Is he making a big mistake? (debt talk)

/////AMG

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Ok long story short I have a mate who came here from Canada for uni. After a few months he decided the course wasn't for him and he had only made 1 of the 3 fee payments (which by the way are ridiculously high because he is an international student). He just left the university without withdrawing from the course. and now works here full time but plans to go back home in September.

The problem is that the university has asked for the last 2 payments as he didn't pay them. And this being a university the classes aren't mandatory and there is no attendance so they have no proof that he left. Another big mistake he did was he still sat his exams even though he didn't take the any of the classes or show up to the lectures. So technically according to the university he was there all year.
Now they want their money and he won't give it to them. He received a letter telling him if he doens't pay by the 24th or whatever date they will get lawyers after him and he'll have to pay the £6500 he owes and add whatever fees the lawyers charge.

I told him he should have withdrawn from his course and he would have been fine. So the deadline is fast approaching and hes still working, he said he doesn't care because he will be out of the country by September, but thats till a few months away.

I told him to e-mail the university and explain what happened and what not but he reckons its too late. Hes the kind of guy who would basically be done for if he has to pay that money which he doens't have.

Does anyone know if they will still go after him if he leaves the country?
Is there anything he can do?

It was dumb on his part but now hes paying the price. I've tried helping him out but I think they will chase him all the way to Canada for that money. I reckon the best he can do now is go to a debt agency and start paying it off month by month.
But he still think he'll be off the hook once he leaves because they won't bother trying to recoup the fees from another country.

Any suggestions or is he plain and simple screwed?
 
If he's not planning on staying here long term, then he might as well not pay the bill. They're not going to chase him accross he planet for tution fees.
 
It's unlikely they will leave him alone. The university probably takes lots of foreign students and this will be a problem they face every now and then. They may have a very well organised system in place for dealing with foreign student debt.

Like NackNack said though,
Just leave him to it, you've done all you can.
 
someone i used to know at work done something similar

she fell for some american one of here mates mates and decided to move over there.she took out a £5000 bank loan stopped paying all her rent/council tax infact most of her bills for the last few months she was here.

its been about 8 years now and the last i heard she hasnt paid a penny back(and these are big banks)

but your friend probably had to fill in loads of info about where hes from and family etc,so i would say they will catch him for the money back in the end.probably with loads extra added on.
 
It is but then again he didn't actually attended the classes but it's his fault for not withdrawing.
And hes not moving back where he used to live, same city so he thinks he should be ok. And he keeps going on about after 7 years the debt will be cleared, i dunno about that but I guess its his problem.
I just wanted any feedback on what he could do, im sure he could do something.
Just trying to help the guy out because hes a genuinely nice guy and mainly left uni because he kept traveling back and forth from home due to family problems.
 
The fact he sat the exams is the thing, I personally would do a runner back home and not pay, but like fortean says, they probably have something in place for this.
 
here's me with my serious head on again........twice in one month :eek:


he should pay what he owes , at the end of the day he has taken somebody's place that could have used that course.........i would chase him for the cash
 
It is but then again he didn't actually attended the classes but it's his fault for not withdrawing.
And hes not moving back where he used to live, same city so he thinks he should be ok. And he keeps going on about after 7 years the debt will be cleared, i dunno about that but I guess its his problem.
I just wanted any feedback on what he could do, im sure he could do something.
Just trying to help the guy out because hes a genuinely nice guy and mainly left uni because he kept traveling back and forth from home due to family problems.
:rotfl: So if I accumulate thousands of pounds of debt, and avoid all the debt collection agencies and everyone else for seven years, I don't have to pay it back? Plleeaassee.

You've told him what he should do, I'm not sure what you're expecting.. it's his problem now, he's dug himself into it, he took the exams (it doesn't matter if he attended the classes or not, it's up to him to do so), thus he should pay since they have done what he signed up for.
 
If he's not planning on staying here long term, then he might as well not pay the bill. They're not going to chase him accross he planet for tution fees.


Yeah **** it. we'll foot the bill for him :mad:
 
It is but then again he didn't actually attended the classes but it's his fault for not withdrawing.
And hes not moving back where he used to live, same city so he thinks he should be ok. And he keeps going on about after 7 years the debt will be cleared, i dunno about that but I guess its his problem.
I just wanted any feedback on what he could do, im sure he could do something.
Just trying to help the guy out because hes a genuinely nice guy and mainly left uni because he kept traveling back and forth from home due to family problems.

Unfortunately you're letting your friendship with this guy affect your view of him.

He is not a genuinely nice guy.

Genuinely nice guys do not sign up for courses (thereby potentially depriving someone else of a place), agree to stage payments and then welch on that agreement. Whether he attended or didn’t attend is irrelevant, the lecturer still attended and his place was held open.

He’s just one of the growing band of people who take no responsibility for actions and hopefully he will be taught one of life’s lessons and the university will catch up with him and make him pay in full with hefty legal fees added on.

Remember, this is our university funded by the British taxpayer that he’s defrauding.
 
here's me with my serious head on again........twice in one month :eek:


he should pay what he owes , at the end of the day he has taken somebody's place that could have used that course.........i would chase him for the cash

Exactly - someone couldn't do the course that year because *he* took the place. I'm not even sure he would have got his money back if he cancelled, since it would be impossible to replace him with another student part-way through the year.

On the seven years thing, debts and so on are cancelled after seven years (in the UK) IF the lender has NOT asked for it back! Otherwise everyone would stop paying their mortgages after seven years. So if your neighbour lends you his ladder *and doesn't ask for it back*, it is legally yours after seven years.
 

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