I owe SLC £80k+!

princessflea

I know I'm stupid before anyone tells me...
I went to uni for 6 years (3 years at one then 2 years at another) I got the full student loan amount every year.
Last year after I finished my studies I received a statement showing I had borrowed approx £24k and that I was paying approx £4k per month interest!
Of course I was terrified and phoned the SLC in tears to ask what I should do.
I only earned £13k a year so repayments were not a possibility.
The response I got was that 'there is nothing you can do other than take out a bank loan to pay it off or ignore it until you earn over the £15k repayment threshold.'
I could not get a bank loan for that amount so I left it.
I have since had a statement showing that it is now up to £80k!
What am I supposed to do?????????

snoopstah

£4,000 per month in interest?!

This is definitely a proper student loan from the SLC? I'm paying 4.8% interest on mine this year I think, which should only work out to around £1,000 extra per year with a £24k loan.

Hopefully either they or you are confused/incorrect (and from previous experience with the SLC it's very likely to be them!)

princessflea

def proper student loan with SLC. I'll try to call them again but you don't get anywhere with the 12yr old who answers in the call centre

Idiophreak

princessflea wrote: »

I went to uni for 6 years (3 years at one then 2 years at another)

Guess you didn't study maths then....sorry, couldn't resist...

princessflea wrote: »

I only earned £13k a year so repayments were not a possibility.
The response I got was that 'there is nothing you can do other than take out a bank loan to pay it off or ignore it until you earn over the £15k repayment threshold.'

This is, pretty much, the normal advice...but as snoop says, there's *no way* you should be paying that much interest. Call them again and make it clear that it's the *amount of interest* you're worrying about, not actually paying it off...you should be looking more at £70-80/month in interest...

CLAPTON

clearly a mistake .. as snoopstah says it should be around 1,000 for the year 2007-2008...
so try phoning again and explaining its its clearly incorrect or write and make a complaint. (keep a copy and best send by recorded delivery).

scottishsuz

The interest you are paying sounds way out. How long ago did you finish your studies? 80K will attract about £3840 a month, but that would mean it had been building up for ages?

5 year of studies isn't uncommon, surely not everyone is paying such high rates, it sounds like a mistake has been made.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/RepayingStudentLoansCoursesStartingFrom1998/DG_10034867

This website has lots of useful info on it, it might be helpful.

Hope you get this sorted out soon.

Suz

Ps, your not stupid lovely, the SLC are a pain in the jacksie.

princessflea

Guess you didn't study maths then....sorry, couldn't resist...

Lol...no, well guessed. I intercalated for a year though and still got a loan x

Thanks for all your replies. I'll drag the statements out tonight and see what I can sort.

snoopstah

scottishsuz wrote: »

The interest you are paying sounds way out. How long ago did you finish your studies? 80K will attract about £3840 a month, but that would mean it had been building up for ages?

£3840 per year, not per month, even at that figure. £4000 a month would imply a student loan of (exactly, oddly) £1 million - which probably means you went to too many parties

Phone them up and keep pushing until you talk to someone who understands what you're complaining about (and just how ridiculous those figures are). A student loan is pretty much the cheapest loan you can have, you shouldn't be having to worry about paying it off.

scottishsuz

doh! indeed £3840 per year, I'm a doughnut.

princessflea

Thank you all. 4hrs of calls later and it's down to £20k :T

scottishsuz

Thats great news, well done for sticking to your guns!