1. My friend told me that at the age of 45 all your outstanding student loan debts get written.
2. If you live outside the UK for over 5 year your outstanding debt also gets written off.

Is there any truth in what he has told me ???

Thanks

Andy

Not true...

A friend of mine changed his name and location, but when bought a car with credit about 9 years later, some how they tracked him down.

He had to pay back everything, plus interest..

You should be really thinking, how the fucz you are going to pay back that 20,000 you borrowed

Thanks for the confirmation – I thought it sounded too good to be true.

I was only asking because I get paid offshore, therefore I don’t pay tax and I fly under the radar when it comes to paying it back. I’m pretty much invisible.

I still have the entire loan; it’s currently in an ISA. I was just hoping the info was true, if so I would be an idiot to pay it back.

It's 65 when the loan is written off. I'm not sure how this stacks up in your circumstances being paid offshore.

You could always pretend your poor; negotiate the terms so you just pay the interest off.

30 years later money will be worth a lot less

Then if you emigrate for good in the future, stop paying all together

I remember the TV documentary some time ago, a guy was fed up of the uk.

He maxed out all his credit cards, took out as many loans as he could.

Then he just left the UK, to go to the states.

I’m sure 20 years later, you’ll probably find half the companies have cancelled the debt.

I personally have never done this, nor agree with the principles

Why??

The interest on a student loan is less than the interest on most savings accounts so you make money each month. The interest on a student loan is linked to RPI, which has been low. If your doing this trick keep an eye on RPI, if the government continues to fudge the CPI measure we might end up in a situation where RPI is higher than the interest rate

Initially I did need the loan – I immediately paid it back to myself when I qualified.

As there was no pressure on me from SLC to pay it back I decided I would use the money as part of a mortgage as it was accumulating less interest than any high street lender.

It’s been there ever since, I’m pretty sure it earns more where it is, than what I will have to pay back. I’ve been forced in to this saving-game a lot longer than I thought I would need to be.

When I rang the SLC a few years ago to arrange a re-payment plan the guy on the phone said I’m doing the right thing. (Probably not the best person to take advice from)

In any case I’m not too worried this Xmas I’ll be 100K in the black. Post Crash I’ll see if it’s still worth using it as part of a mortgage.

I was most interested if there was any truth in the rumour of being out the country for 5 years or more, as would already qualify for that one. To tell you the truth I thought I had, as I haven’t heard from them in years. They used to send me an annual statement telling me what I owe.

Advice noted thanks, I didn’t know this.

Last I new it was only accumulating something in the range of 3%

Yeah, last year it was 2.4% - miraculously low really. From Sept '07 it's a rather less fun 4.8% - but hopefully it'll be lower next year. Roll with the punches I say - it's the cheapest long-term debt you're ever likely to get. As much as I dislike the damn thing. By whacking the lot into an ISA I think you have the right idea though. A lot better than I managed at the time at any rate.

And I'd recommend not trying to mess with the Inland Revenue (as that's basically who's going to be collecting the money from you) - but then I'm a bit of a straight. Also, it was my understanding that the debt was written off at age 65. I'm not sure that that's the case for all student loan 'customers' though - I think it may only apply to people that took their loan out after xxxx date.

I suspect that if you flee the country and fail to setup repayments they'll be waiting for you at passport control as soon as you show up in the UK again...

Yeah interest rate is currently at 4.8%.

I had the money in a savings account (already cash ISAed to the max). As a HR tax payer would have had to make 8% AER interest on total before breaking even after tax. Non hr payers a bit better at 6% AER. Cheaper (for this year at least) to pay it off

I ended up paying it off as a lump sum. Seemed to make sense. I agree that it is the cheapest loan I am likely to get but at the moment keeping it on didn't fit with my plans.


RTFTB
declared interests
saving and renting to FTB post crash. now debt free.

or just after you return and have to go to an ID interrogation center to get your shiny new id card. You will need one of those to travel, shop, drive and visit a doctors. There they will tie all your records (inc financial to your dna, fingerprints and retinal scan), you wont be able to return until you 65, and you just know the ID card system is going to go europe wide before your 65...

Chill-out Gang !!!

The likelihood is I will have to pay back the loan (for now its more beneficial for me to pay if off later rather than sooner), though I have been toying with the idea of leaving the country, (Not to avoid paying the loan) just due to the fact I don’t have to live here, and at preset I don’t want to afford living here.

I worked really hard in college and now I get paid a really good wage, living here I haven’t been able to enjoy one penny on the cash I earn due to chasing the house prices.

My plan is live in a tropical paradise for a few years wait for the ‘crash’ then come home and pay for a house outright with cash. Hence the reason I was wondering if you live outside the country for over five years the loan gets written off.

I repeat “I new it sounded too good to be true!!!!!”

I really don’t feel 7K of student loan is worth going on the run for. I could pay it off with a couple of month’s wages.

While we are on the subject of student loans. I would recommend any current students get down to the halifax for their £2750 per annum interest free overdraft. Stick this little lot in a high interest saver and you're laughing. While you are at it, feel free to wander into the Natwest for the £1250 per annum interest free overdraft and free railcard

I thought these banks were supposed to be tightening up their lending criteria??????

I did this when I was a student - I got a 3K overdraft of HSBC and put it straight into my ISA. The bird behind the desk new what I was up to due to the fact when I asked for it I was already 5K in the black.

Things got a bit awkward they told me as it was a loan I had to set up a repayment plan i.e. they wanted something like £80 a month going back in to the student graduated account that I had taken the overdraft out of.

I say awkward because initially I didn’t know this and they were taking it upon them selves to take the £80 out of my current account.

I just had two direct debits set up at the start of each month the £80 would get sent from my current acc to the Grad acc... Then a day later the £80 would get transferred in to my Online acc. Job done they didn’t question this.

My overdraft was staggered i.e. initially it was 3K a year later it was reduced to 2K etc .. etc ...

I’m now down to £500 allowance interest free - All in all I managed my money pretty well in college and came out with a few hundred pound of free £££££.

Nice if you’re panning a holiday after you qualify… I’m a bit more boring than that, I just kept it in my mortgage fund. Still there obviously 

Hawk.

I did this with Student loans too, but I did it with two bank accounts. Thanks HSBC and Barclay's. Oh, and Barclay's gave me my first mobile phone!