ERUDIO student loans help

anna2007

Was just reading this on the CAG website, some of it might be helpful in our situation, more the first two parts about speaking on the phone or signing their form:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/entry.php?180-Debt-Threats-a-quick-self-help-guide

The author shares my daughter's name, I thought it might be a sign

Brooker_Dave

Myth

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

Fact

You've borrowed money from a vulture fund hiding behind a shell company based in a tax haven, you will be harassed and bullied into paying, despite earning less than the deferment level.

Best case scenario sees your loan reported as a "loan holiday" worse your cedit file is marked as a default, either way you will struggle to get access to credit or other financial products.

The government who sold you this loan will wash it's hands of you and any duty of care it should have.

BaffledByErudio

Roger_Mellie wrote: »

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.

The thing is, if the systems they take modern student loans out under are kept to their current rules, it shouldn't be a disaster. I listened to the 5Live programme from yesterday and :money:stressed his frustration at this constant scaremongering about early life debts and spending the rest of your life paying them off etc.
I'm 38. Un-bloody-fortunately, as my existence in the passage of time dictated, as I was diving off the sixth form version of the Titanic, I jumped into one of the partially inflated life rafts (mortgage-style loans) and I'm still somewhere in the Atlantic. Most post-2000 student loan borrowers got comfy seats in the RMS Carpathia!
And forgive me for these obscure analogies, but they're equally as obscure as an American debt recovery firm now owning a £5,000 'safe' debt which I previously owed to HM Government, issued under terms my careers adviser assured me should be of no worry!
I work with three colleagues who are only a little younger than me, and while sympathetic, only make repayments on their student loans when we occasionally have to do overtime. And I'm talking maybe a fiver. So, on the flipside, they're paying back while some of us are not when we borrowed 15+ years ago.
They took out loans under the middle system and their deductions are taken through PAYE.
I accept wholeheartedly that, yes, as misfortune would have it, those of us in Erudio's little torture chamber, signed an agreement, way back in the 90s, that had the cliff-edge 'you've got the maximum wage, pay us back' caveat. And that was what was attractive in any sale. Can't say the totally legit £2k threshold drop has hurt the buyer either.
As well as any little loophole Arrow Global can sniff out as a force measure.
We were guinea pigs in a constantly evolving situation which has now become a scenario where A Level students are in a pickle over £9k tuition fees, plus a loan to live on.
It grates with me that many of the bean counters sussing out this gargantuous mountain of cash and who owes who are probably cushy accountants who got a full student grant (and dole in the holidays) as used to be the case before getting an education became such an E-rude-o situation!

anna2007

Myth

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

Fact

"Your 'child' will live with you until they are at least 40 years old, driving you and themselves eternally mad whilst unable to purchase a place of their own to call home due to the "payment holiday" recorded on their credit file. As they try to pay off the mountain of student loan debt owed to the Government (or any other third party loan shark to whom the debt may be assigned), along with the other debt used to pay off said debt, they will ultimately blame you as their parent, regardless of whether you taught them the value of money or no".

The Government, of course, will be completely blameless, as it's never their job to deal with the ramifications of their actions. What a bunch of [EMAIL="tw@ts"]tw@ts[/EMAIL].

fermi

anna2007 wrote: »

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?

You mean this?

despin wrote: »

Alright then folks, a little update: I got deferred, no questions, no hassle. I did have the bonus of a letter from my wife, who does happen to be a lawyer. She looked at the terms of the original credit agreements and the new terms and knocked up a wee letter. I'll post a copy below. I also sent them a copy of last years tax returns, with all her details blacked out that showed my wages as €0. Apart from that, all they got was a letter from my wife saying she supported me, as with SLC.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but at the top of the DD part, it says to only fill in if your details have changed (mine haven't, so I didn't sign). I also crossed out the bit at the top of the DD and removed the bottom of that page and page 6 (thanks to advice from this thread.

Anyway, here's the text of the letter. It's a bit long, but worked for us, hope it can help some of you guys


Dear Madame / Sir

I hereby confirm that ….. is not employed nor self-employed. His only source of income
is the spending money (in the amount of xxx GBP per month) he is granted by me. He is fully
dependent on me and looks full time after our two young children.

