The NUS president has said that ‘heads must roll’ over the student loans fiasco that has seen thousands of students left without loans, even as the end of the first term approaches.

Professor Deian Hopkin lead a review into the Student Loans Company (SLC) and provided a damning report saying that there had been a “conspicuous failure” to deliver loans and grants on time to students.

The delays, which saw thousands of students starting the term with no funds, has been blamed on a “management indecision and over-optimism” concerning a new computer system which collapsed over the summer, causing the delays.

Wes Streeting, the National Union of Students President, said that action must be taken.

“Given the catalogue of failures identified by this report, heads must roll if the public are to have any confidence in the SLC in the future.”

The report also looked at the extent to which universities had to bail out their own student by providing them with short-term loans until their applications had been properly processed at the SLC.

“While some aspects of the programme have been realised and good progress made on others, there has been a conspicuous failure in key areas of its delivery which has had a far-reaching impact on applicants and stakeholders.

Due to a combination of technical, management and service failures, the experience of many applicants and stakeholders this year has been poor.” the report said.

The SLC has been criticised for refusing to discuss the situation with any student unions, universities or the press in order to tackle the problems. The repor

Continue reading…

If you`re experiencing debt problems in the current economic climate, you`re not alone. Official statistics suggest that the number of people with debt problems is rising quickly, and with the festive period ahead of us, many more people are likely to get into debt they can`t afford.

One of the most important things for anyone struggling with debt is to get debt advice at the first sign of trouble. The sooner you address your debt problem, the less likely it is to get out of hand, and the sooner you can become debt-free.

What could happen if I don`t get debt advice soon enough? If you don`t address your debts as soon as they become a problem, there`s a chance they could grow. Continue reading…

As millions hit the web today for a spot of Christmas shopping, consumer sites are warning customers that they could be at even more risk of credit card fraud or buying fake goods.

Today, Monday 7th December, is being called “Cyber Monday” and British consumers are expected to spend a massive £350 million online in a single day.

Tony Neate, of Get Safe Online, warned consumers not to be caught unaware just because they are shopping online: “If we go down the high street, we’ll quite happily hand over our credit card to a major high street brand,” he said.

But go round the corner, and there’s a guy selling something out of a suitcase. We’re a bit more wary about what we buy off him. It’s

Continue reading…

One of the most important things to look at when it comes to any kind of borrowing is the interest rate. The higher the interest rate, the more interest you`ll pay per month, and the faster your debt can grow if it`s left unpaid.

This isn`t exclusive to credit card debts, of course – but with an average interest rate of around 18%, credit cards can be a particularly expensive form of debt.

A major advantage of credit cards, though, is that if you repay the balance on time, you`ll never have to pay any interest whatsoever. But if you allow any of that balance to cross over into the next month or beyond, you will be charged interest.

That`s not necessarily a problem, as long as you can afford it.

Continue reading…

The U.S. government through the Treasury Department has decided that it‘s time to put some pressure on the banks in the area of mortgages. As most people know, there are millions of consumers unable to make their mortgage payments in a timely manner. Troubled mortgages continue to grow in numbers as more consumers fall behind on their house payments, and the government feels the banks have not done enough to help homeowners prevent foreclosure.

The Assistant Secretary for the Treasury Department, Michael Barr, was quoted in the press as publicly stating that mortgage companies need to do much more to assist people behind on their payments or who are having difficulty meeting current payments. H

Continue reading…