I am so scared about this debt, it's ruining my future.

mboro

Hello all. I am losing sleep over this one.

I started uni away from home in September 07 on a full time course, BUT due to financial reasons I withdrew from the course on April 09.

Jump forward to 2012.
I have been left with a debt of £14,412, for the months whilst at Uni, this is comprised of Maintenence Loan, Tuition Fees and interest accrued during time at uni.

I was out of work and on the dole for most of the time up until March of last year, I am Health Care Assistant and I get paid weekly.

The Student Loans Company are taking payments out of my wages when I am earning over £288 per week and it's not every week that I earn that amount, so on some weeks nothing gets taken.

Nothing over £20 gets deducted from my wages by the SLC due to the fact that I am not on a huge wage. The Interest per month is hardly going down, and my debt is only getting larger.

I phoned the SLC, they suggested I get a loan to pay back the amount. My bank won't entertain giving me a loan at this point in time. Other advise I was giving was that in 2023 the debt will be written off or sooner if I die. Other than that just try to pay the monthly interest.

I am at my wits end and can't see a way to get this debt down. I thought up untill recently that I was dealing with this but now I am getting tearful and worrying.

I have other debts that are going down and I am in control of those, but I feel this one will be with me for a long time.

sistafromanothermista

:wave: To the board, i have nothing to offer as i've never been in this situation before, i just wanted to say you are in the best place for advice and a vent. Hope things get sorted for you. x

newtothis21

I work in Student Finance and have a daughter who is due to start uni next year and I am quite happy for her to take out a student loan. Not sure what you are worried about with the SLC, the whole point is you do not pay anything back unless you earn over £15000. You will need to check the regulation but any balance you have left after 30 years ish it is written off. They are not like a bank loan that you have to pay back regardless of your ability to pay. Hope this helps

McKneff

Dont pay it off with a loan. Interest is far higher. And you will be in deep shoite going down that road. Don'teven think about.
Now arent you glad you got refused.

Newtothis21 gives excellent advice and you should read it a few times.

Now stop worrying about it, accept it and get on with your life.

thatsean

As others have said, don't worry about the student loan. It comes out through PAYE as you know, and there's no way that refinancing the laon is a good idea. When you're earning more you'll soon see decent payments going towards it from your wages.

killerpeaty

It's probably best that you read this article. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes
It says under part 18 that the loan is more like a tax than a loan, you can also claim back for the weeks where you paid if you make under the necessary salary over the year, 15k for you?
Try not to worry x

mboro

Thankyou all so very much for the advice........very helpfull.

May I ask........if I was to get married, would the above debt hinder my otherhalf from getting a mortgage? What implications does my debt have on "us" for our future?

geoffky

Debt from uni is just part of life now....run around the room and celebrate that you only got 14k of debt,
People now will be coming out with 30 to 40k of debt then they will have to go house hunting....what a way to enslave our youth when we had free education..

ben80

Student Debt doesn't count towards any credit or get recorded on your credit file.

I can't believe they suggested you get a loan to pay it off. The rate is loads lower on a student loan (well it was for me), and even if it's not, just pay it when you can (well it;s not you choosing to pay, it's taken automatically) and that's fine. Yes, you will owe more and more on it, but if your current situation stays the same, you will, never pay it off and it will be wiped eventually... with no negative effect to you, it's meant to work that way.

mboro

Thanks for that Ben80, good to know that a house is not out of reach altogether. I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel compared to how I was feeling when I started this thread.

So in summary.........learn to live with it, don't worry about it.:j

Thankyou all so much for your input....much appreciated...big hugs.x:money:

natlie

Hi
I am paying off my loan still they started taking it out in 2005 at £5 a month on £15k I now earn £28k and they take over £80 a month. It hasn't gone down much I nearly passed out when I saw how much I had left to pay on it when my statement came!

As others have said low interest - don't pay it off with a loan let them take it when they want it and it doesn't go on your file

Nat