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How can I stop the Government getting back their student loan?

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Forgot this

Go to any estate and you'll see loads of cars. I know people on benefits who even manage to go on holiday!

Not everyone living on an estate is on benefits though...

I don't know, I've been around some of the most deprived estates in Tyneside, Merseyside, London, Manchester and Sheffield. I don't see too many cars.

I've been around some ex-council estates and see four by fours, estate cars, expensive caravans and similar. But that's the key difference. Ex-council estate (ie. the houses are now private and either owned outright or with a mortgage) with houses often occupied by professional people or families whose children are independent - they can therefore afford these things.

In estates yes, there are cars, but not particularly expensive cars. Cars are, to some, a genuine necessity. Especially those with certain severe disabilities (who are more likely to live in on these estates) and some are given a mobility payment or allowed to rent a vehicle from the state. But even this is under threat for some.

Yes, some students do struggle to get by, but this is a voluntary situation. They can, if they want, leave university and get a job (or, if the welfare state is as generous as you seem to think, sign on the dole).

There are families up and down the country who are struggling to get by. Students, if the worst comes to the worst and they are in such dire financial straits that they may need to drop out, can go to the university. The university will then offer financial support. Access to Learing, for example.

They are fairly well protected members of society, with most (albeit certainly not all) also coming from relaively affuent families. Don't dare even suggest that most students are living in poverty comarable to those who are genuinely struggling in society.

Reply 41

NeonSkies

Original post by Lemozo

My employers have this month started taking student loan deductions from my salary as I graduated last June. Is there any way that I can stop the Government from getting their hands on this money, as I didn't expect to be earning enough to start paying it off straight out of uni? Is there some form I can fill in to say that I didn't really go to university?

Um, no? You signed a declaration before you received your student loans confirming when and how you will repay the money. It is a debt you have to the SLC so you aren't exactly in much of a bargaining position. Just be thankful you actually got a job so quickly after graduating.

Reply 42

krazykipper

Original post by Lemozo

Or you could accept that this is the real world, that nothing comes for free, that you should really not take a loan that size without checking all the conditions and pay back what you owe?

I don't have a student loan, but I did work 90 hour weeks to get myself through uni without one. And if you never expected to earn more than 15k then even with the loan deduction you're making more.

This post makes you look like an ungrateful lout.

Reply 43

History-Student

Original post by krazykipper

...

I don't have a student loan, but I did work 90 hour weeks to get myself through uni without one. ...

Why?

Reply 44

kerily

Original post by infernalcradle

you will be doing maths at cambridge.....and yet you don't expect to earn 15k+ or think you are employable....

I'msoacademic would have a heart attack reading this.....

Employability isn't just related to having a piece of paper with a degree that certifies you're intelligent and academically good though - I've heard a lot of stuff about how you need ****loads of connections and work experience and things. I also don't know what I want to do career-wise, which also tells me that I have far less chance of getting a job than someone who knows what they want to do :tongue:

I don't want to do any of the 'obvious' things you can do with a maths degree (finance and teaching come to mind), I don't want to work for a company, and while I would very much like to do research, I know you need a good degree class and that there's basically no funding. Plus I'm just not the sort of person who gets on with employment; I have two jobs at the moment, but I hate and resent every second I spend doing them even though they're not bad jobs at all :tongue:

So as a person, I'm probably not as employable as someone who can say 'I know I want to do x, and I'm going to do relevant work experience, get connections and then get a job there'. I realise that people who do maths at Cambridge really don't have any doors closed to them employment-wise, but personality-wise, I'm probably not terrifically suited to employment.

(I'm also convinced that nobody actually wanted to give me an offer and it was all just a massive paperwork error, which may explain it more :awesome:

)

Reply 45

krazykipper

Original post by History-Student

Why?

Because last summer I graduated with four years of relevant work experience, my professional qualifications, the highest grade on the course and £10,000 in my bank account from saving my wages?

That might look like bragging but I worked like hell and am in a good position for finding a job. (And it wasn't all bad - last year I managed to visit NYC, California, Copenhagen and Madrid. I can have fun in holidays too!). And that money is getting me through until I find a job in my field again.

