk"]News.desk@express.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@the-sun.co.uk"]news@the-sun.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="steve.hawkes@the-sun.co.uk"]steve.hawkes@the-sun.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="paul.dacre@dailymail.co.uk"]paul.dacre@dailymail.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="itvplanning@itn.co.uk"]itvplanning@itn.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@channel4.com"]news@channel4.com[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="dtnews@telegraph.co.uk"]dtnews@telegraph.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="stnews@telegraph.co.uk"]stnews@telegraph.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@dailymail.co.uk"]news@dailymail.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="mirrornews@mirror.co.uk"]mirrornews@mirror.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="money@citywire.co.uk"]money@citywire.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="news@eveningtimes.co.uk"]news@eveningtimes.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="newseditor@independent.co.uk"]newseditor@independent.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="rachel.williams@moneywise.co.uk"]rachel.williams@moneywise.co.uk[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="info@ifaonline.net"]info@ifaonline.net[/EMAIL], [EMAIL="ian.dunt@politics.co.uk"]ian.dunt@politics.co.uk[/EMAIL],


Subject: Government's announcement on student loan deferment threshold indicates a 7% fall in average earnings ‏

The remainder of the mortgage style student loans book was sold by the Government in November 2013 to the private sector debt management consortium CarVal Investors and Arrow Global, via Erudio Student Loans, an investment trustee. Around 250,000 borrowers' loans, with a face value of £900 million, were sold for £160 million, at a cost of around 5p in the pound to the consortium. Almost half of these loans relate to borrowers who are legally entitled to defer repayments due to their income being below the deferment threshold.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills remains legally responsible for setting the deferment threshold for these loans each year, and announced on 11 August 2014 that the deferment level for mortgage style student loans is reducing from £28,775 in 2013, to £26,727 in 2014. This represents a reduction of £2,048, or 7%, on the previous year's deferment level.

http://www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=93,3866911&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

The historic trend in deferment levels has always been an increase, in line with earnings growth, with the exception of a 2% decrease in 2010, which was described by the Institute of Fiscal Studies as "the largest one-year fall in median [household] income since 1981 and the largest one-year fall in mean income since our consistent data began in 1962". The IFS cited the primary reason for this fall in household income as being due to the fall in earnings in 2010-11, mainly caused by a large number of higher-rate taxpayers shifting income to the 2009/10 tax year to avoid the new 50% tax rate introduced in 2010/11 (see page 8 http://www.ifs.org.uk/comms/comm124.pdf).

The deferment level, as defined in the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 "means 85% of the lender’s estimate of average monthly earnings of all full-time employees in Great Britain for the January when the level will apply based on figures published by the Office for National Statistics", and is the point at which borrowers are liable to repay their student loans.

BIS has confirmed that there has been no change to the method for calculating the deferment threshold, as this is enshrined in law:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/loans/2014/08/student-loan-deferment-threshold-to-fall-qa-on-why-its-happening

As BIS has confirmed no change in the deferment calculation, and the calculation is based on the ONS statistics for average earnings and earnings growth, this means BIS are predicting a 7% reduction in average earnings in Great Britain in January 2015.

BIS as the responsible Ministerial Department of the Government, need to explain and justify a 7% fall in average earnings, particularly as the next largest fall of 2% in 2010, represented the single largest one-year fall in household income since records began in 1962.

The ONS and Bank of England have also reported earnings growth at April 2014 of 0.7%, which clearly contradicts the estimate announced by BIS. With the General Election being held next year, the electorate must be informed if there has been such an alarming and unprecedented fall in average earnings.

Pluthero

Done Anna,

Good work.

JeLaw

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

don’t go on credit files and don’t show up on credit checks"

So even today the SLC in their marketing is claiming that Student Loans do not go on cerdit files or show up on credit checks...

Hang on. Doesn't this help with the case for mis-selling? Or some other kind of breach. Maybe I'm getting it all totally wrong. I'm not having a good day health-wise so my brain is particularly fried today.

Anna2007 - that's fantastic what you've done regarding your research and the email. Thank you! I think when I email I might add my concerns about their handling of the deferment process especially their attempt to force us to us their form and keeping an active DD (pointing out this is particularly concerning as they continue to misakenly debit people's accounts).

Roger_Mellie_2

I took out my last student loan back in 2000. First one was during 1997, even qualified for the last of the local authority 'grant' because I had paid enough tax and NI in the lead up to eventually returning to Uni.

