Page 3 | Student loan repayments are completely unfair

Sammy900 · 2026-03-13T21:31:29+00:00

I've thought for ages that student loan repayments are a complete rip off. I'm so glad they are now all going under review. They were mis-sold at the time as a minor "graduate tax" that you'll barely notice and there weren't any other options available to enable low income households fair access to higher education. I didn't realise then that this would turn into a lifelong debt, with snowballing interest that makes it impossible to clear. I'm on the original plan 1 which just goes on and on until I'm 65. The next plan 1 deal after 2006 then decided that 25 years was a fair term (not 47 years!!). Such a huge difference in what will be paid back. Any other standard loans have much shorter terms. It was based on the assumption that you would continue to be a low earner for the rest of your life and not move up the career ladder. I really think that the government / treasury should look into the fairness of the terms of the original plan 1 loans too not just Plan 2. I think you can submit your case to your local MP and with the treasury committee if you feel that you are paying back a student loan on unfair terms and now is the time to do so. I really hope this gains momentum and something can be done about it finally. What are your thoughts?

CrazyGoatLady · 23/03/2026 22:25

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 16:51

If the government recognised that this would be a life long debt, then why didn't they also recognise that major life events might impact on the ability to repay this back.

I just fundamentally think that a loan that you don't have to make any payments on if you earn below a certain threshold is making accommodation for the fact that life events might impact your ability to pay - far, far more generous accommodation than any other form of loan you could ever get. Essentially, your student loan didn't affect your life at all from when you graduated until 2016 and even though you paid so little in that time you still pay just a fixed percentage per month now - you don't have to 'make up' that long period. Don't you think that's pretty great, really?

If it genuinely was making accommodations for life circumstances that cause you to be a low earner, then you shouldn't have to pay interest while you were on maternity leave or out of work/part time due to children/caregiving responsibilities. Otherwise it's effectively an extra tax on women, both mothers and carers.

It's not "pretty great" at all, when I consider that most average earning men I know of my age who have been able to work full time since university have paid them off while their average earning (pre children) wives/female partners are saddled with loans bigger than they originally borrowed and will be paying them until 65 when they do go back to work and reach the threshold. We will pay more than our male partners for the same education despite earning less over a working life. How is that fair in any way shape or form?

Askingforafriendtoday · 23/03/2026 22:25

@IDontHateRainbows University lecturer here. We do not have the same holidays as students! 30 days A/L is the usual. Even students' holidays are technicaly vacations where they vacate univerity premises. Many have a fair bit of work to do incl revising.

Ninerainbows · 23/03/2026 20:04

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 17:01

But do you think you should end up paying less because you took a long time to pay it? Because that's what not paying interest means.

I know, I'm not stupid. I'm agreeing with the OP that it disproportionately affects people with caring responsibilities who may not be able to work 40 hours or more a week. I bet there are hundreds of thousands of single parents who end up paying more because their ex ran off with a workmate. They also raised the income threshold for my loan from 15k to 25k.

jnh26 · 23/03/2026 19:38

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:12

Only recent loans are 40 years. Before that they were written off after 30. There’s a lot of whinging here but people benefit from the degrees. The repayments are income based and the 40 year loans are a bigger issue for the less well paid as they last for longer. The 30 year loans obviously are not as bad.

This is incorrect - original plan 1 loans aren’t written off until you are 65.

StevieNic · 23/03/2026 19:12

@OhDear111 it is based on what you earn yes but still a significant amount of your wage taken, they take £200pcm off me each month (and that will be forever- and only go up) so more than a car payment, it impacted what lelthagw deal we could get, our ability to afford another child.

TunnocksOrDeath · 23/03/2026 19:10

IDontHateRainbows · 14/03/2026 08:18

I've always wondered why a 2 year fast track option has never existed. I guess it would mean more work for teaching staff and shorter holidays?

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At most decent universities the "teaching staff" spend the majority of their time on research. Teaching is a lower priority for academics, and the "holidays" is when they get a clear run at getting their proper work done. It would be difficult to find time to research, attend conferences, and e.g. head over to CERN or wherever for field-work if folk are lecturing freshers on the basics year-round.

YorkshireIndie · 23/03/2026 18:55

I worked out that I should pay my loan off in 7ish years. I see it as a graduate tax and it did not even weigh on my mind during my two mat leaves

i have found out that if you took out your loan through student loan wales they will pay off £1500 off it but you have to apply

JemimaTiggywinkles · 23/03/2026 18:40

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:12

Only recent loans are 40 years. Before that they were written off after 30. There’s a lot of whinging here but people benefit from the degrees. The repayments are income based and the 40 year loans are a bigger issue for the less well paid as they last for longer. The 30 year loans obviously are not as bad.

I graduated at 22 and it wipes at 65 (plan 1). So the older plans are even longer.

Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 18:34

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:32

@Sammy900 Well only some are this but you had much lower fees. Only 1/3 of current students. It started off as a smallish loan and cannot be near the current amounts.

