ERUDIO student loans help

Lungboy

I'm going down that route myself, so I'd love to know how you did it last year.

cluelessfish

GirlGeek wrote: »

I didn't ever worry about how long SLC took to grant my deferment but now I'm waiting for the postman every day, I've got split loans! I have no idea if a few weeks is a long time or not (and don't really want to know!), I have a vague idea that it did used to take them a while,I think, but it always turned up in the end. It didn't matter anyway I've always been well under the threshold and didn't have any DCA threats hanging over me!

I still haven't had anything back from slc either. I did phone them a few weeks ago and was told that according to their system my deferment had been accepted and a letter was in the process of being sent.

slc don't seem to have a number for old style loans any more so I just used the one for the new loans, general repayment enquires I think.

plong979

eroneo wrote: »

Good on you! How did you get them to defer you without the form last time?

I didn't

After telling them I shouldn't be in arrears because I have shown I am under the threshold, they told me that if I had a problem to take it to the FOS. Which I have. Declined the first recommendation from the FOS of signing the DAF and all arrears will be removed (funny Erudio said they could only do 3 months) and sent up to the actual Ombudsman. Received a letter a few weeks ago, saying it could take 6 or months for the Ombuds to decide.

The whole situation stinks, I'm still fuming that we were never given the option of paying off our loans at 5p in the £1 like they were sold for. But then again, we're not part of the old boys club.

GirlGeek

cluelessfish wrote: »

I still haven't had anything back from slc either. I did phone them a few weeks ago and was told that according to their system my deferment had been accepted and a letter was in the process of being sent.

slc don't seem to have a number for old style loans any more so I just used the one for the new loans, general repayment enquires I think.

Thanks for that bit of info. I did spend a good while trying to work out who to phone at SLC and found something just after they'd shut! (What are the chances of people having the same email address they had 15 odd years ago!?) I shall give them a ring using your suggestion.

Jonez

plong979 wrote: »

The whole situation stinks, I'm still fuming that we were never given the option of paying off our loans at 5p in the £1 like they were sold for. But then again, we're not part of the old boys club.

Yep - I agree - selling the loans to a third party stinks indeed - particularly to a scummy, tax avoiding DCA. One day there will be major civil unrest in this country if we continue down the road towards government by corporations.

eroneo

plong979 wrote: »

I didn't

After telling them I shouldn't be in arrears because I have shown I am under the threshold, they told me that if I had a problem to take it to the FOS. Which I have. Declined the first recommendation from the FOS of signing the DAF and all arrears will be removed (funny Erudio said they could only do 3 months) and sent up to the actual Ombudsman. Received a letter a few weeks ago, saying it could take 6 or months for the Ombuds to decide.

They will NEVER take you to court to enforce the 'arrears'. So, I guess you will do the same every year until cancellation time?
It's encouraging to see someone not scared of their threats to report arrears to CRAs.
Did they actually affect your credit file?

Sarebear78

Wow - I got my deferment reply yesterday and am deferred! Took just over two weeks (although this had bank holidays in it). Very surprised.

I changed the form at the end (to remove the last point) and wrote that I didn't consent to any changes etc. I included a letter from my husband, my redacted joint bank statements and savings info.

No need for FOS this year - phew - good luck everyone else x

gardenia101

My specialist advisor has got back to me - not changed her opinion at all so I'm probably going to have to settle for some compensation.

I can understand some of why she can't do anything about the appalling way Erudio treat us - she can't say how our info may be recorded by CRAs & therefore can't force Erudio to do anything in particular. So we have to wait until things have been recorded & then try & sort out any potential problems that may arise from unfair reporting...

She doesn't think that Erudio quoting the 97 regs has made a difference to my own deferment, & therefore can't comment. I guess she could be correct in my case, but it still feels like Erudio can just do what the eff they like, when they want & us customers just have to put up with it.

She requested that Erudio send both of us a large print statement on 12/3 - no sign of it here a month later, but that seems to be OK in her eyes since she can't force them to send me anything by a certain date. Only a little frustrating.

I want to keep my complaint open until they send me a large print statement & confirm when my loans will be written off - hoping FOS will go for this.

Good to hear that some of you haven't had the same shocking treatment with this years deferment processes as last year. Looks like they have improved some things for the better.

