Student Loans discussion

The_One_Who

rambojones wrote: »

I agree with you 100%. We should not be fighting each other; we should be fighting against those that condemn society to a life of debt. We are a debt ridden society, just like the US and call me cynical if you will but what better way to 'control' the masses than to have the majority of us in some kind of debt. Be it student debt, mortgage debt, car debt, credit card debt and so on; you don't need to do anything to keep power because who is going to rise up against you? No one; we are all too busy working to repay all the debt we have, while worrying about cost of livng increases, interest rate hikes, job losses, house repossessions etc. Debt is not a necessary evil; it is just EVIL! Tell me the name of one MP who took out a student loan to get through Uni? Not one of them. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown? Don't be daft! And neither will their kids!

If you can afford to buy everything without ever having to take out a mortgage or any other sort of debt then I want your job!

The_One_Who

rambojones wrote: »

I was being 'facetious' calling others, like myself, 'morons' for claiming to have been misled/given bad advice. You really do need to come down to earth a bit though. Reading 'T & C's? Sure but I guess I would have had to have been given them first (I wasn't), had to have known about them (I didn't), had to have suspected SLC might not be entirely 'kosher' (I didn't); so there you are - guilty as charged; gullible, that's me. How I wish I knew then what I know now! I would have demanded the T & C's, because I would have known that the person advising me about the loan, did not know what they were talking about. I could have tightened my belt a bit and survived without the loans (yes, I really could have and now I could kick myself for getting into this mess; hindsight and all that).

Believe me, I'm perfectly down to Earth. I know what I have gotten myself into with my student loan, credit card, phone contract. I was seventeen when I took out my student loan. If I could sit down and spend half an hour reading up on it then so can everyone else.

In your case you received bad advice. But that was more than fifteen years ago and things are very different now.

rambojones

piefacerecords wrote: »

Definitely agree with this. Too many people going to uni for the sake of it, when they don't even know what to do as a career (killing time...) and too much importance being placed on academia over practical and vocational skills - mcdonalds degree anyone? Ba in david beckham studies etc. etc.

Not everybody is suited to studying and yet often railroaded into thinking that's the path they have to take.

Could not agree more. I was 'devastated' that my son did not want to go to University. He left school at 17, he's now 19 (last Wednesday) and earning £15,500 per annum: trainee land surveyor, working all over the country and loving every minute. I suppose I should be grateful, one person in the home with student debt around their necks is enough. I have learnt a lot from his example. He was Gifted and Talented at school, too. He say's he wants to run the office one day and I believe he will. University is not for everyone. The only target this governement has, is to get 100% of us in debt; keeping us 'distracted and pre-occupied' and leave the 'governing' of our country to those that know best - them!

bestpud

rambojones wrote: »

I was being 'facetious' calling others, like myself, 'morons' for claiming to have been misled/given bad advice. You really do need to come down to earth a bit though. Reading 'T & C's? Sure but I guess I would have had to have been given them first (I wasn't), had to have known about them (I didn't), had to have suspected SLC might not be entirely 'kosher' (I didn't); so there you are - guilty as charged; gullible, that's me. How I wish I knew then what I know now! I would have demanded the T & C's, because I would have known that the person advising me about the loan, did not know what they were talking about. I could have tightened my belt a bit and survived without the loans (yes, I really could have and now I could kick myself for getting into this mess; hindsight and all that).

If you could have 'tightened your belt' a little and managed without taking the loan out in the first place, the why couldn't you tighten your belt a bit and pay it off afterwards?

Sounds to me like you thought you'd be getting some 'free' money and became so caught up in the idea of that you forgot to check it all out first!

Now you have realised it was not free money after all and want to an alternate method of avoiding payment, or reclaiming what you have paid at least.

So, did they send out sales reps in those days? And you say there were no T&Cs available to you at all? And no information about it either? Nothing at all? Not even something which said where the T&Cs were, or how to get hold of them?

rambojones

The_One_Who wrote: »

If you can afford to buy everything without ever having to take out a mortgage or any other sort of debt then I want your job!

