More than half of the foreign students from European Union countries who took out taxpayer-financed, low-interest loans while they were at universities in Britain are failing to pay back the loans, according to a BBC report.

Students from countries in the European Union pay the same tuition rates and are eligible for the same financial support as domestic students in the countries in which they study. The BBC reported that the Student Loans Company, which was set up to administer government-backed loans and grants, says that “2,240 students should have begun repayments, but 1,580 are not accounted for.”

The BBC report also features a video interview with a Spanish graduate of a British university who describes how the Student Loans Company made no effort to collect the money she owed. Finally, nearly five years after she left university, she contacted the company, on her own initiative, to start paying back.

“Collecting debts in the UK is much simpler than overseas. Loans are recovered automatically through the tax system as soon as a former student is earning more than £15,000,” the BBC report emphasizes. “Outside the country, though, there is no repayment mechanism. The SLC has to rely on students’ informing it of their earnings and making their own payment arrangements.”

The loan company has not yet taken legal action against any European Union graduates, but it’s considering taking nine students, from France, Greece, Poland, and Spain, to court, according to the BBC. —Aisha Labi