Student Loans Make me Mad! any advice

julybride

I have found out that in 8 weeks i will no longer have my job. After juggling and budgeting already and starting to make a real dent in Our debts; we now know that we can afford to still clear out debts and survive.

However!!! The Loans company want me to continue to pay my Student loan for 3 months after I am out of work (So that I can prove I have no income) ughhhhhh this is really going to be the problem. If I took my student loan out of the equation we can survive I may be able to afford £120 a month if i get a job straight away but obviously this isn't necessarily going to happen.

After ringing them again, it looks like I may be able to get it own to 28 days from my P45 but this could still mean I have to make 2 payments! Any ideas?

I know last year when my husband was out of work for 3 months they wouldn’t consider dropping my amounts unless I was going bankrupt. How comes I have to be in a financial mess before they will sort something out? How come the Government choose to assess us separately or together depending on what suits them? I feel as a young childless couple we are constantly penalised. We have a mortgage (one of the lucky ones our age) We are really getting on top of our debt but this £360ish pounds will just make things that little bit more difficult at such a difficult time.

I am just mad. Sorry to rant. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Espescially as i have over paid in the past

Any thoughts others with similar experiences? I am under the old system (pre1998) if that helps.

savvy

Hi julybride
I've moved you over to the Debt Free Wannabe board as I think this will help you more than the loans board, HTH.

I can sympathise with you slightly, I hate being tied into my job because it pays my student loan every month.
Good luck
savvy

HGLTsuperstar

But the loan is taken direct from your wages, so no wages = no payment taken?

newmum1

HGLTsuperstar wrote:

But the loan is taken direct from your wages, so no wages = no payment taken?

yeah thats what i thought but im assuming that pre 1998 it was a different system

WSO

I'm on the mortgage style student loan (pre 98) and always thought I could defer my payments if I was below the threshold (have been since I started to pay it back) so this comes as a bit of a shock to me.

I was under the impression that I could defer and have it backdated by a few months so that if I needed to I could stop payments and they would pay me some money back if I asked for it. Just as well I'm near the end of mine...

Perhaps because you have to prove you have no income because you have overpaid in the past... they might think you have savings put aside and while it's not strictly income it might be a factor.

To those not familiar with the old system - it's a DD taken from the account the loan was paid into and is not PAYE like the new system.

julybride

Thats right WSO I am on the old system where they take it direct debit. The information i need to provide to prove i am out of work plus postage and 28 day activation time means i could be looking at paying 2 months at best 3 or more at worst. Or i can default and be charged £50 for the privilidge each time (Which i don't fancy doing)

It has just come at totally the wrong time. I know i'll get the money back (eventually) Its just we will be in a ituation where literally every penny is accounted for! I've already competely slas Going to try ringing again and asking to speak to someone more senior. I have piled through the Student Loans websites and haven't found anything that helps. I just have to find a job very quickly!

Bargain_Rzl

julybride, what's your job? If you do something fairly generic like admin or accounting, and you live in a reasonable sized town, sign up with some temp agencies NOW and you may find it's quite easy to get work to tide yourself over until there's a new permanent job on the horizon.

Sorry can't help with the issue of the SLC payments - I was lucky enough to be able to pay mine off in full in 2003.

julybride

I am a Project Manager, I tempt for a while a few years ago and am already signed on with a couple of agencies. And i am genuinely prepared to take any type of work bar, shop temp to make it ok. It is the uncertainty as temp agencies; they can't find me jobs until i am literally free so their may be a short gap.

I just want to be prepared for worst case scenario.