Overview
- A joint statement from the Student Loans Company and HM Revenue & Customs on Thursday said they found two separate faults that led to incorrect interest on about 71,000 Plan 2 accounts and that both errors have been fixed.
- One fault came from a technical error that used the wrong income data when calculating interest and the other was an HMRC income‑reporting mistake affecting people with both PAYE and Self Assessment earnings.
- The problems affected roughly 1.3% of Plan 2 borrowers, with about 41,000 customers overcharged and about 30,000 undercharged, producing refunds for some and balance increases for others.
- SLC will contact affected customers, regular repayment amounts will not change, borrowers who have already cleared their loans will not be made to repay again, and corrected balances will appear on next annual statements available online before the end of September.
- The error adds to wider concerns about Plan 2 loan administration and is likely to increase political and campaigner pressure over interest rules, data systems and whether compensation beyond refunds is needed.