Student Finance

purexxevil

purexxevil

purexxevil

Associate
Joined
24 Nov 2008
Posts
321
Location
North West UK
I did a quick forum search and couldn't find any student finance based topics, it was mentioned in a few, but I thought I'd start my own rant.

Well they're utterly useless. Welcome to a government run body? I guess so.

I applied before the deadline online, for full maintenance and tuition fees.
I got a financial summary saying I'd applied for nothing :S
Call them in Glasgow, and get told to try again.
soooooo resent the forms via the post, recorded delivery.
Another financial summary comes, saying I'd applied only for tuition fees :S
Call them in Glasgow, and get told to try again.
soooooo resent ANOTHER maintenance form request.
nothing comes in the post
Call them in Glasgow, and get told to try again.

I feel im going in circles! When I even sent via recorded delivery I was told that its a mystery why my form wasn't processed!
I know they have a lot of people to get through, but getting it right first time would cut them down a lot of work long term!
It makes me so angry.

Anyway, forgive this rant, there is a point to this thread!
Has anyone else had similar problems with student finance, or is it just my bad luck? :(
 
Sounds like your in a similar situation to me mate...

Send all the forms applying for max maintenance and tuition fee loan aswell as the grant. Now the tuition fee amount is £3200 and the loan is avalible to ALL students regaless of parents earnings...

Anyways got the "how much your getting" letter through the post saying

Maintance loan - £1000 (nowhere near the amount I need)
Maintance grant - Not even on there
Tution Fee loan - £1600 (course is £3000 odd)

I rang up and they told me that my parents paperwork is still "processing" so I thought fair enought. I asked why my tuiton fee was so little even though the loan is avavlible to all students. She said "erm....??? Dunno...Send off another Tution Fee Loan request form"

*Sigh*

Sent it off. Got another letter through the post the other day with the exact same amounts on them!!! Useless!

So im just gonna leave it until im home to sort it all out (currently finishing up my placement year)
 
Gosh that is messed up :S
nah the maintenance is £3248 unassessed income - so that's completely messed up.
Tuition fees cover your course up to £3225 and is paid direct to them.

So yea, what you've recieved is completely wrong.
You have my sympathy! I understand your pain!
 
I'm still waiting for them to process my parent's aditional information. It just say's awaiting aditional information though my mum sent the form off well over a month ago, almost two month's. Argh term starts soon.....
 
lol time for my rant about this :P i've spent the last 2 days trying to get through to them by phone and just did about an hour ago!

basicly i did an application in feb for the loans etc. cause i took a gap year had a confired place for sep and so on so i thought i'd get it done nice and early right? right?!?! wrong.. very wrong lol.

they some how linked that application with one of my previous applications and managed to send it to the wrong place. i phoned them to start with got told to give it time so i did another 2 months phoned back, and was told that the application had been stopped due to me send it to the wrong place, confused i said.. but i did my application online... i havent sent it anywhere.. to which i was put on hold for a long while then told that it was their mistake but there was nothing they could do and apply again online.

so i applied again, this time things seemed to be going well, but still taking way way too long, people had applied afer i had the second time and herd back already from them, so i phone them to be told that we haddn't send off evidence, when infac we had sent off everything they asked for, this started another lengthy hold followed by being told to send it all again oh and they needed it by a certain date or my application will be delayed.

now, by this point i've had enough but i send it off recorded and signed for, no way they're getting out of it tis time? right?!?!?! HA! i sent that stuff to them the 2nd of July with the current application having been origialy sent to them on the 18th of march and had phone them last month and been told to give them time should be here by this time next month (which was last week). i Phone them then get told that i havent sent stuff, to which i reply i have and i have al the dates and so on, so Lewis (nice bloke, but could tell he wasn't happy to be dealing with me, but mind you i wasn't and am not in a happy mood about this lol) then put me on hold and was like right so that was sent and we've sent it back to you? and i was like yes you have recieved and sent back all the documents, put me on hold again, 10 mins later returns to tell me he things its to do with processing and i should give it more time, i explain i have been waiting along time and friends have done theirs even though they sent it off ages after me yet they have confirmation about what money they are getting, tells me to phone back if it's not here at the end of the week :|

so all in all if it's not here at the end of the week he said that when i phone next the application will be flagged and i will get a direct number to someone there to deal with my application and blaa blaa blaa, i'm starting to think that going to ui is more hassle then its worth!

sorry about my rant, i wanted to make a thread for ages but held back lol and this thread was just perfect time to vent! this system for studet finance sucks!
 
apparently i ticked a box that said i didnt want to be income assessed, this is AFTER my parents have had the forms through the post and returned them?...

