Korean Job Discussion Forums

chica_fille · Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Location: Scotland

I can confirm that if you do not tell SLC that you are going abroad then they will never know.

They can only advise you how much to pay (if you live abroad) if you send them evidence of your earnings...so don't tell them you are going abroad haha.

Here is the evidence they would accept:

If you are working abroad - copies of your last three months payslips or a copy of your contract plus one recent payslip.

If you are travelling - Copy of your travel itinerary and copy of bank statement showing how you are supporting yourself/a letter from a third party saying they are supporting you.

If you are unemployed abroad - a letter from a third party (parent/partner) saying they are supporting you financially.

It's more hassle to tell SLC you are abroad because you need to make sure they get your monthly payments. If you want to pay off your loan I would just save up the money yourself and make a bulk payment at some point.

If you have told them you are abroad, sent them evidence and they have advised you of your monthly repayment amount, then you chose not to make the payments, your account will fall into arrears and be dealt with through the collections department - Additional charges can get added on at this point.

The whole default amount of �147 is if you just ignore all the SLC correspondence (it happens after the third letter I believe) but this only happens in certain circumstances, for instance...

If you graduate and SLC cannot match your details with HMRC, you will be issued a letter asking what you are up to. You need to reply to this as it wants to know if you are working in the UK, abroad, unemployed, on benefits, travelling. ***take into consideration my points above about the evidence when chosing which option***

Hope this helps but if anyone has any other questions just PM me.

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

chica_fille · Joined: 31 Dec 2009 Location: Scotland

morrisonhotel · Joined: 18 Jul 2009 Location: Gyeonggi-do

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

hugekebab · Joined: 05 Jan 2008

You could also declare bankruptcy. My friend did it. All debt is wiped, but you are screwed for at least 6 years and sometimes longer because of the credit stigma.

Capo · Joined: 09 Sep 2007

your student loan debt still stands even if you declare bankruptcy. I believe it gets wiped if u haven't paid it off by the time your 55 or something silly like that.

On a side note I pay 20 pounds a month as of June this year. Last year I didn't pay a penny or inform them I was abroad, but then i worked a temp job for 3 months when I was back in the UK at the beginning of the year and showed up on their radar. No big deal though I have UK income which easily covers this.

StavvioD · Joined: 31 Aug 2009

I went out to Korea after graduating in August 2008. Around January/February time, I spoke to my Mum who said 3 letters had turned up (just assuming they were bank statements) from the SLC , so I asked her to open them and they'd been trying to contact me, blah blah blah and if I didnt get in touch then they would automatically take the �147. Anyway, I called them and told them my situation, and they gave me more time to send them a couple of pay-slips and then they reduced it to �38 a month (I was earning 2.3 at the time).
They wrote to me again in Korea saying that I must inform them as soon as I return to the UK so they can revise my repayments, which I haven't done yet as I was only back for christmas/new year and coming back out asap...

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

OK my mistake.

Loans taken out from 1998 onwards (new-style loans) get statute barred after 12 years.

Loans take out before 1998 (old-style loans) get statute-barred after 6 years.

But not if your creditors get a CCJ filed against you before the 6 years is up. If they do that..then the debt is collectable for 6 yrs further from the date of the CCJ.

Not sure how and if CCJ's are enforced. I think it means they can just take any of your money and assetts at will.
If you go to the US, Canada or particular countries that have a reciprocal agreement with the UK, they will simply pass your debt to a collection agency in that country. I think this is only for a few commonwealth countries though.

Its a civil offence. That means they can't arrest you, hold your passport, and it does not appear on your CRC. They can just take your money in the UK.

hugekebab · Joined: 05 Jan 2008

JD_Tiberius · Joined: 16 Nov 2009 Location: Korea

Sorry to revive an old topic, but I'm due to fly out to Korea next week and I'm wondering if its wise to get into contact with the HMRC and SLC to let them know that I will be going abroad so the taxman doesn't harass my parents while I'm away.

I've not paid anything towards my student loan yet as my only jobs since leaving Uni have been under the threshold of �15000. I do know though that the threshold for korea is �9000(which is horrendously dirty of them) and I expect the bloodhounds to be sicced on me as the penny pinching tories are in charge again.

chasmmi · Joined: 16 Jun 2007 Location: Ulsan

I just spoke with them yesterday about sorting out overseas assessment forms.

Fro Korea you wil have to fax everything which can be an arse, but I wouldreccomend paying it as it looks good and is going to be 50k per month maximum you loseout of your salary.

I would also advise writing a couple of letters before you leave saying that you give somebody you trust (my mother in this case) permission to be privy to all corresspondes be it from banks, loans or misc.

That way if some idiot company (and there's always one) gets their panties in a twist over something they are able to tell the problem directly to somebody who can pass the info onto you and you dont have to call the UK at 4am to listen to an idiot moan.