Student loan paid , refund query 20 August 2022 at 4:37PM in Loans 5 replies 191 views

RayaanG

I took out a few student loans around 30 years ago ... 
All loans have been paid off because of late deferment payments ..  i.e i had to pay back x amount each year because i was late in applying for a deferment because my income was below the threshold .
All my loan is paid off , .. but i have realised my income each was never above the threshold required to make repayments , only due to the fact that deferments could only be backdated for 3 months i think .
Would i be entitled to a refund given the circumstances ?  

kaMelo

If you breached the terms of the loan by failing to defer on time then the loans default and become repayable in full irrespective of your earnings.
You can complain to them about it and see what they say but I wouldn't get any hopes up. 

RayaanG

The full loan never defaulted .. all i was asked to do each time was to pay the arrears off and then once they recieved the paperwork the loan would get deferred for 1 year. 
All the loan has been payed off now , (due to defered arrears) but i've realised that i never had an income above the threshold throughout the full period. 

MalMonroe

Best thing to do would be to write to them. I don't think it will be a quick process because the new terms/semesters will be starting soon. But writing is the best way. My daughter was in a similar situation, started uni in the late 1990s but has never earned enough to pay back any loans. She did keep a check on what the student loans company were doing though, as twice they decided to start making deductions from her current account, even though her income has never reached the threshold and she always got her deferment papers in on time. Mistakes are made. 

It's always worth having a go to see if you can have a refund, I think. Good luck - and don't give up because I know those student loans people are really very busy and take some time to get around to things but they do, in the end. 

silvercar

Try posting on the Student board here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/student-money-saving

kaMelo

RayaanG said:

The full loan never defaulted .. all i was asked to do each time was to pay the arrears off and then once they recieved the paperwork the loan would get deferred for 1 year. 
All the loan has been payed off now , (due to defered arrears) but i've realised that i never had an income above the threshold throughout the full period. 

I'm assuming you're talking about pre 98 mortgage style loans here? 
If you never reached the earnings threshold then your loans would never have entered repayment therefore it's impossible to have had any arrears. The only way you could have any arrears without reaching the earnings threshold is because the loan became repayable. The only way that could have happened is if the loan defaulted because, for example, you were late deferring.

As I said, put a complaint in and see what happens but don't get your hopes up.