Cricket555

Hi All,

I am considering a move back to the UK.

However I have some concerns around the fact I haven’t been paying my student loan from abroad since leaving 12 years ago.

Does anyone have any kind of advice in terms of what my options are?

I am more than open to start paying it off, regardless of the amount it’s at by now, setting up a monthly payment plan.

I am just a bit concerned about what could happen after not paying all this time?

it’s strange, nobody eve contacted me or my family about it.

I have not been able to find any info anywhere on this.

Any kind of advice or anybody who has experienced something similar would be really appreciated.

jandro

I did what you did but reversing the countries. I lived in the UK and didn't pay back my Canadian student loans for a couple of years. But I started to once I had enough savings. My loans had gone to collection agencies and once they had my details they were pretty demanding but I managed to pay it all off in installments.

Perhaps they don't have any contact information for you. I wouldn't assume the loan is forfeit. You should try to re-establish contact with whoever the original lender was and work out a payment plan. I'm not sure if UK student loans get passed to collection agencies after a certain time.

BritInParis

When you start working you’ll automatically have payments deducted via PAYE. That’s it.

Cricket555

Hi, thanks for your response.

Speaking from experience, or?

Is there not a possibility they could ask for a lump sum regarding what I didn’t pay this whole time? Or worse - court or prosecution?

BritInParis

That’s what happened to me. They track your NI number. Once you start working they’ll write to you with an opening statement saying how much you owe. Your monthly repayment rate is linked to your salary. You more you earn, the more you pay. If you don’t earn, you don’t pay, so there’s no chance of being ‘punished’ for not paying until now. ‘Student loan’ is really a misnomer, think of it as more as a ‘graduate tax’.

SanDiegogirl

So if you move overseas immediately you have graduated, (never return to the UK) you work overseas, you never have to pay back your UK loan?

BritInParis

You should but there’s not much they can do if you don’t. The SLC did try and pursue me when I moved initially saying I had to pay a fixed rate based on the country I was living in. Given that was Japan the amount was very high, far more than I could afford at the time, so I just ignored it. The policy remains the same but the worst that happens is that interest mounts up in your absence.

SanDiegogirl

In this day and age depending on people's honesty in repaying debts seems a naive concept ........

Ben in Canada

Hi,

Is there any update on this? I'm in a similar position. I've been submitting self assessment tax returns due to a rental property that I used to own. The first year I was abroad I did pay the SLC, after having an accountant submit my self assessment tax return The next year I could get an answer from the SLC for what the interest rate and repayment thresholds were for the previous tax year. As soon as a new tax year starts they change the numbers on the website for people who are set up to pay monthly. After a bunch of calls and badgering, continually being told that my request had been escalated and that someone would contact me I just gave up.

That was 5 years ago and now I am going to be returning to the UK to work. I want to get back into the system and am happy to pay what I have owed over the years, but am unsure of how to go about it. I don't want to end up saying or doing the wrong thing and getting stuck with a huge fine or tanking my credit rating. Any advice, stories and experience would be hugely appreciated.

Ben in Canada

BritInParis

My advice from above still stands. Your payments will be deducted via PAYE once you start working. There are no fines for not paying whilst abroad and it has no bearing on your credit rating.