ERUDIO student loans help

erudioed

R-U-SKOFM wrote: »

Also, 'Zak' mentioned this is the first experiment, so we need to get it right ... so what deals are they currently in negotiation / tendering for?

The future of student loans...this is how it will go, and they obviously want to prove they are top dog for the biggest loan assignments of the future. I will advise people to not go to uni if it means dealing with this bunch until they are 60 and there wont be a control on the interest rate like we are lucky to have.

JeLaw

erudioed wrote: »

The future of student loans...this is how it will go, and they obviously want to prove they are top dog for the biggest loan assignments of the future. I will advise people to not go to uni if it means dealing with this bunch until they are 60 and there wont be a control on the interest rate like we are lucky to have.

I suppose the one plus for future students is they approach student loans with their eyes wide open....

It might be worth looking at other options for future students. Still go to uni but perhaps consider doing it part-time so they can fund it via part-time work? Or work for a few years - save up, and then go. Not ideal options for everyone but options I now wish I'd considered.

JeLaw

rossy28 wrote: »

Thanks very much for this, I will definitely get in contact with them. And I'll look at the template as well.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on.

cluelessfish

hi
so checked my bank account the other day and found some one called esl had taken money. after a quick google found out it was erudio student loans. i did not recall having anything from slc about my loan changing hands so started looking through the letters they have sent. the first thing i came across was my Deferment accepted letter from slc which listed erudio, must have missed this first time, and gives contact info. after a short but costly phone call i was informed a full refund would received. currently day 2 of upto 3 three working days.

now i have since read most of this thread i have more questions and worries and observations.

when calling erudio it seemed far to easy. just mentioning that i had received a deferment accepted letter from slc and they offered a full refund, almost as if the rep had been briefed to expect people to ask for refunds. has anyone actually had a refund yet?

from reading about the new deferment forms i was not looking forward to next year but i asked if i would need to defer through erudiol and they said no. as my loans were split between them and honours slc would still handle my deferment process. can anyone confirm this? and if true does this mean i will continue to receive the old style forms and not have to worry about the pre/post98 credit history issue?

BaffledByErudio

Hello,
Not commented for a while - just been following the threads and reading the news/ listening to reports.
I listened very carefully to Radio 5 Live's programme today and was impressed Martin Lewis sees the situation through our eyes as deferrers. Clearly he's passionate about the issues we face and hopefully will keep his eye on developments as they occur.
I dearly hope, sincerely, that Arrow Global/Erudio understand that people such as ourselves are not questioning their methods as some devious ruse to avoid payment. I've always known I have the debt, that it IS a debt and that should I rise above the wage threshold, I'd be willing to begin repayment. I'm not a defaulter nor a criminal and have had credit cards, mobile phone contracts, personal loans etc and have never defaulted on any payment.
The simple fact is, those of us who took out the loans in the 90s knew, or were told the agreement allowed us to defer while under the threshold. I can say, with hand on heart, if I'd had a crystal ball and foreseen this hideous and frightening ugliness way back in the 90s, I'd have never taken out the loans.
I've kind of become resigned to the fact Erudio will put a blot on my credit file, as it's become obvious they can do this under the very vague pointers in the section 16 caveat in the original T&Cs.
But my most pressing concerns, which, in truth, have given me nightmares - and I'm not exaggerating, (I've had two), are that of deferment process backlog and its effects and the Direct Debit catch 22 we're in.
Over a fortnight ago, I returned the deferment application form. Included all relevant proof of income they requested and saw the form was signed for the day after, by special delivery. I've since been through the (now obligatory) muddy waters of speaking to call centre staff to ask for progress. I've had the contradictions, the puzzled 'have we received your form' etc. But we seem to come out of the end of this mess all the time none the wiser and with more confusion than when we first phoned.
The latest status is that my deferment hasn't been processed and they can't really say when it will be. Troubling, as I'm only a few days off my current deferment period ending.
Now this brings me back to today's Five Live interview.
Arrow's Zachary Lewy pointed out that canceling Direct Debits would not be the way to go if we're concerned about cash being sucked from our accounts eroneously. I have indeed (in one of the many, many calls I've made to Erudio) been told that to cancel the DD would be a breach of the T&Cs and ultimately trigger a default situation. Although in a call this week, I was encouraged to cancel the DD if I'm not satisfied there is no risk of cash being taken mistakenly, or if their backlog means I'm potentially at risk of overshooting my deferment end date.
Is it the case that they are totally in chaos at Capita (I suspect it is pretty damn muddled in there), or are they consciously trying to jolt us around so much we walk ourselves into a trap? It's very dodgy to say the least.
Anyway, that aside, I received a letter from Erudio this week. Interestingly it responded to a question I asked way back at the end of March. Interesting for two reasons. The first being that it was actually a written response and the second being its content....

I'd pointed out that if I'm successful in a further 12-month deferment, I would not (given the now obvious and publicised track record of mistakenly taken payments), be comfortable with a dormant DD sitting on my account for a year, leaving me checking my account like a crazed idiot every day!

This is Erudio's response to my concerns, and I've not heard this anywhere before. Forgive me if it's mentioned on any thread or newspaper report......

