bourbon-biscuit

I don't want 18, 19, or 20 year olds signing them either. Part of our motivation to get out of NZ for the uni student years was coming to terms with how punitive the NZ student loan system is for borrowers who go overseas: I want my kids to be able to live overseas without fear of rapidly escalating debts. I think this is even more of an issue for immigrant kids who often have strong ties to their country of origin and may well wish to live there for some time in early adulthood.

BEVS

I'm losing my marbles. I thought I had posted into the thread when I re-opened it for you Angeshirl.

As you will see the multiple threads have been closed but links to the one have been left in some of them.

I do hope this all sorts itself out for you . Probably with some form of payment plan.

Very difficult but try not to worry. They want their money and you are happy to give it to them so all that needs be done is come to an agreement. which I realise may be harder than it sounds if communication from them is somewhat rubbish.

Angeshirl

I'm not sure what to do. I'm at home just sweating about it. I was actually going to call the slc tonight because I literally cannot have this hanging over my head but maybe I should know my name ights before hand. I have no doubt they would arrest me at the airport was I to go home tomorrow. I'm struggling to cope

Angeshirl

Thank you all for being so kind to me about this too. I'm not a debt dodger in fact I have zero debt here in NZ. I'm just now worried that after 12-13years it'll be more than I can ever afford. Plus the phone calls arecoming from a very dodgy number in Leeds. Transcom debt collectors. My boss is actually really worried about me and I'm worried about my job now too. If I can't function I can't work. Ugh I just feel terrible.

Pom_Chch

Angeshirl, breath! Honestly you will be OK. I would personally set up some voluntary re-payments based on how much you feel you can afford. You can do this monthly using a credit card. You may well have to pay back the fines, this will be added to the total amount you owe, so you should be able to pay it off over time. Yes you are correct Transcom are the debt collectors for SLC. I received a really shitty letter from them saying I owed 750GBP for some reason or another that made no sense. I told them this and they dropped it, case closed.

Please understand that SLC and Transcom are probably the most incompetent companies I, and many other people, have come across.

Yes, you owe them money and yes they are fining you for not keeping them updated. But it will be OK and easily sorted!

Student Loan Repayment - Voluntary Repayment Options

Jerseygirl

I know it's easier said than done....but please try to stay calm and don't let this affect your job. Showing them you have come up with a plan and that you intend to pay back the monies owed will IMO go a long way to settling this. They would much rather have it paid back monthly than never to be paid back at all.

Hang in there.

Angeshirl

Thank you. I can't stop crying. I'm so sorry I've been such a pain about this. I'm more than happy to pay back debt but I got scared. Hopefully my boss will understand and I can start getting this cleared soon. I can't bear the Thoight that I've already lost my job from my panic today. I can't thank you enough for helping me xx

Shirtback

In addition to the try and "calm down" messages above:

Have you received written & detailed notification of the amount you owe from the debt collection agency? If not, request it immediately, if necessary by writing to them.

It's possible that you can also request (again, in writing), that they correspond with you in writing ONLY.

This will give you time to sit down, and CALMLY work out how much you can afford to negotiate for a repayment plan. Also gives you time to check the balance due, interests, penalties, fines etc.

simonsi

As far as I am aware there are no powers for the SLC to obtain an arrest warrant for student loan debt, UK arrest warrants are limited to criminal activity only as far as I am aware - if that was available as a routine debt collection activity planes would run half-empty.

Even in the well-publicised NZ border arrest cases, this is because it is the IRD in NZ who administers student loans, their powers are different but even then a judge has to be satisfied that the defaulter is knowingly avoiding contact and only some 20 individuals are being monitored for such border arrest warrants at any time.

That said, make contact and offer what you are able to pay. IF they take any enforcement action in NZ any court will take into account your ability to pay, courts have zero interest in making unsustainable payment orders.

Make any offer to them in writing, preferably by a means whereby you can confirm receipt (to an email address they have given you or listed on their website, by fax (not as common these days but ideal for confirming receipt), or by courier/signature post. Ask them if they will freeze interest in return for the repayment schedule being kept to.

MrsFychan

DON'T contact them until you are sure you have to pay it back.

Student loan agreements are simple contract debts and this gives the company asking you to pay five years from the date you last paid or acknowledged the debt to go to court to enforce the agreement. There are two sorts of student loans and different rules apply depending upon when you took out the loan. Old style ‘mortgage’ student loans are Consumer Credit Act agreements. Payments cannot be automatically deducted from your wages. Court action has to be taken before the debt can be enforced. This means that the time limits can apply if you have not paid or acknowledged the debt for over five years. If you are being asked to pay an old style 'mortgage' student loan that you think it extinguished, you can use the Time has run out to recover the debt sample letter to write back to the creditor. This tells them about The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act and disputes that you owe the debt.
Keep a copy of any letter that you send. From September 1998 new style or ‘income contingent’ student loans include rules to say that repayments will be automatically deducted directly from your wages or through your tax return if you are self-employed. This means that the Student Loans Company (SLC) are still allowed to take money from your wages for a loan over five years old as they do not have to go to court to do so


Taken from: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/s/f...ng%20debts.pdf

bourbon-biscuit

Good post Simonsi. Years ago my husband had a SLC debt of just over 900 GBP. We didn't think we owed them anything because he had withdrawn from the course in time but the angst of trying to deal with them was unbearable and we were poor with small kids so we filled in the repayment form stating we would pay 1 GBP per month (we were living in the UK at the time) and someone in the SLC processed it, which made it a done deal

While overseas we just kept the required 12 GBP per year in an account to pay them and when we returned a couple of years ago cleared it in a few pay packets.

On $60k per annum I can't see that much more than a few quid a month is a reasonable repayment amount, so perhaps get the info Simonsi suggests and offer a few quid a month. I know debt is scary but this is not life threatening and you can get it under control and get on with living in NZ.

Angeshirl

Thank you all sooooo much I genuinely thought my life was over so you can imagine what the last 24hrs has felt like. I pretty much thought I was done for and ending my life wAs the only option. I lost my dAd because of this and I honestly think it was due to not knowing full rights and options. Thank you so much for putting it in perspective for me. I'll contact them tomorrow xxx thank god for your u all

MrsFychan

Don't contact them until you know if you have to pay it back. please see link I posted and try and get more info on that.

DYOUNG77

I took out student loans for my degree between 1997 - 1999. I haven't had to pay a penny back as the threshold for repayment was high- I'd need to be earning well over 2000 GBP per month before I have to start paying it back. I just fill out the online loan deferment form every year and upload my bank statements to show I'm not on a high income.

simonsi

Just out of personal interest but does the loan keep growing with interest even while you are not even eligible to pay it back due to income?