ERUDIO student loans help

patanne

I can see a reference to One Parent Benefit on p.20 though - any ideas what that is? I've never had any One Parent Benefit....

[/QUOTE]

One parent benefit used to be paid with child benefit (it was enough to pay one nights babysitting if you were lucky) and was all you got before they invented child tax credits ( there was actually another child related benefit in between but I can't remember what it was called

BaffledByErudio

Here's a thought.
I may be barking up the wrong tree, and I'm obviously not accusing Erudio of anything, but has anyone noticed a major increase in the level of junk mail for credit cards in the past six months?
I know I have.
My credit report is hardly glittering. About average (unless it's been tinkered with since I last checked), I have one credit card and a small-ish bank loan. I'm not one for running up huge swathes of debt.
Yet, at least twice a week, over the the past few months, I'm coming home to 'pre-approved for credit card', 'take out a loan' type junk. I never really had much of this type of mail in past years.
Makes you wonder who's got your info and what it's being used/sold for. And if it IS anything to do with a certain deal with Experian, it's bloody outrageous. They were government loans! I guess there's no way of testing my suggestions on this I guess. But it makes me wonder!

erudioed

Heres an article about Rolling Jubilee (http://rollingjubilee.org/) who recently purchased student debt in the U.S. and then cancelled the debts of the ex-students. The article discusses the value of debt in the U.S. I suggest having a look at the whole article (http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/17/occupy-activists-student-debt-corinthian-colleges) but here is a bit of interest

The gesture, however, is meant to be symbolic as it proves that debt can be conquered – and at a discount. Rolling Jubilee bought the $3.8m worth of student loans for a total of $106,709.48 in cash. That’s about 3¢ for $1 of student debt.
“The Rolling Jubilee doesn’t actually solve the problem. The Rolling Jubilee is a tactic and a valuable one because it exposes how debt operates,” says Gokey.
“It punches a hole through the morality of debt, through this idea that you owe X amount of dollars that the 1% says you owe. In reality, that debt is worth significantly less. The 1% is selling it to each other at bargain-based prices. You don’t actually owe that.”
The 1% in this scenario are the companies issuing private student loans and the debt buyers, who often purchase student loan portfolios like the one purchased by the Rolling Jubilee.

erudioed

i also add in that article, this bit:
Rolling Jubilee’s search for a student debt portfolio began as early as January of this year.
At first the movement considered buying loans held by Sallie Mae, the largest lender of private student loans.
“Sallie Mae is just a Bogeyman that is haunting so many people of our generation,” says Gokey.

After multiple attempts to reach someone at Sallie Mae, Gokey says he was finally put through to Douglas St Peters, currently the vice president of portfolio management at Sallie Mae spinoff Navient.

Prior to April of 2014, Navient was a loan management, servicing and asset recovery business within Sallie Mae.
The campaign claims that St Peters confirmed that Sallie Mae sells its private loans to two large debt buying companies for as little as 15 cents on the dollar. According to Gokey, as soon as St Peters found out who he was speaking with, he shut down and declined their offer to purchase any of Navient’s portfolios.
“It was like talking to a politician caught in a sex scandal. No matter what I said he, like a robot, was just repeating: ‘I am not going to answer this question or any other questions’,” says Gokey.

“The only reason that they wouldn’t sell it to us is because we aren’t going to collect it. We are the anti-Navient. We are the anti-Sallie Mae.”


Me again: So Sallie Mae seem to be the boogeyman of the US student debt world...what possible connection could that have to us. Well, here is the wikipedia entry for Erudio:


Salli Mae the American based corporation for student loans that is behind Arrow Global.


However, as with many things Wikipedia, it is incorrect now because Sallie Mae sold up to RBS. Here is Arrow Global's history from its own website:




Arrow Global (the Group) was established in 2005 as the European subsidiary of Arrow Financial Services, a leading US debt purchaser that was founded in 1961 and was subsequently acquired by Sallie Mae in 2004. In 2009 the Group's holding company was purchased by the RBS Special Opportunities Fund. In October 2013, Arrow Global Group PLC successfully completed an initial public offering, marking the Group's admission to the premium listing segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange.
We combine a successful operating model pioneered in the US with local knowledge of the UK and European markets. The result is an innovative and flexible debt purchasing platform, which enables us to create bespoke solutions for both customers and creditors.


