Student Loans

[louiseandmikek3 0]

Hmmm...

When I moved to the States 2 years ago I notified the Student Loans Company and shortly after arriving in NY I received a letter from them about repayment (I am still at that same address by the way). At that point I had just got here and wasn't yet working so my husband had to write a letter to them to prove to them that he was supporting me.

Since then, almost 2 years ago, I haven't recieved one letter off them... I am wondering if I should just pay the whole thing off and be done with it because the interest must be mounting up but at the same time, perhaps I will never hear from them again??!!

Anyone else in the process of paying or NOT paying their loans??? Any advise?

[Otto 83]

Hmmm...

When I moved to the States 2 years ago I notified the Student Loans Company and shortly after arriving in NY I received a letter from them about repayment (I am still at that same address by the way). At that point I had just got here and wasn't yet working so my husband had to write a letter to them to prove to them that he was supporting me.

Since then, almost 2 years ago, I haven't recieved one letter off them... I am wondering if I should just pay the whole thing off and be done with it because the interest must be mounting up but at the same time, perhaps I will never hear from them again??!!

Anyone else in the process of paying or NOT paying their loans??? Any advise?

Well you should repay the loan completely as agreed when you got it. It isn't their responsibility to keep sending letters, nor is it a dismissal of the debt if they do not. They can attach themselves as liens on your home or even put themselves ahead of you on any federal tax refunds. Besides, its the right thing to do yes?

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

Well you should repay the loan completely as agreed when you got it. It isn't their responsibility to keep sending letters, nor is it a dismissal of the debt if they do not. They can attach themselves as liens on your home or even put themselves ahead of you on any federal tax refunds. Besides, its the right thing to do yes?

I am puzzled by your answer because I, too, have a student loan and - in order to pay it back - I need to meet the financial requirement, which is an annual/monthly salary that they convert into US Dollars before they decide if you make enough in order to be able to pay it back or not. Any UK loans are - and correct me if I am wrong - nothing to do with US taxes or US property as the UK Student Loans company does not have jurisdiction in the US, only the UK. And any lien or county court judgement (or whatever) or such on a UK property would be subject to a court order and not something they would do just because they haven't heard from you in 2 years and they are miffed at you and think you won't pay the loan back. Any action they take would be documented, timely and cumbersome and the OP, and anyone in a similar situation *should* be able to find out such action is underway before it gets to the stage of the courts and so on.

There is a financial agreement in place, yes, but there are also terms and conditions on the part of the loan company that stipulate these terms and conditions with regards to paying it back. Spousal income is not a factor - and is said so on their website - so perhaps the OP needs to look up the terms and conditions of the original agreement to know what action to take.

I personally get contact from them each year (their terms and conditions, which I agreed to) where I have to fill in the forms for deferral , or fill in the forms to agree monthly repayment terms, and it is just as much their responsibility to contact you as it is your responsibility to contact them about your circumstances, including change of address and marital status.

Perhaps it is a different student loan that the OP has compared to mine, but I doubt the terms and conditions would be that different...

Just my opinion

Annie

[Rubycon 0]

Perhaps it is a different student loan that the OP has compared to mine, but I doubt the terms and conditions would be that different...

Perhaps your terms are different if you're from Scotland? I'm not trying to be a joker, its just that higher education arrangements for Scots can be different than from us Englishy types.

Alright - loans from the Student Loans Company:

Okay, for one thing it is you're responsibility in all cases to notify the Student Loans Company of your earnings if you're outside the British tax system, which obviously you are - if you don't you can make yourself liable for a kind of "emergency" repayment amount, which is somewhere in the region of £250 per month. So, if you're planning to get in touch with them you probably need to pretend that you've been living off your husband for the last two years (I presume from your post that you have been employed during this time)!

I think you should normally receive an annual self-assessment form from them. Perhaps it got lost somewhere. Or perhaps the SLC never sent it - they are, after all, renowned for being pretty incompetent. Now, if your earnings fall below the equivalent of £15,000 per year, you're under no obligation to pay back your loan. Of course it still accrues interest (so, effectively, the Labour government introduced a system whereby the lowest earners end up paying back the most - yes, thats right, I'm on to you tossers). You can, however, still make so-called "voluntary payments" if you're earnings fall below the £15,000 threshold.

Keep in mind that if you "disappear" off their radar they can still track down members of your family and demand repayment and other such nasties (although, as far as I know, they have no direct claims on any assets located in the US). So, unfortunately, there's no running away from them. Interest will have certainly been mounting up the last two years. If you're in the position to pay off the loan, then count yourself lucky and do it - then you will never hear anything from them again!

Edited August 9, 2007 by Rubycon

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

When it comes to the student loans people, I would say (whatever the terms and conditions and whether you are from Scotland or elsewhere in the UK ) the best thing the OP should do is go to their website and get their contact information and inform them of the OP's current address and what not. I am quite sure the OP will hear from them within the month.

As you said... running and hiding will achieve nothing as They Will Find You

It might take a while... but it will probably be more hassle than it is worth just to sit back and do nothing till that (expensive) day comes.

IMHO

[louandmikek3 0]

Haha! Relax guys! I am paying...anyway, I think I have the smallest student loan ever known to man (thank god)!

Edited August 16, 2007 by louandmikek3

[Dr_LHA 3]

They can attach themselves as liens on your home or even put themselves ahead of you on any federal tax refunds.

Given that we're talking about a UK student loan, I seriously doubt that the Student Loan Company will be able to do any of that stuff to you in the USA, they don't have any jurisdiction to do so.

As for paying off Student Loans, do you still have a UK bank account? To pay off my loans I simply wired enough money to my UK account to cover the Student Loan payments. Of course this was back when it was $1.45 to a pound!

[britbird 4]

The SLC will accept checks written from US bank accounts.