I know ..I was mis sold or misunderstood as a youngster, like many others that the interest rates would be nothing "the price of a cup of coffee, you won't even notice". Well back in 1999 the interest rates were indeed £2.11 a month. I can't remember if that was a price of a cup of coffee or not, but likely. I didn't realise that some months over the years this would raise to over £100 a month when I could only afford to pay back £34 a year at that time. That it actually meant a life long accumulating debt.

Appreciate my fees were much lower back then compared to today. My personal circumstances are in no way as bad as some graduates have it. Flabbergasted at some stories and I worry for my kids futures. Hopefully all this mess will be sorted out by then or there will at least be different more financially viable routes into professional careers for them.

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Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 18:21

I realise I'm coming across as annoying, like a dog with a bone. No offense to anyone and some good points for discussion raised. Hopefully I'll just bore the government to death and they'll give me all my money back 😂(joking, joking)

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OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:32

@Sammy900 Well only some are this but you had much lower fees. Only 1/3 of current students. It started off as a smallish loan and cannot be near the current amounts.

SynthEsjs · 23/03/2026 17:31

MadinMarch · 14/03/2026 10:01

It most certainly is a lifelong debt for many!
My daughter went to uni in London in 2017 for a three year degree course and she got the maximum loan for fees and maintenance as I was a single parent on a low income. Upon graduating she got a further student loan for one year to study for a PGCE and then became a secondary school teacher.
She recently had reason to check the balance of her student loan. I was flabbergasted to see that she now owes about £107,000!
It's just going to increasingly snowball in the coming years. She has no chance of ever paying it back on a teacher's salary, if she wanted to clear her debt.
It just seems so wrong that she will be massively penalised financially for the majority of her future working life- all for the rather dubious privilege of becoming a qualified teacher in the state system.

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This should be criminal. Over £100k! For a teacher. We need teachers! We need nurses. There are lots of jobs that require degrees and earn modest salaries.

How can we cripple our young people with debt like this?

How are we going to get teachers for our children? Any young person being in debt like that is so so wrong.

Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 17:24

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:12

Only recent loans are 40 years. Before that they were written off after 30. There’s a lot of whinging here but people benefit from the degrees. The repayments are income based and the 40 year loans are a bigger issue for the less well paid as they last for longer. The 30 year loans obviously are not as bad.

Not true. Mine is until I'm 65. Pre 2006 Plan 1.

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Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 17:21

H202too · 22/03/2026 14:05

I think op means bluntly. After 6-7 years it would drop off your credit report. Again fine for rich who don't need to declare ccj's for mortgage not great trashing credit rating for us average earners.
But blunty yea they wouldn't have to pay it back or with little interest if do a DRO or A DMP .

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Just to quote an earlier post from H202too, commercial loans in comparison don't keep accruing interest for potentially a lifetime if you aren't in a financial position to pay them back,. You could (for arguments sake) have a "clean slate" after 7 years if in financial difficulty, and that is deemed fair by the FCA.

Student loans don't pause during unqualifying years which would be more reasonable, they keep gathering compound interest and then come back to sting you when you are finally better off and are then faced with a much larger debt to pick back up until you retire.

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sorryIdidntmeanto · 23/03/2026 17:16

Mine is 43 years

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 17:12

Only recent loans are 40 years. Before that they were written off after 30. There’s a lot of whinging here but people benefit from the degrees. The repayments are income based and the 40 year loans are a bigger issue for the less well paid as they last for longer. The 30 year loans obviously are not as bad.

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 17:01

But do you think you should end up paying less because you took a long time to pay it? Because that's what not paying interest means.

Ninerainbows · 23/03/2026 16:58

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 16:51

If the government recognised that this would be a life long debt, then why didn't they also recognise that major life events might impact on the ability to repay this back.

I just fundamentally think that a loan that you don't have to make any payments on if you earn below a certain threshold is making accommodation for the fact that life events might impact your ability to pay - far, far more generous accommodation than any other form of loan you could ever get. Essentially, your student loan didn't affect your life at all from when you graduated until 2016 and even though you paid so little in that time you still pay just a fixed percentage per month now - you don't have to 'make up' that long period. Don't you think that's pretty great, really?

But the interest was adding on every day for all that time. That's what "makes up" for the time earning below the threshold. And I will end up paying all the interest because it's not written off for another 23 years for me.

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 16:51

If the government recognised that this would be a life long debt, then why didn't they also recognise that major life events might impact on the ability to repay this back.

I just fundamentally think that a loan that you don't have to make any payments on if you earn below a certain threshold is making accommodation for the fact that life events might impact your ability to pay - far, far more generous accommodation than any other form of loan you could ever get. Essentially, your student loan didn't affect your life at all from when you graduated until 2016 and even though you paid so little in that time you still pay just a fixed percentage per month now - you don't have to 'make up' that long period. Don't you think that's pretty great, really?

Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 16:01

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 15:44

Personally, I have put up and shut up and made my repayments for over 20 years thinking that there was nothing I could really do about it, but not really getting anywhere with the debt. My original loan was 23k, with interest it went up to 35k. I'm still 20k in debt today, 26+ years after I started uni. Madness.

