I received a letter from Student Finance this morning, stating if I am earning over £15795 per year, I will have to make student loan repayments. In the booklet, it says that if you're classed as permanently unfit for work, the loan can be written off. Anyone know how I can prove this, please? ESA isn't indefinite and no-one knows how I'll be in 10 years time or whatever.

Hello I took out my student loan in 2002- so this is on the PAYE system at 9% over threashold. Right. I am an hourly paid leacturer which means I get paid per teaching hour. Holiday rate is included in the rate so I do get paid for holiays but with my normal salary. So in the summer I don't get a wage (but would have been paid this amount per hour) Now due to this some months I earn quite a bit and 9% is taken off the wage as required. Now because then other months I earn nowt, when the whole rate is caluclated against and devided by 12 it means i have ended up paying more. This happens with tax and I get a refund. I wrote to the student loans company but they will only refund where I should have paid nothing. Ie my year wage was below the threshold. Now in 2010/11 I earned about £16000 just over £1000 over the threashold. However because of the reasons outlined abouve I was charged £342 student loan in total for that year. Which is way above 9% of about £1000. It is more like 34%. Still the SLC refuse to pay this back- stating that they only give refunds if you were to pay nothing. I'm going round in circles with them. I cant find an original loan agreement which may say they will take 9%. Anyway I can't see how they can do this, HMRC Tax will recalculate on a annual basis if you overpay. Why wont the SLC do the same. Do I have any legal standing given the fact the % repayment each year is what I agreed. Please help I am going insane! Plus this will keep happening year on year out! Thank you

does anybody know if being granted a student grant of £9000 affects your benefit entitlement, housing benefit, council tax benefits and working tax credits? my girlfriend works 19hrs a week, and is classed as a full time student even though she is only at uni 11hrs a week. any advice greatly appreciated.

Hi, I just found out that for the past year I have been sold a rail pass for my student son to make a journey only two stations longer than his Oyster card covered. More fool me, you might say, but I have asked Southern Railways on a number of occasions if there were any way to minimise the cost of the journey which has been a struggle for us to pay for, and on each occasion they have never mentioned the Oyster card as an option. Isn't there an official body I could complain to about their refusal to give an accurate and honest answer to the question ' What is the cheapest option for my son, aged 17 full-time student, to travel from Station A to Station B'. I am so angry at them I could just cry... If anyone has any helpful information as to anybody I could complain to that might be able to help us even if all that happens is they have to change this dishonest policy of concealing cheaper fares which they currently use I would at least have the satisfaction of knowing they couldn't rip any one else off this way. OOOh! Feel better now that's off my chest!

HI Just received a shock of my life that my student finance has been revoked. Let me start from the beginning, i was married in Pakistan in 2007, and my wife joined me in the UK in November 2011. I am currently in year 3 in uni. For the past 2 years i have stated in my student finance application that i am single due to the fact that i was not living with my wife and she was in Pakistan, she is a pakistani national. I have this year submitted my Pakistani marriage certificate to student finance as my wife has now joined me in the UK. We have only been living as wife husband since November 2011 as in pakistani/islamic law a wife and husband can live together after a walima (a ceremony) takes place, this is after the marriage ceremony has taken place. I have received a call from a student finance rep saying that i have falsely given inaccurate information in my previous years of study so i will not get paid any student loans, grants and tuition fees. I feel this is too harsh as i have mistakenly given inaccurate information. I did not know that i had to tell student finance that a Nikkah (pakistani Marriage) had taken place. Also i have read somewhere that pakistani marriages/nikkahs are not recoginised in the UK in the 1st place. Pleaseeee can someone help me

I have epilepsy, and every now and then I need to stop working because I go through a spell of having fits. This is beneficial for both myself and those around me. I have currently been out of work since October '11. The bad thing that comes from this is that it I am not able to earn money to do nice things, or pay for nice things for example my mobile phone bill. I currently live with my girlfriend who is paying for all the bills and is essentially running the house on her wage alone; because of this she cannot afford to pay the phone debt. I don't claim disability or unemployment benefits because I'm not eligible. I'd like to know can I hold off from paying my mobile phone debt until I can start working again, or is there any sort of disability grant which I can get to pay it which I can pay back when I start working? Currently, Orange are raping my credit rating and there is nothing I can do. I have to sit back and allow it. Help, anyone?

