Student debt
A realistic Guide to life at UCLan - written by students!
A brave student sharing personal information...
A student being in debt is more or less inevitable, university is expensive and not everyone has parents that can foot the bill. Many rely on student loans and an interest free student overdraft from their bank. It seems wonderful when the first time you get to university and your bank balance is over £1000, and even when it is £0 the money just keeps coming. This is where I went wrong; the overdraft of £1225 seemed too good to be true, the bank giving me money for free?
No they were not giving me money for free. I had to pay it back somehow!
First the letters came from the bank explaining that I had to pay some of the money back and I stuck my head in the sand hoping it would go away.
Then the letters came from the bank saying they would pass my debt on to a debt collection agency, they also gave me the chance to pay back a small amount at a time, and again, I ignored them.
Now I am at the point where another debt collection agency is threatening to take me to court for the full amount plus charges and court costs.
All of this is because I had a student overdraft and I could not control my spending. I have also not been proactive in gaining advice, even though there are many places to seek it, I chose to ignore what was going on and let the amount I owe nearly double.
If you are a prospective student reading this, please take heed, be careful with your spending or you could end up in trouble.
Note from the TAG Team: It can be easy as a student to get into debt as credt card companies, banks and the Students Loans all seem to be throwning money at you. The problem is is only a loan and they make money from you getting into debt and paying interest! At the first sniff of potential debt get yourself down to the Stuents' Union Advice Centre! The trained Advice Centre has staff can help you from planning a budget to managing debts. They can also help you check if you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled including; students loans, Access to Learning Fund, child tax credits, other government benefits and more. Opposite the SU Advice centre is The Bridge, a job centre for students who could help you find a part time job!
Impotantly if you do find yourself in financial difficulty, like this student the SU Advice Centre has a debt management licence and years of experience in negotiating on students’ behalf, SO DON'T STRUGGLE ALONE!