I agree that the repayment system is rubbish and they never seem to have settled on a system that would see the majority of loans repaid rather than written off, but at the same time wouldn't cripple people for most of their working life.
I started uni in 1999, (yes, yes I'm old), so was in the transitional period where fees were being bumped up and I think I ended up with a bit of grant and some loan? (Memory very hazy, I know there were two elements to it. Maybe it was all loan but partially means tested.)
The upshot is that I now pay 9% of what I earn over £19k. I could never work out for years why I was paying back so little, it turned they had been incrementally increasing the repayment threshold, it was £15k when I graduated. Anyway, the result of this is that I'll never make a dent in my loan, (only circa £14k, but still), beyond the interest repayments.