ERUDIO student loans help

thin_king

Just called Erudio and am very concerned!

I am due to reach the end of my deferment soon and am over the threshold! I rang to find out if I could get a settlement or what the monthly sum would be after paying a certain lump sum. A settlement figure could not be offered……………… instead I have to make an offer to them……………so I offered a fair sum and was told this would be put to supervisors and I would hear back in a couple of days if it is accepted. All good I thought until the girl on the phone said that she had to read me some blurb regarding the aforementioned ‘offer’. Basically it was standard stuff until she said that the information would be disclosed to a credit agency as partial payment of debt! I nearly fell off my chair and asked if she knew what the word settlement meant. I was then told that even if I paid in full it made no difference as my information will be disclosed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is the first time I have had someone confirm to me from Erudio that the original terms and conditions are going to be ignored!

I admit this may be just the girl I spoke to getting it wrong but I did ask to speak to a supervisor – none was available!

I am very very worried as me and my wife are just about to close on a mortgage and this could ruin everything! What can I do?

fermi

fermi wrote: »

Yes, correct. The ICO is also fine and has agreed with those flags being used by lenders in that way under the DPA.

http://www.scoronline.co.uk/files/scor/high_level_prinicples_document_final.pdf

Yes, correct. The ICO is also fine and has agreed with those flags being used by lenders in that way under the DPA.

http://www.scoronline.co.uk/files/scor/high_level_prinicples_document_final.pdf

Your record should be closed and marked as partially settled if:

• The lender accepts final settlement of the account for less than the balance outstanding

Same situation as the above.

If they have the ability to report accounts to the CRAs as they claim they do under s16 of the older style agreements, then they can also report partial settlements with a partial flag.

It just indicates that they accepted less than the full amount in settlement, not that it's not settled.

Whether s16 does give them the right to report is another matter, and whether they do report despite threats is another again.

thin_king

So if they did would a partial flag have any effect on my mortgage application? Also why would they want to report people who are willingly engaging with them to either settle or pay in full it just seems pointless?

fermi

The CRAs usually try to play down the impact of partial settlement flags, but on something like a mortgage application I would be amazed if it did not have a negative effect. After all, it is saying that you didn't pay the loan in full. A NOC might help, but even that seems a bit doubtful.

Erudio want everyone to pay all their loans off in full immediately, hence implying that they will punish everyone who does not via their credit files.

That is assuming they are really going to report these things. So far they haven't. It may well just be another lie from them. They have shown themselves more than willing to lie through their teeth in the past.

halfpricedebt

thinking - just had the same discussion with them today. It's ended up with me borrowing the money from someone else. They also claim to work out a final settlement figure which is basically adding up the total you owe so it's no different to paying it in installments or in full. They also told me they could register the partial settlement with CRAs but I have no idea if they actually can as my loans don't actually appear on my credit file.

There is a template you can use here to make an offer of a settlement on the national debt line website (search for partial settlement template letter on Google).

This also outlines an agreement the other side have to agree to to mark it as closed. Nobody has been able to tell me whether a P flag is a bad thing. It may or may not have an effect on your file but it depends on Erudio whether they choose to do it or not. So in my case they are about to get the full settlement so that I don't have to deal with them anymore and I can pay someone else off who isn't going to give me such a run around year after year.

fermi

It's going to be up to each lender in the end.

If no default then seems more likely it will have an effect. If the account is already defaulted then it allegedly will not have much impact, though I am a tad dubious on that also.

anna2007

Lungboy wrote: »

I've not heard of Erudio offering adjusted payments based on a form, with the mortgage style loans you have to pay a fixed percentage of your original amount + interest.

I think others have mentioned such a form on here (Dizzybuff?) and are Erudio not obligated under FCA rules to work with customers who are experiencing financial difficulties? Under FAQs on Erudio's website, they say:

I can’t afford to pay – what do I do?
We understand that due to a range of circumstances, you might not be in a position to pay all of what you owe. If you are eligible to apply for deferment and can evidence that your gross annual income is less than £26,727, you should contact us to request a deferment application form. Please refer to the Deferment section of our website for further information, or contact us on 0333 003 7188 as soon as possible. If you are not eligible to apply for deferment we can help devise an affordable repayment plan.

@ halfpricedebt There's a good article here, explaining how average earnings used to calculate the deferment threshold were skewed last year:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/loans/2014/10/guest-comment-how-banking-bonuses-have-hit-student-loan-repayments

The new deferment threshold is announced around the middle of August and will revert to the true average earnings figure (so the threshold will be higher). If you're not much over the current deferment level, there's a good chance you'll be eligible to defer again, which means around 4 monthly payments in the meantime.

If you have someone willing to help out financially, it might be better to pay those 4 payments and see where you stand in August? As tempting as it might be to pay the whole amount to be done with them, you might never owe the full amount of your loans, or even any agreed figure to settle, as we don't know what future deferment levels might be, how income might change, etc. Why should Erudio get a penny more than they're entitled to under your loan agreement?

If you still want a copy of the income & expenditure form ASAP, try emailing Erudio's Director mfiler@wilmingtontrust.com (if that email's removed just google "CEO email Mark Filer"), tell him you need an electronic copy of the form emailed as a matter of urgency, to avoid arrears on your account. You could also mention that the Erudio monkeys you've spoken to about settlement/the I&E form are being obstructive and unreasonable and you intend to take it to FOS if they don't email the form. Copy in customerservice@erudiostudentloans.co.uk - hopefully that will get it sorted for you.

Another option if Erudio are still stalling would be to complete the form here, which can be saved as a pdf file and emailed to Mr Filer, gives them all the info they need to sort out a payment arrangement:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/steps/step2/Pages/Step_2_11.aspx#

Remember to put your full name, address and D.O.B. at the end of any email you send, or they'll just stall things further while they verify your identity for data protection purposes...

thin_king

Can I ask - just asking for an offer doesn't get reported does it....wouldn't put it past them? Would paying in full just be flagged as paid in full and not be detrimental in any way??
















Thanks for the info halfpricedebt - this has been a nightmare with the house buying too (oh plus the wifes pregnant!!) - they are penalising people trying to do things by the book. Think I've aged about 10 years today!

fermi

thin_king wrote: »

Can I ask - just asking for an offer doesn't get reported does it....wouldn't put it past them? Would paying in full just be flagged as paid in full and not be detrimental in any way??

Simply asking could not be reported.

Settling in full in accordance with the terms of the original agreement, which you have the right to do at any time, could only be marked as a full settlement. Should not be detrimental under the criteria of most lenders.

halfpricedebt

The problem I discovered with arranging an agreed payment is that your account will still be in arrears. So if Erudio accept an adjusted payment your account still gathers arrears interest.

I'm in two minds as the amount has already been transferred to me to pay these mugs off and as much as it sticks in my throat to give them such a large amount of cash, I just want to be rid of them and the whole saga every year. I want to get on with my life without the constant threats from Erudio hanging over me. I would love to make a partial settlement but without a guarantee if this will adversely effect me if I was to apply for a mortgage I don't know if I should take the risk.