Did I ruin my life? Stressed, scared and unsure. Please don’t judge me

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Brave_Reaction_4968@reddit

Meh, you're in Canada, not a lot they can do

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fleurmadelaine@reddit

That’s not true. Debt collectors can collect from some overseas residents. Australia is on country that allows this, I wouldn’t be surprised if Canada was too.

Talk to them. No point hiding as it will only make things worse

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Brave_Reaction_4968@reddit

Of course they COULD, they could also hire someone to hunt down the OP .

but the real question is, is it going to happen

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fleurmadelaine@reddit

I’ve definitely heard of it happening amongst family friends with kids who make terrible life choices.

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Brave_Reaction_4968@reddit

Wow, you know a lot of people who skipped out on their student loan and left the country?

Interesting friends to have

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CandyNinja5@reddit

Very judgy comment. Remember who the real enemy is

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ComprehensiveHead913@reddit

I genuinely don't know what you meant by "enemy" in this context. No need to be rude.

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CandyNinja5@reddit

It’s the rich fucks who are getting people into debt. All part of the system. Rich get richer, poor get poorer. The real enemy.

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ComprehensiveHead913@reddit

I understand that sentiment but I don't see how it applies to student loans which are funded by regular tax payers.

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CandyNinja5@reddit

Hmm. Much deeper than that. Why are all Universities charging the top threshold legally. They would go higher if they could. They make millions and millions a year

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fleurmadelaine@reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/s/A3qoAuq4Ok

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It’s a risk. I remember talking to a credit controller at my old work (solicitors) about difficult cases. I dealt with debt collection cases in the litigation department. She had just moved from another company and told me about a slippery customer who kept responding to emails taunting whoever contacted him. The idiot moved to South Africa, kept his Facebook profile public and posted enough photos of his new house (and shiny motorbike) that they worked out where he was and took the motorbike.

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0-maidens@reddit

Interesting...wondering how much money would it cost them to buy return tickets to go there and waste time in courts and finding the guys address and take his bike, and auction it, surely it would be cheaper overall to just write off his debt 🤔

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Vegetable_Rub_4437@reddit

If this is uk student finance 5 years out the country should make it null and void

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Zealousideal_Award_1@reddit

If your permanently in canada nothing will happen just bin the letters its intended to frighten you into paying

They can contact but they cant enforce UK debts in canada without a complex and very expensive legal process, get a uk judgement from a court, then they would have to apply to a canadian court to recognize & enforce - which they are unlikely to do for an old loan under 6 figures which was government backed

This never happens especially since you have no income or assets tied to UK

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

Thank you! I actually didn’t realize but under Canadian law the loan is actually statute barred - which I think now means unenforceable

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AdEmotional6835@reddit

I believe of you are making an effort to pay they can't do much. Set up a standing order to pay $5 a month

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Superb-Ad-8823@reddit

It's statue barred after 6yrs in England 5yrs in Scotland. Meaning it can no longer be legally enforced after six years from the date of the last payment

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Milam1996@reddit

It’s 6 years from last contact not last payment. If they email you every 5 years to say hey you owe us money the clock will never reset.

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Rude-Music7641@reddit

It will if you don’t open and read said email. Proof of sending an email is proof of nothing. You could counter claim by saying you sent them your new updated address and email address details on the 1st April 2014 and haven’t heard anything from them since. Me? I’d keep sweeping their emails into my junk folder, eventually your mail app will start doing it themselves. I’d also flag the senders email as spam/junk if your email provider has such a function. No contact, clock was reset the last day you read one of their emails.

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bran2408@reddit

Not exactly it is your last contact with them they can send letters or emails but if you never get them/open them the 6 years stands (I did this and it wiped out mine after the 6 years)

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Milam1996@reddit

You will get them. They’ll send them as signed or tracked and that legally counts as you opening the letter. Whether you do or not is irrelevant. You can’t “one simple trick debt collectors don’t know about” your way out of debt.

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GiveMeBleachPlease@reddit

30 years and then it’s written off no?

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metalshadow@reddit

If you move abroad and stop paying (when you should be) the 30 year thing can be removed. I'm not gonna do it but I was wondering this myself if I moved country.

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Milam1996@reddit

Surely 30 is more than 5.

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GiveMeBleachPlease@reddit

You said clock will never reset. After 30 years it’s all gone

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Milam1996@reddit

The clock will never reset during the loan period. The 30 year clearance is common knowledge. Didn’t think it needed spelling out.

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GiveMeBleachPlease@reddit

Mate, just say you’re a total bell piece… how insecure are you, that you need to start belittling. I hope your misery dies

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Responsible_Club_638@reddit

Im afraid that's not entirely true. Its six years after the last contact so if student finance have been emailing to say its owed etc then theres no way you can argue its statute barred

If there has been literally no contact from anyone for 6 years then its a different story

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Slothjitzu@reddit

Slightly wrong on both counts.

