Why haven't student loans become a huge mis-selling scandal like ppi?

ZeroSum

Oliver1191 said:

ZeroSum said:

Did you have the cash to pay all your fees up front? If not, then why do you think its been mis-sold? 

Because you don't need the cash up-front. For instance, you can 'pay as you go' and work part time.

Moreover, i don't think schools should 'preach' taking on debt to children.

Its not real debt, the system is effectively a graduate tax

Oliver1191

steampowered said:

Your loan doesn't need to be paid if you aren't earning, and will never be paid in full if you don't earn enough. 

Your teachers were correct to say that they are low interest. Given your age, you will presumably be on a "Plan 1" student loan, paying almost no interest - 1.1% currently. The rate is higher for those who started university after 2012.

What "other options" are you referring to? Are you suggesting that you wouldn't have gone to university at all, or that you would have paid your fees up front rather than taking a student loan?

Well, they neglected to mention that interest started to accrue as soon as the loan was received.

They also neglected to mention the timescale you would need to re-pay the debt and the level of stress this would involve.

As a child, no mention was given to emotional wellbeing and anxiety that people with debt can face.

In my case, the debt was paid off ages ago. The original debt was 15k, with interest i would have paid back around 30k i would have thought.

I would have been a lot better off getting work experience, getting paid and doing the degree part time.

Oliver1191

bigadaj said:

OP what were the other better options that you could have used but didn't?

Not taking out the student loan at all. Working part time and paying as you go.

grumiofoundation

What a ridiculous post. 

Firstly you weren't misled by your teachers. End of.

If you disagree why not send a letter before action to all your old teachers?

Secondly as ZeroSum said unless you had the money to pay fees upfront your choices were loan or no university. If you had the money you weren't forced to take a loan. I presume if this was the case you chose to spend all the money (or maybe your teachers forced you to do that to?) - otherwise you could have paid it off when you had your financial epiphany.

Thirdly plan 1 student loans are cheap - even if you had the cash to pay fees it was better not to. Look up the interests rates that were available.

Since I see from your posts you are/have been a teacher - so no teaching job for you a degree. I also assume you never give/gave any advice on the fear of future legal repercussion?

If you really are a teacher god help the children in your classes. 

Oliver1191 said:

Hello!
I'm in my late 30s. So max £3000 fees per year
When i was doing my A-levels as a teenager (age 16 and 17), i feel as though i was misled. 

To begin with my teachers, who to my knowledge had no financial training, constantly took it upon themselves to convince my class that we should take out a student loan. No they didn't they encouraged you to go to university (clearly in error in your case) They said we'd probably never have to pay it back. They said it was the best way to get a degree (financially). They were correct They said that everyone does it. They said that there was no or very little interest to pay (some said it was interest free). They said we could just quickly pay it back after the degree.

They said a lot. Quiet teachers are the best teacher they say

By the time i turned 18 and became an adult, i was subsequently convinced that i had to take out a student loan and that it was in my best interests to do so. Well were you an adult or not? 

I had no idea there were other options available (and that these could very well have been in my best interest). What were the other options?

When i talk to other friends and colleagues, i hear similar stories. Do you?

Why hasn't this become a huge mis-selling scandal and people re-imbursed? Because its neither misselling nor a scandal

Or is it something that could flare up at any moment? Nope

Oliver1191 said:

In the first instance, teachers are not ordinarily trained to give financial advice to children. At no point did i ask for financial advice - it was the teachers who chose to give it and designated time to repetitively promote and normalise going into debt. No they didnt Schools have motive to promote this as going to university would look good for their student destination data. How awful for schools encouraging children into further education and increasing their future salaries Should schools be held accountable for mis-selling or misleading their students with regard to student loans? Nope. Sue your school if you disagree

In the second instance were adequate safeguards in place to ensure that all young adults were able to make an informed financial decision free from duress? Should the Govenment and student loans company be held accountable for ensuring children and young adults are clear as to the implications of debt before taking it on? You were sent all the information - if you chose not to read it...

green_man

Still a bit unclear what you are actually saying you have lost here? 

Why not get another part time job now and pay off your loan if that’s what you think would have been the preferred approach. The interest charged since you left has been less than RPI, so pay it off whenever you like and in fact you have gained compared to if you payed it at the time.

nick74

Oliver1191 said:

nick74 said:

Teachers are not connected to the Student Loans Company and are not actually 'selling' anything, therefore they can't really be accused of mis-selling. 

But schools are judged on their destination data giving schools a huge incentive to take it upon themselves to intervene.

Despite that, teachers do not directly  benefit financially from students taking out student loans. How do you suggest that legally they can be accused of mis-selling when they have not technically 'sold' anything at all? Are you suggesting that the government should change the law in order to allow people to sue the very same government for promoting their own loan scheme? Why on earth would they do that?

Oliver1191

steampowered said:

Oliver1191 said:
Because you don't need the cash up-front. For instance, you can 'pay as you go' and work part time.

Moreover, i don't think schools should 'preach' taking on debt to children.

"Paying as you go" is far far far worse. That is money that you will always need to have paid even if you end up earning below the student loan repayment threshold (so would never have had to have paid a student loan back). It would be really really daft for anyone to pay  fees up front if they have a student loan available.

 Student loans work more like a tax. It comes off your income above a certain threshold. Very much like income tax. 

Worrying about children taken on a student loan, is a bit like worrying they might have to pay higher rate income tax. 

Working in london, though, you're pretty much guaranteed to be earning above the threshold. This does not make you well-off. 

