Less than a week after the Loughborough Graduation Ball, Channel 4 News has reported that the Student Loans Company took £22m from graduates last year. This means that a Loughborough student could be one of over 40,000 graduates who pay back more than they have borrowed and are out of pocket, albeit temporarily.
The advice from the Student Loans Company is that graduates are less likely to overpay if they use a debit card as opposed to repayments coming from their salaries. Using a debit card makes it easier for the graduate to check regularly the amount of money that is leaving their account.
By contrast, the Student Loans Company only receives annual information from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Hence borrowers may repay too much during the time between settling their debt and the information getting through the system.
A Student Loans Company spokeswoman told Channel 4 News:
“We always say borrowers should monitor their own repayments.”
The Student Loan Company stressed that it refunds all overpayments, including interest, as soon as possible.
This latest report will be of real concern to recent Loughborough graduates as the amount taken by the Student Loan Company has increased from the £15m figure as reported in the Independent back in 2010.
Have you, or someone you know, been affected by repayments to the Student Loans Company? If so, you can add a comment below.
