Student Loan Arrears and Mental Health

nmappley

Hi, I'm still new with this forum so please bear with me.

I had a £500 student loan in 1995 and another smallish one in 1996 which Honours Student Loans (who now own them) say I have paid off in full/written off (I can't remember which).  But I suffered with depression and anxiety for a number of years and I couldn't deal with any paperwork as I was just unable to think clearly and got overwhelmed easily.

I eventually (with the help of a friend) spoke to them about 2 years ago and agreed to pay £10 a month until I could defer again.  I then fell bad again and couldn't put in my deferment paperwork, although I was signed off work and then on benefits due to my mental health. My arrears kept climbing and now they say I owe about £600 purely in arrears.  They have passed the debt to a 3rd party and I'd like to know legally where I stand.  Do I have to pay these arrears off or is there a medical exemption somewhere?  I was under a psychiatrist for some of the time the arrears were put on but then discharged. 

I'd greatly appreciate any help.

Rosesgirl

When I had my student loan I was late in deferring my loan and I accrued about £60 in arrears a bit of a different amount to yours granted I felt it was unfair they said if I was prepared to get a letter from my GP confirming they would be in a position to look at writing off the arrears. It was going to be more hassle than it was worth as during lockdown it was nigh impossible to get a GP appointment so I just paid up as my loan was due to be cleared due to my age and they couldn't wipe my loan until I had paid the arrears. This option if you ask them maybe available to you it's worth asking .

kaMelo

nmappley said:

Hi, I'm still new with this forum so please bear with me.

I had a £500 student loan in 1995 and another smallish one in 1996 which Honours Student Loans (who now own them) say I have paid off in full/written off (I can't remember which).  But I suffered with depression and anxiety for a number of years and I couldn't deal with any paperwork as I was just unable to think clearly and got overwhelmed easily.

I eventually (with the help of a friend) spoke to them about 2 years ago and agreed to pay £10 a month until I could defer again.  I then fell bad again and couldn't put in my deferment paperwork, although I was signed off work and then on benefits due to my mental health. My arrears kept climbing and now they say I owe about £600 purely in arrears.  They have passed the debt to a 3rd party and I'd like to know legally where I stand.  Do I have to pay these arrears off or is there a medical exemption somewhere?  I was under a psychiatrist for some of the time the arrears were put on but then discharged. 

I'd greatly appreciate any help.

As far as I'm aware the only way to get a student loan written off on medical grounds is by qualifying on two points.
1. You are in receipt of a relevant disability or industrial injury benefit.
2. You have been diagnosed as permanently unable to work.

I'm unsure whether this write off is applicable to all student loans or only the later student loans such as plan1 or plan 2. I did try to locate the information but can't quite find it at the moment but it's, rightly, a very high bar to pass where just being unwell for a period of time will not be enough.

If you don't qualify for a medical write off then all is still not lost but you will need to be accurate with dates.
If  your student loans are all pre 98 then your student loans can become statute barred. To become statute barred you would need to have not paid or acknowledged the debt for six years. For clarity, deferring is acknowledgement of the loan.

Two questions;
Where any of your loans taken out after Sept. 1998?
Have you ever had a period of six years whereby you have not paid or acknowledged the loans?

If you can answer no to the first and yes to the second then your student loans are ( if your dates are accurate) statute barred and cannot be enforced.