ERUDIO student loans help

illumina3

I've just been told about the online deferment form on phoning Erudio today. After a quick look at it, and seeing that they want personal information (mother's maiden name and my place of birth) just to register to use the site, I want nothing to do with it. Am I within my rights to refuse to use this online form and insist on the paper forms instead? Or are they trying to use the late forms as a way of getting more info out of us?

Brooker_Dave

illumina3 wrote: »

I've just been told about the online deferment form on phoning Erudio today. After a quick look at it, and seeing that they want personal information (mother's maiden name and my place of birth) just to register to use the site, I want nothing to do with it. Am I within my rights to refuse to use this online form and insist on the paper forms instead? Or are they trying to use the late forms as a way of getting more info out of us?

Of course.

Just send them the letter, with proof, that's all you need to do.

Banksters

Sarabear 78 - You can telephone or write to Erudio and ask them to cancel the Direct Debit. Ask them to remove it from their system. If they ask why, mention the fact that there is a "Consumer Credit Act issue, where Annual Statements were incorrect, that needs to be investigated". I would not let them take any money and then try to claim it back. Just don't let them take anything in the first place.

You can also write a letter to Claim Your Right to defer. I will post one up shortly.

Banksters

This should work as an alernative to their Deferment Application Form for deferment.

Add in whatever the monthly threshold amount is, I don't know what it is, circa £2200.

A CLAIM OF RIGHT, is exactly that, CLAIMING your rights under the law. They should have to accept the CLAIM. As, others have already pointed out, there is no mention of a DAF form in the Education Student Loans Act. We have clear legal guidance on that. Border Reiver successfully defered without a form.

If they refuse to accept the letter below, which they will not, make an invoice for £100, and send them that.

To Erudio:

Dear Sir / Madam

I write to CLAIM MY RIGHT to Deferment of my Student Loans, under the Education Student Loans Act 1990/1998.

This is to confirm that my monthly income is currently below £_____, and that I wish to defer payment of my student loans. My monthly income has been below the threshold for all recent periods that are applicable to deferment. So, I am entitled to deferment.

I have enclosed proof of income.

If you do not accept my CLAIM OF RIGHT, I will likely claim damages from you.

If you do not accept my CLAIM OF RIGHT, you will also not be carrying out your legal obligations for the administration of the loans, and will also be in breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974..

Please also note, if you write to tell me that I must fill in one of your Deferment Application Forms to defer, then you will be also misrepresenting the situation. I will charge your company £100, if you send me a letter, saying I must use your DAF.

This CLAIM OF RIGHT for deferment is also made under DURESS and PROTEST as your company, and the Student Loans Company Ltd, has been party to covering up Consumer Credit Act, and other illegalities, that you have tried to hide from thousands of borrowers.

I look forward to hearing from you.

WITHOUT PREJUDICE




YOUR NAME

AReeves

I am not sure why "Without prejudice" has crept into the letter. It is not a correct use of the term.

Without Prejudice is used where there is a genuine attempt to settle a dispute. For example, there is a dispute that you owe £X. Although you do not accept £X is due, you offer £Y in an effort to settle the claim for commercial reasons or to avoid a long legal battle. If the offer of £Y is not accepted, then the offer cannot be used as evidence of an admission.

If you are writing a letter to set out your position, then "Without Prejudice" is not used.

Not sure about adding "£100" figure if they respond to you. You have no basis for this. If a dispute arises about your contractual right, and yes there is a basis of a claim, then the pre-action protocol expects parties to write a letter which clearly sets out their position and the reason why you take that view. Pre action conduct should attempt to narrow the issues and further the over-riding objective in the civil procedure rules. Also, referring to "Illegalities" in an open letter is rather dangerous.

Just think, if a matter were to go to court, would you want a Judge to see a letter like this? I think not.

If anybody wants a sample of what I regard as a suitable letter (no charge), then PM me.

Anthony
Lawyer

Banksters wrote: »

This should work as an alernative to their Deferment Application Form for deferment.

Add in whatever the monthly threshold amount is, I don't know what it is, circa £2200.

A CLAIM OF RIGHT, is exactly that, CLAIMING your rights under the law. They should have to accept the CLAIM. As, others have already pointed out, there is no mention of a DAF form in the Education Student Loans Act. We have clear legal guidance on that. Border Reiver successfully defered without a form.

If they refuse to accept the letter below, which they will not, make an invoice for £100, and send them that.

To Erudio:

Dear Sir / Madam

I write to CLAIM MY RIGHT to Deferment of my Student Loans, under the Education Student Loans Act 1990/1998.

This is to confirm that my monthly income is currently below £_____, and that I wish to defer payment of my student loans. My monthly income has been below the threshold for all recent periods that are applicable to deferment. So, I am entitled to deferment.

