Help With Student Loans - HERE!

Longjonsilver

Having spoken to various students at my place of work I believe there are serious flaws with the student loan system. It is one of the few areas I disagree with ML. I am starting a petition to try and get a debate to correct the situation. I have attached a link below My petition:
Change student loan arrangements to reflect success
The current arrangements encourage the least productive or most unsuccessful to never repay their debt and that then becomes an additional burden to the state. Successful students see their debt increase every year until they are earning 4 x the average salary This situation cannot be justified.
The interest on the debt should be fixed at the no more than half a percent above the Bank of England rate when the loan is issued. Repayment should then be taken from all earnings/income (with no lower limit) at a rate that would pay the interest charges and reduce the outstanding balance. If students never work then the loan should be collected by a small reduction, 5%, in any benefits received.

silvercar

Iloveoranges wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I don't know how relevant this is here but here goes.

I have a UK student loan, according to that loan you pay back 9% of everything you earn over 18000 GBP.

I went backpacking short term that turned into long term, now i'm abroad and earning over that amount, totally forgot about mt Student Loan and then i got an email about 2.5 years later asking me to update my address, they were claiming they were sending stuff to my old old uni address, i go on the site and see that the address is correct (my mum's address). Then i think that maybe they just baited me into logging on to track my IP address to a foreign country.

I figured that this was just me being paranoid but this morning, about 2 months later, i get an email saying they are still getting my address wrong and that mail keeps bouncing off the address, the wrong address. They also say that my account was accessed from New Zealand, and so i need to fill in an overseas form so they can start charging me. I have 72 hours to respond.

I'm not trying to shirk my obligations, i genuinely forgot, but the main thing is that they seem to charge significantly more when abroad. So normally if i earn 20 thousand pounds, i'd pay 9% of 2 grand. Now i am overseas they are requesting a flat payment of 250 pounds a month which i just don't think i can actually afford considering i am barely over the threshold and it's a very expensive country. I'm asking what my best options are, these are my ideas.

Totally ignore it

use someone in UK or a proxy to log on and update my address and claim in live in the UK

just pay it back and get over it

What's the likelihood they will follow it up if i claim to be in the UK unemployed?

Does anyone have any experience with SLC UK in regards to the above. Everyone i know had no problem with them at all with going abroad for a few years after uni.

I just need until March when i'm leaving this job anyway, any help or similar experience to the above would be greatly appreciated, i don't think i could afford to live here if i'm losing a third of may pay every month.

Arrears aside, if you got in touch and provided details of your income, then the threshold to start paying the 9% would be determined by the cost of living in the country you are living in.

Given that you are not in touch with the slc then they can't assess your income so are charging the flat rate allowed for that country.

This situation has come about by your own making. You need to be in touch, declare your income, pay the correct amount for now and come to an arrangement for the arrears.

The other option is to duck and dive for the next 25+ years.

pine77

Hello everyone,

Not been working for the last 3 years and the student loans company are going insane contacting me. I took out the student loan in 2001. I sold my home 4 years ago (it had been rented out for a year before I sold it). I have been living off the money I made from selling my house since.

The student loans company keeps sending me threatening letters telling me I have update how I am receiving an income. I am going to reply that I am living off savings to which they will demand 3 months of bank statements. - I am just living off the money I made selling my home - basically living off my savings.

My question:

Did me selling my house and living off the savings make me liable to
give the student loans company any money from that sale?

Cheers in advance!

silvercar

Did me selling my house and living off the savings make me liable to
give the student loans company any money from that sale?

No it doesn't. But it isn't unreasonable for them to ask for some proof on your source of income if you want them to accept that you shouldn't be making payments at the moment.

[Deleted User]

silvercar wrote: »

No it doesn't. But it isn't unreasonable for them to ask for some proof on your source of income if you want them to accept that you shouldn't be making payments at the moment.

Ginalina wrote: »

some more ideas?

What other ideas do you want?

Student loan repayments only come from income. Sale of house is not income!

Unless you get benefits where they can see your income as government share it you need to prove you don't have income to get a deferment.

tanitabellon

I have just started a part time PGCE whilst working which is going to cost me £6000. I currently earn around £22,000. I am waiting to hear about my application for a student loan but now i'm wondering if a 0% interest credit card might be a better way to pay than paying back a student loan plus interest?

[Deleted User]

tanitabellon wrote: »

I have just started a part time PGCE whilst working which is going to cost me £6000. I currently earn around £22,000. I am waiting to hear about my application for a student loan but now i'm wondering if a 0% interest credit card might be a better way to pay than paying back a student loan plus interest?

Big no. Will the interest free period be long enough to pay the loan and at what percentage of your income?

Student loans are taken at low percentage and only if you earn enough. Earn less and nothing is taken no penalty.

JerryMartin

Martin's recent update gave examples of Plan 2 interest , not sure if monthly or Annual suspect latter.

Plan 1 was 1.25% monthly compound =16.08% APR and from the date of his article October 2018 it is 1.5% = 19.56% not the 6.3% quoted.

Is it possible to update his article with figures for those who arw still accumalting high debt from earlier student loans.

superbmum

When submitting information about household income, do they take overtime into account (even though it's not guaranteed)?
Thank you.

[Deleted User]

superbmum wrote: »

When submitting information about household income, do they take overtime into account (even though it's not guaranteed)?
Thank you.

Yes because they're not looking at projected earnings only what you actually earned.