Student loans company:
I'd quit my job and moved into my girlfriend's house. I'd had some shares and cashed them, enough to pay for my food for a few months, I didn't have any other outgoings. Deferment letter comes in from Student Loans - please enclose payslips. I wrote back explaining I wasn't working and didn't have any payslips. They wrote back, days before I was due to start repaying... and they wrote back asking for proof of benefits. I wrote again, explaining I had no benefits, that I'd a bit of cash in the bank and was working through it... and would reassess my situation in a couple of months when that ran out. I'd probably have a job by then and would be pleased to let them know my salary once I did. They wrote back again, asking for proof of my girlfriend's income, which she was of course not willing to provide to a company she has no relationship with.
"We need some evidence of how you are supporting yourself"
"I've got some money in my current account, I'm using that so I'll send you a bank statement"
"Not good enough, we'll have £80 a month off you"
"How will I pay for food then?"
"Tough, rules is rules and we need evidence, even if the one piece of evidence you've got is ineligible "
I got a job in the end.
Couple of years later, more shit... I had changed roles at the same company (same Jobtitle, permanent contract, payed same month as opposed to the following one as per my temp contract. I also had a year's pro-rata holiday pay coming in in a lump sum so virtually 3x salary in one month, a third of which was not applicable as they'd already accounted for it the previous year, a third of which was for the previous month and a third for the current month. Fearing the worst, I wrote a letter to go with my payslips, explaining in plain English what was happening, then a photocopy of the one complicated enclosed slip with annotated notes on a separate sheet breaking down each and every amount and why it was there. I included extra contact details for myself and for my employer so this could be verified and let my employer know to expect a call. Just before deferment deadline approaches, letter comes through "you are earning above the threshold, we're having £80 a month off you" I rang back...
"What about my letter?"
"What letter?"
"The one stapled to my payslips and deferment form"
"We have no record of a letter, only your payslips here in front of me"
"Then you've lost it - let me explain again over the phone to you as you look at the payslip"
"No, we'd need something in writing"
"I sent you something in writing"
"If it was in with your payslips, we would not have scanned it onto the system"
"Well that's your lookout then, surely?"
"£80 per month, please"
"I'm earning five grand below the repayment threshold"
"Says here you aren't"
"No it doesn't, the amounts are for different things, it even says so on the payslip"
"..."
"How do I re-notify you in writing, if you throw away my letters"
"You can fax us"
"Have you got a fax at home?"
"..."
"I'll find one in another office somewhere then - what's the number and shall I mark it for your attention?"
"The number is XXXXXX"
"What's your name again, so I can mark it for your attention?"
"I won't get the fax, I have no idea where it comes out"
"Can you see a fax machine from where you are sat?"
"Yes"
"What's the number of that fax"
"We aren't allowed to give that out"
SIX FUCKING WEEKS it took to get it sorted. I hate those bastards more than anyone else I've ever had to deal with. Oh, and they've sold my debt.... so now when they fuck up it's two companies I need to deal with as the debt holder doesn't do the admin, that stays in Glasgow.
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