Hi everybody. To start with, I know, 100% that I am in the wrong here and do not expect any sympathy for the situation at all, I'm just wondering as to what, if anything may happen next. Basically, this evening, having just missed my train I decided to get the bus for the 4 mile journey to a friends house. I realised that because I'd only taken enough money to cover the train fare I didn't have enough money on me (£4.90) to cover the cost of a First day ticket (allows you to make unlimited journeys in the area as I needed to get two buses), and foolishly thought I may be able to get a student first day ticket which costs £4 if i used my now expired Student card to purchase a ticket. I know, totally wrong and regretted it immediately. The card expired in September (says 2011-2012 on the card) and I'm no longer at the University. To cut a long story short, the driver asked to see the card, I handed it to him, he said that the card had expired so wouldn't be able to use it and then said he would have to keep the card, I said ok and he asked where I wanted to go - bought a single fare and nothing else was said. Since then i've been thinking over and over about what could happen now. My card just had my picture and my name on it, no other personal information such as an address etc. So, fair enough, I know I was in the wrong, stupid thing to do in the first place and something I've honestly never done before. Whilst I know it's probably impossible to say but is this likely to result in further action? As I say, he took no details from me at all and just treated me as any other customer thereafter. The card is/was property of the university - nothing to do with the bus company. It was on the First bus service in Stoke-on-trent. Many thanks

When I register my 18+ student oyster card I upload wrong picture(my wife's picture) mistakenly. And keep using that oyster card with my wife's picture on it. Yesterday ticket inspector caught me for wrong picture on my card. He took the oyster card with him and issue me a 2 weeks paper travel card. He said British transport police will investigate this. It was a genuine mistake and i was lazy to apply for another 18+student oyster card. Now I am scared........ do you guys think will i get a criminal offense?

Hi there, I have had trouble with East Midlands Trains, and given their response i really doubt i am the first. I recently bought a 16-25 railcard so that i could get to Leicester University from Beeston, Nottingham. When i bought it, i explained that i would be using it to get to and from university. I certainly explained that i would be travelling during the morning. The guy at Beeston station, Nottingham, who sold me the card made no mention of restrictions relating to traveling at peak times. It now appears that the 16-25 rail card i have purchased is actually useless for the purpose i bought it for. Maybe i am way off track (no pun intended), but surely i must be entitled to a refund as East Midlands Train's agent misinformed me, and that misinformation lead to me purchasing the railcard? When i contacted the smug losers at EMT's head office, they said i was not entitled to a refund, but if i sent the railcard back to them, they would possibly send me a goodwill gesture. Can anybody point me in the direction of appropriate legislation dealing with this sort of misselling? I haven't used the railcard. Many thanks, Lu.

Both my children have received demands from the SLC for some £277.00 each. Their letters give no detail as to how the overpayments have arisen. We supplied all documentation as and when required and are at a loss as to how this could have come about. Our daughter has now finished university but is only in a part time job which is about to end and our son has started his 2nd year. Understandably neither of them are in a position to repay the demanded sums. Has anyone any advice as to how to proceed? My 1st thoughts are to write to ask for an explanation as to the how the overpayments have arisen.

