ERUDIO student loans help

Brooker_Dave

Nemesis201077 wrote: »

I've been paying it as I'm worried what will happen if I cancel, but feel pretty aggrieved that nothing was agreed in terms of payment amounts.

Cancel the DD and reclaim the money they have stolen from you via the DD guarantee.

Next complain to the toothless FOS, you may get some compo.

Erudio are debt collectors working out of a tax haven, they don't care if you are under the threshold, they just grab money.

Really they should be being investigated by the police for fraud, they keep accidentally on purpose helping themselves to other people's money, something that is normally considered as theft.

Mr_McGuffin

Thanks for posting the FOI request:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/294403/response/724904/attach/html/2/SLC%20comments%20on%20Erudio%20proposed%20DAF.pdf. html

'Extract from internal SLC email dated 16/12/2013 for onward transmission to Erudio:

Page 4 - section 4 Earnings from Employment, 3rd section. 'You should notify your employer before providing us with their contact details'. I think this will generate a lot of calls! I think it is covered on page 6 under Certificate and Warranty as you advise that the customer is authorising Erudio to contact their employer is [sic] you choose to do so.'

This confirms that as the SLC saw it, it is the Certificate and Warranty of the Erudio DAF that contains the authorisation for any contact by Erudio with third parties for verification or investigation of borrower income. Not the loan terms themselves, not the 1998 regulations, not any other agreement.

By agreeing to the terms of the Certificate and Warranty ‘the customer is authorising Erudio to contact their employer is you choose to do so.’ No such authorisation existed elsewhere.

As I have pointed out on here many times before, not only is there no authorisation for any such contact with third parties in the loan terms, this prospect was explicitly excluded by the Minister responsible for their introduction in 1990. These loans were, and remain, ‘top-up loans’ for maintenance grants with deferment available on the basis of self-certification of income by graduate borrowers. Deferment was not and never has been conditional on agreement to allow ‘checks’ or ‘verification’ with any third parties, until Erudio purchased these loans with the intention of making it so.

I cannot see how that is not a change in the terms of these loans. The Government Ministers responsible for this sale promised that would not and could not happen.

If the terms stated in the Certificate and Warranty were fixed and agreed elsewhere, it would not be necessary to obtain agreement to them. If the lender had the right to contact a borrower’s employer or other source of income, it would not be necessary to coerce agreement to this in a DAF. The SLC response appears to confirm clearly that the lender has no such right outside of authorisation given in agreement to the Certificate and Warranty.

Mr_McGuffin

Any DAF produced by Erudio is essentially a wrapper for the Certificate and Warranty. This provides the authorisation for contact with third parties that does not exist elsewhere in relation to these loans.

Has anybody here ever received or seen any explanation of the meaning and legal significance of the terms of any Certificate and Warranty they have been asked to agree to and sign as part of a Deferment Application Form, either by the SLC or Erudio?

If so, I would be grateful if you could share this.

Does anybody have a copy of an SLC Deferment Application Form prior to 1998?

Brooker_Dave

Mr_McGuffin wrote: »

If the terms stated in the Certificate and Warranty were fixed and agreed elsewhere, it would not be necessary to obtain agreement to them. If the lender had the right to contact a borrower’s employer or other source of income, it would not be necessary to coerce agreement to this in a DAF. The SLC response appears to confirm clearly that the lender has no such right outside of authorisation given in agreement to the Certificate and Warranty.

So by forcing loan holders to sign the form to be able to defer as we are allowed to do under our existing contracts, Erudio/Arrow/Cargill is creating an unfair contract?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfair_Contract_Terms_Act_1977

I was always led to believe that an unfair contract was an unenforceable contract?

erudioed

Just for the record and because it deserves to be stated somewhere, today's spending review by the government is still committed to selling all pre-2012 student loans starting 2016-17. It states:

"In addition, the government is continuing to pursue the sale of the pre-2012 income contingent repayment student loan book, with a first sale expected to commence in 2016-17."

(see end of section 10.5: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015-documents/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015)

Also a rising issue today:
Seems like Martin Lewis is really !!!!ed George Osbourne retrospectively changing how much current and graduate students will be paying a month. Listen to this:
http://www.lbc.co.uk/the-disgraceful-autumn-statement-policy-that-will-hit-students-120393

dizzybuff

Well erudio replied to my complaint asking where In my terms and conditions it stated I couldn't change the date of my payment. They referred today old complaint that went to fos where I had asked why I couldn't change the date. Which I think are two separate questions. I will be going to the fos again as they have avoided the question regarding my terms and conditions. He stated as I was paid 150 they had answered the question. Err no sweety I don't think so.

erudioed

Just been twaated and notified about a rather significant change to proceedings. Erudio are sending out letters (see my twatter page for a photo of the letter...but you may have to look in the "tweets and replies" section) saying they have changed "to a new customer servicing platform", which i am interpreting as meaning Capita have been ejected from the building. Maybe Capquest, who Arrow Global purchased recently, will be taking over. Maybe someone who understands the double talk better than me can translate this that has just appeared on Erudio's own site:

