Martin Lewis says one million people due refund woth £280 on average

Martin Lewis says as many as one million Brits are due huge refunds - with the average person owed £280. The BBC Sounds podcast host has spoken out in the weekly Money Saving Expert newsletter over the student loan crisis which has seen plenty of graduates overpay.

According to Mr Lewis, the average payout is £280, making it worth investigating. Mr Lewis said: "Your student loan, like tax, is repaid via the payroll, and what you pay depends on what you earn. And, just as millions can reclaim tax overpayments, many uni leavers can reclaim unwittingly overpaid student loans.

"We've just asked the Student Loans Company (SLC) for its latest figures, which show there were 1.1m overpayments in the most recent tax year (2023/24) - and, as we know from past info requests, this adds to at least 4 million people who've overpaid before."

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Reasons you overpaid include you repaid the loan in some MONTHS, despite not earning enough in the tax year, you're on the wrong student loan payment plan by default, you started repaying your loan too early or you had money deducted after the loan was fully repaid. (

Mr Lewis said: "There's no time limit here either, so even if this was a decade ago, you can still do it. If possible, gather old payslips, your payroll number and a PAYE reference number. But if you don't have those, don't let it put you off - a new system allows many of these claims to be done online, and others can be done with a phone call.

"Overpaying on normal loans is a good thing - it means you clear the debt quicker and pay less interest. Yet student loans don't work like normal loans." Mr Lewis was back on ITV earlier this week with his Money Show.