Dear Claudienne,

I am a graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI), and a borrower of the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB). On December 5, 2014, I became a temporary worker in Canada. I have devoted more than three-quarters of my salary to repaying the SLB in the hope that I could finish repaying my debt in a year.

However, my objective did not match up to the reality, and so I extended the date of the full repayment of the loan to April 2016. On February 1, 2016, when I asked my current loan officer for the closing amount on the loan, I got the shock of my life.

You see, I was told by the Bureau some days before I left Jamaica that I had owed approximately $860,000. I started repaying the loan on December 30, 2014, at the rate of $50,000-$75,000 monthly. On September 18, 2015, when I asked my former loan officer about the calculating interest rates and my closing balance, she wrote and informed me that I still owed the SLB $445,000. I continued to pay $50,000 monthly through to the end of March 2016, in the hope that when I got my pay in April I would only have to pay the SLB approximately $45,000 to clear my balance. However, my current loan officer has informed me that my current closing balance is more than $183,000. I know to God be the glory that this is inaccurate, incorrect and false!

I have the records of all the payments I have made to the SLB using the Scotia Bank Online system.

At the end of each month my mom collects the money and deposits it to my account to enable me to do the transfer. I have calculated this figure so much in my mind that there’s no way I could have made a mistake in my current balance. And there is no way that interest and insurance could have caused my closing balance to reach such a high figure, in view of my regular monthly payments.

On countless occasions I have asked my loan officer to look into my case and give me a detailed statement that would show me how the loan grew to this sum while payments were being made on a regular basis, but to no avail.

I would appreciate your help in this matter.

EF

Dear EF,

Tell Claudienne has sought clarification from the SLB about your account and they have responded as follows:

“

Reference is made to your email regarding the captioned beneficiary dated April 6, 2016.

Please note that all Targeted Loans provided by the Students’ Loan Bureau, during the period that EF’s loan has been in repayment (January 2014 to March 2016), attracted an interest rate of 9% per annum using the add-on method of interest calculation. Effective April 1, 2016, the method of interest calculation was changed to the reducing balance where the monthly interest charge is reduced as the loan balance outstanding is paid down each month.

Our investigations have revealed that there is no discrepancy with the interest charged to his account which is reflecting an accurate status. It is to be noted that a balance provided at a particular date is not static, and if not paid would accrue interest monthly, which may not have been taken into account.

EF has been provided with a breakdown of his closing balance from September 30th, 2015 to April 30th, 2016, and invited to visit our offices, or contact his Loan Officer at the direct numbers which were provided to him so that he can have clarity.

A detailed statement was sent to him on April 7, 2016, clearly showing the monthly payments received for his account and the outstanding balance. An updated statement has since been provided to EF.

Thank you for assisting the SLB with resolving issues raised by our beneficiaries.”

Please contact your loan officer if you need further clarification.

Good luck.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 936-9436 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail: edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include acontact phone number.