Hi from a newbie! I having been paying my 1991-94 student loans back from 2002 when I had CCJ against me. I had failed to inform of a new address and it got sent to court. Since then I have been paying back £5 a month due to to a low income. A few years ago I noticed I had been sold over to Link who have been charging me monthly interest - double my payment fee. (10 years of payment for nothing!) I am still on a v. low income and they now want to me to pay more. Since reading up on them I realise I dont want to pay anymore. What are my options? - Do the loans become void after 25 years? - Can I ignore them (I'm not going to talk on the phone again for sure now!) - Is a 2002 CCJ enforcable if I stop paying the £5/month (which I have now) with thanks

Hi I am currently an Open University student and as I am on income based JSA I get full funding for my course as well as receiving £265 in a course grant to pay for anything I need relating to my course such as travel to tutorials, stationary etc. This £265 went into my bank account last week and when I went to sign on on Thursday I was informed that my benefits had been suspended because I had received this money and they said it was money I could live on. The Open University informed me that it couldn't be considered when it comes to income for benefits. The adviser also kicked up a fuss and said my whole claim was being reviewed because I was studying with the Open University and therefore a student and not seeking work. Can anyone advise if 1. I am not able to study with the Open University and claim JSA? 2. Are they able to stop my money because of this grant> Any advice at all welcome. Thanks

Hi, Ive had a look through similar threads and I'm looking for some clarification. I took out student loans in 97-99. I left my initial course part way through the first year and re-started in 98. When I re-started I did not have to pay £1k fees, still got a grant (remember them!) I was still on the previous style system of a straight loan, no fees, non means tested. Ive never earnt enough to pay them back. Also, I have been very slack in sending off deferment letters. About 2 years ago Link got my current address and I committed to pay £25 a month on the 1997 agreement, which I'm still paying, now £30 a month on a 6 month review. SLC got my current address about 1 year ago and send me statements for 98 & 99. I spoke to them once initially but have never sent them any written communicae in about 10 years. Form memory I mat have paid some token gestures when they contacted me in about 2001. Where do I stand with 'Statute Barred' on all 3? (SLC and Link) How do I go about getting a statute barred if its applicable? Anyone with positive experience, draught letters, methods of contact etc are much appreciated. Finally, do these affect credit ratings, stay on file etc Many Thanks in advance

Hi I just need some information because Im getting a letter stating that i owe maintenance grant which has been overpaid On one of the letters it states "This amount of your maintenance loan has been replaced with a maintenance grant. This mean you have less student finance to repay" But isn't that a way to get me to repay an overpaid grant? im so confused at this point. No idea what is happening and i am not organised :'( I was no longer a student when they charged me for atleast of the 2 payments. Im not sure if the payments still count? Also they contacted me like 5-6 months after to let me know that i have to repay them :\ Also i was no longer a student when they made the overpaid grants - and only today did i confirm that the payments were actually paid Are they allowed to do that? They are threatening to send me over to a third party company called smith lawson and company. I typed in google what it was and it led me here. Also there was an issue with when i left my course. My university misplaced the 2 forms i needed to hand in and now im even more confused. can someone help me out i need information.

