Student Loans

[early_m]

I've heard many rumours on how to get out of paying back a student loan, but never know whether to take any of them seriously. Does anybody know any legitimate ways of dodging this rediculous repayment?

[garethpeate]

Student Loans are given and charged at an interest rate the same as the rate of inflation (effectively makes them interest free) - when you leave university and start earning money, your employer notifies the Inland Revenue that you have a student loan, and the Inland Revenue will put procedures into place to start taking bits off your wages to pay it back.. HOWEVER, the rules that have to be fulfilled before money will be taken from your wages are so complex - you have to be earning above a certain amount before tax, be paying less than a certain amount in tax, be working a set amount of hours per week, etc, that a lot of student loans will go unpaid through no fault of the student (or ex student) for many years, when I believe they are simply written off, or the individual is invited to pay the money back at their leisure.

[craig_edward]

declaring yourself bankrupt has become one way of getting rid of your sudent loan debts, bit drastic though and the government (most of whom got grants and a free university education!!!) are going to close this loophole soon. Bless them.

[becks]

I also heard about a friend of a friend (isn't it always) that went travelling round oz, and because he'd been away so long (seven years i thnk) they wrote it off. I was planning to do it but my mum warned me that things like this will always come back and get you, like when you try to get a mortgage or something. Good luck - and if you find a solution let me know!!

[j2buttonsw]

Call me old fashioned but why don't you just pay it back? After all, who spent this money?

[darth vader]

Refuse to pay and go abroad for a decade - you will get a CCJ registered aginst you but bad debts are only lodged with the credit company for 6 years after which they're written off. Also i believe if you die the debt is cleared which is cool if you're into body-snatching or reincarnation. Move into a church and claim sanctuary. Don't take out the loan in the first place. Or you could bite the bullet and pay it back like me and many others who have had to. (why is it a ridiculous repayment? - was the loan you recived in the first place ridiculous also? If so why didn't you give it back there and then?)

[darth vader]

sorry but i agree with j2b - you borrowed the money you pay it back. I don't know how you can justify the "ridiculous payment" statement - a loan with flexible repayment structure of up to 5 years, around 2% apr, no penalties for paying off early, deferrment if you're not working/not earning enough without penalty (without payment protection insurance!) - wish i could get those terms!

[sft42]

Does a university education leave you with the ability to spell ridiculous with an "e" these days then?.....Legitimate ways...Death....Bankrupcy...Being declared insane and committed....Not earning enough....Not taking a loan in the first place.

[incitatus]

get a low payed job( �15k or less) for ten years. if your degree was in arts or sociology this should be no problem. Do not become an academic. You need to study for 7-10 years to get there, then they pay you enough to trigger the loan which means that unless you argue long and hard 50% of your takehome pay can vanish before you even know it. This is known in government circles as "encouraging excellence in research". Presumably the reasoning is that working twelve hour days then trying to live on a food budget of �20 a week in london stimulates lateral thinking. Excuse me i think my antibitterness pill just wore off.

[TRINITY]

I agree with inci, I earn 15k got a pay rise now have to pay back �250 a month. Agter rent food bills I aint got two pence to rub together, it's all pooh...

[Janetex]

Pay back all the poor people you owe that money to, or forever be damned.

[Janetex]

Perhaps that was a bit rash of me. You could just walk into a busy put where lots of labourers drink, thank them for the loan that came out of their taxes and ask what they think of getting ut making any repayments.

[early_m]

So, nearly 8 years on have I repaid my debt? Have I hell. My spelling hasn't got any better either...