Mortgages are definitely an exception. However, should we be aiming for homeownership for the majority?

The owner-occupation rate in the UK is on a par with the US and Australia at around 70 per cent. Spain has the highest rate among advanced industrial nations at 82 per cent. In large Euro-zone nations like France (56 per cent) and Germany (45 per cent), however, it is much lower.

Germany has always been a country whose economy I have long admired.

Is University the right thing for 50% students? I paid off my mortgage 8 years ago and have not had a car loan for over 18 years. I pay off my Barclaycard as soon as I get a statement (do not use it much). Still think that getting us all 'hooked' on debt, of whatever variety is a 'game-plan' of successive political parties and governments of the last few decades. We live to 'consume' and work; that's our only use we are to 'them'!

melancholly

seriously, please can you answer the question on the SLC representative!

i don't doubt that you were given bad advice, but i have never ever heard of the SLC going out and canvassing for business! i'm intrigued!

rambojones

bestpud wrote: »

If you could have 'tightened your belt' a little and managed without taking the loan out in the first place, the why couldn't you tighten your belt a bit and pay it off afterwards?

Sounds to me like you thought you'd be getting some 'free' money and became so caught up in the idea of that you forgot to check it all out first!

Now you have realised it was not free money after all and want to an alternate method of avoiding payment, or reclaiming what you have paid at least.

So, did they send out sales reps in those days? And you say there were no T&Cs available to you at all? And no information about it either? Nothing at all? Not even something which said where the T&Cs were, or how to get hold of them?

Unemployed for 2 years after Uni. Ironically, ended up back at the company from whence I had initially fled. Then left after a couple of years and could only get low paid work, never enough to repay loan and I was heading towards 50 and did not think I would ever be able to earn enough to repay it. Then got the shock of finding out I had been given wrong info shortly after hitting 50. Am a single parent by the way, only one pay check all these years.

bestpud

rambojones wrote: »

Is University the right thing for 50% students? I paid off my mortgage 8 years ago and have not had a car loan for over 18 years. I pay off my Barclaycard as soon as I get a statement (do not use it much). Still think that getting us all 'hooked' on debt, of whatever variety is a 'game-plan' of successive political parties and governments of the last few decades. We live to 'consume' and work; that's our only use we are to 'them'!

Now this I agree with! BUT, university is still a choice, as is student finance, and for that matter, credit cards!

The_One_Who

You really cannot blame the government for your, or anyone else's, debt. They don't force you to take any credit.

I don't see anything wrong with homeownership for the majority. Someone has to own the property. I'd rather have most people owning their own home than only a few people getting rich off the rents of the majority.

The French economy really isn't something to shout about at the moment, and hasn't been for quite a while. Like France, Germany has their own problems.

I don't believe university is right for 50% of students, but my opinion on the matter isn't going to change anything. University was right for me and I will be staying on to do a Masters for my future career. Yes, I could have done it from the ground up, but I didn't want to.

moneymass

rambojones wrote: »

Could not agree more. I was 'devastated' that my son did not want to go to University. He left school at 17, he's now 19 (last Wednesday) and earning £15,500 per annum: trainee land surveyor, working all over the country and loving every minute. I suppose I should be grateful, one person in the home with student debt around their necks is enough. I have learnt a lot from his example. He was Gifted and Talented at school, too. He say's he wants to run the office one day and I believe he will. University is not for everyone. The only target this governement has, is to get 100% of us in debt; keeping us 'distracted and pre-occupied' and leave the 'governing' of our country to those that know best - them!

An aside;

See if he can get his company to pay for his RICS accreditation path (royal institute of chartered surveyors) as land survey is covered under 'Geomatics'. It may take a quite a long time if he didn't go to University or similar but Chartered status in that industry is well worth it.