ERUDIO student loans help

rizla_king

I suspect their intention was to report the status of accounts whether being deferred or repaid? So it would just indicate on or the other on your report?

erudioed

Someone on mumsnet contacted Simon Read from the independent yesterday (who wrote an article on the original sale) and in response to the person chatting to Simon Read on Twatter last night, and other contacts, here are a couple of twaats from his site today:
simon read ‏@simonnread 4h

Anyone have a press contact for Erudio Student Loans?

and

simon read ‏@simonnread 13h

Looks like Erudio has started the "carpet bombing". Here's my warning from when the company bought student debts

Me again: We have the first few chinks in the armour, lets see how it unfolds. Maybe someone can twaat him if they have the number he is after.

Matt_Penfold

I got my letter from Erudio today. Tried to get in touch with them by phone. First time I gave up after being in a queue for nearly 30 minutes. The second time I got through to a person, who was unable to help as she could not find my records. She kept asking for my Eurudio account number, but since they did not bother putting that in the letter they sent me I could not oblige. Searching on my Student Loan Company reference did not bring up my details.

The recorded message that kept playing whilst I was waiting said they were experiencing a very high number of calls, and the woman I spoke to said they had been inundated.

Another example of incompetent management it seems.

Matt_Penfold

Got a call back. Something clearly went wrong with my account as it is marked as being paid off in full, but there was a small amount left outstanding that has attracted interest.

Does not exactly fill me with confidence either Erudio or SLC know what they are doing.

erudiwho?

Similar issues here - applied for deferral of my ~circa97 loans as per usual mid-March this year but with some trepidation as my wife has had a run-in with Arrow before which required intervention from the FOS (Arrow got an !!!-whooping!).

I am *just* inside the deferral limit for earnings, but I earn less than the required amount to commence repayments, so it should be pretty straightforward, no?

Think again. I received a letter yesterday informing me that a direct debit for repayment of my loans had been set up and would start on 10th April. Nonplussed and not having heard anything from Erudio about my deferral application, I gave them a call.

I eventually got through and the guy told me my application was marked as "incomplete". What? I had sent them my 3 most recent payslips and my P60 (copies). They were stapled together and sent by RM Special Delivery - but somehow Erudio had lost the P60 and my January payslip. SO I emailed them with all of the documents, so there could be no further delay in processing my deferral.

As an after thought to my email I rang my bank this morning, and cancelled the Erudio direct debit (it was down as "ESL Ltd" on my bank account). If you are going through this same process, I recommend you call your bank too - it seems that Erudio have the resources to process your direct debit repayment but not your deferral application!

I called Erudio this evening to check that they had received my email and the attachments. Unsurprisingly, it takes them five days to process an email, but thankfully I was informed that they can roll back upto three months' worth of repayments if my deferral application is successful - after they have helped themselves to my bank balance, which I may not be able to afford.

It seems that Erudio don't care if you can afford to pay back your student loan(s) or not. They will use every trick in the book to start taking money from you, even if you have a valid application for deferring your loan.

The Erudio rep I spoke to tonight seemed very harassed, had no useful knowledge of the company's processes and admitted that they had been experiencing a very high number of complaints - I think Erudio (aka Arrow & Carval) might be in for a nasty surprise, and have picked on the wrong group of people. Their bullying tactics aren't going to work here.

rizla_king

Complain to:

consumer.queries@fca.org.uk

and

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

erudioed

Dont forget The Wilmington Trust, our beloved leader Mark (Howard) Filer is also director of their UK branch at the same time as director of this shambles. Maybe tax havens should pop up in relation to him considering he is also director of companies listed in Jersey. With his finger in so many pies, it is little surprise Erudio is such a disgrace
And Arrow is owned by Sallie Mae, another student debt/loan company in the US that is in the sheet in the US courts right now for bullying repayers. BIS's due diligence process has much to answer for, as it is ultimately them who will get it in the neck when (if) this story breaks. I am sure they will be very aware of this, so do consider this fact in the coming weeks when we hear what they say about all this.

erudioed

We have made the news:
http://www.independent.co.uk/money/loans-credit/former-students-in-uproar-over-debt-collector-9240014.html

The first of many hopefully.

Concerning Experian though, who are quoted in the article about how this info will be used that Erudio passes onto them, it is important to remember this press release about Arrow Global, a company intertwined in this process with Erudio:

Arrow Global extends relationship with Experian

Nottingham, UK, 9th December – Experian, the global information services company, today announced that Arrow Global, a leading provider of debt purchase and receivables management solutions, has extended its long-term contract with Experian for the provision of specialist data and analytical services in the UK and Ireland.

Experian will continue to provide Arrow Global with data and analytical services until 2018. These services enable Arrow Global to more efficiently manage accounts, better understand specific circumstances of individual customers and to determine the recovery strategies across its diverse services book whilst ensuring customers are treated sensitively throughout the lifecycle.

Simon Waller, Head of Collections and Customer Management at Experian, commented: “This is an important partnership for Experian and we look forward to providing Arrow Global with data and analytical services for many years to come. Having a crystal clear view of individual customers through comprehensive data is becoming more important than ever for those who operate within the debt collection industry. The extension of this contract means Arrow Global will have access to a wide range of data, helping it better understand the debt portfolios it manages.”

Zach Lewy, Founder and Executive Director of Arrow Global, commented: “We are delighted to be extending this partnership with Experian, which has proved hugely successful over the last 18 months. It is vital we use the most robust data and analytical tools in order to more effectively recover debt for our customers. Continuing work with Experian will ensure we are able to provide the most efficient service for the debt portfolios we manage which includes more than £6 billion of receivables across over 3 million customers in a range of sectors.”

erudioed

and for anyone with a legal mind or in the know:
http://www.arrowglobal.net/lib/docs/133657-experian-and-arrow-faqs.pdf

Beezmouse

Brilliant Erudioed. Thanks for posting that link. Like you say hopefully the 1st of many.

I have just discovered that I'm missing my payslips for February (I get paid fortnightly) so I was going to ask my employer for a letter, again something SLC never had a problem with, however good old Erudio say in the deferment pack they will only accept a letter from your employer in exceptional circumstances. . Wonder what they class as exceptional? I'm at a total loss with this company and their tactics!!!
I never thought that 18 years down the line my student loan would be coming back to bite me in the bum now.. the ironic thing is that had I defaulted on the original loans they would been off my credit file by now after the statue of limitations rules.. grrr..