Me again: Make of it what you will. It seems to be an acknowledged disaster that the privatisation of all things student loans in the U.S. has wrought on students there. It kind of again raises what kind of due diligence has been done for our student loan sale to Erudio, what with the channel islands connections of all 4 major companies involved, the shell companies David Cameron says he wants to stamp out, to the fact that BIS have allowed the controlling company (Arrow Global) to administer our loans when its foundings are based on it being involved with Sallie Mae, the scourge of student debt in the U.S.
The more one looks at such things, the more betrayed one feels!

Mr_McGuffin

Hear hear. This is a big picture and this is the front line. It must be stopped in its tracks or it will roll over millions of people.

fermi

Reminder from earlier.

fermi wrote: »

Have to keep going on this.

A random thought summary on what to do if Erudio misbehave or do something you think is unfair or not right...

Please add anything you can think of or I might have missed this early in the morning before brain is properly caffeinated.


- Make a formal complaint putting Erudio on notice that you will be taking them to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Take the complaint all the way to the FOS proper after Erudio give you a final response or after 8 weeks from your initial complaint. Whichever is sooner.

Don't let Erudio off the hook.


- FCA Rules - Perhaps familiarise yourself with at least section 7 CONC 7 of the FCA rules on how they shoudl behave collecting debts. Other parts such as post contract conduct and others in those rules may also be useful. All here. http://fshandbook.info/FS/html/FCA/CONC

Report any breaking of those rules in a formal complaint to [EMAIL="consumer.queries@fca.org.uk"]consumer.queries@fca.org.uk[/EMAIL]

FCA cannot do anything on your particular case, but they can log and look into complaints and use those to consider taking action (legal or regulatory or removal of licence etc), as they have shown so far this year with many of the dodgy payday and debt management firms. If the FCA don't have complaints against Erudio it is harder for them to act.

Breach of those FCA rules would also be highly useful to emphasise in any FOS complaint.

Unfair practice not technically breaking the rules should also be reported.


- Tell the media - If you have something you think MSE shoudl know and/or report on then email [EMAIL="news@moneysavingexpert.com"]news@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

There are also other journalists who have shown an interest and/or published articles. Simon Read of the independent, Paul Lewis of BBC moneybox, Radio5, You and Yours on Radio 4 plus some others I'm sure.


- Other forums helping - primarily mumsnet

Link to the latest post on the latest thread there: http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2093805-Erudio-Student-Loans-Continued-part-3?reverse=1

Quite a lot of useful stuff, and if you have info useful to share with them I would post it (mum or not).

For legal aspects (primarily court action should it come to that, but also general stuff), there are several forums such as http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/forum.php


- Your MP is wanting re-election - Talk to and complain to your MP. There is an election in less than a year.

gardenia101

fermi wrote: »

Reminder from earlier.

Well I complained to the FOS 2 days ago, even though the 8 weeks for Erudio to answer my complaint hasn't passed. FOS said they'd log my complaint & let Erudio know I'd complained to them

I had a response from Erudio today saying they'll conduct a thorough investigation & enclosing a copy of their complaints procedure - sadly neither letter was in large print, so that's another email going off to them tonight :mad: Are they just incompetant or taking the Michael with my correspondence?

Still no sign of any of the other correspondence - statements etc.

anna2007 wrote: »

It's the FCA and Credit Services Association who say collection activity must stop while a complaint's investigated, Erudio have to abide by the rules of both organisations.

For the Financial Conduct Authority - See 7.5.3 & 7.14.1 here:

fshandbook.info/FS/html/FCA/CONC/7

For the Credit Services Association - page 11/26

www.csa-uk.com/media/editor/file/Code_of_practice_final%20110414.pdf

When I rang FOS again today to complain about the lack of large print documentation (as if all of this isn't stressful enough) the chap I spoke to said they couldn't enforce the above guidelines about activity stopping while a complaint is investigated.

Thanks to all those who have posted info. For me it is starting to feel like a losing battle

Pluthero

Unfortunately that's exactly how erudio Want you to feel!

Powerless and like no legal bodies or regulators care:-(

Keep at them!

ericctheking

Remember if you earn under the threshold never ever pay them one penny even! Don't worry about their breach of contract arrears.
They are the ones who will have to answer if it ever went to court.

ericctheking

By the way, Has anyone reported Erudio to the police for fraud yet?