Hi all Great resources and posts here, you've helped many people, hope you keep up the excellent work. First off - apologies - I've deep dived into the forum as much as I possibly could over the last couple of days but it is vast! I couldn't see anything matching my situation exactly. I also hope this is the right place to post - it was a toss up between overseas debt and student loans. I am a "Pom" living in Australia - emigrated about 10 years ago. Up until about 18 months ago I was a fairly good (if a little reluctant ;-)) Student Loans Company "patron", filling out my income assessments each year, started paying when my income went over the threshold. Yes - a few times I got into arrears and didn't always pay each month. During those times I had pre recorded phone calls and messages etc from "debt collectors", but essentially I would always clear the arrears and they always went away, after some stern tellings off. Times have been hard recently though. I've been sole income provider for my family for some time now and have copped some other "part of life's rich tapestry" unexpected expenses and events and have been struggling with my Aussie debts and mortgage, let alone the SLC one I still have reasonable earning power which looks OK on paper (which is essentially all that they look at), but circumstances are not very rosy. Interestingly they haven't hassled me much. The last payment I made when I was in arrears I explained my situation and that I was in some financial strife. They were totally unsympathetic, I felt very belittled on the phone (after being on hold for an eternity to get through to what I can only assume was a scottish, female version of Hitler) and I basically paid back the arrears in a couple of instalments after taking their medicine. My Australian credit card provider lapped up the big payment of course! That was a good 18 months to 2 years ago now. I haven't rung them or contacted them in any way since - rightly or wrongly I decided that I couldn't pay the exorbitant amount they were demanding per month, they wouldn't negotiate on it, so I decided to focus my efforts on getting myself out of trouble financially in Aus first (wolfs at the door), with the intent actually of getting a personal loan over here to pay off the balance of my student loan when I'm able to. I have ignored two requests for income assessments. I have had no threatening phone calls or letters (which I have previously had). I did get a letter telling me my default payment seeing as I hadn't filed my income assessment (which incidentally was less than the calculated amount I think!) I'm quite sure it's only a matter of time, perhaps even very short time before they take further action. But what is that going to be? I'm not a legal eagle - I'm a bit confused by my research on this forum. On one hand I see a long thread about Barclays debts being sold to Aussie debt collectors and there being no case to answer to. But I understand that this is governed by a CCA and that essentially you need a CCJ issued to an address in the UK before it can be taken through the legal system over here. Also understand the data privacy issues with selling a debt to another country etc. all of which makes it hard to chase over here. What does this income contingent loan come under? I know that stat baring doesn't apply and if I go back to the UK the debt would still stand and would come out of my pay. Would I end up in the courts over there? Can they get me over here or can I afford to take a little extra time before paying them back a lump sum borrowed from a loan over here? Can they wreck my credit rating here (which would obviously defeat my plans to borrow to pay them, and future mortgages? Do they still have to get a CCJ to start things rolling with these new income contingent loans? Can I expect calls from an Aussie debt collection service and how seriously should I take them? Please... un confuse me and help me with an informed strategy! I haven't ruled out going back to the UK to live at some stage, and do honestly intend paying this back... just need some time. Would help to know exactly what can and cannot be done to me! Cheers..

My son took a first year accomodation with MCRStudents which he vacated in June this year. The deposit was placed with DPS and when we contacted the MCR for the deposit back they gave us a reference and said we needed to apply on the DPS site for the return of deposit. We applied and heard nothing...chased up MCR who said it was out of their hands and to apply again on the web site. We applied again. No response. We contacted MCR yet again who said to check we had put the right details in. This time we double checked against the tenancy agreement, input to the website yet again and now recieved an email from DPS saying they do not have any record of a deposit and to go back to the letting agents. I replied stating we had checked the details, had input them three times and felt we were now getting to the stage of compensation for their refusal to return monies that are rightfully and legally my sons, I copied the email to the MCR students finance email as well. I am furious! My son needs that deposit as he is moving into his new accomodation next week and I am so appalled at the runaround we are getting...what can I do? I paid the deposit out of my account but it is in his name. Thanks Tinks

