Took out Barclays Career Development Loan, now unemployed

wantsajob

I did a degree in Psychology and got a first. I took out a Career Development Loan with Barclays in order to do a Masters as I thought it would give me the edge against other job applicants who just have a degree. Sadly it doesn't seem to have turned out this way and I have found getting any kind of work an impossible task. I now regret having bothered doing the Masters at all as it seems to be of little help, but I can't change the past. Unfortunately Barclays only let you have 3 lots of 6 month payment holidays due to being unemployed, so now they are expecting me to repay the loan - despite being unemployed. My original plan was to look for a loan with a cheaper rate and pay it off in complete settlement, but it doesn't look like this will happen any time soon.

Is anyone else in a similar position? What is the best approach? Should banks really give loans to unemployed people and/or expect unemployed people to pay?

Fonz_2

No no... I see what you're doing there.

You're about to suggest this is the bank's fault and not your own for taking the loan.

Let me stop you there - you're an adult, you took the loan, you read the terms and conditions, you pay the loan.

Clive_Woody

Could you not get a job in a supermarket or something similar to cover payments until you find something you consider more suitable as a career.

You took the loan and now you need to figure out how to repay your debt.

Emmzi

barclays =/= student loan company I am afraid.

If you could not secure funding for further study through regular funding routes, then this risk was your decision.

I'm with the people who say call centre/ supermarket/ any job you can get. Better that than knacker your credit rating.

wantsajob

Fonz wrote: »

You're about to suggest this is the bank's fault and not your own for taking the loan.

Let me stop you there - you're an adult, you took the loan, you read the terms and conditions, you pay the loan.

I think you missed the point entirely.

I took out the loan and agreed to the terms and conditions, yes. However, I also expected to actually be able to get some kind of work afterwards in order to pay it off, even if it was cleaning toilets or stacking shelves but there's just nothing. As you can see in my original post, I had hoped to be able to take out another loan for the full amount at a lower rate to clear the loan off (hence taking responsibility for repayment of the loan, and ensuring my repayments stayed as low as possible - which is a reasonable sensible thing to do). I also said I regretted bothering doing the course (hence needing the loan) at all (highlighting my choice at that time). Now I'm barely going to be able to pay off enough to cover the interest on top of the interest and it's going to loom over me and be a bigger amount to pay off if I do get a job.

But there does seem something unusual don't you agree?. I go to a bank as an unemployed person - I ask for credit cards, loans etc I would be refused them (with obvious justification - i.e. likely inability to repay). I ask for a career development loan and it's handed to me no questions asked, other than that I do the course I say I am doing - then afterwards I'm expected to pay whatever my situation. I understand people can take out a loan and lose their job ending up in a similar situation, but as they have just worked they have better means to pay the loan. As for you saying "you pay the loan" that's hardly constructive when I have no means whatsoever to pay it.

I had hoped another qualification would be the magic wand required to get some kind of job. I was obviously entirely wrong and I only wish i had the foresight back then to realise otherwise and I could have then decided against the loan.

Emmzi

so, options.

minimum wage job of any variety

bank of mum and dad

Sell all your stuff

bankruptcy

I can't see anything else you can do. The bank/government/ university are NOT going to say "don't repay", so I wouldn't waste effort trying to come up with an arguement that they should. Many have been and tried before. You were not missold.

Apples2

Firstly hats off to you for trying to better yourself with a degree/masters..

No doubt you have realised now that Degrees have been de-enriched to such an extent, it is simply the norm to have a degree whilst looking for your first job.

It's all Government spin to keep people off the dole queues. Keep them in education so the books look better.

The loan was taking at your own risk unfortunately, you took a gamble you would walk into a decent paying job.

The gamble hasn't paid off, but the loan still needs to be.

Nobody else has done anything wrong, the risk you took failed unfortunately.

You simply have to join the dog eat dog World of job hunting and maybe look back in 10 years and thing "what a complete waste of time Uni was" as a lot of others who don't follow on into the same field after Uni.

dmg24

Which town/ city are you in/ near?

I do struggle to believe that people cannot find any work at all.

superscaper

dmg24 wrote: »

Which town/ city are you in/ near?

I do struggle to believe that people cannot find any work at all.

Depends on the circumstances. The Masters could be a hinderence for anything other than related jobs. I was once told by the job centre I should essentially lie on my CV because I was overqualified for all the jobs I was applying for and was why I wasn't even getting to the interview stage, and yes that included everything I could find in the area such as shelf stacking, cleaning etc.

dmg24

superscaper wrote: »

Depends on the circumstances. The Masters could be a hinderence for anything other than related jobs. I was once told by the job centre I should essentially lie on my CV because I was overqualified for all the jobs I was applying for and was why I wasn't even getting to the interview stage, and yes that included everything I could find in the area such as shelf stacking, cleaning etc.

If someone shows enough willing, and puts that across in their application, there is work out there.

superscaper

dmg24 wrote: »

If someone shows enough willing, and puts that across in their application, there is work out there.

Well not my experience and you can't say I wasn't willing. Can't speak as to whether OP is in same circumstances I was in but was certainly a long while before I found work.

As for the CDL the OP will just have to bite the bullet and try and find any which way they can to pay it off. When I had one I was very lucky and had a research grant afterwards so not much use in terms of info.