Also, if it is to be viewed as a tax, should there not be a responsibility on the university to ensure that the degree actually leads to well-paid employment so that you are not disadvantaged?

Oliver1191

grumiofoundation said:

What a ridiculous post. 

Firstly you weren't misled by your teachers. End of.

If you disagree why not send a letter before action to all your old teachers?

Secondly as ZeroSum said unless you had the money to pay fees upfront your choices were loan or no university. If you had the money you weren't forced to take a loan. I presume if this was the case you chose to spend all the money (or maybe your teachers forced you to do that to?) - otherwise you could have paid it off when you had your financial epiphany.

Thirdly plan 1 student loans are cheap - even if you had the cash to pay fees it was better not to. Look up the interests rates that were available.

Since I see from your posts you are/have been a teacher - so no teaching job for you a degree. I also assume you never give/gave any advice on the fear of future legal repercussion?

If you really are a teacher god help the children in your classes. 

Oliver1191 said:

Hello!
I'm in my late 30s. So max £3000 fees per year
When i was doing my A-levels as a teenager (age 16 and 17), i feel as though i was misled. 

To begin with my teachers, who to my knowledge had no financial training, constantly took it upon themselves to convince my class that we should take out a student loan. No they didn't they encouraged you to go to university (clearly in error in your case) They said we'd probably never have to pay it back. They said it was the best way to get a degree (financially). They were correct They said that everyone does it. They said that there was no or very little interest to pay (some said it was interest free). They said we could just quickly pay it back after the degree.

They said a lot. Quiet teachers are the best teacher they say

By the time i turned 18 and became an adult, i was subsequently convinced that i had to take out a student loan and that it was in my best interests to do so. Well were you an adult or not? 

I had no idea there were other options available (and that these could very well have been in my best interest). What were the other options?

When i talk to other friends and colleagues, i hear similar stories. Do you?

Why hasn't this become a huge mis-selling scandal and people re-imbursed? Because its neither misselling nor a scandal

Or is it something that could flare up at any moment? Nope

Oliver1191 said:

In the first instance, teachers are not ordinarily trained to give financial advice to children. At no point did i ask for financial advice - it was the teachers who chose to give it and designated time to repetitively promote and normalise going into debt. No they didnt Schools have motive to promote this as going to university would look good for their student destination data. How awful for schools encouraging children into further education and increasing their future salaries Should schools be held accountable for mis-selling or misleading their students with regard to student loans? Nope. Sue your school if you disagree

In the second instance were adequate safeguards in place to ensure that all young adults were able to make an informed financial decision free from duress? Should the Govenment and student loans company be held accountable for ensuring children and young adults are clear as to the implications of debt before taking it on? You were sent all the information - if you chose not to read it...

Please can i request that posts are not made 'personal'. 

grumiofoundation

Oliver1191 said:

grumiofoundation said:

What a ridiculous post. 

Firstly you weren't misled by your teachers. End of.

If you disagree why not send a letter before action to all your old teachers?

Secondly as ZeroSum said unless you had the money to pay fees upfront your choices were loan or no university. If you had the money you weren't forced to take a loan. I presume if this was the case you chose to spend all the money (or maybe your teachers forced you to do that to?) - otherwise you could have paid it off when you had your financial epiphany.

Thirdly plan 1 student loans are cheap - even if you had the cash to pay fees it was better not to. Look up the interests rates that were available.

Since I see from your posts you are/have been a teacher - so no teaching job for you a degree. I also assume you never give/gave any advice on the fear of future legal repercussion?

If you really are a teacher god help the children in your classes. 

Oliver1191 said:

Hello!
I'm in my late 30s. So max £3000 fees per year
When i was doing my A-levels as a teenager (age 16 and 17), i feel as though i was misled. 

To begin with my teachers, who to my knowledge had no financial training, constantly took it upon themselves to convince my class that we should take out a student loan. No they didn't they encouraged you to go to university (clearly in error in your case) They said we'd probably never have to pay it back. They said it was the best way to get a degree (financially). They were correct They said that everyone does it. They said that there was no or very little interest to pay (some said it was interest free). They said we could just quickly pay it back after the degree.

They said a lot. Quiet teachers are the best teacher they say

By the time i turned 18 and became an adult, i was subsequently convinced that i had to take out a student loan and that it was in my best interests to do so. Well were you an adult or not? 

I had no idea there were other options available (and that these could very well have been in my best interest). What were the other options?

When i talk to other friends and colleagues, i hear similar stories. Do you?

Why hasn't this become a huge mis-selling scandal and people re-imbursed? Because its neither misselling nor a scandal

Or is it something that could flare up at any moment? Nope

Oliver1191 said:

In the first instance, teachers are not ordinarily trained to give financial advice to children. At no point did i ask for financial advice - it was the teachers who chose to give it and designated time to repetitively promote and normalise going into debt. No they didnt Schools have motive to promote this as going to university would look good for their student destination data. How awful for schools encouraging children into further education and increasing their future salaries Should schools be held accountable for mis-selling or misleading their students with regard to student loans? Nope. Sue your school if you disagree

In the second instance were adequate safeguards in place to ensure that all young adults were able to make an informed financial decision free from duress? Should the Govenment and student loans company be held accountable for ensuring children and young adults are clear as to the implications of debt before taking it on? You were sent all the information - if you chose not to read it...

Please can i request that posts are not made 'personal'. 

Can I request that you don't blame the teachers who spent their working life educating you in order to help you to go to University for misselling a student loan to you?

Are you going to send a letter before action claiming misselling to your old school and/or teachers?

Socajam

Seems someone is looking for FREE money