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Hello All
Yes, it's that time of year again when student loans must be deferred or repayments started. I do not meet the earning threshold so I defer, but the problem I have is that for the last two years the SLC has refused to send deferral forms to me. I receive letters from Erudio and Thesis telling me my period of deferral is imminently coming to an end, and then the next I hear is a notice of late payment and a statement telling me I am in arrears.
I live overseas, and at the moment it's unlikely I will ever return to the UK (I would need so much money to be able to buy a comparable house there, for one thing) so frankly I'm inclined simply to drop off the radar like many others I know. But, being the decent, courteous gent I am, and having one eye on credit ratings, I maintain communications with them and diligently defer every year.
However, their refusal to send me deferral forms, a clear policy of harassment designed to draw me into arrears, is starting to irritate me. Can anyone here confirm if they have an obligation to send these forms out? The Post-98 Credit Agreement seems a little clearer on this, but the Pre-98 Credit Agreement, which I signed, is not so straight-forward. There is simply a little piece in there about how deferral will be decided “from a date and for a period determined by us (SLC)" and to me this clearly implies the onus is on them to communicate their determination to me and provide a deferral form. They have obviously decided that this is the case because that is why they send the letter out (sans deferral forms) earlier in the year, so they are being deliberately difficult in not sending the deferral forms because they have gone through the contract and decided they don't have to, yet neither does it say in the contract that I have to request them, so as they have been sending deferral forms regularly in February for years, it is clearly a convention that I can reasonably expect in future, and they have changed that system. Also, Erudio told me a deferral form would be sent out under separate cover, but failed to do so. Thesis never even bothered mentioning it.
It seems to me that in they are not giving me all the information in their letters telling me the deferral period is coming to an end, because they are failing to provide deferral forms and failing to tell me even how to defer, merely that the deferral period is coming to an end. Clearly they have gone through the CA and decided they can get away with this, but I wonder if this sneaky trick is prohibited by more broad consumer protection legislation?
No legal knowledge here, but then I suppose that is implied or I would have earned enough to pay this loan back years ago!
Regards, and once again many sincere thanks to those who assist - I'm grateful as ever.
P
Yes, it's that time of year again when student loans must be deferred or repayments started. I do not meet the earning threshold so I defer, but the problem I have is that for the last two years the SLC has refused to send deferral forms to me. I receive letters from Erudio and Thesis telling me my period of deferral is imminently coming to an end, and then the next I hear is a notice of late payment and a statement telling me I am in arrears.
I live overseas, and at the moment it's unlikely I will ever return to the UK (I would need so much money to be able to buy a comparable house there, for one thing) so frankly I'm inclined simply to drop off the radar like many others I know. But, being the decent, courteous gent I am, and having one eye on credit ratings, I maintain communications with them and diligently defer every year.
However, their refusal to send me deferral forms, a clear policy of harassment designed to draw me into arrears, is starting to irritate me. Can anyone here confirm if they have an obligation to send these forms out? The Post-98 Credit Agreement seems a little clearer on this, but the Pre-98 Credit Agreement, which I signed, is not so straight-forward. There is simply a little piece in there about how deferral will be decided “from a date and for a period determined by us (SLC)" and to me this clearly implies the onus is on them to communicate their determination to me and provide a deferral form. They have obviously decided that this is the case because that is why they send the letter out (sans deferral forms) earlier in the year, so they are being deliberately difficult in not sending the deferral forms because they have gone through the contract and decided they don't have to, yet neither does it say in the contract that I have to request them, so as they have been sending deferral forms regularly in February for years, it is clearly a convention that I can reasonably expect in future, and they have changed that system. Also, Erudio told me a deferral form would be sent out under separate cover, but failed to do so. Thesis never even bothered mentioning it.
It seems to me that in they are not giving me all the information in their letters telling me the deferral period is coming to an end, because they are failing to provide deferral forms and failing to tell me even how to defer, merely that the deferral period is coming to an end. Clearly they have gone through the CA and decided they can get away with this, but I wonder if this sneaky trick is prohibited by more broad consumer protection legislation?
No legal knowledge here, but then I suppose that is implied or I would have earned enough to pay this loan back years ago!
Regards, and once again many sincere thanks to those who assist - I'm grateful as ever.
P
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