Thousands of Brits warned they’re overpaying student loan and could be owed refund

Thousands of Brits are being warned to check if they've overpaid their student loans following advice from financial guru Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert.

Now, if Martin gives us a bit of advice, we generally take it.

And when his team revealed that one million of us have been overpaying our loans in the last financial year alone, many people wondered if it could have been them.

ITV

How many people have overpaid on their student loans?

A post on the MSE website explained: "Many have student loan repayments automatically deducted from their wages each month, and assume all is well.

"Yet 100,000s accidentally overpay their student loans each year, often without realising.

"Here's how to check if you're one of them and, if so, how you can reclaim £100s, or even £1,000s.

"In the last tax year alone, over ONE MILLION university leavers overpaid their student loans, according to our Freedom of Information (FOI) request."

How do I know if I've overpaid on my student loan?

MSE explain that there are a few factors that could mean you're more likely to have overpaid.

These are:

• You've made repayments despite not earning enough, for example if you've worked for part of the year, been on maternity leave, moved to a higher or lower paid role or earned more in a specific month which has taken you over the threshold for that month only
• You're on the wrong payment plan
• You've repaid but still had money deducted
• You've started repaying your loan too early

Plenty of people have successfully received refunds following the advice, with one person telling MSE: "Thanks to watching Martin Lewis' programme last night I contacted the SLC and have got a refund of £706 as I had started paying straightaway. Great just before Christmas."

While another said: "Just wanted to say a massive thank you as I read your article on overpaying on student loan repayments and realised there was a chance I had overpaid.

"Turns out I had and I've since received a refund of £900! I've been doing house renovations this year so this money has been incredibly handy in going towards them."

Getty Stock Images

How to claim back student loan overpayments

Firstly, be sure to check if you could be due a refund by logging into your online account here.

The SLC says the easiest and quickest way to get a refund is to fill out its new online refund request form. You can find that here.

You'll need to tell the SLC your student loan account customer reference number, your National Insurance number and your date of birth. You should also say which tax year you're claiming for.

Sorted? Then it's time to email completed forms to: [email protected].

Topics: News, UK News, Martin Lewis

Lucy Devine