Please find enclosed the Deferment Application form for my husband, ….... which we
have completed only to the extent this is in line with the original Credit Agreement and the law.
To set the context the Credit Agreement (1995) specifies that the applicable regulations provide for
(a) deferment of repayment (from a date and for a period determined by us under the applicable
regulations) if you satisfy us that your gross income ... for a month does not exceed a sum prescribed by the applicable regulations and that your gross average monthly income during the three succeeding months will not, or is unlikely to, exceed that sum...'.

Note there is no requirement to arrange a direct debit facility as part of this deferment.

The only provisions permitting a unilateral variation of the Credit Agreement in Clause 11 (Variation), specify that variations have to be deemed necessary (acting reasonably of course)'because of the provisions of applicable law and as 'required by applicable law.

No further variation of the agreement has been agreed by …..., save that the parties to the
Credit Agreement have over the years established a course of practice which gives Clause 11 an
enforceable meaning, namely that my above written confirmation is acceptable evidence of his (lack
of own) income status, absent any other suitable proof or legislation on this point. Furthermore, and
as a matter of law, you are required to act reasonably in handling deferment requests enshrined by law.

The terms of the Credit Agreement and applicable law (Consumer Credit Act 2006) therefore continue to govern the full extent of …... obligations.

ln summary, and to comment on your method of unilaterally attempting to introduce additional
variation to the Credit Agreement through the form you have mandated:

1. We are not aware of any requirement introduced by applicable law to arrange a direct debit,
nor to provide Erudio with this information

2. ….... is not required to offer any data protection consents to you and as such, he does not consent to the processing of information contained on the form except to the extent such consent is required by the Credit Agreement (his signature below is in evidence of this fact).

3. Your sole right by virtue of the assignment of the rights under the Credit Agreement is to require evidence to satisfy you (acting reasonably) that …...... gross income does not exceed the requisite threshold. …......... is entitled to continue relying on the established practice of sending my annual letter of confirmation as a satisfactory mechanism absent of any new legislation in this area.

Please note we have emigrated and are currently living at the above address. The address given on
the deferment application form is our UK forwarding address.

Sarebear78

Finally got my replies from Erudio - got CCA and it is legible. Also got SAR results so all the info on their calls etc and statements. It is really interesting reading and has all the interest charges (even with some credits!) and tells me everything I might need to know. Also interested that it also says next payment is 10/09/14 lol - yes, I am deferred......:)

Also got their reply to my complaint to FOS from them. I asked them to confirm if I didn't have to use form next year and they said it was 'administratively impractical' for me not to. Also denied making false statements to me, which is a lie! When I have stopped laughing at their responses and read them in more detail I might write more about it.

rizla_king

Sarebear78 wrote: »

I asked them to confirm if I didn't have to use form next year and they said it was 'administratively impractical' for me not to.

So not 'impossible' then.

They should have designed their systems better then. Tough. As we said all along, as long as you provide the required proof of income and warranty it is correct, there is no legal requirement to use their stupid nosey and dodgy forms.

anna2007

fermi wrote: »

You mean this?

That's the one Fermi, thanks for hunting it down

anna2007

Sarebear78 wrote: »

Finally got my replies from Erudio - got CCA and it is legible. Also got SAR results so all the info on their calls etc and statements. It is really interesting reading and has all the interest charges (even with some credits!) and tells me everything I might need to know.

Sarebear Do you know if you got the statements as part of the SAR, or the CCA request?

I only made the CCA request, and all I received was the (illegible) copy agreements, even though I asked for statements (which I thought had to be provided under a CCA request).

Does anyone know if that's right?

Sarebear78

anna2007 wrote: »

Sarebear Do you know if you got the statements as part of the SAR, or the CCA request?

I only made the CCA request, and all I received was the (illegible) copy agreements, even though I asked for statements (which I thought had to be provided under a CCA request).

Does anyone know if that's right?

The statements are printed off with all my other info (previous addresses, correspondence, bank details etc) so I assume that is with the SAR rather than the CCA. Really glad I did SAR as I know what records they have written about me so far.