Advice

There will be times in most people’s life that they encounter financial difficulties, for students with limited income this can become a severe debt problem quickly if the issue is not resolved.

But with a few steps you can take control of your situation and make sure that debt does not take a grip of you whilst at university.

If you are troubled by debt why don’t read the Advice Centre’s Debt Guide for advice and information about what you can do to help your situation.

Remember you do not have to deal with the situation alone; the Advice Centre is here to offer independent and confidential advice.

CASHflow

CASHflow is a new way for Advice agencies to help people with debt problems.

CASHflow is a self help system aimed at helping people resolve their own issues with additional advice and guidance from the Advice Centre.

Most of the leading creditors are also a part of the scheme to allow for a much easier, quicker and successful service. 

Student Loans

The repayable amounts of Student Funding are the Tuition Fee Loan and the Maintenance Loan. Although these debts can seem significant and daunting the system in place is still favourable to students when compared to commercial lenders i.e. banks.

Students start to pay back their students loans the April after they have graduated and only when they have begun to earn over £15,000 per year.

Once you earn over this figure, the amount taken is a small proportion of your monthly income. It will be taken directly from you wage like Income Tax and can be stopped for a period of up to 2 years if you are in financial difficulties.

If the loans are not paid off within 25 years they will be written off by the government.

Remember the Student Loans do not show on your credit rating but do acquire interest.

The rate will be dependent on a number of factors, firstly what system you are on:

• For Pre 1998 starters the interest is directly linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI)
• For Post 1998 starters the interest will be which is ever lower the rate of RPI or 1% above the Bank of England Base rate