Student Loan- Freeze Interest?

student26

Hi, i took out a student loan to fund my degree in 2000-2003, after this i did further studies without any loans, and then was unable to find any work, i have subsequently got married and started a family.

I would like to know if there is any way to write off this debt if you have remained unemployed since graduating? OR is it possible to at least freeze the interest being added? (this is being added at a rate of approx £400-500 a yr).

Also there are new rules whereby people that took loans after 2006 will have these written off after 25 yrs, whereas before 2006 its when we reach 65 yrs of ages- surely this is unfair?

Please advise what i can do?

Lavendyr

You can't freeze the interest, but if you never earn over £15,000 you will never have to pay it back (and it will be written off entirely once you reach 65). Yes, I agree it's unfair (as another person who has a student loan from this period), but that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

keeperbear

Lavendyr wrote: »

You can't freeze the interest, but if you never earn over £15,000 you will never have to pay it back (and it will be written off entirely once you reach 65). Yes, I agree it's unfair (as another person who has a student loan from this period), but that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

What exactly is unfair about this? You had your university education subsidised by the taypayer as student loans only cover a portion of the total tutition fees.. The rest of us have to pay back our loans so should you. What is the point of going to university if you cannot/do not get a job earning over £15,000 a year? I know loads of people without degrees earning well over £25,000 per annum. I suppose that is unfair too.

morg_monster

I agree, I don't really see what is unfair here. You aren't paying anything back at the moment since you aren't working, and if you stay not working, or earning under £15000, then you won't ever pay anything back, so does the interest really matter? If you do start earning over £15000, then you will start paying a small amount back every month. It is worked out at 9% of income over £15000 a year, so if you earned £16000 you would pay back £90 over a year, or £7.50 a month. Hardly going to break the bank, is it.
If you don't start earning over £15000 for a fair few years, and then only have a low salary, then you probably won't have paid it off by the time you are 65 and it'll be written off. Sorry I just don't see the big deal either. I agree with keeperbear...

rainbowtrout

No, I don't agree it's unfair. You knew the conditions when you took out the loan.
I would point out, however, if you are in financial difficulty you can suspend payment for one year. Ask the student loan company how to do this.
I would also point out if you are starting a family and finding money is tight your student loan is the last thing you should worry about as you don't have to pay any back until your income reaches 15000.

Finally, if you are whinging about this then get out a proper (commercial) loan and see how they treat you then!

Lavendyr

keeperbear wrote: »

What exactly is unfair about this? You had your university education subsidised by the taypayer as student loans only cover a portion of the total tutition fees.. The rest of us have to pay back our loans so should you. What is the point of going to university if you cannot/do not get a job earning over £15,000 a year? I know loads of people without degrees earning well over £25,000 per annum. I suppose that is unfair too.

I think I've been misinterpreted quite severely, so please allow me to clarify.

First of all, I don't think that there is anything about my loan that is unfair in and of itself, and no where did I intend to convey otherwise. I am quite happy to pay back what I've borrowed and am doing so with no complaint. I have done very well out of my university degree and fully feel it was worth the loan, both in terms of what I gained at university and what my degree has brought me thereafter.

Secondly, I would never begrudge anything to anyone who did not go to university, and to imply that I could possibly think such a thing based on my previous post is frankly absurd extrapolation.

Simply put, I do feel that to suddenly decide to write off loans after 25 years instead of upon reaching 60 is a somewhat arbitrary decision. Why not apply that policy to all existing loans? Why change it at all in the first place? For that matter, why change the policy from the original one (applicable to loans pre-98) whereby the loan was paid back within the first few years? It's not the policies on the repayments themselves that I disagree with, it's the constant shifting of the goalposts and amendments to the rules on repayment. That said, as I stated in my original post - "That's the way the cookie crumbles". As I've maintained from the start, you pays (or borrows) your money and you takes your choice. I'm happy with mine.