Have just applied for jobs that have 400 applicants. I may not be better than the PhD holders and the more experienced researchers but I know that I should be above all of last years graduates in medical sciences. :smile:

Reply 46

Rascacielos

Original post by Lemozo

Sorry, I cracked up when I read the title of this thread - as if you have given a loan to the government. It doesn't read right.

I cracked up again when I read the additional information. Are you serious? You can't just 'cancel' a loan, unless:
a) you can't pay it back, which you clearly can
b) a certain amount of time elapses in which you haven't been able to pay off your student loan, in which case it's wiped.

Original post by Lemozo

Is there some form I can fill in to say that I didn't really go to university?

Don't you think others would have tried that if it were possible? :rolleyes:

Reply 47

salty_candy

Original post by Lemozo

Yes but I didn't expect to earn over the threshold, and so I'd always seen it as a grant rather than a loan.

Well, if you hadn't got the loan, chances are you wouldn't be earning over the threshold by now and would be worse of, so stop thinking everything should be given to you for free and be grateful to have been able to borrow it in the first place.

Reply 48

Cicerao

Go to less well-off country, get an awesome local salary which will be really comfortable there but still low enough to not pay anything back. Err...not that I've thought this through or anything. :teehee:

Reply 49

Rascacielos

Original post by Lemozo

Yes but I didn't expect to earn over the threshold, and so I'd always seen it as a grant rather than a loan.

Ah, another one who fell into the trap of thinking a student loan was "free money." No, it isn't, as with mortgages, bank loans and any other loan you can think of.

Be grateful you do earn over the threshold, for heaven's sakes! Or if you really can't deal with it, then get a lower paid job. I have a funny feeling you'd regret that, though.

Reply 50

Rascacielos

Original post by WelshBluebird

No they haven't. HMRC have.

Strictly, yes, but it does come straight out of your salary, so I can see why the OP would think it was his employers.

Reply 51

Rascacielos

Original post by Elissabeth

It may not be, but I just disagree with the principle of paying it back.

I am forced through taxation to pay for all the families on benefits and I don't want to, why can't all the money they receive be a loan that they have to pay back once their children have grown up. That would seem fair. Same with the Jobseekers allowance.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with receiving a small amount of money each year to live on at uni and having the fees paid. Its not as if students can claim enough to keep them in a luxury lifestyle like ####### chavs can! They can't claim housing benefit or receive free meals etc.

What a load of bullsh*t. Excuse my French.

Suicide?

Original post by Elissabeth

No, not those in very low-paid work. Simply the same rules. Once they start earning over £15,000 they can start paying their benefits back directly.

So what if someone's put into the system in the past? Many of us have paid tax on gap years as well, most of us that have part-time jobs pay National Insurance and so put into the system. And what do we get for it? Nothing.

So what if we are exempt from council tax? Have you ever met a student who'd been awarded a council house?

I've seen students who can barely afford food. Loads have to buy value brands. I've never heard of a chav kid going without an expensive christmas present or getting nothing for their birthday. Go to any estate and you'll see loads of cars. I know people on benefits who even manage to go on holiday!

You're forgetting that the money people pay through tax heavily subsidises your university education. The £3k fees you pay, even the £9k ones, is small in comparison to how much it actually costs to fund an individual degree. Go to an American university and you'll see what I mean.

Reply 54

username321708

I can't believe people are taking the OP seriously, it is obvious he is just trolling, or perhaps very, very dim.

Reply 55

NinjaRave

That would be seriously unfair and selfish. :animal:

You only got the loan in the first place, because those who previously got the loan decided (well, kinda had to :rolleyes:

) to do the right thing and pay it back! It's like 5 quid a week, if you're earning about 15k a year.

Reply 56

Darkbling

You could just try to work hard and hopefully paying it back.
Another option would be that you start a business which may get you a lot of money.

Reply 57

Elissabeth

Original post by River85

That's completely unworkable, or certainly very difficult.

You also ned to consider family size, mortgage..

