Help - Unexpected debt letter

NatalieanneDFW

Hello everyone,

I had a really worrying start to my weekend. Yesterday I got a letter through from student loans company saying that I owed £1495 and that as I had not paid it, they were sending it to Advantis debt solutions for collection. I've lived in my house for 3 years and never had a letter from them!

I'm really panicked because I'm on a dmp and getting towards the end of it and I can't afford any defaults on my file. I really want to get a mortgage next year and this has thrown a spanner in the works. I tried to call SLC 3 times yesterday and I kept getting cut off so I will try again tomorrow.

Anyone experienced this? Are they likely to register a default on my file? Will I need to pay in full to avoid defaults or can I make an arrangement to pay?

Many thanks,

Natalie

fwor

NatalieanneDFW wrote: »

I've lived in my house for 3 years and never had a letter from them!

The obvious question is: did you tell them your new address when you moved 3 years ago? If not then they will have been getting their correspondence returned "Not known at this address".

I believe it's a common requirement with student loans that you (the borrower) must keep their records up to date when you move house, so it's likely that you will have broken the terms of the loan agreement if you didn't - hence their move to a debt collection agency.

But if you call them tomorrow and explain the situation, I suspect that there's a good chance they will be willing to reach an agreement with you which will fit in with your DMP. Whether you can persuade them not to record it as a default, I don't know...

twhitehousescat

do you owe the money ?

if you do then its not unexpected . you have known about it since you took loan out

[Deleted User]

NatalieanneDFW wrote: »

Anyone experienced this?

Yes. Lot of people have outstanding debts. But that's not important right now

You need to speak to them to establish the validity of the debt and agree an appropriate repayment plan.

NatalieanneDFW

No, this is not my student loan, I only have to pay that back when I earn over 25k, this must be some sort of overpayment they are trying to recover. If I didn't change the address the how would I suddenly get a letter from them saying its going straight to debt recovery.

If they did hold the wrong address then what are my options now. I was hoping that someone may have experience with Advantis.

NatalieanneDFW

My main concern is keeping my credit file clear of any additional defaults

[Deleted User]

NatalieanneDFW wrote: »

If I didn't change the address the how would I suddenly get a letter from them saying its going straight to debt recovery.

Tracing services.

NatalieanneDFW

Right, I have just managed to get onto my account for SLC which I stupidly haven't logged into thinking that as I'm not earning 25k, I have nothing to worry about. My account says a letter was sent out in April 2017 saying that I owed £500 for a grant overpayment. I didn't receive this letter. I checked all my contact details and they are all accurate with my current address on. There is no other correspondence saying that I owe £1495 and the only letter they have sent out is the £500 one. They have my correct telephone number and email address on file so they could have easily contacted me. I've taken screenshots of everything in case I have to go down the complaints route.

Any advice in this?

[Deleted User]

If they can produce the letter then you don’t really have a leg to stand on in all honesty.

Letters get “not received” all the time but that’s not a reason for avoidance.

HampshireH

As above but also you have had full access to your account so could have periodically been checking. They will rely on this ability to see all mail via the portal.

Also the SLC send annual statements in about sept/October time. Would your last one not have mentioned this?

sourcrates

Hi,

The SLC is so badly managed, its quite common to either not receive correspondence, or to receive a letter saying "we have tried to contact you a number of times about your account" when in fact they haven`t, and this is actully the first letter, its a common ruse thats used to get you to contact them, they operate in a very similar manner to a debt collection agency.

I would either ring them, or better still write to them, make an arragement to pay this £500, if indeed you owe it, you can ask for evidence first, if you Dispute it, your student loan itself will appear on your credit file, i do not know if the grant is treated differently, i suspect it would not be reported, but stand to be corrected.