Wee Bubba

i am emigrating to Oz in 2 weeks (YAY!).

i have a student loan here in the UK which I cannot afford to pay. ive been deferring it for god knows how many years because my salary has never gone over the threshold but it has this time around so they wrote to me last week saying thay will start to take repayments out of my bank account soon.

the way i see it, my bank accounts will be closed, i will no longer be residing at my UK address, and the next of kin I put down on my form when I took the loan out is now deceased. so i cant see how the loans company can track me if i dont ring them up to tell them what im up to.

anyone else done this? thanks.

bondipom

They will have all your previous addresses and may well sell your debt. They may or may not come after you. But any info on your credit record will be used. You can defer from Australia as well which is what I do.

Wee Bubba

thanks for the quick reply bindipom (nice name)

i guess that if they sell my debt on to a debt collectors that will mean big charges for me should they track me down?

the other route i can take is to come clean. i can pay 3 months repayments as my wage here in the UK has gone over the threshold for the first time. after the 3 months however ill be in Oz with no job so i think i can then start to defer again

what would you recommend?

Three Legs

Word of advice.

I'd be very careful if I were you posting on places like this making your intentions known.

Big Brother is always watching.

The Government monitors this site on a regular basis...FACT.



Mum's the word.

bondipom

The big charges build up when they send you letters and try and search for you. When your debt is sold the charges stop because the debt is sold for a fraction of what you owe. The debt recovery company reclaims the difference. Your credit record by then is shafted and will have a default by it rather than a number indicating the number of months late you are.

Hardest part of is proving no income. It is easier to prove something you have. I suggest keeping a copy of your p45 and sending them a copy of your plane ticket and visa. I am trying to save up a years repayments to send over as a lump sum rather than paying large foreign exchange fees every month.

willkerr

I have recently spoke to the SLC with regard to this. At no point is your debt ever forgotten, they keep a track of it and as soon as you pop up in the UK earning again they get you. You can defer your payments if you earn less than £15000 (the threshold has just gone up) after this you pay 9% of your salary. If you emigrate they will ask to see your tax return or payslips to see if you have to pay. Obviously it gets expensive if you are having to send money from Oz. It applies to both the old and new style loans as my wife is on the old and I am on the new. Best advice, pay it off if you can before you go!

Cheers

Will

matt-and-jenny

I'm pretty sure Matt's threshold is around £18000. Are there different thresholds for when you took them?
Anyway Bubba, looks like you've got no choice but to pay it. You could possibly defer it when you get to Oz, because of new wages/exchange rate etc, will bring you under the threshold.
Matt was hoping they would forget about him aswell! No such luck.

pandya_m

This is exactly me too thinking...
Moreover in future there may be lot of reference checks and police clearance for the country you been for such a long time..Surely there is catch here..

Its recommended by old age people and people of age of my father never never do things that may hurt you in future...
Do you remember the Bill Clinton Episode... It was a defame and mental trauma...

Refrain from doing those things and keep your background clean...
Thats a recommendation.

walla

pay it or be damned...

CreditCardKing

How much do you owe? If its only a few thousand then offer the bank half the money or nothing and they will probably take your offer. I doubt they would chase you all the way to Australia but you never know. If your earnings are likely to be below the threshold for ever then you won't have to pay it back. If you are deliberately not wanting to pay your loan then that is fraud, but if you can demonstrate that you cant afford to pay it then thats a different matter. Maybe work out a payment plan of 5 pounds a month and pay it off over 30 years but insist that no interest is charged. There are many options open to you since the ball is in your court.

Scossie

Hi mate.....

Mrs Scossie worked for The Student Loans Company, (in debt recovery ) right up until we emigrated to Oz.

As I remember it, if you try to disappear, they send out Probe Droids all over the planet, & when they find you, they send in the Death Star!!

I'll get Mrs S to have a look at this thread later on, & she'll be able to advise you on all the sneaky moves that they use.

Don't worry, we wont say a word, as long as you send us over a large sum of money....

jayr

Are you 100% convinced that you will never return to the UK and need credit, like a mortgage?

pako

I've been informed by the Student Loan Company that I should defer payments for a year when i initially go to Oz, and then once I'm in employment they will calculate my repayments on my Aussie wages. So obviously repayments won't be as much as they would be in the UK (due to conversion rates etc) and will take longer to repay. I think that's a very fair deal.

I was also told that if i have children and take time off work I will not have to pay it for the period I'm off work. No other loan is as flexible. If you accumulated the debt you should pay it.

Siren & Brian

Just pay the bloody money back, or dont bother coming to OZ cos I certainly dont want your type here.

Australia Bound

I am in the same situation as you but i'm not going to shirk the debt, as tempting as it is to leave it all behind, you never know how these things can affect your future. Write to them and explain the situ, chances are you'll be able to defer for another few years, by which time you'll either be settled or moved back to the UK.

I am just on the threshhold. I espect i'll be able to defer for another year then i'm going to either pay it in full when i move or write and explain that i'm leaving the country and don't expect to be making the same wage.

Good luck dude, karma on your way, you might need it.