Erudio direct debits wrongly taken from ex students - claim back under DD guarantee

fermi

Claim these back for an immediate refund under the direct debit guarantee.

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/DD_guarantee_leaflet.pdf

So how do I get back any money paid in error?

If this happens, you should contact your bank or building society.

They are responsible for giving you a full and immediate refund – even if the original error was made by the company collecting the payment.

If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you
are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.

– If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to

They cannot quibble, or delay, or try to fob you off on to the company that it was paid to.

That is the whole point of the guarantee. You are entitled to an immediate no quibble refund from the bank. It puts you back to the position you were in before the error occurred, allowing you to take up the matter with the company and not be financially short while doing so.

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Should your bank fail to provide a refund under the terms of the Guarantee:

Contact them again in writing, escalating the communication to your Branch Manager or Customer Service Manager and cite the Direct Debit Guarantee.


Most people never experience an issue with a Direct Debit however, on rare occasions a problem can arise. Usually, this is resolved speedily by your bank or building society, or the organisation collecting the Direct Debit, but if that isn’t your experience, you may want to complain.

How to complain

• If the complaint does not relate to the payment of your Direct Debit, for example you wish to complain about a service, or product you pay for by Direct Debit, you should refer this to the organisation providing the service or goods. They will be able to provide you with more information about their complaints process
• If the complaint relates to an error with the payment of your Direct Debit, begin by contacting your bank. Every bank and building society that is a member of the Direct Debit Scheme has a complaints procedure. To find out about it, ask a member of the bank’s staff or look on the bank’s website. Your bank should be able to resolve your problem however, if you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been handled, you can refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Details of how to complain to the FOS can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm.

As the organisation with responsibility for the Direct Debit Scheme, please be aware that we cannot advise on contractual issues between you and your biller; we are only able to advise on matters relating to the Direct Debit Scheme rules. With regard to any dispute with your bank, as per above, this should be referred to the FOS.

Please note that we do not have the powers to adjudicate on disputes or overturn decisions made by FOS or your bank.

ejs2311

I am following this with interest.

I had a letter 2 days ago from Erudio confirming that my loan had been brought and it's status is deferred so this will stand. Today they have taken a payment from my bank account and sent me nearly to my overdraft limit meaning I can't make a cc payment which is due without going over it.

I am about to get on the warpath but if anyone has any useful information for this situation (I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet but will do at the weekend).

I'm so angry.

rizla_king

ejs2311 wrote: »

I am following this with interest.

I had a letter 2 days ago from Erudio confirming that my loan had been brought and it's status is deferred so this will stand. Today they have taken a payment from my bank account and sent me nearly to my overdraft limit meaning I can't make a cc payment which is due without going over it.

I am about to get on the warpath but if anyone has any useful information for this situation (I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet but will do at the weekend).

I'm so angry.

Claim the payment back under the Direct Debit Guarentee.

Then tell Erudio you will take them to the FOS and report them to the FCA if they do not recognise your deferment and stop trying to take payments.

ejs2311

I think I got lucky. I just called and pointed out that my deferral was in place, their Notice of Assignment confirmed this and that I needed the money back ASAP. The lady checked details of bank account and said she would immediately refund it but it can take up to 5 working days to go back in. Did not have to mention FOS.

Not convinced it will be as smooth as the call has lead me to believe but I'll keep you posted either way.

clairet707

I have 6 loans taken out between 97 and 03, the first 2 were sold off to HSL a number of years ago.

I got my deferment letter from SLC for all 6 about 2 months ago, filled it in and got confirmation that all 6 were deferred a week or so later.

About 3 weeks ago I got the transfer pack from ESL saying that they had bought the last 4 loans but they confirmed that all 4 were currently deferred (I notice there is no deferment date on the letter)

So suffice to say I was extremely #*%<$€ off today to find ESL have taken £135 out of my bank :mad:, it has now left me short till payday as I plan my spending carefully

I will be ringing the bank in the morning to get a refund but am I wasting my breathe, energy, time, money ringing ESL on Monday??


There has got to be something we can do about this?

rizla_king

https://twitter.com/simonnread is looking into them taking maney when they shoudlnt. Contact him?

clairet707

Ta have tweeted, hopefully done that right as I'm not normally on twitter...

And I seem to be another having sleepless nights over this, I'm normally gone by 10 ;(

fermi

From that journalist today: http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/the-student-debt-firm-whose-credit-is-running-out-fast-9289518.html

The student debt firm whose credit is running out fast

Simon Read

Yet again I return to the subject of Erudio Student Loans, the firm that last year bought from the Government the outstanding debt of people who graduated in the 1990s and have yet to repay their loans.

In almost all cases, the loans remain unpaid for a reason: the former students have deferred them because they haven’t reached the qualifying earnings level. But the company – which is owned by the debt collector Arrow Global – appears to be grabbing money out of people’s accounts irrespective of those decisions to defer payment.

Last week Arrow’s boss, Zachary Lewy, stepped in to apologise to an Independent reader who had two lots of cash taken from her account. He admitted that the firm had “mishandled” her case.

However, it seems not to have learnt any lessons.

I’ve been contacted by many more people who have had money wrongly taken from their accounts by Erudio. One reader – a “full-time mum of two small children” – said the unexpected withdrawal almost pushed her “over my overdraft limit”.

After I intervened, Erudio sorted things out, saying: “The error has been resolved and the customer is now showing on the system as deferred. Erudio has spoken to the customer to apologise.”

The company added: “We are ensuring that the very small number of cases where there has been an issue following migration of the loan are resolved as quickly as possible.”

Yet by the end of the week I had been contacted by several more fed-up former students. Is it time to investigate why Erudio is dealing so badly with these outstanding debts?

erudioed

@Clairet707:
i was told by the ombudsman that if they take cash, call Erudio and immediately demand they put the cash back in your account. They will have broken the DD mandate and not mailed you 10 days before they have taken the money, nor told you the amount that would be taken. If Erudio for any reason say they wont, or dispute it, contact the ombudsman directly via the free phone number...and i would suggest asking for compensation for breaching the DD mandate and changing your plans because it has made you change your plans by leaving you short. We must make them feel the cost of blatant disregard for breaching the financial rules under which they have signed up.
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

clairet707

erudioed wrote: »

@Clairet707:
i was told by the ombudsman that if they take cash, call Erudio and immediately demand they put the cash back in your account. They will have broken the DD mandate and not mailed you 10 days before they have taken the money, nor told you the amount that would be taken. If Erudio for any reason say they wont, or dispute it, contact the ombudsman directly via the free phone number...and i would suggest asking for compensation for breaching the DD mandate and changing your plans because it has made you change your plans by leaving you short. We must make them feel the cost of blatant disregard for breaching the financial rules under which they have signed up.
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Thank you, I'm guessing they won't be open today?

erudioed

I dont know about erudio, even when they are open they would be better closed. You will have to try. The ombudsman is open though from9 till 1, maybe you could ring them and see if they would contact Erudio for you, it does suggests something like that on the link i provided to the page. Let us know how it goes...