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Treasury Committee Says UK Student Loans Were Mis-Sold to Teenagers
MPs said government and Student Loans Company promotions misled teenagers about costs, and the committee wants the repayment threshold freeze reversed.
In a major update on Tuesday, July 7, the Treasury Committee said ministers had a moral obligation to reverse the decision to freeze repayment thresholds, declaring that UK student loans "amounted to mis-selling."
Promotional materials from a decade ago compared repayments to £30-a-month phone contracts in presentations to teenagers, which the report labeled "inaccurate for higher earners" and therefore "amounted to mis-selling."
Architecture student Emma Cook faces £50,000 in debt and finds repaying 9% for 40 years "depressing," while Laura-May Nardella reported paying over £3,000 in 2025 repayments alone.
Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said the report signals the issue "can no longer be ignored," while both the government and Student Loans Company called the findings an "important contribution" to the debate.
Lewis Wilson from the National Union of Students called for "immediate fixes" like raising repayment thresholds, while campaign group Rethink Repayment insisted the system requires "fundamental reform" in the coming years.