Repaying Student Loans 2009/10 guide discussion

Lokolo

mum1964 wrote: »

Have ds just started uni. Grandmother drops into conversation at the weekend that she has left him some money when she dies. Its a fair amount £50k. Would this be classed as income for that year.
ALSO
ds2 will be in the same position however he gets some compensation money when he is 22. Is this classed as income.

No to inheritance, however I think the form does ask how much interest income you get so obviously large savings usually has large interest (assuming its not in a 0% account!).

For DS2 I don't think so, although not certain of this.

madsen

MrsManda wrote: »

Have you kept the Student Loan Company informed of your address and circumstances?
Providing you keep your details with the SLC up to date you won't be required to repay your loans until your income reaches the repayment threshold for the country you are in.
You can face legal action if you do not keep the SLC informed.
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Thanks for the response, however how can I face legal action if I dont meet the requirements and I am living in a foreign country? Bailiffs only apply to locals, but I dont really know how it could affect me.

melancholly

madsen wrote: »

Thanks for the response, however how can I face legal action if I dont meet the requirements and I am living in a foreign country? Bailiffs only apply to locals, but I dont really know how it could affect me.

well if you're not approaching the threshold, just get in touch and know that you've done the right thing and you don't have to pay anything. i'd suggest that if you do avoid paying, that you plan on never coming back to the UK, ever. but i'd also suggest that if you have taken the loan, your moral obligation is to abide by the T&Cs and not try to squirm out of your responsibility.

Poolie

Student Loans are now using foreign agencies to track people who have left the UK and never repaid their student loan so worthwhile keeping your side of the terms and conditions you received your loan.

Oldernotwiser

madsen wrote: »

Thanks for the response, however how can I face legal action if I dont meet the requirements and I am living in a foreign country? Bailiffs only apply to locals, but I dont really know how it could affect me.

As you don't expect to earn over the threshold, why are you worrying?

madsen

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

As you don't expect to earn over the threshold, why are you worrying?

Im not worrying, but at the same time I want to be aware since my current economic situation is not the safest, and I dont want to face any sort of drama because of this.

Furthermore it seems like it's not too clear whether the debtor agencies can claim the debt for non-UK citizens.

melancholly

madsen wrote: »

Im not worrying, but at the same time I want to be aware since my current economic situation is not the safest, and I dont want to face any sort of drama because of this.

Furthermore it seems like it's not too clear whether the debtor agencies can claim the debt for non-UK citizens.

then update them with your income and all will be fine. the point of a student loan having a threshold is that you only pay when you can afford to do so. contemplating avoiding any possible future payments now seems silly, plus suggesting that you're trying to avoid paying what you owe will not get you positive replies.

nicolac34

This is a question really about how flexible the Student Loans Company can be if you have moved abroad temporarily.

Basically my husband hasn't been paying his loan back since he was made redundant in 2009, he was in and out of temporary jobs and each time he got a new one he would always tick 'yes' to repayment of student loan and even called the SLC to tell them he was working again. Nothing was deducted and because we'd made an effort to tell them each time we didn't do anything else.

We have decided to come to Australia for a year, possibly longer. We've received to our old address in the UK (redirected to my parents) a letter from the SLC which is basically saying they've been informed by HMRC that he is no longer claiming any taxable benefits and he needs to tell them what his situation is - so a UK assessment form or an Overseas assessment form. After doing some research on their website we can see that the threshold over here is £18,000 a year and the default payment £295 per month. They clearly haven't reassessed the cost of living in Perth for a long time!!

The problem we have is that because we are only here temporarily he is working in temping jobs and doesn't have what you would call a 'steady' income. So on the form it's asking us to state what his income is - but we don't know what it's going to be for the whole year because he could be working a few weeks in one place, out of work for another few and then back in work again but at a different rate of pay.

We are happy to make payments, as it's something we know that we owe. But are they flexible enough for you to submit details of all your income during the year and make a yearly payment? This would be easier than a DD from a UK bank account that currently holds no money each month, bank charges alone to transfer money back to the UK each month are scary enough! That way we can make one transfer back to the UK from our savings out here.

Poolie

If he is going to be overseas even for a year, he will need to complete the overseas assessment form. Does he have a contract for work or evidence of how he will be supporting himself in Australia ie bank statement with savings or will you be support him? If savings, provide bank statements for the last 3 months. If you are supporting him, then a letter stating you will be supporting your husband. Either of these options means he would not be expected to make repayments during the year. He will be reassessed each year.

If he liable for repayments, then he will be sent details of what the monthly repayment would be due. At that time you can contact SLC and send them the payment for the year and ask them to use this to cover the month payments for the 12 month period to save you having to pay monthly bank charges.

amiehall

The default payment is only the amount you pay if you fail to provide information about actual earnings. It's meant as an incentive to pass on the information to them. If I were you, I'd get in touch with them as I'm sure they have experience dealing with casual workers overseas where PAYE isn't going to do the job for them. You shouldn't have to pay the £295 a month unless you ignore the issue.