I have enclosed proof of income.

If you do not accept my CLAIM OF RIGHT, I will likely claim damages from you.

If you do not accept my CLAIM OF RIGHT, you will also not be carrying out your legal obligations for the administration of the loans, and will also be in breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974..

Please also note, if you write to tell me that I must fill in one of your Deferment Application Forms to defer, then you will be also misrepresenting the situation. I will charge your company £100, if you send me a letter, saying I must use your DAF.

This CLAIM OF RIGHT for deferment is also made under DURESS and PROTEST as your company, and the Student Loans Company Ltd, has been party to covering up Consumer Credit Act, and other illegalities, that you have tried to hide from thousands of borrowers.

I look forward to hearing from you.

WITHOUT PREJUDICE




YOUR NAME

AReeves

Yes, I would agree that McGuffick v Royal Bank of Scotland is the leading case on what is meant by enforcement. What does amount to enforcing the agreement, then? The answer is narrow: obtaining a court order, or seeking to enforce it, eg taking enforcement action such as applying for a charging order, third party debt order or applying for a warrant of execution (ie enforcement by bailiff).

fermi wrote: »

It would/should be the same definition of 'enforcement' under a CCA that was decided in McGuffick v Royal Bank of Scotland by the High Court.

They concluded that:

- reporting or threatening to report information about the conduct of a credit agreement to a credit reference agency, passing on, or threatening to pass on, personal data in respect of a credit agreement
- demanding payment from a debtor
- issuing a default notice
- threatening legal action
- bringing legal proceedings

did not constitute 'enforcement' under the act.

Pretty implausible given those examples that the sale/assignment to another company would be considered by the courts as 'enforcement'.

Banksters

I have used "Without Prejudice" on most communication to Erudio, without problems. If you are bothered about the £100 leave it out. That is a non issue, as they will have to accept your CLAIM OF RIGHT.

Anthony, there are clear illegalities in the administration of the loans.

Why not just put up your own free template please Anthony?

Please also provide your opinion on the assignation of loans that were at the time not enforceable.

AReeves

Am I being asked to advise on a secret arrangement to meet a loan ?!!
Only joking. I realise it was a typo.
I believe you can assign a loan even if it was unenforceable at the time. One would have expected the purchaser to have done their due diligence in this respect otherwise they might have been buying something that was not worth much !!
It is not a matter of them having to accept your "Claim of Right". By this I mean if they disagree (which in many cases they probably will) then you have a right (if there is evidence they are refusing to grant deferment when below the gross income threshold) to claim a breach of contract and other things. Ultimately, it would be for a court to decide if the dispute remained unresolved. And here lies the key: a court decision which would clear up all our opinions as to what is the legal position.

Banksters wrote: »

I have used "Without Prejudice" on most communication to Erudio, without problems. If you are bothered about the £100 leave it out. That is a non issue, as they will have to accept your CLAIM OF RIGHT.

Anthony, there are clear illegalities in the administration of the loans.

Why not just put up your own free template please Anthony?

Please also provide your opinion on the assignation of loans that were at the time not enforceable.

Case

Hi, It was me who asked that question in The Guardian as yet again I am being messed about by Erudio. In fact I emailed them last week asking where my deferment form was to receive a reply that they would reply to me withing 5 working days; those 5 working days now being up and no reply!

The above was a reply to a previous comment which on its own doesn't make sense! The point that I made in The Guardian was that I am now approaching fifty and my last loan was taken out in 1997, and I have read somewhere though don't know if true that the loans are written off at fifty years of age or after 25 years, and was wondering if those of us that are really being messed about by erudio are mostly reaching this milestone in age?

erudioed

No, we are all being messed about. We all have different end dates, and i am assuming they have different tactics for the different stages...potential revenue streams say. Delaying sending out DAFs affects everyone cause it allows them to take a payment if we dont defer in time. Its treating us with contempt if everyone was being honest. I would imagine the worst case scenario is having a loan run out, but that doesnt mean they wont profit from it in some way, as noted above. But the gold mine, i assume, is when they manage to poach a payment they were not entitled to, and preferably for as long as possible. The platinum mine would be getting an account into default and cancelling the run out date. But all these issues depend on us not knowing about these tactics, because in the majority of cases, they may try something but if it is underhand, payments will always be returned and the record set straight through the complaints process, with the pro-business ombudsman at the end of the line. SLC should have always controlled the deferment part of the process. If they had, virtually all of these problems would not exist today.
You just have to keep pressing them, lodge an official complaint and keep abreast of the latest tactics when they arise. You are right about the write off dates. Heres a topical link to an article stating that very thing.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/may/20/student-loan-erudio-under-fire