We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
I think I've been mis-sold a student loan
Corrieyogi
Posts: 1 Newbie
Hello,
I undertook an Access to H.E. in Biomedical Science at Morley College September 2016 - April 2017 and after passing I have begun a degree and masters in Osteopathy at U.C.O.
When I enrolled I sought council from various sources on my funding options and I was assured that if I took out an Advance Learners Loan to cover the Access course fees, these wouldn't need to be repaid if I progressed to university.
This quote is from the Morley website:
"The Advanced Learner Loan will not be repayable if you go on to university and successfully achieve your degree. Once your loan is approved, the amount borrowed will be paid directly to Morley College."
I have now received a letter from the Student Loans Company requesting that I start paying off the loan I took out to fund the Access course and after calling their helpline they inform me I must start to pay it off and once I graduate from university, any outstanding balance will be wiped off.
This is certainly not how the structure was explained to be by Morley via the website, whilst speaking with my course tutors and when I spoke with student guidance tutors, and I believe this loan has been mis-sold. It wasn't 100% necessary for me to do this course to go to university, so I was very careful to check with Morley about the terms of the loan and I asked them directly a number of times if it would be wiped off if I progressed to uni and they categorically stated it would be.
I also called the SLC before enrolling and was assured I wouldn't need to pay back the loan if I progressed to university. When I called SLC today to take up a complaint I asked for an email address and after being put on hold 3 times I was told there was no email address. After a simple internet search, I found an email address, I don't understand why the help line employee wasn't more forthcoming?
Having spent some time today looking back over other sources, such as the gov.uk website and the Access to H.E. website, all the information is very ambiguous and nowhere does it very clearly state that repayments will start regardless of whether you go to uni, but if you do, any outstanding balance will be wiped off.
Had I know this, I would have most likely self funded the course as that would have been cheaper. I also might have considered a shorter degree, as the one I have embarked upon is 5 years long. I am also looking into getting a mortgage and now that I have this loan to repay that will negatively affect my mortgage eligibility.
I also let go of some of my employment so I could focus on my future studies, but now I will need to reassess my finances. This will affect all areas of my life and has serious ramifications.
Self funding the course with Morley would have been almost 3 times cheaper than taking the loan and I only took out the loan as I believed the course would end up being essentially free if I progressed to university. I notice they now no longer appear to have a self funding option on their website.
The quality of the course was terrible, there were non stop problems and I ended up hiring a private tutor to see me through my exams. I was going to take action at the end of the course, to gain a refund, but I was happy to get to university and just wanted to put it behind me.
This is a quote from the gov.uk website, which contradicts itself from one sentence to the next and it doesn't clarify anywhere what an "outstanding balance" is. Any balance not paid is an outstanding balance, therefore the entire balance is an outstanding balance. It's not clear at all and paired with the advice from Morley College, it's easy to see how someone might not understand the reality of the loan repayment terms:
"Student Finance England will ‘write off’ any outstanding Advanced Learner Loan balances you owe for an Access to HE course once you complete a higher education course. This means you don’t have to repay it."
I have also noticed during my research today that there appear to be a number of scandals surrounding student loans and I have contacted my fellow students to see whether they were given the same advice and if they felt they have been mis-sold this loan as well.
I am looking to either get a refund of the Morley College course on the gourds that the course delivered was not the course I was sold, owing to the lack of quality, or to follow the route of the loan being mis-sold, but perhaps you have other suggestions.
I undertook an Access to H.E. in Biomedical Science at Morley College September 2016 - April 2017 and after passing I have begun a degree and masters in Osteopathy at U.C.O.
When I enrolled I sought council from various sources on my funding options and I was assured that if I took out an Advance Learners Loan to cover the Access course fees, these wouldn't need to be repaid if I progressed to university.
This quote is from the Morley website:
"The Advanced Learner Loan will not be repayable if you go on to university and successfully achieve your degree. Once your loan is approved, the amount borrowed will be paid directly to Morley College."
I have now received a letter from the Student Loans Company requesting that I start paying off the loan I took out to fund the Access course and after calling their helpline they inform me I must start to pay it off and once I graduate from university, any outstanding balance will be wiped off.
This is certainly not how the structure was explained to be by Morley via the website, whilst speaking with my course tutors and when I spoke with student guidance tutors, and I believe this loan has been mis-sold. It wasn't 100% necessary for me to do this course to go to university, so I was very careful to check with Morley about the terms of the loan and I asked them directly a number of times if it would be wiped off if I progressed to uni and they categorically stated it would be.
