Student Loan payments not being taken out of salary
Student Loan payments not being taken out of salary
Author
Discussion

Legend83

Original Poster:

10,588 posts

252 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
In April 2010 I moved jobs and informed the Student Loans company that this had happened and put them in touch with HR to sort out my details.

Two years later I have not had one payment taken out of my salary. I can only assume an administrative cock-up on their part.

The loan will have continued to accrue interest with no reduction in the capital amount - should I claim I should not be charged interest on amounts I should have paid off over the past 2 years.

Or should I just keep quiet until I am 65 and wait for it to be written off? smile

Hugo a Gogo

23,437 posts

263 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
it's taken you two years to notice?

Legend83

Original Poster:

10,588 posts

252 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
Hugo a Gogo said:
it's taken you two years to notice?
No, I did notice and contacted them again (missed this bit from the OP) and they said payments would start effective April 2011...so I waited, and again nothing happened. Tried to contact them again and got no response.

Not a great excuse but it wasn't high on the agenda to sort out during 2011 as my wife was pregnant with the twins and was very ill all throughout the pregnancy. I guess I just let it slip.

fandango_c

1,993 posts

216 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
Why do you think you should be able to claim for interest on the amount you would have paid off over the past two years?

If this was an issue for you, then presumably you would have put the missed repayments into a savings account which would have generated interest equivalent to was the interest you're considering claiming.

Hugo a Gogo

23,437 posts

263 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
the interest rate is only about 1.5% anyway, isn't it?

Dr Interceptor

8,183 posts

226 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
You can contact the Student Loans Company and switch to a direct debit if you prefer... that way you can overpay (if you can afford to), clear it quicker and get rid of it.

It also means it takes away any onus from them or your HR department to sort it for you.

Cyder

7,189 posts

250 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
Hugo a Gogo said:
the interest rate is only about 1.5% anyway, isn't it?
That's still a lot of money if your loan is £15-20k

danrc

2,808 posts

240 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
Dr Interceptor said:
You can contact the Student Loans Company and switch to a direct debit if you prefer... that way you can overpay (if you can afford to), clear it quicker and get rid of it.

It also means it takes away any onus from them or your HR department to sort it for you.
I thought you could only do that with the last few thousand?

I had a balls up with my student loan and had to pay the 2 years i'd missed back in a lump sum as well as the regular payments which were coming out of the account again. Not easy when you're saving for a wedding.

Get it sorted sooner rather than later to save the hassle.

fandango_c

1,993 posts

216 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
Cyder said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
the interest rate is only about 1.5% anyway, isn't it?
That's still a lot of money if your loan is £15-20k
It's 1.5% of the capital repaid over two years, which probably won't be much.

Cyder

7,189 posts

250 months

Wednesday 24th October 2012
quotequote all
fandango_c said:
Cyder said:
Hugo a Gogo said:
the interest rate is only about 1.5% anyway, isn't it?
That's still a lot of money if your loan is £15-20k
It's 1.5% of the capital repaid over two years, which probably won't be much.
Quite right... getmecoat

Matt..

4,031 posts

219 months

Sunday 28th October 2012
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I should have started paying mine years ago, but nothing has ever happened. I have called them about it many times. It only costs about £250/yr in interest, so I might just give up chasing it.

z4chris99

12,527 posts

209 months

Tuesday 30th October 2012
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I should have started paying mine too but haven't had anything taken out...

kinda worrying when I owe 31k

davepoth

29,395 posts

229 months

Tuesday 30th October 2012
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Ignore it. It's not like it's a proper loan in any case. I treat mine like a tax, and if HMRC can't pull their finger out and manage PAYE properly then it's their problem.

OllieC

3,816 posts

244 months

Tuesday 30th October 2012
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davepoth said:
Ignore it. It's not like it's a proper loan in any case. I treat mine like a tax, and if HMRC can't pull their finger out and manage PAYE properly then it's their problem.
Whilst I am paying mine off via salary deduction (very sloooooowly), were I in the position of the OP, I would take this attitude. smile

WeirdNeville

6,050 posts

245 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
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Beware - some of the younger student loans are a bit more viscious in their accrual of interest. I'd advise the OP checks his rate and his statements to see exactly how much it's costing him to do nothing. Like it or not the money is owed and will have to be repaid at some point.

Either pay it back direct to the SLC, or save an equivalent amount if you can better the interest rate (though you'll still be down for a long time since earning 2% on a few grand is nowhere near as much as costing 1.5% on several tens of grands) but either way, take charge.

It becomes an issue if you want to buy a house, finance a business or something.

z4chris99

12,527 posts

209 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
my interest is about £500 pa

not an insignificant amount

fandango_c

1,993 posts

216 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
z4chris99 said:
my interest is about £500 pa

not an insignificant amount
But not relevant as it's only the interest on capital that would have been paid off that might be considered here.

z4chris99

12,527 posts

209 months

Wednesday 31st October 2012
quotequote all
fandango_c said:
But not relevant as it's only the interest on capital that would have been paid off that might be considered here.
I know I was just adding some info for the people who are happy not being chased by sl