Graduates have been repaying more than “£23 million too much on their student loans in the past tax year”, purely because they had changed addresses without telling the authorities.
A story in The Times reported that the average overpayment was £424 and 54,516 graduates had money deducted even though they had already paid off their debt. The report explained that overpayments occur because of a difference in the time that payment details are received by the Student Loans Company (SLC), which administers repayments, and HM Revenue & Customs. The SLC writes a year before the final payment is due, urging graduates to start a direct debit, and follows up with emails and texts. But only one in five graduates signs up.
