I followed easy Martin Lewis tip and got £840 refund – simple check that reveals if you’re owed too
A WOMAN has revealed how she received an £840 refund on a major pay-drain by following an easy Martin Lewis tip.
The Money Saving Expert estimates that more than a million Brits could be eligible for money back thanks to unnoticed overpayments.
Fortunately, though, it is “very easy” to make a claim and get the missing money back in your account.
According to figures given to MSE by the Student Loans Company (SLC) around 1.1 million university leavers paid too much in the past tax year.
Speaking on his ITV show, Martin explained that there were four main reasons that this can occur:
- You paid in some months where your earnings were higher, despite not meeting the annual threshold
- You’re on the wrong plan because your employer doesn’t know which one you are eligible for
- You started repaying too only (i.e. before the April after you left your course)
- You paid after your loan has already
Happily, Martin’s warning about the issue last year inspired many Brits to look into it, including MSE fan Kelly.
Sharing her story with the site, she wrote: “[I] followed your advice about checking with the SLC if I’d overpaid.
“They are refunding me £840, which could not have come at a better time given an expensive vet bill coming up.
“I’d have never known this was a thing, so I’ve set an annual reminder to request it.”
And fellow viewer Lyndsey had a similar experience, recalling: “Thanks to watching Martin Lewis’s programme last night I contacted the SLC and have got a refund of £706 as I had started paying straightaway.
“Great just before Christmas.”
How do tuition fees work?
Most students pay for their studies through a loan from the SLC, which pays the fees directly to their university or college.
Once they have completed their studies, leavers begin to pay the loan back, with interest, from the next April (as long as they meet the thresholds for repayment).
For those earning more than the required salary to trigger the repayments, the SLC takes back the cash in the form of 9% of your income.
If you are employed and earn the required amount, then the repayment is deducted from your monthly payslip just like income tax.
How the different student loan plans work
HERE'S the rules and repayment thresholds for all the different student loan plans:
Plan one
You’re on Plan 1 if you’re:
- an English or Welsh student who started an undergraduate course anywhere in the UK before 1 September 2012
- a Northern Irish student who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course anywhere in the UK on or after 1 September 1998
- an EU student who started an undergraduate course in England or Wales on or after 1 September 1998, but before 1 September 2012
- an EU student who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course in Northern Ireland on or after 1 September 1998
You’ll only repay when your income is over £382 a week, £1,657 a month or £19,895 a year (before tax and other deductions).
Plan two
You’re on Plan 2 if you’re:
- an English or Welsh student who started an undergraduate course anywhere in the UK on or after 1 September 2012
- an EU student who started an undergraduate course in England or Wales on or after 1 September 2012
- someone who took out an Advanced Learner Loan on or after 1 August 2013
You’ll only repay when your income is over £524 a week, £2,274 a month or £27,295 a year (before tax and other deductions).
Plan four
- a Scottish student who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course anywhere in the UK on or after 1 September 1998
- an EU student who started an undergraduate or postgraduate course in Scotland on or after 1 September 1998
You’ll only repay when your income is over £480 a week, £2,083 a month or £25,000 a year (before tax and other deductions).
Postgraduate loan
- an English or Welsh student who took out a Postgraduate Master’s Loan on or after 1 August 2016
- an English or Welsh student who took out a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan on or after 1 August 2018
- an EU student who started a postgraduate course on or after 1 August 2016
If you took out a Master’s Loan or a Doctoral Loan, you’ll only repay when your income is over £403 a week, £1,750 a month or £21,000 a year (before tax and other deductions).
The self-employed must make regular repayments themselves and include these in their annual tax self-assessment.
In practice, this means basic rate payers are effectively taxed out of 37p in every pound they earn over the threshold – 20p on income tax, 8p on NICs and 9p for loan repayments.
Interest is charged from the day you first receive the loan to the day it is repaid.
However, on most loan plans, the balance is written-off after 30 years.