Should I Pay Off My Student Loan? 2008/09 article discussion

limpwaster

hi,
I've got a bit of a dilemma regarding student loan repayments.
I started on a foundation degree in 2003 for two years and had around £3k a year student loan. Afterwards i worked for my sponsor company for a year, and returned to uni for a year 2005 and finished it 2006, again getting a 3k student loan.
I received a statement december in 2007 saying I owed around 10k, and I was due to enter repayment in april 2007.
I started my current job in September 2006 a few months after finishing uni, but to this day nothing has been taken from my wages....
I earn around 24k a year so should be making payments, but I thought it was done automatically? Should I tell the student loan company, or is this their mistake? I would obviously rather not pay it but I also dont want to get hit with a big bill.
I have had no correspondence from student loans company since dec 2007, is this normal or have they forgotten me?

What are my options?

Many thanks,
Tom

hethmar

jakeh wrote: »

Thanks Lokolo.
As a parent I do not see statements. I could get them from my kids but thought the info would be accessible to the public but apparently not - or at least not that I could find.
I was hoping for a link to an official site where the calculation would be set out.

This may help?

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/Doitonlinestudentfinance/DG_10035566

Chris2685

limpwaster wrote: »

hi,
I've got a bit of a dilemma regarding student loan repayments.
I started on a foundation degree in 2003 for two years and had around £3k a year student loan. Afterwards i worked for my sponsor company for a year, and returned to uni for a year 2005 and finished it 2006, again getting a 3k student loan.
I received a statement december in 2007 saying I owed around 10k, and I was due to enter repayment in april 2007.
I started my current job in September 2006 a few months after finishing uni, but to this day nothing has been taken from my wages....
I earn around 24k a year so should be making payments, but I thought it was done automatically? Should I tell the student loan company, or is this their mistake? I would obviously rather not pay it but I also dont want to get hit with a big bill.
I have had no correspondence from student loans company since dec 2007, is this normal or have they forgotten me?

What are my options?

Many thanks,
Tom

I think you will be better off telling them now rather than waiting. If you don't pay it when you're supposed to, they are entitled to turn around and demand you pay the whole lot in full immediately.

sly_dog_jonah

limpwaster wrote: »

hi,
I have had no correspondence from student loans company since dec 2007, is this normal or have they forgotten me?

What are my options?

Check whether the previous correspondence included a form that needed returning with your employment details. Following the return of this form, SLC would have sent your company an instruction to begin deducting your repayments from you via PAYE. Your payroll won't deduct anything until they are told to by SLC (or HMRC i'm not sure which organisation instructs them). I returned my form in 2003/4 but my employer didn't ever receive the deduction instruction, in fact I remember several letters from SLC saying I was one of many 'stuck in the system' and I could make payments direct if I wanted to until it was sorted out. I declined Then in August 2007 I contacted them to query why I hadn't received a statement for a year or two and at this point they took the employment details again, a month or so later the deductions started :rolleyes:

When it's eventually sorted, they won't back-date the payments just start taking payments from then on. This is assuming you haven't been crafty by not responding to past correspondance or not keeping your address up to date, or gone overseas.

limpwaster

sly_dog_jonah wrote: »

Check whether the previous correspondence included a form that needed returning with your employment details. Following the return of this form, SLC would have sent your company an instruction to begin deducting your repayments from you via PAYE. Your payroll won't deduct anything until they are told to by SLC (or HMRC i'm not sure which organisation instructs them). I returned my form in 2003/4 but my employer didn't ever receive the deduction instruction, in fact I remember several letters from SLC saying I was one of many 'stuck in the system' and I could make payments direct if I wanted to until it was sorted out. I declined Then in August 2007 I contacted them to query why I hadn't received a statement for a year or two and at this point they took the employment details again, a month or so later the deductions started :rolleyes:

When it's eventually sorted, they won't back-date the payments just start taking payments from then on. This is assuming you haven't been crafty by not responding to past correspondance or not keeping your address up to date, or gone overseas.

I have checked and there were no forms in with the last statement, just a single sheet statement. I have been fairly honest, not tried to hide anything etc. Do you suggest that I contact them first then, or wait for them to sort it and contact me?

sly_dog_jonah

limpwaster wrote: »

I have checked and there were no forms in with the last statement, just a single sheet statement. I have been fairly honest, not tried to hide anything etc. Do you suggest that I contact them first then, or wait for them to sort it and contact me?

I'd check all your correspondance from SLC since you graduated for the form. If they haven't sent you one, then that's not your problem. Looking at the following page, there's nothing saying you have any obligation to contact them, it's up to them sort it out:

http://www.studentloanrepayment.co.uk/portal/page?_pageid=93,3867296&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

master811

Chris2685 wrote: »

If you don't pay it when you're supposed to, they are entitled to turn around and demand you pay the whole lot in full immediately.

Source? I've never heard of this.

Chris2685

I'm not really sure, but I remember reading it somewhere... I can't find any proof on the SLC website though.

JoeBloggs80

limpwaster wrote: »

hi,
I've got a bit of a dilemma regarding student loan repayments.
I started on a foundation degree in 2003 for two years and had around £3k a year student loan. Afterwards i worked for my sponsor company for a year, and returned to uni for a year 2005 and finished it 2006, again getting a 3k student loan.
I received a statement december in 2007 saying I owed around 10k, and I was due to enter repayment in april 2007.
I started my current job in September 2006 a few months after finishing uni, but to this day nothing has been taken from my wages....
I earn around 24k a year so should be making payments, but I thought it was done automatically? Should I tell the student loan company, or is this their mistake? I would obviously rather not pay it but I also dont want to get hit with a big bill.
I have had no correspondence from student loans company since dec 2007, is this normal or have they forgotten me?

What are my options?

Many thanks,
Tom

I'm in a very similar predictament, have been earning over the threshold for several years, but nothing has been taken from my wages.

I have recieved correspondance from SLC but it clearly says they are only statements and not a demand for repayment.

I'm pretty sure they can't turn around and demand the whole thing at once. I think if you leave the UK it might be different, but if you're still here then all they can do is demand the usual payments once they notice (or are notified by you).

If anyone has any solid further information about this I'd be very interested to know.

Chris2685 - if you could remember where you read/heard that info I'd appreciate being able to check it out as if true that clearly changes my situation considerably.

Chris2685

I did a bit more research and can't find anything to solidify what I said above, I probably read it on this forum somewhere and took it for truth... I would suggest that you should be paying it back though and are probably breaking some kind of contract/law somewhere down the line.