£15,000 is not much more than minmimum wage. If that person is the main household earner, and has a mortgage and family to feed, then you really expect him or to to "pay back" the state? If they're circumstances changed, then yes, why not? I didn't ask them to have kids did I? That's THEIR choice. If they do something stupid, they should be held responsible.

And before you say it, yes, I am aware that students are expected to pay their loan back at this amount. However, the difference is that studying for the degree and taking the loan was utlimately their choice. Someone who takes forced redundancy, or who becomes ill, did not do so out of choice. No, but someone who has had kids, has done so out of choice.

Moreoever, most graduates will be in their 20s and therefore unlikely to have a mortgage or family. Yes, I'm aware they they'd like to get onto the housing ladder and start a family but they know in advance they need to pay this money back and therefore plan their life as well as they can. Why should we when the people who do nothing will never pay any of it back even if their circumstances change?

Meaning that they have paid into the pot, therefore deserve to take what they need (not necessarily want) from the pot. Why should they pay twice?

That's what the welfare state is, or is intended to be, a safety net. You will possibly benefit it it yourself eventually. You go to the NHS for treatment? You're planning on taking a state pension? Are you going to have kids? How do you know you'll always be employed all your life? How do you know you'll never be sick? It's not a safety net when people intentionally have kids that they full well know that they can't afford to have.

What??? Do you have any idea what council tax is?

Council tax is what you pay the council for local services (street cleaning, parks, refuse collection and so on). The amount you pay is based on the valuation of your home (in 1991, I think). It's not just for those who are in council houses....
I know it isn't, but housing 'some' people is one of the services the council provides (at a heavily subsidised amount of rent), and students never get to benefit from it, yet plenty of people who have a reasonable income do.

Full time students are exempt from paying this. Part-time students are not, though they are entitled to claim for council tax benefit (which will be awardeD)

And here we go again...all people claiming benefits are "chavs".

I don't know about chavs, but I certainly do know of families living on benefits who find it a struggle to feed themselves and certainly don't go on expensive holidays.

So, instead of targeting the cheats and making the system fairer (which is far more difficult that you imagine), you want to punish everyone claiming benefits even if it means plunging many families and individuals even further into relative poverty? Families-pffft! I don't care if the spoilt brats don't get an XBox for Christmas, that isn't poverty! Far to much food is binned in this country and if it came down to it, people would never let little children starve. Buying presents off public money is abusing the system!

Awesome.

Awesome.

Reply 58

Elissabeth

Original post by River85

Forgot this

Not everyone living on an estate is on benefits though...

I don't know, I've been around some of the most deprived estates in Tyneside, Merseyside, London, Manchester and Sheffield. I don't see too many cars.

I've been around some ex-council estates and see four by fours, estate cars, expensive caravans and similar. But that's the key difference. Ex-council estate (ie. the houses are now private and either owned outright or with a mortgage) with houses often occupied by professional people or families whose children are independent - they can therefore afford these things.

In estates yes, there are cars, but not particularly expensive cars. Cars are, to some, a genuine necessity. Especially those with certain severe disabilities (who are more likely to live in on these estates) and some are given a mobility payment or allowed to rent a vehicle from the state. But even this is under threat for some.

Yes, some students do struggle to get by, but this is a voluntary situation. They can, if they want, leave university and get a job (or, if the welfare state is as generous as you seem to think, sign on the dole).

There are families up and down the country who are struggling to get by. Students, if the worst comes to the worst and they are in such dire financial straits that they may need to drop out, can go to the university. The university will then offer financial support. Access to Learing, for example.

They are fairly well protected members of society, with most (albeit certainly not all) also coming from relaively affuent families. Don't dare even suggest that most students are living in poverty comarable to those who are genuinely struggling in society.

I KNOW not everyone on an estate is on benefits! Some do very nicely but choose to live somewhere where the rent is heavily subsidised in order to save money! Once you are awarded a council house you can keep it forever!

The FAMILIES have put themselves in their situation voluntarily! Who the hell asked people with little money to have kids?

There are also couples with children on benefits who have other relatives i.e grandparents who could pay for things for the children. Why should the taxpayer pay for these children? It is gross abuse of the system to use the money for birthday presents etc.