70,000+ student loan balances miscalculated – are you affected?
Over 70,000 graduates repaying Plan 2 student loans have had their loan balances miscalculated due to recent technical errors, the Student Loans Company (SLC) has confirmed. The er
By MoneySavingExpert
Over 70,000 graduates repaying Plan 2 student loans have had their loan balances miscalculated due to recent technical errors, the Student Loans Company (SLC) has confirmed. The errors occurred because incorrect income information was used to calculate the interest due on 71,000 accounts, stemming from recent mistakes at both the SLC and HMRC.
The SLC has fixed these errors and is now correcting balances automatically, meaning affected borrowers do not need to take any action and their regular repayment amounts will not change. An SLC spokesperson stated that no one affected will have to pay more than they otherwise would have done as a result of the errors, and those who have already paid off their loans in full will not need to pay anything else.
Graduates who were overcharged interest will see their balances reduced by an average of £66, while those who were undercharged will see their balances increase by either £138 or £592 on average depending on the specific error. If your balance has been updated but still does not look right, or if you are worried about being charged the wrong interest, you can raise a complaint via the SLC website, with confirmation expected within five working days and a detailed response within 20 days.
Borrowers can check the corrected figures on their next annual statement, which will be available online before the end of September. The SLC and HMRC have expressed that they are very sorry that this has happened, and those who were undercharged will be contacted directly by the SLC.