Student loans and moving abroad

mra1234

Hey everyone, some great bargains on this forum! Anyway my topic here is concerning student loans and moving abroad. I am thinking of doing so in the near future as the prospects over seas are much better. However I have about £8-10'000 in loan from the SLC. This money is saved in a high interest account and would be useful for a house deposit. Just wondering what the chances of the SLC actually being to take any money from my account when I'm earning out of the UK. The repayments wouldcome off here via PAYE income tax but they would not be able to take anything if I wasn't actually earning in the UK and would have no idea of my income abroad unless notified them. Should I consider this a free loan or are they serious legal implications? Cheers for an advice.

lynzpower

Why are you not paying this debt back ?

Sorry i think ive missed something ?

lynzpower

Oh sorry, I understand now, you are trying to get out of paying it.

I dont think the Student loans company are unversed in tracking people down. Sometimes they suspend your payments if you are travelling, or doing a vso or anything like that, as long as you let them know. Actually I believe that they are really good, and very understanding and flexible over the life course.

mra1234

Because I am not intending on returning to the UK. The debt would only be paid back via inland revenue taking 9% of my income directly from my wages should I be working in the UK. If I am not in the UK then it basically in my theory would be as though I was not earning an income and would therefore not have to pay anything. The SLC relies on you declaring your income and setting up some sort of payment to the UK when abroad.

dinkylou

Thats true you do have to declare where you are etc etc but am sure they would nt hesitate to try and track you down.

What you are talking about overall is a criminal offence, not paying it back. Especially if you will earn a better salary abroad.

I dont think this is the place to ask us to help you commit an offence.

Pay back what you owe before you leave.

lynzpower

Yes it relies on you telling them that you have moved abroad. If you choose not to do so Im guessing that they would record it as a default & issue you a CCJ maybe? I dunno really Im just guessing. I guess it would be the same if you default on any loan, its alway up to the payer to pay not for the debtor to chase.

Annie_Fanny

I must be one of the only people in the UK to have paid their student loan in full. I even kept the letter confirming that I had paid! Am I glad I paid it off? Absolutely. It was a debt to me just like any other.

lynzpower

Annie, no you are not the only one, I will be joining you in just 5 more monthly payments. I cant wait for that one!

dinkylou

Yep, it makes me sick that the honest people among us pay back our student loans (after all, we spent it) and then there are people like the OP who deliberately try not to pay it back.

I hope that the inland revenue catch up with him.

Northernbird_2

I have to ask the question, are you really comfortable stealing money the government lent to you? This is money that they get from people like me who pay taxes every month, as well as paying back my student loan which I had to borrow because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat.

I know I might be coming across pretty judgmental, and believe me, the position I'm in I can't afford to be, but the way I see it, being unable to pay the money is one thing; having it sitting in a bank account and then fleeing the country with it is quite another.

I just wanted to ask how you felt about that. If I have offended, that's not my intention, just trying to give an alternative view and understand your thinking.

climbgirl

The morality of not intending to pay it back aside, you say that you have no intention of coming back to the UK. That's all well and good, but you have no idea what the future holds and how well things are going to work out for you wherever you're going. And if you do have to come back and work again, you'll get stung for not arranging to make repayments.