ERUDIO student loans help

dotties

Hi all,
Just looking for some help and advice, my deferment ends at the beginning of October and suddenly I thought I usually get my forms in August so called the new Erudio Loan Company to ask if they had sent them. They hadn't and have now sent me a pack as of today. They mentioned the change in deferment amount which made me gulp, and head for here!
If I get my deferment forms in a timely manner from them then I guess I have time to get them back before the 31 August, but will they be considered then? Or am I going to be looking at repayment? My earnings have actually gone down since I deferred last year, and I am at threat of redundancy at the moment, but I am still over the new threshold. I can't quite get my head around a £2k drop.
Apologies if this is the wrong place but I've gone into a bit of a panic.

dotties

Hi all,
Just looking for some help and advice, my deferment ends at the beginning of October and suddenly I thought I usually get my forms in August so called the new Erudio Loan Company to ask if they had sent them. They hadn't and have now sent me a pack as of today. They mentioned the change in deferment amount which made me gulp, and head for here!
If I get my deferment forms in a timely manner from them then I guess I have time to get them back before the 31 August, but will they be considered then? Or am I going to be looking at repayment? My earnings have actually gone down since I deferred last year, and I am at threat of redundancy at the moment, but I am still over the new threshold. I can't quite get my head around a £2k drop.
Apologies if this is the wrong place but I've gone into a bit of a panic.

(I have also posted in the FAQ loan threshold thread, apologies for the duplicate posting if against forum etiquette)

Ed-1

cluelessfish wrote: »

does any one know why the threshold for ic loans didn't see a similar drop? are they not linked to average earnings in a similar way? also are there any other figures (taxes, benefits or public sector pay/spending) that are based on average earnings?

The IC plan 1 repayment threshold is index-linked to RPI inflation (the same March figure used for interest rates) and has nothing to do with average earnings. So the current threshold for tax year April 2014-April 2015 is £16910 and will go up by 2.5% for tax year April 2015-April 2016 which was March 2014's RPI (£16910 x 1.025 = £17335 rounded up to the nearest £5).

anna2007

cluelessfish wrote: »

also are there any other figures (taxes, benefits or public sector pay/spending) that are based on average earnings?

That's the big question, in setting this year's deferment level, they must be excluding something that was added to average earnings in previous years, as it's definitely not due to a 7% drop in average earnings. The deferment level, until now, has been consistently above the 85% AWE figure, so something else has to be included.

I thought it might be employee pension contributions, which amount to around 7% of gross pay but aren't included in the ONS Average Weekly Earnings figure.

Also, I saw the following on Thesis Servicing's website (they own the first tranche of MS loans bought in 1998):

"The income threshold for deferment is set each year at 85% of average national earnings. The income threshold for the 2014-15 academic year is £26,727. The calculation is made on a gross basis and includes most types of income, such as salary, bonus payments, rental income and certain social security benefits. Only the applicant’s income is taken into account."

http://www.thesis-servicing.co.uk/background/

This seems to make sense - if, for example, benefits weren't included in the calculation of deferment level, but are included when applying for deferment, someone whose salary is below AWE, but has children so in receipt of Child Benefit which takes them over the threshold, would be at a disadvantage compared to someone with the same gross pay, but no children?

I think the truth about this year's deferment calculation will have to come out sometime soon - I just hope the media see it for what it is, and not a "regular adjustment" or some "horrible coincidence".

cluelessfish

anna2007 wrote: »

That's the big question, in setting this year's deferment level, they must be excluding something that was added to average earnings in previous years, as it's definitely not due to a 7% drop in average earnings. The deferment level, until now, has been consistently above the 85% AWE figure, so something else has to be included.

Not quite what i was getting at. I was asking if anything else follows the predicted average earnings. as it should also show 7% drop

haven't bis already said the calculation hasn't changed so what's included or not hasn't changed.

so something already included in bis definition of earnings has or is going to fall by jan 2015.

ons figures only show 0.2% drop in earnings for last 3 months.

