My student loan isn't being paid off yet!

jesster_2

I finished in 2001 and was due to start repaying via PAYE the next april.

They started it fine in the april, and it came out of my wages every month, until september, when i stopped working and went to do a postgrad, so obviously they didn't get anything after that.

The problem came when my postrgrad finished and i tried to get them to start taking money again (didn't want it coming up to bite me later, as a friend had had the same thing and suddenly they'd asked for a whole load of back payments at once).

I told SLC that i was working again. they told me to tell my payroll. Payroll told me to tell the inland revenue. Inland revenue told me to tell SLC. This went on for a little while, and then i gave up. (Meanwhile SLC had lost their record of the money i'd already paid before going to do my postgrad so i had to find EVERY payslip that detailed repayments on it and send them off to them before they'd acknowledge it.)

Anyway, it was actually more than a year later that they suddenly 'found' me again and started taking repayments via payroll. Sadly, this coincided exactly with my meagre, much fought-for, payrise, and totally wiped it out :-(

mr_fishbulb

jesster wrote:

Anyway, it was actually more than a year later that they suddenly 'found' me again and started taking repayments via payroll. Sadly, this coincided exactly with my meagre, much fought-for, payrise, and totally wiped it out :-(

Did they ask for all the back payments or just start taking again from your salary?

I'm a 2001 grad. When I was working after graduation I was through an agency. The SLC eventually started taking deductions from my pay. Then I moved from agency to be employed directly by the company so I was paid by them. The student loan took a few months to start coming off again.

Then in 2004 I left to go travelling. I sent the SLC a form saying I was away. When I came back last year and started earning they sent me a form asking what work I was doing. I filled it in and sent it back - not heard anything from them since.

loubie_lou

Thanks all.

I graduated in June 2003. I didn't start earning £15k+ until 3 months ago. If it doesn't start next month i'll inform payroll. I don't want anyone hounding me for back payments!

VP

Not sure where else to put this (please move if it isn't the right place) but since the conversation is about student loans, is there anyone else who hasn't yet had a student loans statement for the tax year ended April 2005? I haven't had mine yet and every time I ask the SLC, they tell me they're waiting for information from HMRC. I've been paying it off for nearly three years now but I don't actually know what the balance is for any time after April 2004, which was nearly two years ago!

Also, in relation to the point about moving jobs, when you move your P45 should have a box ticked saying that student loan contributions should be taken. This is how your new employer knows to start taking them. I moved jobs about 6 months ago and the money didn't get taken first month, and our finance guy only deducted one month's payment the next month (so I effectively missed a month, but I couldn't afford two payments in one go!).

scottishspendaholic

VP wrote:

Not sure where else to put this (please move if it isn't the right place) but since the conversation is about student loans, is there anyone else who hasn't yet had a student loans statement for the tax year ended April 2005? I haven't had mine yet and every time I ask the SLC, they tell me they're waiting for information from HMRC. I've been paying it off for nearly three years now but I don't actually know what the balance is for any time after April 2004, which was nearly two years ago!

Hi VP,

I rang them up about this point in early February and the guy was quite shirty with me as they'd apparently sent out everyone's statements on January 31st this year dating back to payments made up to April 2005. Mine hadn't arrived, surprise, surprise - so I demanded another copy. I don't know why they make it all so secretive - why can't we view our (at least) annual statements online?

The funny thing was, they sent me a booklet saying that they should have updated info for the previous financial year in the summer of that year (so info dating to this April 2006 so feasibly be ready to send out updated statements etc in July/August 2006) - this is not true. I understand that often they are waiting for info from the Inland Revenue - but I still find it frustrating.

I'd love to pay it all off! Wouldn't we all! I couldn't tell you where it all went? Couple of nights out, some books and some shoes? Doesn't seem that important now, does it?

So to answer your question VP - you should have your statement by now - ring them up and DEMAND to be sent a copy.

scottishspendaholic x

jesster_2

mr_fishbulb wrote:

Did they ask for all the back payments or just start taking again from your salary?

They just started taking it again. There was no scary backlog, though i'm yet to get an annual statement when i'll be able to see everything in a bit more detail.

I think the back-payment thing applies moreso to people whose loans are due to be repayed by their own standing order or direct debit... that's the situation my friend was in when they asked him for loads all at once. (He's a bit older and so his loan was under different terms.)

mr_fishbulb

jesster wrote:

I think the back-payment thing applies moreso to people whose loans are due to be repayed by their own standing order or direct debit... that's the situation my friend was in when they asked him for loads all at once. (He's a bit older and so his loan was under different terms.)

That's what I was hoping. I don't want to be hit with a massive backlog of payments just because they can't get their butts in gear and start taking my payments again.