To all with student loans

[Beefy198]

I'm not sure how many of you on here could be affected by this, but if not you then maybe one of your kids are.

You may have heard about the current disgusting government position re. student loans. If not read on...

When student loans were brought in, the government pledged that the amount borrowed would always cost the same in 'real terms' when a student finally paid it off.

In order to achieve this, they linked the interest rate to the Retailers Price Index (RPI). There were some concerns over this (as this was affected by mortgages), which came to a head last year when ex-students paid nearly 5% interest on their rather sizeable loans.

Now that the economy has gone up the spout, we have all been told that the UK economy is deflating, as opposed to inflating. The RPI is currently -0.4%.

Good news to those with student loans?

No. The government has actually decided to reduce the cost of the student loan interest to just 0%.

What this means is that those with student loans will actually pay MORE for their loan, the exact opposite of a Labour pledge.

I've got some reading material that explains all this much better than I could:

Student loan interest rate decision is a disgrace - This is Money Blog
Student Loans: Should you pay them off?...
Will deflation mean student loan pays me interest? | This is Money

And if you, like many others, are affected by this it is in your interests to sign the petition below.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Loansofstudents/

[BrilloPad]

signed

best of luck.

[Beefy198]

I've also written to my local Labour MP, but to be honest he's such a slippery bastard (an ex-whip who ALWAYS sides with the official line) he'll just give me the usual response that always follows this simple template:

a) thank you for your letter
b) I've noted your points
c) here's something that Labour have done on a similar, but not related, issue to yours. For example, if you were to show concern at lack of local jobs, he would state Labour have reduced the national unemployment rate; if you were to state concerns at public transport in the area he'll tell you that Labour have increased investment nationally. I'm sure that for this he'll state that more people than ever now go to university
d) here's some more stuff that really is definitely unrelated to your original point
e) if I can be of any further assistance please do get in touch
f) I have now added you to my mailing list so I can let you know whenever I open a new classroom, if you wish to opt out at any time call my office

(Can you tell I've written to him before? )

[sappatz]

Ukrpi

you have your numbers wrong
UKRPI YOY is currently at -1.2%

[Beefy198]

They take the figure from March and apply it across the whole year.

Hence why in 2007 the figure was 4.8% for one year.

[Sockpuppet]

Fooking hell. Students with a cause. I'm off to the bunker.

[Beefy198]

Funnily enough, the National Union of Students have sided with the government:

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/S...-dropped-to-0/

What's the chances that Wes is a Labour supporter who hopes to enter politics....?

[Beefy198]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Streeting

Oh, what a surprise:

"Streeting was elected as NUS President in April 2008 as a candidate of Labour Students"

[swamp]

Who really give a toss about this?

Tracker mortgages below BoE base rate do not dip below 0%, so why should student loans? Banks have strong legal backing for their stance, and so will HMG. Students and their loans can go swing. I want my money back; I'm a taxpayer!

[Beefy198]

Who really give a toss about this?

Evidently, those affected

Tracker mortgages below BoE base rate do not dip below 0%, so why should student loans?

Student loans were sold by the Labour government as never costing the individual anything other than the original cost of the loan. In fact, the Student Loans Company website still spouts this:

These loans accrue interest at the rate of inflation, which means that the amount repaid has the same value as the amount borrowed.

(Source)

Banks have strong legal backing for their stance, and so will HMG.

What they've done is use a clause that states they don't necessarily have to charge interest. Basically, they're trying to weasel their way out of a pledge (as usual).

With student loans they often try burying the news, which is exactly what they've tried doing here with a relatively low key statement on their website.

Students and their loans can go swing. I want my money back; I'm a taxpayer!

So am I, and the fact that many degree holders earn more than those without means they contribute more too

Anyway, if it helps we pay over the odds anyway. Despite the fact that it's meant to rise (or fall ) in line with inflation they use the RPI calculation as opposed to the official CPI calculation... funnily enough, which is usually higher.