petrosmc

Hi people.

You helped me a lot on the forum the last time, so I thought I would try again

I have a student loan from when i was university... I heard a rumour (MOST PROBABLY UNTRUE) that if youre out of the country for 2 years the fees expire? It may be wishful thinking but I was hoping someone could give me the low down on what happens.

Once working in the US should I set up a direct debit to pay back?

Many thanks again great group!

Bahtatboy

Untrue. You're under both a contractual and a moral obligation to inform the loan body of how much you're earning, and continue to repay, regardless of where you live and work. You should set up a standing order / direct debit to repay.

petrosmc

Thought so! Thanks for your response will set one up!

Bahtatboy

Good man!

civilservant

There was a morality clause in the contract?

Bahtatboy

Implied

bewildering

Halifax closed my bank account while I was in the USA. I ended up having to pay my student loans with a credit card from the USA. The fees were bad. I had no alternative as I had no financial presence in the UK.

Anyway, just make sure your bank account will not be closed when you are gone. No idea why they closed my account.

bewildering

Agreed. I could have simply not paid as I was not going back to the UK. There is no mechanism for the Student Loan company to come after foreign debt. But it was my debt and I signed a contract.

Bahtatboy

Because they're shite. I had a hissy fit and closed all my / my wife's / my kids' accounts with them because of their ineptitude.

Anyway, glad you did the right thing and that the OP is going to, too. My daughter's done the same (she still has a UK a/c, so she's set up a DD).

FWIW, I've just opened a FairFX account, although that's for moving money in the opposite direction. Don't know if it can work for moving money to UK, but it's worth looking at coz -- so far -- it all seems easy, efficient and transparent. (I have no vested interested in them, just pleased to have found something that works.)

NatashaB

Xoom.com allows you to pay some financial providers directly rather than transferring the money into your current account and paying the bill.When are your loans from? The older ones (pre-2012) get written off if you earn under a certain income for 25 years or so.
This link gives the earning threshold for repayments when you live in the US and how to convert it:
http://www.studentloanrepayment.co.u..._schema=PORTAL

Bristol1983

Like some others have already said, you DO still need to pay it all back to the student loans company. They'll ask for your proof of address, employment and recent payslips to determine how much you'll be paying back each month. Then you'll be required to provide proof of earnings every single year so they can reevaluate the figure you're currently paying each month. I'm currently paying 75 quid a month off of a $50k salary.

Ja5on

If you're honest pay it back. If you don't feel like paying it back then they can't really do anything. After 6 or 7 years it all goes away.

hungryhorace

Personally, I wouldn't bother. They're never going to come find you, and by the time you move back to the UK it'd be written off (25 years).

hungryhorace

So did they, yet they're just about to change the T&C's.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com...-student-loans

Don't pay the f'ers a penny more than you can get away with is my advice.

hungryhorace

No. You don't. It's purely a moral argument at this point given the OP's residency outside of the UK.