ERUDIO student loans help

erudioed

Great news for the DD Anna2007. I assume that means we can all cancel the ones Capita set up in our name, just for the assurance that at some point during the year payments dont start being taken because of their shambles of an operation. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

anna2007

erudioed wrote: »

Great news for the DD Anna2007. I assume that means we can all cancel the ones Capita set up in our name, just for the assurance that at some point during the year payments dont start being taken because of their shambles of an operation. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Good news indeed erudioed, another thing Erudio have been forced to back down on, and a step closer to us winning the war


As soon as I read their letter, I was straight on to my online banking to cancel the DD - I've been checking my account every other day since the DD was set up in case they took a payment, something I could well do without. I initially thought of telling my bank to block the DD altogether, but I'm curious to see if Erudio have the gall to reinstate it, despite admitting there's no requirement for it during deferment... wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they did, and grounds for a separate complaint to the FOS (and surely illegal)!


It's probably a good idea for anyone who wants to cancel the DD in light of what they've told me, to email and get it confirmed in writing first, we know how they work, if you don't have it in black and white they'll surely twist it to their own advantage.


Re reporting to CRA's - it's been mentioned that Erudio is unlikely to do this unless 100% sure they're entitled to - I think that's spot on, it's far too risky for them. In my complaint, I asked them to give details of the specific exemption(s) which allowed them to report deferred loans without being subject to the DPA provisions (required by the loan agreement) - they haven't given me anything, only said that section 16 allows them to do it (which I'm adamant it doesn't).


In their response to my complaint that incorporating the consent to the FPN with the warranty/certification signature on the deferment form means we have no choice (which is a breach of the DPA), they said that because my loans were pre-98, I didn't have to agree to the FPN, it only applies to the later loans. Complete !!!!!!!! - never mind the fact that they're still forcing post-98 borrowers to consent to the FPN in order to get deferment - I'm convinced they still need pre-98 consent to throw our data about, which is why they've tried to get consent from all borrowers, not just the minority who fell into the changed agreement post-98.


They also mentioned that any disclosure will be classed as a 'payment holiday', it's been mentioned on the forums recently this is inaccurate and I completely agree - the fact that these loans are different in that they were issued by the Government, we're legally entitled to defer due to income level - that's completely different from a 'payment holiday' where you might be struggling to meet the loan obligations. This is another thing to hammer Erudio on - they're struggling to even come up with an appropriate classification for a student loan on the CRA system - please don't let them- complain and follow it through with the FOS - please do that, because if you don't, Erudio will keep going with their underhand tactics, not just with us oldies, but with the loans your children will probably have to take out in years to come. Arghh!!!, this !!!! is depressing!

BaffledByErudio

You know something? I believe it's time for Arrow to place on the Erudio website a declaration that it knows and understands exactly what student loan deferment actually is.
Because I don't think it does. Nor do I believe it did when it bought the loans portfolio.
While I, myself, am deferred, I'm watching my account like a hawk and continuing to view this and other forums.
Arrow Global is a debt recovery firm that makes its money from chasing up unpaid debt. The only experience I'd had of the firm was in 2007 when they mistakenly chased me for £80 that Pipex Broadband (in their error) had transferred to Arrow's books.
That was money I didn't even actually owe, but they rang me day and night. Eventually, after bombarding me with calls, where I picked up the phone and was instructed to ring a premium rate number, I got Pipex (with great difficulty) to prove I didn't owe the cash.
Now, I firmly believe that while Car Val and Arrow understood a few tit-bits about the process of student loan deferment, they obviously gambled that the unpaid millions could be reclaimed without much trouble. I imagine Vince Cable was keen to endorse this idea to them too, over a few stiff ones in the Westminster Arms.
The fact is, whichever way we idiotic people (who decided to go to university in a period between when higher education was more or less free and when student loans were linked to PAYE) look at it, we're at the mercy of a multi-billion pound American firm that wants triple cash back on a drop-in-the-ocean spend.
Weirdly, this scandal (which is what it is) is flying so far beneath the mainstream media radar that it might as well be an argument between a woodlouse and an earthworm on derelict land in Beirut.
Despite the fact it occasionally makes the 'fluffy' headlines on Radio 4 and 5, and the Indy and Guardian have given it a once over now and again, it's still small fry.
Even with Martin Lewis chomping at the bit for our cause, it's done little.
Erudio DO, when pressed, act properly and defer loans. They WILL act by the rules set out in our original T&Cs. But sometimes you have to push them and sometimes their customer services will bluff you and bend things.
I imagine (although with these clowns) you're probably safe as long as you KNOW you're proving everything you legally need to about your income.