20/11/2015
Migration of accounts

In December 2015, Erudio Student Loans are being migrated to a new customer servicing platform. Customers don’t need to take any action, but may notice some small changes.
In December 2015, Erudio Student Loan accounts will be migrating to a new customer service platform. At the same time servicing of accounts will also migrate.
Customer accounts will continue to be serviced in exactly the same way as before. The deferment process will remain the same as will the Direct Debit and standing order payment processes.
Erudio customers do not have to take any action, or resubmit any forms as part of the migration process. Customers with a Direct Debit Mandate in place will receive a letter confirming the name of the entity guaranteeing Direct Debit payments is changing from Erudio Student Loans Limited to Erudio Customer Management Limited. This merely reflects the change in the servicing company looking after the bank accounts. Accounts remain unchanged and as before will still be owned by Erudio Student Loans Limited.
(link: http://www.erudiostudentloans.co.uk/news/default.aspx?itemid=MbTWkl1j)

fermi

erudioed wrote: »

which i am interpreting as meaning Capita have been ejected from the building.

http://www.erudiostudentloans.co.uk/faqs/default.htm

Why is Erudio migrating my account to a new customer service platform and servicer?

Capita’s administration of Erudio Student Loans comes to an end in December 2015. As part of our work to ensure the on-going administration of Erudio customer accounts, we will be migrating to a new customer service platform.
The new system has been in operation within Arrow Global Group for a year and we are confident in its suitability. The new customer service platform has a number of additional features the old platform couldn’t provide and will improve the overall customer experience.

Do I have to resubmit any deferment forms as a result of these changes?

No, all customer information will be transferred as part of the migration process. The deferment process will be unchanged.

Do I have to change my payment details?

No – payments will be taken in the same way as before. Customers with a Direct Debit Mandate in place will receive a letter confirming the name of the entity guaranteeing Direct Debit payments is changing from Erudio Student Loans Limited to Erudio Customer Management Limited. This merely reflects the change in the servicing company looking after the bank accounts. Accounts remain unchanged and as before will still be owned by Erudio Student Loans Limited.
Customers paying by standing order will also continue to pay into the same account as before and again don’t need to make any changes.

Who is Arrow Global Group and why are they now servicing my account?

Arrow Global Group is one of the original investors in Erudio Student Loans and is one of Europe’s leading purchasers and managers of consumer loans. The new customer service platform to which Erudio Student Loans customer accounts are being migrated is owned and operated by Arrow Global Group.

Will the operation of my account be affected during migration?

Although it will be a phased migration of IT and telephony systems, we will continue to provide servicing of accounts. Where for any reason live information isn’t available we will ensure account information is updated at the first available opportunity. We chose December as this is a quiet period for Erudio Student Loan customers based on information from previous years.

What changes will I experience?

Any changes will be small. Customer accounts will continue to be serviced in exactly the same way as before. The deferment process will remain the same.
Changes will include a new PO Box number and international dial number. All customer correspondence will be updated to reflect these.

erudioed

Heres an interesting post with Arrow Global's Tom Drury, suggesting, well stating, its in the market for the next student loan sale (if it happens):


Tom Drury, chief executive officer of Arrow Global commented:"Arrow Global achieved another set of strong results in Q3, delivering on our strategy of diversifying by geography, asset class and revenue stream, while driving strong returns on investment."We have continued to grow our capital-light servicing revenues across the business. Following the acquisition of Whitestar and subsequent contract awards, we now service circa �6 billion of assets by face value in Portugal."In December 2015, we will start to migrate the servicing of the Erudio Student Loans portfolio in-house and onto our new integrated customer service platform - student loans is a strategic asset class from which we expect further servicing and purchasing opportunities."Capquest continues to outperform our expectations. Collections are at 103% of our original underwriting forecast and our strong cost control and delivery of synergies has helped increase our Adjusted EBITDA to �103.9 million. Based on this on-going strong performance, we now expect an additional �2 million of synergy benefits in 2016, which we will use to strengthen our UK market proposition."Our funding position remains strong and the successful placing of our �110 million bond in September supplements the Group's high levels of cash generation, strengthening our ability to grow. Since 30 September, our expansion in mainland Europe has continued with a significant portfolio acquisition in Holland, and in Portugal we secured our first portfolio investment from the strategic origination partnership with CarVal Investors. At 25 November 2015 we had acquired �133.7 million of portfolios in line with our target returns."Going into the final quarter, we have good visibility on a strong pipeline of deals and we remain firmly on track to deliver overall full-year earnings in line with our expectations. As we look to 2016, with the full-year benefits from the successful implementation of the Capquest and Whitestar acquisitions overlaying continued growth from attractive organic investments, we are confident in achieving another year of significant growth."

(Link: http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/arrow-global-ARW/share-chat)

Jill18

I got the letter today. It mainly talked about my direct debit mandate being changed. Does this ring alarm bells for anyone else that "accidental" direct debates from those in deferment will be taken again as before? It really wouldn't surprise me!