You must have been paying very, very little per month to be in that position after 20 years of payments.

Yes for quite a few years due to life circumstances, maternity leave, children, working part time, etc my loan was accruing loads more interest than the repayments being made back. I only really started to pay more off than was being piled on in interest to start chipping away at the actual loan in say 2016 onwards and I'm now making substantial contributions. Many others aren't. I'm not in the worst position. I appreciate that. People on Plan 2 have ridiculous interest rates compared to me. I dread to think how much that would've amounted to if I was on plan 2. I'm fighting the cause for all not just saying woe is me.

If the government recognised that this would be a life long debt, then why didn't they also recognise that major life events might impact on the ability to repay this back. There are no pauses to the interest accrued, even when you don't qualify to be able to make any repayments, it just keeps snowballing.

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Askingforafriendtoday · 23/03/2026 15:50

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 15:33

Your point just demonstrates that the system as it stands isn't fit for purpose. There might be £250 billion in unpaid loans but why? Is it fair that only successful graduates pay this back as a collective life long "tax"? Unfairly being penalised for succeeding in their own individual careers. It's their fault for being a professional, so they should pay for it all and everyone else's unpaid loans to boot?

Shouldn't the government look at other ways they can guarantee the loans are paid back, through employers for example, for the jobs that stipulate that degrees are essential.

Why is this an individual student burden only? We don't make the rules up. A lot of people have to take a loan out in order to access further education to be able to work towards a career. You seem to be coming from the perspective that people can always fall back on an option not to pay their loans back and can always just never use their degree. As if they only went to uni to get some "free" money and education for nothing to then decide not to have a career or use their degree after all as if it was some calculated con.

Life isn't like that. People don't usually pretend to have career aspirations in a contrived way just to get their hands on some state loan money they never intended to pay back. Its bonkers to think that. Reminds me of when I was younger and people use to shout "tax dodgers!" at students haha. Yeah ok mate I'm just here to live in poverty on your hard earned tax contributions for the cheap cider party, not really to learn anything or ever get a decent job and pay my taxes myself. Oh yeah by the way, it's a loan not "free money".

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Well said, OP

TheRealMagic · 23/03/2026 15:44

Personally, I have put up and shut up and made my repayments for over 20 years thinking that there was nothing I could really do about it, but not really getting anywhere with the debt. My original loan was 23k, with interest it went up to 35k. I'm still 20k in debt today, 26+ years after I started uni. Madness.

You must have been paying very, very little per month to be in that position after 20 years of payments.

Needlenardlenoo · 23/03/2026 15:37

SemiRetiredLoveGoddeess · 23/03/2026 02:21

I think it is interesting to actually nail down the following. Where does the Government get the money to pay out God knows how many millions of pounds in student loans?

I doubt if this money comes out of general taxation..So who is bankrolling this money?

Maybe the friend, the Bankers in the City of London? You know the people who really run the country.

Is there an element of Ponzi scheme? Financing new loans from the interest and principal paid back on the old loans?

Original poster

Sammy900 · 23/03/2026 15:33

OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 14:49

@Sammy900 But who is asking you for that money? It’s still based on your income. It’s irrelevant in many ways. You cannot just pay your fee amount because fees today are £9500 approx so the government needs money from the loans to pay for HE and the taxpayer is in to the tune of £250 billion worth of unpaid loans! It’s debt of course and now the people who only paid £3000 fees don’t want to pay! Just out of interest, how much do you earn?

Your point just demonstrates that the system as it stands isn't fit for purpose. There might be £250 billion in unpaid loans but why? Is it fair that only successful graduates pay this back as a collective life long "tax"? Unfairly being penalised for succeeding in their own individual careers. It's their fault for being a professional, so they should pay for it all and everyone else's unpaid loans to boot?

Shouldn't the government look at other ways they can guarantee the loans are paid back, through employers for example, for the jobs that stipulate that degrees are essential.

Why is this an individual student burden only? We don't make the rules up. A lot of people have to take a loan out in order to access further education to be able to work towards a career. You seem to be coming from the perspective that people can always fall back on an option not to pay their loans back and can always just never use their degree. As if they only went to uni to get some "free" money and education for nothing to then decide not to have a career or use their degree after all as if it was some calculated con.

Life isn't like that. People don't usually pretend to have career aspirations in a contrived way just to get their hands on some state loan money they never intended to pay back. Its bonkers to think that. Reminds me of when I was younger and people use to shout "tax dodgers!" at students haha. Yeah ok mate I'm just here to live in poverty on your hard earned tax contributions for the cheap cider party, not really to learn anything or ever get a decent job and pay my taxes myself. Oh yeah by the way, it's a loan not "free money".

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OhDear111 · 23/03/2026 14:49

@Sammy900 But who is asking you for that money? It’s still based on your income. It’s irrelevant in many ways. You cannot just pay your fee amount because fees today are £9500 approx so the government needs money from the loans to pay for HE and the taxpayer is in to the tune of £250 billion worth of unpaid loans! It’s debt of course and now the people who only paid £3000 fees don’t want to pay! Just out of interest, how much do you earn?