racheybabe

Hi - I have so many questions and I was wondering if you all couls help

I have a student loan that I had wanted to pay back prior to leaving UK. However I had to take a lot less for my house than originally on the market for, and the extra m9oney could come in handy, initially.

Does anyone know if I can arrange to pay my UK loan from my aussie wages? or whether I can just leave the uk and send them a cheque in about a years time?

Please dont think I am dishonest, truley I am not. But I know that I could do with the $36k in the short term, being a single mum and moving to Cairns in July.

Anyhelp please

bondipom

You can pay by visa over the phone. I personally am deffering and am trying to get a years repayments over in one go to minimise transaction costs.

racheybabe

what do you mean by deferring. Do I have to fill in forms or anything else like that? And the transaction costs you refer to are?????

Sorry to be such a muppet, but I am clueless in North Wales!

bondipom

If you earn under the threshold (I guess you are on the new style loans where it is deducted from UK employers) then you pay nothing. There is a form which you can request from the Student Loan Company.

For your style loan you need to inform the SLC that you are going abroad and tell them your new income to work out a repayment schedule.

pako

what bondipom says is correct, I've got a student loan and that was the info I was given...I guess it will take a little longer to pay off

teach

Hiya Racheybabe,
I was £57 over the income threshold so couldn't defer again this year so have had to start paying back, not bad going really since I finished uni in 1998. Luckily I only have a debt of just over 5k, and have already paid back graduate loan of nearly 10k so whatever happens with house sale will pay it back before I leave. If there is anyway you can pay it back before you go, do so. By the time you add up the exchange rate and bank charges to send money to Uk bank account on a monthly basis you will be paying well over the odds. Hope this helps.
Sarah

thepoacher

Not sure if this works for all student loans (mine is from 1999 to 2002) but, bascially while I'm in Australia I don't have to pay back a penny regardless of what I earn.
As a bonus, apparently if I stay in Australia for over five years the debt gets cleared!

thepoacher

Just noticed you're a fellow Northwalian.

I originally herald from Colwyn Bay myself where there used to, and may still, be a Student loans office. They were quite helpful when I spoke to them in the past.

pako

Thepoacher, what did you do to get that? I've only spoken to the StudentLoan Company on the phone, I leave in November and was going to write a letter asking to defer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Pako

bondipom

You can always resubmit the deferment form if your income drops. I think the hardest thing is proving no income. At least with low income you get a pay slip.