In all honesty, these loans now feel like a noose around my neck. It's my intention to a) question the balance and b) pay the damn things back. According to Eruselesso, my 1997 loan balance is a smidgen over 2k whereas my 1998, 1999 and 2000 loans each are no more than 1600 quid.

Jeez, today's students' don't realise the disaster they are walking in to. In time, today's loans will be sold off to the lowest bidder.

Ed-1

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

"Myth

Student debt will stop my child getting a mortgage or other loans

Fact

Student loans are unsecured lending from the government and are very different to credit cards or
commercial loans.They don’t go on credit files and don’t show up on credit checks"

Student Finance Wales is a service provided by the Student Loans Company."

http://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/media/8599/sfw_fs_myths-and-facts_1415_en_d.pdf

"Myth

Student debt will stop my child getting a mortgage or other loans

Fact

Student loans are unsecured lending from the government and are very different to credit cards or
commercial loans.They don’t go on credit files and don’t show up on credit checks"


http://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/456064/myths___facts_fact_sheet_1314_d_b.pdf

So even today the SLC in their marketing is claiming that Student Loans do not go on cerdit files or show up on credit checks...

Both of these SLC documents refer to Income Contingent Plan 2 loans (post 2012) which don't go on credit files. Neither do Plan 1 loans (ICR 1998-2011).

anna2007

JeLaw wrote: »

Hang on. Doesn't this help with the case for mis-selling? Or some other kind of breach. Maybe I'm getting it all totally wrong. I'm not having a good day health-wise so my brain is particularly fried today.

I think it does help. Even if it refers to the current IC loans, it shows the general spirit in which the loans are sold - that obviously hasn't changed since the student loans system was introduced (unless the Government wants to argue that the mortgage style loans were like commercial loans that would show on our credit files!). It also supports what many have said they were told before taking out the loans.

JeLaw wrote: »

I think when I email I might add my concerns about their handling of the deferment process especially their attempt to force us to us their form and keeping an active DD (pointing out this is particularly concerning as they continue to misakenly debit people's accounts).

Good idea JeLaw, anything that highlights what a monumentally bad idea it was to sell our student loans to these cowboys has to be good

erudioed

Heres Martin Lewis on BBC5live yesterday, the Erudio bit start around 24mins in...just 6 days left http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d4k7t

TraceyJ_2

Thanks to everyone for all the info in here. Currently considering what to send Erudio but have messed up by completing my form before reading everything here Does anyone have an electronic version of the form by any chance please?

Thank you.

anna2007

TraceyJ wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for all the info in here. Currently considering what to send Erudio but have messed up by completing my form before reading everything here Does anyone have an electronic version of the form by any chance please?

Thank you.

TraceyJ - I haven't seen an electronic copy around, from what I remember, the first page of the form has the unique customer reference number on it, so that's probably why. I wouldn't bother asking Erudio for a replacement form, they'll either ignore your request or take weeks to send it.

I did the same as you, completed my form and then saw the threads, but you could just black out the info you don't want to give them, and anything you don't agree to? I removed the FPN completely (bottom of page 5, all of page 6), by photocopying the original page 5 with the FPN part attacked with a pair of scissors There's a statement near the top of the DD mandate (page 2?) about the DD being a legal requirement during deferment, black that out too. All the personal info, most have only given what was required on the old SLC deferment form.

All that seems to matter to Erudio is the declaration signature at section 9 of the form, people who have refused to complete the form have been told if they sign the form and complete NONE of the other details, that will be accepted. It's all hairy balls IMO - their FPN says if we submit the form, we're agreeing to Erudio searching our credit record, and if they accept the deferment application, they can pass our loan data onto CRA's. This is where they can make their money on our deferred loans (that, and reducing the deferment level by some random amount!). Seems like harassment at best, or coercion at worst.

Remember none of this really matters, it's Erudio's nature and they want you to feel intimidated, but don't let them. All that matters is that you're legally entitled to defer, Erudio are just throwing a few obstacles in your path

anna2007

For people just starting out on their deferment application, and having to trawl through 1300+ posts, one of the most convincing arguments I saw against all the Erudio sh!te was by someone whose spouse was legally trained, and they got deferment with minimum headache (and possibly without completing the form?).


I'll have a look through, but does anyone else have it to hand, or if that person's checking in on the thread, would you mind posting again, as your original post is pretty much hidden amongst all the others?