SLC Student Loan Deferment - help needed.

Sponge

I have been deferring my mortgage-style student loan since graduation in 1996. I have been well under the threshold and had no problems deferring. I was made redundant 13th February 2015 and a couple of week ago submitted my application for deferment.

I provided copies of 2 months wage slips (I haven't received my final (3rd) wage slip from my employer) and a copy of my P45. I also supplied a copy of my JSA award letter.

This morning a received a letter from the Student Loans Company Ltd (Honours Student Loans) stating my request is incomplete. They require further evidence:


We Need
Evidence that you're living from savings or overdraft.

What you need to send us
A bank statement that clearly displays your name, address and balance or overdraft limit.

I'm not entirely happy about giving them a copy of my bank statement with all my financial comings and goings, including my wife's. But I don't know what's the best thing to do.

Should I take the path of least resistance, provide the print-outs and hope it satisfies them?

Or should, can, I refuse and demand they defer with the information they already have?

fermi

They need some evidence that your income for the next 3 months is unlikely to be over the threshold.

There is no specific legally set evidence required for that, but you do need to "show" them in some way, so a bank statement may satisfy that.

Perhaps if you just blank out or anonymise anything that is not directly relevant or is too private?

Sponge

They haven't specified how many months statements they require.

It's frustrating as the evidence they are asking for proves how I am supporting myself now, but does not prove how I will do it in the future - I'm hoping to get a job soon!

fermi

No, I meant that the loan regulations say that you need to show that you are unlikely to have income over the threshold for the next 3 months.

Not that you actually need to give 3 months worth of statements to show that.

You would obviously just provide what you have.

fermi

All the law states is that:

9. Each year the lender will tell the borrower the new deferment level for the period between 1st September and the following 31st August.

The borrower can defer making repayments of the loan if—

(a) the lender has not already asked him to repay the loan in full, and

(b) he can show—

(i) that his gross income for the relevant month is not more than the deferment level, and

(ii) if the lender asks, that his gross average monthly income during the 3 months immediately following the relevant month will not or is unlikely to be more than the deferment level.

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

Sponge

Thanks for the information. In my mind it still doesn't warrant me providing a bank statement. It doesn't prove my income for the next three months will be below the threshold - I could get a job at any time - it's simply reporting what my income is now, i.e. I'm living off my redundancy.

I proved my income in the relevant month was below the threshold - I submitted a wage slip - and I signed a declaration stating my income would be below the threshold for the next three months. That should be job done.

fermi

Well, that is your argument to make, as the law and loan conditions do not specify an exact mandatory evidence.

If you want to fight on that issue, then good luck.

sheramber

Sponge wrote: »

Thanks for the information. In my mind it still doesn't warrant me providing a bank statement. It doesn't prove my income for the next three months will be below the threshold - I could get a job at any time - it's simply reporting what my income is now, i.e. I'm living off my redundancy.

I proved my income in the relevant month was below the threshold - I submitted a wage slip - and I signed a declaration stating my income would be below the threshold for the next three months. That should be job done.

The requirement is

The borrower can defer making repayments of the loan if—

(a) the lender has not already asked him to repay the loan in full, and

(b) he can show—

(i) that his gross income for the relevant month is not more than the deferment level, and

(ii) if the lender asks, that his gross average monthly income during the 3 months immediately following the relevant month will not or is unlikely to be more than the deferment level.

So they need proof that your income for March, April, May are or will be unlikely to be more than the deferment level.

Sponge

How does one prove one will possibly still be unemployed and claiming JSA for the next three months? How does one prove that an as-of-yet unknown job one may or may not get in the next few weeks may be below or above the deferment threshold? I thought that was what the declaration I signed was stating?

In the past my wage slips were taken as evidence of current and future income. Along with the declaration. So why doesn't JSA?

beefturnmail

Just write back and say your wife is supporting you, and is not prepared to provide them with details of her bank account. As you say, it's none of their business. To be absolutely clear you could state something like 'I hereby confirm that I do not expect my income to be over x in the next 3 months' and sign and date it - there's no reason why thi should not be 'evidence' enough.