Former students may be out of pocket due to a flaw in the student loan repayment system, according to the National Union of Students (NUS).
The NUS's findings are supported by a BBC investigation, which revealed that some former students are still being asked for payments even after their debt has been cleared.
David Malcolm of the NUS said that the Student Loans Company was failing to keep a proper check on repayments.
Mr Malcolm said: "It's possible for any borrower to overpay on the amount of student loan debt that they have, simply because the Student Loans Company doesn't have that information about the repayments from the end of one tax year to the next."
Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said that the Government were working closely with the Student Loans Company to improve their practices.
Mr Rammell said: "As from next year, student graduates will be able to predict when their repayments are due to cease, step out of the automatic system and repay manually through direct debit.
"That will mean that no-one will repay more than they're due to."
There are currently 2.5 million students with Student Loans Company loans worth a total of £18 billion.
The NUS's findings are supported by a BBC investigation, which revealed that some former students are still being asked for payments even after their debt has been cleared.
David Malcolm of the NUS said that the Student Loans Company was failing to keep a proper check on repayments.
Mr Malcolm said: "It's possible for any borrower to overpay on the amount of student loan debt that they have, simply because the Student Loans Company doesn't have that information about the repayments from the end of one tax year to the next."
Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said that the Government were working closely with the Student Loans Company to improve their practices.
Mr Rammell said: "As from next year, student graduates will be able to predict when their repayments are due to cease, step out of the automatic system and repay manually through direct debit.
"That will mean that no-one will repay more than they're due to."
There are currently 2.5 million students with Student Loans Company loans worth a total of £18 billion.