You're right that it's contact, but they have to prove that they have contacted you. Attempted contact doesn't count so they can send all the letters they want but unless you've replied or called them to discuss, they haven't contacted you.

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TheBikerMidwife@reddit

Don’t engage, don’t reply don’t acknowledge. This above is the answer.

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Salty_Vegetable_6093@reddit

Call them and set up a payment plan, it’s not as bad as you think and once you speak to them they will help you.

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Junior_Size1920@reddit

For mental peace, I’d contact them scream financial hardship and pay £1 a month.

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Soft_Self5318@reddit

Never answer the phone. Once you do you've taken liability and they know it's you

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Soft_Self5318@reddit

Don't answer.

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Firm-Painting-9630@reddit

Fuck student finance. Biggest scam they sell to under 18's. I have a decent salary and I've been paying for 15 years. I owe them 450 quid more than when I started. I pay 150 quid a month.

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

That’s the worst part. And everyone says you know what you signed up for - but at 17, I didn’t realize my £40K of debt was actually like £70K. If I knew that I wouldn’t have taken it out. It’s just really upsetting, it feels so hard to get ahead in life today with everything so expensive and debt is so high

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The_Deadly_Tikka@reddit

Unfortunately it's not their fault you didn't chose to read what you signed. You agreed to take the debt and pay it back. End of discussion

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The_Deadly_Tikka@reddit

If it has gone to collections that's rough cause it will affect your credit for a while.

You need to find out if it actually went to collections or if somebody else just bought the debt off them.

Alot of the time these companies can't be bothered to chase you so will hand it off to someone else who loves to chase you. if that's the case just move start paying again.

If it's gone to collections then you need to speak to the collections agency

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Imaginary-Vanilla839@reddit

Well they can chase all they like- if you don’t have it, then tough shit on them. And if you get some mark on your credit or whatever in the uk, you’re not going to care, you live in Canada.

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PrizePersonality5843@reddit

The letters are designed to be scary. Put them in the bin. They won’t chase it. I’m still getting letters for nonsense. I just ignore them. UK solicitor here.

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ber-cloud-1515@reddit

Offer what's called a settlement agreement. Get them to respond to an email and use tor browser so they can't track.

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ceciem2100@reddit

How on earth would they have gotten you Canadian phone number?

Anyway, if you have no plans on returning ever to the UK, it doesn't matter at all.

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Critical-Cucumber-59@reddit

MKe them an offer to oay back,say,5 dollars a month. Xx

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Tight_Analysis9226@reddit

I don't think the issue is whether or not you can get away with the debt but how you would feel about it hanging over you. Would you be forever looking over your shoulder - they know where you are and you already feel scared. Burying your head in the sand will only make matters worse. You seem as if you were willing to pay the debt and peace of mind is priceless. Karma on the other hand is a bitch. Get in touch with them. They will probably be more than happy to work out a repayment option that suits you. Get your conscience clean and sleep well. Live free!

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Confuseduseroo@reddit

The amount concerned is fairly key to this discussion I feel.

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

Around £10k arrears plus £40k loan. Wants $600 per month just for loan

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InsertNameSomewhere@reddit

I believe in previous posts about student finance England, there were some stats posted that SFE never had chased an international debt.. but I believe the advice then was never to return to the UK

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spikeboy4@reddit

I worked for a company that was hired specifically to set up payment plans for the student loans company on international debts, so it does happen but tbf it was pretty chill, the majority of people just didn't know how to set it up themselves and had it on their mind they needed to do it.

They had really strict rules on how to interact with people and tried to make it at easy as they could, and went to great lengths to make sure people didn't feel pressured. The optics of it, I assume.

Unless something major has changed, I wouldn't worry about speaking to them, but ignoring it could certainly cause issues down the line.

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VerbingNoun413@reddit

This advice also applies without the debt.

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KindLong7009@reddit

Nah, what happened is he told them he was abroad then just didn't update them afterwards - 'overseas arrears' which is actually considered bad debt and they will sell it to creditors.

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Milam1996@reddit

lol you’re perfectly fine to come back to the uk. We don’t have a debtors jail haha. They’ll only notice if you actually move back and move into your own place and put your name to things. You could come on holiday for the next 10 years and piss all they can do.

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Whilst I have also heard this is the case, my brother was tracked down 3 months after moving to Japan immediately after graduating.

That was like ~20 years ago though.

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ForestFairy77@reddit

it’ll get written off eventually

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sumbodielse@reddit

Put money aside for savings, if the debt never finds you its your money If it catches you then make a payment plan but let it find you No one runs towards a bullet

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sophie26262626@reddit

My ex moved to Australia from Ireland with his entire uni debt still owing. Debt collectors visited his mums house a couple of times but other than that nothing happened. Didn’t affect immigration/getting loans out there. I mean if you ever want to move back to the UK it might be something to consider but people do this every single day. Please try not to stress every situation if solvable.

