Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Student Loans Company to waive retrospectively applied interest charges on Plan 2 student loans where incorrect interest rates were originally applied due to administrative errors by the Student Loans Company or HM Revenue and Customs; and what assessment she has made of the potential financial impact of those retrospective corrections on affected borrowers.

The two technical errors relating to plan 2 affected 71,000 customers as the interest was not calculated accurately based on their level of earnings. The errors meant 41,000 customers were not charged enough interest and 30,000 customers were charged too much interest. ​

​Accounts have now been corrected, meaning that 41,000 customers have an increased balance and 30,000 customers have seen their balance decrease. Customers who had their accounts adjusted will see no change to their monthly payments, as these are based on an individual’s salary rather than the amount owed. ​Of the 30,000 accounts who will see their balance decrease, over 3,000 customers (who have paid off their loans) will see a refund. Those who have already paid off their loan in full will not have to start repaying again.​