So bis must think something is going to change between now and jan 2015 that will cause 7% drop in earnings, again their figure not ons figure.

I am still don't understand how a government department predicting a 7% drop in earnings, how ever it is calculated, has not made bigger news.

Rosskie

Need to catch up on a lot of the thread, but heres an update on my deferement by letter attempt for those who are interested.


Some background - was given a reduction in owed amount as my account had been in arrears for years (40p) but SLC had never told me this, so, account interest refunded for a few years, and no interest is being charged until sept 2014.

I sent off payment to clear the 40p owed.

Repayments were due in may, I applied to deferred by letter with statements etc, did not sign the CRA bit, and didn't give DD details.

CCA request in March - fufilled 2 days ago.
Statement shows last transaction as feb 2014, and a small payment a week ago to cover the 40p arrears. so statement seems up to date.

BUT - a letter to say thanks for the payment came separately (I sent 50p, lowest postal order value allowed), says my account is in arrears by £500+

So the deferment I assume hasn't been approved, but they've not notified me of this, or sent anything in regard to it. They have as part of the CCA given me a statement not showing any arrears or charges. The account is also on hold until sept as stated in an explaintion of reduction in debt letter, well the interest being charged is, yet I'm getting told I'm months in arrears.

Seems to me one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing.

Anyway, I'm not too worried, I'm eligible for derferment, I sent them proof and they've not corresponded as they should regarding a potentially mounting arrears.

I'll write back and ask for clarification, and I'll catch up on the thread....

Also have an outstanding complaint with the FOS regarding all this, I expect a reply soon.

How have other peoples deferment by letter/no CRA/no DD's went?

Cheers

anna2007

cluelessfish wrote: »

Not quite what i was getting at. I was asking if anything else follows the predicted average earnings. as it should also show 7% drop

Sorry, get you now. Could be to do with the benefits cap, which according to this article is set at the average earnings of a UK working household - it was introduced last tax year, and fully rolled out by September (BIS said in the MSE article that they used figures for the period April 2013 to April 2014):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21706978

anna2007

dotties wrote: »

Hi all,
Just looking for some help and advice, my deferment ends at the beginning of October and suddenly I thought I usually get my forms in August so called the new Erudio Loan Company to ask if they had sent them. They hadn't and have now sent me a pack as of today. They mentioned the change in deferment amount which made me gulp, and head for here!
If I get my deferment forms in a timely manner from them then I guess I have time to get them back before the 31 August, but will they be considered then? Or am I going to be looking at repayment? My earnings have actually gone down since I deferred last year, and I am at threat of redundancy at the moment, but I am still over the new threshold. I can't quite get my head around a £2k drop.
Apologies if this is the wrong place but I've gone into a bit of a panic.

(I have also posted in the FAQ loan threshold thread, apologies for the duplicate posting if against forum etiquette)

This from Erudio's FAQ (under 'Applying for deferment' on their website:

"As is the case for all deferments reviewed by the Student Loans Company (SLC), deferment applications will be assessed by Erudio on the threshold applicable on the date the deferment application form is received".

Unfortunately, Erudio aren't very good at getting things done quickly when it comes to deferment, I wouldn't trust them to get your application pack to you in good time.

Could you ask them to email you the application form? The guidance notes are available on their website.

If they can't or won't do that, has anyone got a blank application form they'd be willing to post up on here (would have to screen out the customer reference number on the first page) - it would obviously help anyone else in the same situation?

anna2007

BIS have responded to the FOI request for the due diligence report, refused on the public interest test exemption, so protecting the commercial interests of their buddies at Arrow Global/CarVal - nothing to hide then?

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/details_of_the_due_diligence_pro#incoming-551718

erudioed

how surprising...nice try anyway. Its damaging to commercial interests they say. So much for open government, surely that is in the public interest. One stumps the other...