London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

'My student loan refund took six years'

'My student loan refund took six years'

Former student Rebecca Gale says she was "surprised, shocked and then angry" after getting a student loan refund six years after she finished paying it off.

The 35-year-old thought she'd heard the last from the Student Loans Company (SLC) when she made her last payment in 2015.

But just a few days ago she got a message on her phone saying she was owed £1,109.

"So when I got the voice mail originally I thought 'this is a scam'.

"But we checked, rang them and I was initially surprised and delighted because who doesn't like a refund?"

Rebecca's opinion on the matter started to change though when she began to realise the money had been with the SLC for six years when it should have been in her account.

My money not theirs


The Manchester University graduate said: "I was, to be honest, a little bit angry. I wanted to understand how it could take so long to repay something that should have been in my bank account for over half a decade.

"We're not talking about the difference between me putting food on the table or clothing my children but £1,100 is still a month's mortgage paid off, that's a month's nursery costs or £1,100 worth of credit debt I could have paid off.

"The point is that's my money and it should have been in my account and not theirs," said Rebecca, who lives in the Yorkshire Dales.

Rebecca met her future husband Chris whilst at Manchester University and borrowed £9000 to help pay for her studies

The SLC told Money Box it got some new information from HMRC in May 2021 about Rebecca's student loan repayments in the tax year 2010-11 which meant she had overpaid and was eligible for a refund.

SLC said as soon as it got this new data it set about trying to contact Rebecca with the end result of the money hitting her account just a few days ago.

Why overpayments happen


SLC has a bad track record on overpayments, although it is getting better.

That's because it used to get annual updates from HMRC which kept a track of how much people had repaid of their student loans via PAYE.

In April 2019 those updates turned from once a year to once a week making the system much more efficient. Nonetheless, in the first year of the new system more than 54,000 former students still overpaid £23m between them - an average of £424 each.

People are now also encouraged to pay off the last couple of years of their loan payments by direct debit to limit the chance of overpayment even further, with some refunds also now taking place automatically (for amounts up to £750).

Money Box contacted HMRC to ask why it took six years to send through new information to SLC about Rebecca's historic payments. In a statement it said: "Following a routine scan of our records earlier this year, we identified a small number of cases where repayment information had not been passed onto SLC.

"We corrected these cases as soon as they became known and notified SLC so that they could update their records."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×