Mr_McGuffin

The FCA was asked this question:


'I am writing to ask you for confirmation and clarification of the relationship of the FCA to the activities of two entities that currently appear to have Interim Permission on the Consumer Credit Register.

These questions relate to regulated activities carried out by Erudio Student Loans Limited and the Student Loans Company Limited.

Erudio Student Loans Limited currently appears on the Consumer Credit Register with the following permission:

'Consumer credit business: Entering into a regulated credit agreement as lender; and exercising, or having the right to exercise, the lender's rights and duties under a regulated credit agreement.'

The Student Loans Company Limited has the same permission, with the addition of 'debt administration' and 'debt collecting'.

I understand that public sector student loans issued from 1990 to 1998 were made under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and that their terms are prescribed in the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998. These regulations were made under the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990, as amended 1998. As I understand it, provision was made for the continued operation of these regulations by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1998.

The Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 prescribes in Schedule 2 the terms according to which the borrower may defer repayments of a loan.

Please can you clarify whether or not the operation and administration by the lender of processes to accommodate such deferment prescribed by the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 are 'regulated activities' and subject to FCA regulation?

If this is considered by the FCA to be 'regulated activity', then are forms, documents, agreements and any 'Certificate and Warranty' relating to deferment as prescribed by the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 also considered by the FCA to be within the scope of its regulation?

As I understand it, 'regulated activities' are defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2013. If the operation of the deferment process is a 'regulated activity' as a consequence of any other statutory instrument, or any other measure, please can you confirm this.

Please can you also clarify whether or not Erudio Student Loans Limited has the benefit of 'SPV Exemption' as defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Consumer Credit) (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Order 2014? Can you confirm that the receipt of Interim Permission and such SPV exemption are not mutually exclusive, and whether or not such exemption would remove the necessity to obtain further authorisation, either on the Interim Permission Consumer Credit Register or the Financial Services Register?'


The answer from the FCA to follow.

Mr_McGuffin

The FCA answer to questions above:


'At the outset, please note that the FCA is prevented from disclosing certain information under a duty of confidentiality imposed on the FCA by s. 348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA"), and for this reason there is only a limited amount of information that we can give you in response to your queries, as follows:

Interim Permission

As you noted from your search of the Consumer Credit Interim Permission Register, Erudio Student Loans Ltd and the Student Loans Company Ltd received interim permission on 1 April 2014 for the activities you described. The process under which firms received interim permission when the FCA took over responsibility for consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading was prescribed by legislation and took place by operation of law. This means that the FCA did not undertake any assessment at that point to determine which activities interim permission holders were carrying on, or indeed whether they required authorisation or benefitted from exempt status.

Interim permission holders are required to apply for full FCA authorisation before certain specified dates if after those dates they will carry on, or continue to carry on, any regulated activities for which they currently have interim permission and in respect of which they are not exempt. If and when a firm applies for full authorisation, we will assess whether it is or is likely to be engaged in regulated activities for which permission is needed or whether the firm may benefit from exempt status.

Lending Permissions

In the case of consumer credit lending, permissions are needed if the firm:

(i) enters into regulated credit agreements as lender; or
(ii) exercises or has the right to exercise the lender's rights and duties under regulated credit agreements.

In general terms, an agreement is a regulated credit agreement if it is an agreement under which a person provides an individual with credit of any amount, and the agreement is not an exempt agreement under the FSMA (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 ("RAO").

Exempt Agreements

The question of whether a credit agreement is an exempt agreement under the RAO depends on the terms of the particular loan, and so is a question of fact to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Exempt Persons

Legislation may give exempt status to certain persons either generally or in relation to certain regulated activities. The extent of any exemption may also be limited to specified circumstances. In most cases, a person cannot be exempt in relation to some regulated activities and authorised in relation to others. If a person is exempt, then it does not require FCA authorisation even if that person carries on a regulated activity in the UK. So, for example, the Student Loans Company Limited is an exempt person in relation to the regulated activity of debt administration in respect of certain types of loans to students, by virtue of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2015 (SI 2015/447).

You may wish to consider seeking independent advice on the application of the legal provisions described above to the particular circumstances of your case.'