"As it is your intention to defer your payments for another year, once your completed deferment application is received, processed and approved, then the end date of your deferment will be amended to 2015, therefore holding any direct debit payments for a further year.
"If you do not wish to have a direct debit set up then please advise us as this is not essential to your deferment application, but it is important that you are aware that should your account revert to payment, then you are responsible for ensuring payments are made by the due date".

Now, is it just me, or is this a stance we'd not heard before?
Sorry I've rambled a bit there, but as we all know now, it's essential to go up and down the garden path a bit to explain how we're being dealt with by Erudio's customer services!

JeLaw

BaffledByErudio,

Thanks very much for posting the contents of the written response you've received from Erudio. That's very useful.

I suspect they've now trying for some damage limitation - following the very many complaints and publicity (on this forum, mumsnet, and the media) about their methods.

Thanks to some fantastically helpful people on this forum, I now understand that Erudio cannot insist on those of us in deferment having an active direct debit. We would only be in breach if we were not eligible for deferment.

Please try not to worry (I know, easier said than done!). I have no intention of setting-up a direct debit. I'm currently deferred and will almost certainly (barring an unlikely big pay-rise) remain eligible to do so when it's time to renew my deferral.

As others have highlighted on this forum, it's not your fault if your deferral is delayed due to their incompetence. You're doing everything right and if they lose your paperwork, etc, etc, that's not your fault and you won't be in breach - and remain entitled to defer.

Like you, I would never ever have signed the loan agreement had I realised these loans could be sold in the future to a debt collection company. My student finance office reassured several of us at the time claiming we had nothing to worry about because the loans were "with the government" and so different from other loans....

And please don't worry about what Erudio thinks of us deferrers. This is my first direct experience of a debt collection company but from what I understand (and have always heard and read about), these companies have a reputation for what could be forgiven for viewing as devious, underhand, and often downright intimadatory practices. Certainly massive incompetence. You really don't need to worry about what they think of you!

I'm rather confident they know damn well people aren't trying any ruse to get out of paying. They're seem to be just relying on stressing people out so much that some will make repayments despite being under the threshold.

I can't afford to do that even if I wanted to. And I don't want to out of principle. If I earned enough, I would. But I don't - and am therefore perfectly entitled to defer. As are you.

JeLaw

cluelessfish wrote: »

hi
so checked my bank account the other day and found some one called esl had taken money. after a quick google found out it was erudio student loans. i did not recall having anything from slc about my loan changing hands so started looking through the letters they have sent. the first thing i came across was my Deferment accepted letter from slc which listed erudio, must have missed this first time, and gives contact info. after a short but costly phone call i was informed a full refund would received. currently day 2 of upto 3 three working days.

now i have since read most of this thread i have more questions and worries and observations.

when calling erudio it seemed far to easy. just mentioning that i had received a deferment accepted letter from slc and they offered a full refund, almost as if the rep had been briefed to expect people to ask for refunds. has anyone actually had a refund yet?

from reading about the new deferment forms i was not looking forward to next year but i asked if i would need to defer through erudiol and they said no. as my loans were split between them and honours slc would still handle my deferment process. can anyone confirm this? and if true does this mean i will continue to receive the old style forms and not have to worry about the pre/post98 credit history issue?

I would send by recorded delivery a copy of your deferment acceptance letter. In your covering note advise that they should not have taken any money from your account since you are in deferment. Others on here have explained that your bank can (and must, if you ask) refund you under the direct debit mandate in this situation. It's up to you but I guess you can either demand that Erudio refund you or advise them that you have arranged this with your bank.

It's up to you whether or not to cancel your direct debit. I understand from others on here that you do not have to have one in place if in deferment. Personally I would cancel, and would include in my letter to them that this is what I've done - because I don't have any confidence in them not doing so again and I can't afford for this to happen (hence my eligibity for deferment). But I don't want to tell you what to do. It's whatever you feel comfortable with.

I don't know what you need to do for your next deferment. I think in your position I would write to both Erudio and Honours/SLC asking for clarification on this in writing.

fidraw

Hello I have just sent an email to Erudio as I have not heard back from them after sending off 2 recorded delivery letters including the relevant evidence to defer my loan ! I am also concerned they will start taking money from my account and the threat of a black mark on my credit history! I have been reading threads on this an am glad I have not tried to ring as it appears the staff are badly trained ! Good luck everyone I am trying to be optimistic !

cluelessfish

I have now been refunded

JeLaw wrote: »

I would send by recorded delivery a copy of your deferment acceptance letter

that is what i found odd. all i had to do was tell them i had a deferment acceptance letter and they jumped straight to how much they had taken would refund would i like a bacs transfer or cheque.

I also called slc and honours and both confirmed that as my loans are owned by 2 companies slc would still process my deferment as before. The person i spoke to at honours did let slip that they were very busy at the moment with enquires like this related to erudio.

slc also said that my loan had been handed over in feb and that it was erudio who should have informed me of the transfer. as they should have informed me about the amounts and dates of any dd before taking any money. as others have stated this last part is clear breach of dd scheme. as i had had no previous contact with erudio were/are they required to ensure that this info had reached me before taking money or would proof that they had sent a letter, which may have got lost in the post, clear them of any wrong doing?

fidraw

Looking at the threads Erudio are basically a private debt collection firm who have taken on too big a job with too few staff and are running around like headless chickens! I hope this is resolved soon but it is not looking promising!