"I've not repaid a penny of my £70K student loan since leaving Britain" | Hacker News Reader

"I've not repaid a penny of my £70K student loan since leaving Britain"

telegraph.co.uk

12 pointsJhsto15 comments

7.9% annual interest?? I read this correctly? In the current world economy? No wonder people who can avoid paying it are doing exactly that. I just hope they are saving this "extra" money as a reserve on this layoff rich environment instead of mindlessly consuming it.

Sometimes you just have to admire the aesthetical and artistical aspects of this aggressively predatory world created by fine humans such as Thatcher, Reagan, Clinton, Jack Well and Carl Icahn. This human meat-grinder system is surely a beast to behold: "Don't wait, get them while they are young! it's the most efficient thing to do, slave them with compound interest as early as possible! why wait until they start a family and get a mortgage to fleece them?

is this a lot? I remember having a mortgage in pre-war Russia, the interest was more than 10 percent

The stronger the country's economy is, the cheaper they can borrow money. The poorer the country is, the more expensive it is to borrow. Basically, "it's expensive to be poor" applies both to individuals as well as countries.

As I see from the public stats, it's about the rate people get for a car loan in US. And a car could easily be above $70K. From personal experience, when I had no credit history (i.e., the similar situation) I was charged twice of that rate. So it doesn't seem to be a lot.

average car price in 2024 us $48k, so a $70k car is still for the posh.

The newer plan 5 loans have lower interest rates... But are only forgiven after 40 years, not 30. On average new graduates will pay more over their lifetimes.

The blame for this system, if one is inclined to blame, can be laid at the feet of Tony Blair's neoliberal New Labour. The decision to begin charging tuition fees was made because of a belief in market economics and privatisation, but also because of that government's stated ambition to get 50% of young adults into universities. Without both factors, I don't believe the system would have mutated into the expensive beast it is today.

Student loans in the UK were always pegged to inflation, not interest rates, as a supposedly fairer metric.

Of course, inflation is usually slightly higher than interest rates...

>Jack Well

I assume you mean Welch, right?

Seems highly entitled and irresponsible. Sure, student loans have become somewhat predatory, but sticking honest, hardworking taxpayers with debt you acquired through poor decisions and planning doesn't feel like the right way to remedy the situation.

People will respond to the incentives that are given to them, regardless of ethics.

The question is, what system would avoid this perverse incentive? A graduate tax would have the same problem. Free tuition shifts the burden to every taxpayer unfairly. Maybe another repayment scheme, but that would disproportionately harm poorer students.

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what tools a creditor has to pursue a debtor who has left the country in general...

> sticking honest, hardworking taxpayers with debt

I raised my eyebrow at this for a second, so to save someone else the Google search: the Student Loan Company isn't a private corporation, but rather a UK government organization: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/student-loans-co...

Its not really that relevant because most places that have private student loans also have government gaurantees on the loans. Government will eat it one way or tge other which means you and i will eventually eat it

I believe eventually this will catch up to you.

I know someone who did the exact same thing in the US. The loan was from the late 70s, and the loan was around 70K USD. By around the 90s or so she was blacklisted from decent jobs due to here credit report.

She finally paid it off in the early 00s, but the damage was done. So be careful with this. I do not know how things work in Europe, but I would not be surprise if the something like this will start happening in Europe.

What in the actual capitalism is running a credit report on a job candidate supposed to achieve? That's the most American thing I've ever heard since I found out they pay to receive phone calls.

https://archive.is/lUvlf

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