You've all probably heard this a million times before but I'm about to take my head out from the sand and attempt to feel human again. Coming from a living-on-the-breadline family I started university in 2006 and whilst my work was soaring my credit score was nose diving. I felt invincible and having access to so many overdrafts seemed like a never ending pot of money that I could dip into only having to pay it back when I was earning over 60k (I couldn't have been further away from the truth!). Like alot of students being lured into shiny banks with their free mp3 players and customer advisors literally begging you to join up to their bank and give you their cash, they always said the same thing..."you just have to pay this off when you finish university". I applied and received my first student overdraft which was maxed out and received phone calls and letters that I had to pay the amount off in full as I had not used the account in 2 months as my student loan had not yet been paid into my account. The account was closed and passed off onto debt collectors which harrassed me constantly (which I can understand as it was my fault and no one elses). I managed to pay this off in installments using my student loan and another overdraft which is when the cycle repeated 3 more times (stupidly). I moved around a couple of houses throughout the years as students do stupidly thinking my debtors would not be able to find me and just write it off. In 2009 I was contacted by a friend of a friend saying that he knew someone who had been bombarded with visits and letters from debt collection agencies from a previous address of mine, I have never been so embarassed. Knowing that I had messed up my financial status was one thing (a huge thing) but bringing in other people to my situation was something worse. Eventually I was given a CCJ due to my lack of communication and I haven't contacted them out of fear if I let them know where I am they will come and take all my belongings due to me not being able to pay the full amount. My two other overdraft accounts have been closed and I am called regularly to contact them. One of these is Halifax who I also hold a current account with where my wage is paid into, every time I check my account I'm absolutely terrified that they would have closed my account and used any money I had left to pay towards the arrears of my overdraft. I don't know whether to open a current account with no overdraft and have my wages paid into there whilst my debts are sorted out. I've recently moved to a new city where I have a full time job but I'm living hand to mouth, I would usually have £200 spare at the end of every month and wanted to contact my debtors but my girlfriend has recently become unemployed and I am having to pay 2 peoples rent leaving me with hardly any spare cash even after major budgeting. I haven't even updated my details with my bank out of fear. I don't know where to start, I've felt so guilty and irresponsilble for too long. I just want to be normal and not forever in fear or hiding my mobile phone from friends when a 08XX XXX XXXX number rings. Here are my list of debts: £1,400 - Wescot. CCJ £2,500 - Barclays. Closed account £1,000 - Halifax. Closed account (current account is still active) I want to clean the slate (as best as possible) and start my life with a breath of fresh air, no guilt and some money in the bank. At the moment I can't even get credit for a bar of Dairy Milk. Looking back I can't understand how I was such and idiot, so young and now marked with a terrible credit rating. What makes it worse is that all the other posts on this forum are from families struggling to make ends meet and getting into trouble through no other option but mine was due to not using any common sense. I hope someone can point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it. Apologies for the essay-long post, but I've never told anyone the whole story and thought the least I could do was to post it on here. Thanks for any advice in advance.

Hi I am hoping someone can help me. I received a call yesterday from an unknown number on my mobile phone which left no voicemail. This morning they have called again and I managed to get there in time then I answered my phone, they referred to me by my Christian name and then confirmed my Surname, but, they would not respond to me as to who they were and why they were contacting me until I had confirmed my details. The reason they are contacting me was due to an outstanding debt to Student Loan. This i had, many moons ago, gone through to CCJ on my credit rating and as far as I was aware this was paid off as a standing order that was on my account and when I calculated the date to end on I stopped payment and heard no more. The CCJ is no longer on my Experian record so now I cannot confirm details of reference numbers, balance or anything. Link Financial asked me to confirm my address and are telling me I owe £2,350 and I have 21 days to pay this or someone will arrive at the door of my home to collect. I am in employment but do not have that kind of money that I could pay this, but I dont think I owe this money. When I disputed that I owed it they asked how much I thought I did owe. They went on to state they would not accept payments if I am deemed liable (at this precise moment in time I am working away from home but doubt in the eons of time I have any documentation regarding this at all so may have to accept by default as I fear I cannot prove otherwise). The original Student Loan was from 1994 (I graduated in 1998) and I believe the court judgement was dated 2004. This went to court as I went through an acrimonious divorce, moved home and papers were not forwarded to me by my ex partner and payments were not made due to personal circumstances at the time. I have now given my current address to Link, who infomed me they will send paperwork, but what paperwork I have no concept of, and they stated they will ring me again in two weeks. Please help as I dont know where to start to prove this has been paid.

Hi all, hoping I can get some clarification on my rights as a tenant in regards to mouse infestations. recently noticed there might be a mouse or two in the house after hearing some scurrying along the skirting board in my room. I informed the landlord who also owns the house next door and he said he caught a couple of them and decided to lay a trap. at least 3/4 have been caught so far but upon investigation there seems to be some gaps in the walls/skirting board which I suspect the mice are coming from. I suggested to the landlord could he not fill these in as it would help to prevent them coming in bu he just sort of brushed off the matter and said there would be no point. It would take no more than 10-15mins to fill in. My main worry is I am on the ground floor and the mice seem to be coming into my room, I have bought one of those repellers but I am not sure if its actually bringing them out or not working at all. I've been staying some other place last few days as I dont really want to hear or have any mice running around my room while im sleeping. What rights do i have in this instance? I do know there is some case law regarding rodent infestations but doesnt seem so clear. My housemates are not back until this weekend but I am away on holiday and ideally i would like all of us to have a sit down and discuss what needs to be done and i think the first step is filling in the gaps on the walls. I have been informed that Environmental health could order my landlord to deal with this but on the other hand I have also been told that the Landlord and Tenant Act puts the landlord under an obligation to do this in relation to pests such as mice. Any help would be appreciated as I would like it sorted and the landlord seems nice so far I just like to know my options should he refuse do to anything about it. p.s. Is laying down mouse traps/bait considered reasonable where there may be an infestation? Cheers!