I trust that has clarified matters.

scoot65

" Hi, i took out a student loan to fund my degree in 2000-2003, after this i did further studies without any loans, and then was unable to find any work, i have subsequently got married and started a family. "

" I would like to know if there is any way to write off this debt if you have remained unemployed since graduating? OR is it possible to at least freeze the interest being added? (this is being added at a rate of approx £400-500 a yr). "

That to me, reads as though you want to get out of paying back what you owe.

deanlr55

I feel that some are being to critical here;

In a nutshell and if we like it or not this site is all about money saving and reducing outgoings. Some may say a 'pimped' way of worming around certain area's. So to criticise someone for trying to reduce the expenditure is wrong, i feel.

I have a student loan and will be happy to pay back, but if i could find another way of paying the money back or pushing away the debt i would do and im guessing that many would be the same.

When previous people above have spoken about the taxpayer funding this bill i struggle to see the bigger picture. these statements point towards the fact that all students should be grateful to everyone else for enabling us to educate ourselves. These comments are extremely patronising at the very least. Let me expand your comments into the bigger circle not just the one dimensional that some have. So when 'we' as students are being funded by everyone else (the taxpayers) we are suppose to be grateful. So what about the taxes the relatives of mine have paid for pensions and healthcare that they have for obvious reasons not being able to recieve due to being now deceased. This is a dramatic example i acknowledge but its fustrating to be a student and be put down by uneducated opinions

All this reply has done has try to give a view from both sides of the coin.

Lavendyr

scoot65 wrote: »

" Hi, i took out a student loan to fund my degree in 2000-2003, after this i did further studies without any loans, and then was unable to find any work, i have subsequently got married and started a family. "

" I would like to know if there is any way to write off this debt if you have remained unemployed since graduating? OR is it possible to at least freeze the interest being added? (this is being added at a rate of approx £400-500 a yr). "

That to me, reads as though you want to get out of paying back what you owe.

If this post was written as a reply to my last one, please read back over the thread - I didn't actually write the original post that you are quoting.

rainbowtrout

deanlr55 wrote: »

I feel that some are being to critical here;

In a nutshell and if we like it or not this site is all about money saving and reducing outgoings. Some may say a 'pimped' way of worming around certain area's. So to criticise someone for trying to reduce the expenditure is wrong, i feel.

I have a student loan and will be happy to pay back, but if i could find another way of paying the money back or pushing away the debt i would do and im guessing that many would be the same.

When previous people above have spoken about the taxpayer funding this bill i struggle to see the bigger picture. these statements point towards the fact that all students should be grateful to everyone else for enabling us to educate ourselves. These comments are extremely patronising at the very least. Let me expand your comments into the bigger circle not just the one dimensional that some have. So when 'we' as students are being funded by everyone else (the taxpayers) we are suppose to be grateful. So what about the taxes the relatives of mine have paid for pensions and healthcare that they have for obvious reasons not being able to recieve due to being now deceased. This is a dramatic example i acknowledge but its fustrating to be a student and be put down by uneducated opinions

All this reply has done has try to give a view from both sides of the coin.

I strongly disagree. If you read the front page of this website it says 'Consumer revenge'. I take this to refer to getting back at companies who are trying to make a profit. The student loan company gives out loans at more or less the rate of inflation (i.e. not to make a profit) which subsidised by the taxpayer. Trying to avoid repayment is equivalent to ripping off everyone else in the country.

I am a student, I have a 8000 pound student loan which is growing daily yet I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL that I receive a top-notch education at a fraction of the real cost (see how much other countries e.g. the US, where they actually DO FUND THEIR OWN EDUCATION 100%). You say students 'educate themselves'. Do you think lectures, seminars, libraries and IT facilities come for free? I cannot believe the selfishness and ignorance of that statement.

As for the silly argument on not having gotten every penny out of the pension system, I suggest in the future we shoot everyone at the age of 75, to prevent some cheeky !!!!!!s living longer than others. Happy?

Sharpe

I don't think it is fair that they charge interest on the loan because before it was given free as a grant. How are you supposed to pay it off if the interest is bigger than the repayments? Madness... By the way I do agree that it should be paid back in full.

The only way to get the interest frozen is to make the SLC think you've dissapeared. When they catch up with you, they will freeze the interest and charge you about £300 a month until you pay it back. This is because they think you tried to get away with repaying the loan. This happened to someone I know when he moved house but did not think to tell the SLC. So it's either wait until your 65 or just declare yourself bankrupt.