Student loans overpayments will be refunded automatically in new trial
The Student Loans Company is trialling bank refunds to customers who have overpaid their student loans. …
27th February 2020 16:31
by Brean Horne from interactive investor
The Student Loans Company is trialling bank refunds to customers who have overpaid their student loans.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) is trialling automatic bank refunds to customers who have overpaid their student loans.
Former students who did not sign up to the SLC direct debit scheme and have not responded to communications about how to claim back their money will be included in the trial.
If a trialist's bank details can be successfully validated by the SLC, the money will be automatically paid into their account.
The payment will show up as 'SLC Receipts' on their statements.
More than £28 million has been overpaid on student loans in England alone between 2009 and 2018, analysis from Research Professional News, a publication for higher education found.
In December 2019 the government announced that it would introduce a new Online Repayment Service to overhaul the student loans system.
Steven Darling, Director of Repayment & Counter Fraud said: “We are always looking at ways to improve the service that we provide, that’s why we are starting this trial, alongside other improvements to the repayment service that we’ll be introducing later this year.
“While we’re always pleased to be able to refund customers, we do not want customers to over-repay in the first place.
“Repaying too much is avoidable because we ask customers to take control of the final stages of loan repayment and make the switch from repaying through their salary to Direct Debit.
“We want all of our customers to keep their details up to date so that we can let them know when it’s their time to put a Direct Debit in place and strongly urge customers to take this action.”
How to reclaim a student loan overpayment
If you think you've overpaid your student loan, you need to get in touch with the SLC to arrange a refund.
The SLC will check its records and issue a refund directly into your bank account.
It will also tell HM Revenue and Customs to ask your employer to stop making deductions from your account, although these can take up to four weeks to stop.
If you’re currently making student loan repayments, it’s worth getting in touch with SLC to find out how much you have outstanding and when you’re likely to have it paid off.
The SLC can be contacted via post or by calling one of the following numbers:
- England, Northern Ireland or Scotland: 0300 100 0611
- Wales: 0300 100 0370
- Outside of the UK: +44 (0)141 243 3660
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Moneywise, which ceased publication in August 2020.
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