BaffledByErudio

And while I'm ranting, here's a poser..
Why push all A-Level students towards higher education?
I hadn't even anticipated, nor thought about University in 1995.
My careers teacher talked me into applying because my A-Level mock exams were good. I even remember saying my family couldn't afford it because full grants had been abolished.
But I was assured I would only pay it back if I could afford it if I took out a loan.
Now that everyone and their pet dog has a degree, it's devalued so much that I'm earning £18k a year and now have jokers like Erudio ready to bite my throat.
It's a farce!

erudioed

i concur with both the above, especially concerning the CRA issue. It is always used a threat against debtors, even in situations when someone genuinely does owe cash. After all, whats the next plan, send someone round to break our legs. I personally couldnt care less what goes on CRA files in my name as i will never be taking another loan out for anything. But i do object to having my info handed around by these barstewards...as well as a sense of empowerment to do what the hell they like. I totally resent feeling like i have been backed into a pressurised corner and that i then have to fight because they have over reached what i deem as both sensible and fair. After all, we arent fighting this just because we are bored and have nothing better to do with our time or think about, they have imposed themselves into our lives.

Jonez

I think the reality is, that we live in a society now where any wide boy organisation can pretty much do what they like, safe in the knowledge that the 'light touch' regulation so loved by successive governments won't get in their way. How else, for example, could Erudio have managed to blatantly lie in their application form about the need for a DD? They knew that the authorities would have no way to prevent this and that they could subject their 'customers' to whatever sharp practise they chose to employ. The government clearly couldn't give a toss about the thousands of man hours that the 'customer' has had to spend correcting the problems these people have caused.

Princess_Jane

Finally received my deferment forms.

Can anyone give me some words of wisdom or point me to the section of the thread to I know what I should AND SHOULDN'T SAY?

FYI I'm employed full-time, no benefits or other income, earn under £2,398 pcm and have deferred since 2001 with no problems.

*hollow laugh*

Also, I have less than six weeks before my deferment date. This fills me with dread.

Princess_Jane

Also, I don't know if anyone else has posted this, as I'm only on page 13 of the thread, but I have a landline number for Erudio:

0113 318 9010.

Princess_Jane

Thank you to whoever posted this letter.

I'm about to send it, with three months' of payslips.

Fingers' crossed:

To Erudio

Erudio Student Loans Ltd
PO Box 580
Rotherham
S63 3FR



To whom it may concern:

Formal request for deferment under the Education (Student Loans) Act and Education (Student Loans) Regulations.

I formally request that my student loan accounts listed below are deferred for a further 12 months pursuant to the Education (Student Loans) Act and Education (Student Loans) Regulations:



In accordance with the regulations I provide evidence that:

- my gross income for the relevant months is not more than the deferment level.
- my gross average monthly income during the 3 months immediately prior to the relevant month will not or is unlikely to be more than the deferment level.

where “relevant month” means the month before the month in which the borrower asks for deferment.

I shall not be completing the form provided by yourselves as it requests private personal or other data that is not relevant to the above deferment conditions.

I note that there is no requirement in the legislation or agreement to apply for deferment in a given format or on a specified form.

I declare that all information given is correct to the best of my knowledge, and no relevant source of income has been omitted. As such I fulfil the conditions for deferment.

I look forward to confirmation of deferment.

Yours faithfully,

Jonez

As advised in a number of previous posts - keep everything in writing and request regular updates as to the status/progress of your application. The Deferment@ErudioStudentLoans.co.uk email address worked fine for me. Be firm but reasonable.