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University graduates across the UK are being urged by a campaign group to check whether they are due a refund on their student loan repayment after it was revealed that nearly \u00a3200m was overpaid last year.<\/p>\n
Save the Student’s comments come after figures were published which show that hundreds of thousands of people currently paying off their loans are eligible for a share of \u00a3184m in refunds.<\/p>\n
It is easy to check whether a refund is owed by logging on to the government’s Student Loan Company portal, where individual refunds could range from tens of pounds to more than \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n
Tom Allingham from Save the Student said for many getting a refund could make a world of difference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Charlotte Gill is one such former student who was eligible for a refund on her loan payments, to the tune of \u00a368. <\/p>\n
She said it did not make a huge difference “but every little helps when you are a student”.<\/p>\n
“At the end of the day, it’s your money, it\u2019s not the government’s money, so if you’ve got any entitlement to a refund then absolutely take it,” she said.<\/p>\n
Martin De’Ath received \u00a3396 in his refund and says the substantial payment made him question how he could have used it in the 10 months he was without it.<\/p>\n
“I was definitely pleased to get it back at least,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There are four reasons people may be eligible for refunds.<\/p>\n
The main reason, behind \u00a3146m of the total, is that repayments were taken from people despite them not earning above the annual threshold at which point repayments automatically kick in.<\/p>\n
This can happen when someone earns above the monthly threshold which triggers the beginning of loan repayments, due to things like to taking extra shifts, getting a new job or receiving a bonus, but their annual earnings might still fall below the yearly threshold.<\/p>\n