I also called the SLC before enrolling and was assured I wouldn't need to pay back the loan if I progressed to university. When I called SLC today to take up a complaint I asked for an email address and after being put on hold 3 times I was told there was no email address. After a simple internet search, I found an email address, I don't understand why the help line employee wasn't more forthcoming?
Having spent some time today looking back over other sources, such as the gov.uk website and the Access to H.E. website, all the information is very ambiguous and nowhere does it very clearly state that repayments will start regardless of whether you go to uni, but if you do, any outstanding balance will be wiped off.
Had I know this, I would have most likely self funded the course as that would have been cheaper. I also might have considered a shorter degree, as the one I have embarked upon is 5 years long. I am also looking into getting a mortgage and now that I have this loan to repay that will negatively affect my mortgage eligibility.
I also let go of some of my employment so I could focus on my future studies, but now I will need to reassess my finances. This will affect all areas of my life and has serious ramifications.
Self funding the course with Morley would have been almost 3 times cheaper than taking the loan and I only took out the loan as I believed the course would end up being essentially free if I progressed to university. I notice they now no longer appear to have a self funding option on their website.
The quality of the course was terrible, there were non stop problems and I ended up hiring a private tutor to see me through my exams. I was going to take action at the end of the course, to gain a refund, but I was happy to get to university and just wanted to put it behind me.
This is a quote from the gov.uk website, which contradicts itself from one sentence to the next and it doesn't clarify anywhere what an "outstanding balance" is. Any balance not paid is an outstanding balance, therefore the entire balance is an outstanding balance. It's not clear at all and paired with the advice from Morley College, it's easy to see how someone might not understand the reality of the loan repayment terms:
"Student Finance England will ‘write off’ any outstanding Advanced Learner Loan balances you owe for an Access to HE course once you complete a higher education course. This means you don’t have to repay it."
I have also noticed during my research today that there appear to be a number of scandals surrounding student loans and I have contacted my fellow students to see whether they were given the same advice and if they felt they have been mis-sold this loan as well.
I am looking to either get a refund of the Morley College course on the gourds that the course delivered was not the course I was sold, owing to the lack of quality, or to follow the route of the loan being mis-sold, but perhaps you have other suggestions.
0
Comments
-
Refund of Morley course - no chance IMO unless you complained at the time (your post does not suggest this) and after it you were accepted by an University so they must have done something right.
Missold the Student loan - again IMO very unlikely - are you earning any money that would make the loan repayable now?
I could say more but I'll keep my gob shut.0 -
The threshold for plan 2 student loans (i'm guessing this is what yours counts as) is £21000, so until you earn over that you repay nothing. It sounds like if you finish your course without ever earning over this amount, it will be wiped with you having paid nothing, so I'm not seeing the issue.0
-
That's because neither of you are seeing the true issue. It isn't the individual's circumstances or whether you feel like the the loan should be repaid.
The issue is that the customer has been sold a financial product with one set of information and during the course of the loan, the way the product is administered has changed with neither forewarning or consent.
This is the very essence of Mis-selling and will likely void many contracts.
Student loans will be the next PPI. The major banks very wisely avoided the market.
To the OP - you should first infirm the company of your concerns by writing. If the issue is not resolved in 8 weeks you should send the same information to the FCA outlining your suspicion of the mis-selling. Give them all the information you can.0 -
I'm pretty sure the OP has moved on...0
-
Clarkorama wrote: »That's because neither of you are seeing the true issue. It isn't the individual's circumstances or whether you feel like the the loan should be repaid.
The issue is that the customer has been sold a financial product with one set of information and during the course of the loan, the way the product is administered has changed with neither forewarning or consent.
This is the very essence of Mis-selling and will likely void many contracts.
Student loans will be the next PPI. The major banks very wisely avoided the market.
To the OP - you should first infirm the company of your concerns by writing. If the issue is not resolved in 8 weeks you should send the same information to the FCA outlining your suspicion of the mis-selling. Give them all the information you can.
Did you not see the date of the thread or the date of the last reply ?
Its been 5 months now.
I hope the OP has done something about it.0 -
Did you not see the date of the thread or the date of the last reply ?
Its been 5 months now.
I hope the OP has done something about it.
Correct answer though.......I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter0 -
Clarkorama wrote: »Student loans will be the next PPI.
I'm not sure that this bit is right though. PPI was driven by greed within the banks, and those in power don't have any problem in pointing the finger of blame.
Student loans were devised by the government. Those in power are the same people that set it all up. I don't see them pointing the finger so readily here.0 -
Perhaps the answer that was required was "yes of course your entitled to compensation"?..0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 346.6K Banking & Borrowing
- 251.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 451.4K Spending & Discounts
- 238.7K Work, Benefits & Business
- 614.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 174.7K Life & Family
- 251.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards