Martin Lewis fan explains how a simple 11-minute phone call helped her claim back £900

One fan of Martin Lewis recently revealed exactly how she reclaimed £900 after overpaying her student loan. Abby Kutiwa, from London, followed the MoneySavingExpert founder's advice after he detailed that millions of people are owed refunds from the Student Loans Company.

MSE previously warned that student loan overpayments can occur when people were placed on the wrong loan plans - while others could have overpaid by paying off their loan before they were earning enough money, or had payments taken after they finished paying their loan back.

Speaking to Yahoo News, Abby explained: "The call was quick and easy. I spent a total of 11 minutes on the phone, my phone number was linked to my account, so I got through pretty quickly - but have your customer reference number ready."

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The Mirror reports that Plan 1 students will start repaying 9 per cent of their income (barring those on postgraduate courses who only repay six per cent) when they start to earn more than £24,990. Plan 2 loan holders will only start repaying once they earn over £27,295.

Plan 4's threshold is £31,395 per year, while Plan 5's is £25,000. The plan you were put onto all comes down to when you attended university. Below, Chronicle Live lists the dates to make things easier to understand.

• Plan 1 - Started course before September 1, 2012 in England and Wales (or after September 1, 1998 in Northern Ireland).

• Plan 2 - Started course between September 1, 2012 and July 31, 2023 in England (or after September 1, 2012 in Wales).

• Plan 4 - Started course after September 1, 1998 in Scotland.

• Plan 5 - Started course after August 1, 2023 in England.

If you believe you have overpaid, then you'll need to get in touch with the SLC. Here are the numbers to ring.

• England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - 0300 100 0611

• Wales - 0300 100 0370

• Overseas - +44 141 243 3660

You should have as much relevant information as possible to hand when you make the call, like the email address you used to register for your loan. You should also tell your employer if you are on the wrong payment plan, so you don't keep overpaying.

On the flip side, if you've been underpaying your student loan - you will not be asked to pay anything back immediately, but you will be placed on the correct plan going forward.