Hi, I have a pre 1998 loan and have just received a letter from the Student Loan company stating that it has been passed back to them by Scot Call Debt recovery and I have to pay the amount in 7 days to avoid further action. I am sure it's stature barred as I have not made a payment or acknowledged the amount in the last 6 years but wanted a bit of advice. Should I send the Student Loan Company the statute barred letter? Many thanks

Ive been getting mail from Link Financial Outsourcing regarding an old student loan. I was deferring the payment as I was unemployed at the time then about 6 years ago I forgot to defer the payment and was asked to pay about 6 months worth of repayments, I told them I was unemployed and I didnt have it but they didnt care so I broke off contact completely with them. It looks like they have sold the debt to Link Outsourcing, my question is this, should I contact them and ask for the original credit agreement and use the statute of limitations defence or should I ignore it? Im not sure if its been over 6 years since I last contacted the student loans company (but I think its been over 6 years) If I contact them and its been under 6 years the debt becomes "live" again as I understand it. Any information would be gratefully received.

More than 2,000 students potentially face deportation after a London university had its licence to teach and recruit overseas students revoked. London Metropolitan University has had its right to sponsor students from outside the EU revoked, and will no longer be allowed to authorise visas. Ministers say the university is not tracking course attendance and that many students have no right to be here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19419395

Hey everyone i'm new here and i'm in need of some advice regarding council tax. Between August 2010 and June 2011 I stayed in a flat with two friends from university. During the year we got no notification from the council regarding council tax so we completely forgot about it until the landlord notified me at the end of the year. We never signed any documents to rent the flat when we moved in or even payed a deposit (in hindsight it was a dodgy private let). On the final day in the flat when I was the only one left and everyone had went home the landlord made me sign a lease of some sort then we shook hands and I left soon thereafter. Upon trying to sort out the council tax when I got home my 'friend' informed me that he had dropped out of uni months before without telling me or the other flatmate. So I sent in a discount form instead which reduced the amount from £1100 to around £850 in the belief that my friend would be liable for the debt as me and my flatmate were students. However because I was the only one who signed this lease apparently Glasgow City Council say that i'm the one liable for the debt, even though i'm a full time student and my friend is not. I sent an email explaining my situation to the council and they said they would contact the landlord and get the liability switched over to my friend. However, recently I've been getting letters, phone calls and texts from BPO collections about the debt so obviously it was never sorted out and it's stressing me out at the worst possible time. I'm about to start my final year in university soon and I want this problem to go away. I fear if I leave it alone like I have already been doing that it will escalate and my credit could be affected. Is there anything I can do?

Now the results are out many will be thinking about going to university, so here are a few useful links, which may help those planning to go, those already there or who have been, and for their families to understand it all. There's advice on how to start, and what to do if you find yourself struggling financially. UCAS NUS National Debtline moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance

Hi there, I'm a new user here looking for advice on the above. Took a student loan in 1995 and again in 1996. Never earned enough to repay the loans and was really lazy about sending back deferral forms. Heard no more until Late December 2008 (lived abroad between 2004 and 2006) when court papers were delivered to my door. Didn't attend the court hearing (was in a really bad way emotionally!) and hoped it would all go away. Have accessed my credit report recently and seen that a CCJ was entered against me on 14/1/2009. Should this not have been statute barred by the time they took it to court? (Only found out about SB recently). I made no contact with them or acknowledged the loan at any time. Also, I'm presuming this was the old type SL. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks lmcd