Old Student Loan from 1998

johnd73

Hi,
I have a very old student loan from 1998, for £7450 that has been passed to Link. Because the account was in arrears when I reached the age for it to be written off, it still stands as a debt. My questions are:

• Is this know classed as a normal debt that I am liable for until I die, and then my estate becomes liable for the debt?
• Is there any clause for the debt to be cleared, as mental health issues resulted in being unable to manage the account, hence being in arrears and missing out on the loan being written off when I reached the designated age for that?

Any help appreciated 

kaMelo

johnd73 said:

Hi,
I have a very old student loan from 1998, for £7450 that has been passed to Link. Because the account was in arrears when I reached the age for it to be written off, it still stands as a debt. My questions are:

• Is this know classed as a normal debt that I am liable for until I die, and then my estate becomes liable for the debt?
• Is there any clause for the debt to be cleared, as mental health issues resulted in being unable to manage the account, hence being in arrears and missing out on the loan being written off when I reached the designated age for that?

Any help appreciated 

Your situation is not as clear cut as you might think. According to the terms of the agreement if your account falls into arrears then yes, the loan agreement defaults and all sums become immediately repayable and will never be written off. However that is not the end of the story, the old mortgage style student loan that you have is also subject to the CCA and can become statute barred.
When was the last time you acknowledged the loan? (for the avoidance of doubt, making a payment is acknowledgement)

There is the possibility to have the loan cancelled for medical reasons, usually this would be something like a terminal diagnosis or been deemed permanently unfit to work by doctor.