Thanks for the advice, dx.
I have every intention of paying off what I owe, what I don't want is SLC having the ability to put up the amounts they would be able to take out of my UK bank account by piggy backing on a HMRC direct debit.
I pay them what I can through their online app. Because I am abroad they are voluntary payments but I was wondering about if anything changes when you start making Class 2 payments from a UK bank account,
tried looking for info on the 'net but couldn't but very happy about what you wrote above, thanks very much for the info and have a great weekend!