Erudio/ Drydens nightmare

cmw1212

I desperately need advice. I have old style student loans (94-98) which were sold to Erudio a few years back. Up until that time i had been deferring with no problem but when it changed hands I had issues and think failed to defer I basically hadn't sent anything since 2013 outcome I received a claim from Drydens I filed a defence that it was statute-barred but have now got a letter saying they reject that because the default letter was only sent in September 2018, I am totally lost. I do not earn the amount needed to repay and am so annoyed at myself for messing up all those years ago. If anyone can offer any advice I would be grateful

sourcrates

Hi,


I`m not an expert on how old style student loans actually work, i always assumed you didnt make repayments until your earnings hit a certain threshold, however, if the debt is due and you have no other defense, you don`t have to repay the full amount all at once, the claim form will have an income/expenditure sheet (which you should already have returned with your defense) did you fill it in ?

You can pay in affordable installments, if you didn`t fill it in, and if judgement is granted against you, you can apply to the court for an installment order.

I would try and get some legal advice on this, as a recent appeal court ruling has determined the default date to be the "cause of action" date on most cards and loans, but did not particulaly specify student loans, I would ask on legal beagles if I were you.

CakeCrusader

"There are ‘old-style’ and ‘new-style’ student loans. Old-style student loans are for students who started their university course before September 1998. New-style student loans apply to students starting their course from September 1998 onwards. T
he Limitation Act says that the limitation period for student loans is six years.


Old-style student loans usually became due for repayment in the April following the conclusion of your course, and any limitation period could not begin until after you missed a payment on your loan. However, if you asked for your loan to be deferred within the six year limitation period, this would have restarted the limitation period. If you think your loan may be statute barred, contact us for advice." https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/time-limits-for-recovering-debts/statute-barred-debt.aspx



They have a web chat, so it's worth speaking to them. Mine was written off by Erudio once I told them that it was statute barred (I hadn't made a payment or heard from the SLC about it despite having student loans later on). I sent an email and they wrote back in a week, I'd only received a 'your loan has matured' letter from Erudio, I don't think these are the same as a default letter as the terminology isn't the same. Are you able to remember what it was that you received in Sep 2018?

Lungboy

I'm no expert on statute barring, but as i understand it the 6 years (5 in Scotland maybe?) is from the last time you paid to the loan or otherwise acknowledged it in any way, so their letter about the default shouldn't matter. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me can comment on it though.

CakeCrusader

Lungboy wrote: »

I'm no expert on statute barring, but as i understand it the 6 years (5 in Scotland maybe?) is from the last time you paid to the loan or otherwise acknowledged it in any way, so their letter about the default shouldn't matter. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me can comment on it though.

There was a court of appeal decision which changed this (from Jan 2019), so it's best that the OP checks with the link I've posted above. There's info here; https://debtcamel.co.uk/statute-barred-debt/ "
How can I tell if my debt is statute-barred?

Unsecured debts, including most loans, credit cards, catalogues and overdrafts will normally be statute-barred in England and Wales if you can say YES to all the following four points:

1. it had been more than six years since you last made a payment; and
2. the creditor has a cause of action more than six years ago; and
3. you haven’t acknowledged the debt in writing during this time; and
4. the creditor hasn’t already gone to court for a CCJ."