Student loan claiming payments back

jack666

Hi

I have a £2000 student loan from 2014, at the time they did not tell me I had to pay interest, once I received the first years statement and seen the interest I started paying £30 per month back because I panicked I would owe thousands in the future due to interest. My earnings are under the £21,000 threshold but they are now even lower due to maternity pay and having to work part time as I am a new mum. I worked out I have paid around £600 off my loan but when I called to see if I could claim this back they said I could not because I made the payments voluntary, is this correct?

Should I worry about paying this back or should I leave it as I am really struggling at the moment but the thought of the interest makes me stressed.

custardy

Why would you get it back?
You got your loan,you chose to pay it back. That money is gone.
If you dont have the money and earn under £21k then why worry?
The payments are fixed rate from what I recall,so its all relative to your income up to the 30(?) year limit.

BorisThomson

jack666 wrote: »

Hi

I have a £2000 student loan from 2014, at the time they did not tell me I had to pay interest, once I received the first years statement and seen the interest I started paying £30 per month back because I panicked I would owe thousands in the future due to interest. My earnings are under the £21,000 threshold but they are now even lower due to maternity pay and having to work part time as I am a new mum. I worked out I have paid around £600 off my loan but when I called to see if I could claim this back they said I could not because I made the payments voluntary, is this correct?

Should I worry about paying this back or should I leave it as I am really struggling at the moment but the thought of the interest makes me stressed.

You mean you didn't read your paperwork?

Yes, it is correct that you cannot reclaim voluntary payments.

System

If you make voluntary payments you can't get those back. If your employer is like mine and takes them out when you get a particularly goods week's pay even though your total annual income is going to be nowhere near £21k then you can get them back.