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

Thanks Sophie - when did he move to Australia? Do you know if he made a payment plan or anything? I’m not looking to avoid paying, I just am hoping they can meet me halfway. Life is so expensive, I don’t have the spare money they’re wanting, I can provide half though

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setokaiba22@reddit

Are these old style student loans? (If you aren’t nothing will happen anyway. If a CCJ is claimed after 6 years whilst still they could reapply for another they will probably get it rejected so.. regardless

The SLC never sells debts on either to a debt collector at least usually.

I’ve never seen new style student loans go this far - as in being sold to a collector. I’ve a friend who’d abroad 5 years came back to a ton of letters just started paying once he got a new job here.

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

It’s a plan 2 loan - I’m so scared.

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setokaiba22@reddit

Mate if you aren’t returning just leave it. 6 years it’ll be done.

It’s still very odd if they have a debt agency chasing you on their behalf.

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Rentality@reddit

My sister moved to Canada and stopped paying.

Nothing happened. You'll be fine.

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Shillman1991@reddit

Worst they will do is give you a ccj on your credit rating in the uk and itll be ruined. If you dont plan on buying or renting a house in the uk then dont worry about it. My mother moved from uk to canada and her debt disappeared. If its really playing on your mind you could call them and offer a really low settlement amount. Say youre moving house and either they accept your offer or they can try and find you. That also worked for my mum.

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Imadeutscher@reddit

Just Ignore them. Nothing will happen

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

How long has he been in Germany and not paid?

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Imadeutscher@reddit

Since 2019

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Last-Visit-4051@reddit (OP)

Wow okay thank you for sharing that

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Individual_Rule8771@reddit

I took mine out in 2000 but I've been in Thailand full time since I got my degree. They did contact my parents once about 10 years ago but parents told them I'm not in the country and nothing happened after that

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the_Athereon@reddit

Debt like that can't follow you internationally... well, not easily.

Thing is, if you own anything in the UK, even if it's just money in a bank account, they "can" come after that.

But they almost certainly won't come after you in Canada.

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Sensitive_Cry_4476@reddit

You need to pay the debt collectors wherever u are it’ll affect ur credit score

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davbryn@reddit

Do yourself a favour and get a new phone number, a new email address and just move on. You are half way around the world, they won’t be in a room hunting you down

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windy_on_the_hill@reddit

R/legaladviceUK

And presumably, the Canadian equivalent

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MorningToast@reddit

OP, you don't need legal advice. Ignore and forget.

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Outrageous_Jury4152@reddit

I thought student gets get written off after a number of years....it's not possible to be passed on.

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WatchingStarsCollide@reddit

After 30 years

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Outrageous_Jury4152@reddit

....

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Panakapan@reddit

ROFL...don't worry about it mate. Ignore the letters and crack on with your life. There's nothing they can do

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Mundane_Summer9206@reddit

Wits all that aboot, isn't there an ask Canada sub reddit aye ?

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Superb-Ad-8823@reddit

Solution is simple just change your email address

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Born_Second_2953@reddit

Mate do not worry about this at all they will not come after you out there

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Majestic-Pen-8800@reddit

Just blow it off. They’ve taken responsibility for your loan.

Chill and enjoy your life.

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Mammoth-Ad-562@reddit

Stay where you are

Who cares

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PatTheCatMcDonald@reddit

Get a job on a gold claim? Make it harder to find you.

I don't think you ruined your life. You made a choice to cut and run and it's an argument about money (civil case) rather than being a crime.

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HegemonyOfDichotomy@reddit

The debt will be eventually written off...I think if you stay away from the country for 7 yrs or more (someone fact check me). This does not mean you don't pay...but just saying....

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Cantdecide1207@reddit

That basically goes for all unsecured debt.

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HegemonyOfDichotomy@reddit

So why didnt you chime in then, superstar?

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Cantdecide1207@reddit

Pretty sure I did

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___Mongo@reddit

You'll have to move and live off grid way out in the Yukon to avoid the debt collectors

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Secure_Music_6062@reddit

First thing you can do is not panic. In normal circumstances any student loan taken out is paid back via salary etc, so assuming that your move to Canada triggered SFE to ask for the loan to be paid back but as pointed out, you are in Canada, so nobody is going to come knocking at your door. You may get text and phone calls but you are free to block those. So if you are def staying in Canada then you are ok as most stautes of limitation on most debt are 6 years I believe ie they are written off

However if you are leaving returning to the uk option open then you can engage with the agency. By UK law, debt can't be simply taken from your bank account etc so it is possible to get in touch with the company to make a long term repayment plan with them. This would involve making an income / expenditure statement and they are only allowed to take a percentage of any *disposable* income ie after necessities of living and any council tax / rent/ bills. But this is all if you are going to return to the UK. Otherwise, I would ignore any calls / texts and wait for that to die down and get on with your life

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kotare78@reddit

If you don’t intend to return don’t pay.

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