Good system.
 
I've just had A-Level results and am Gap-Yearing before Uni so haven't applied yet, but I've heard all the horror of it from mates. Seems like I've got this to look forward to!
 
I'm convinced the entire point of the Student Loans Company is to artificially keep the unemployment figures down. Nobody who works there would be able to hold onto a job anywhere else.
 
I am also having issues with the Student Finance Loans whatever company, it is truly frustrating, but hang in there OP! - still a few weeks to go until the next semester!
 
Worked for me first time, and now going into the second year it's worked for me second time. None of my friends have had problems either.

I applied online and my friends did it by form. If I had any problems the county council were able to help and sort it all out for me, try giving them a call.
 
KiTBoH said:
Worked for me first time, and now going into the second year it's worked for me second time. None of my friends have had problems either.

I applied online and my friends did it by form. If I had any problems the county council were able to help and sort it all out for me, try giving them a call.
Click to expand...


you're just trying to show off :mad: ;)

countacting hte county council wont help, the process is no longer done by local councils and so on, that how my first application for this year got messed up, i applied online nad then the student finance people sent it to my local council then told me it was my fault for sending it to the council as local coucils no longer process the applications.

very frustrating to be told you've sent application forms to the wrong place when you infact applied online :p
 
Yup, every year I have the same problems with them. They've still never paid my actual tuition fees - studying in Scotland, so the fees were ~500 higher than those in England at the time, but they'll only give me a loan for the first 1200, not the full 1700, though all of my English friends up here get the full amount. Payments have always been late for the first semester, which is a real pain when trying to get myself sorted for the year, and the online parental income assessment thing had my family going round in circles for weeks before it finally registered that they'd submitted it.

Even after that, they sent me an email saying further evidence was required from me to support my application...shortly after an email saying I didn't need to submit any further evidence. Looking at my online profile, there's no mention of wanting any more information. Argh.

My favourite was the declaration I had to sign last year though. As a continuing student, I just did the process online and thought no more of it. Headed off to China for my year abroad, and about a week before my semester started, they sent a piece of paper to be signed by me before they'd release any money. Having spent the summer at home waiting, I wasn't best pleased, as they wanted it sent to China for me to personally sign, then returned to them, before they'd give me anything - this happening after my semester started, leaving me with no money to pay my Chinese uni and accommodation fees.

Rubbish system, but it tends to work out for me in the end.
 
Random question. If I wanted to do a second degree, what finance options are available? I really want to apply for post-grad medicine, but the potential lack of any student loan what-so-ever is the only thing putting me off...
 
the first time i dealt with them i went through my local LEA.everything was fine. it took 10minutes for them to process my application and ID when i went in to see them.

this year i was forced to go through the main office in darlington/glashow. posted them birth certificat by recorded delivery and its vanished. they signed for it then seem to have lost it ??? so i got a new one and sent a photocopy ... lost again. at the moment im never going to be getting money by the start of term.

found 100s of people with the same problems other on the student rooms place

whats even more confusing about all of this is that theyre even asking me to prove my identity anyway ? i did this 2 years ago. im using the same online account that i used 2 years ago. i live in the same address. i am the same person! arghhh
 
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KiTBoH said:
Worked for me first time, and now going into the second year it's worked for me second time. None of my friends have had problems either.

I applied online and my friends did it by form. If I had any problems the county council were able to help and sort it all out for me, try giving them a call.
Click to expand...

You're gay :P :D ;)
 
I think I'm one of the few people who hasn't had many problems with student finance. Granted, in the first year I did have to complete the form 3 times, but I've managed to pretty much automatically reapply online every year since by clicking the 'yes I still live here, give me as much money as possible' button.

The local council education dogsbodies, however, are a whole different story. Kept losing my data, then sent me through somebody else's, and then delayed my grant by a month because it was my fault the data was lost in the first place apparently.

Makes me angry. So angry.
 
I generally find I have no problems with them now ... but when I first applied I got issues mainly to do with my parental support thing. I think with each year you apply it gets better.
 
all you oldies who think its works theyve had a big change around this year

now in many counties you cant just get your local lea to sort it out. its all been nationalised to one big office in darlington and then all the customer service in glasgow.

the last time i phoned them it took 25minutes to get through to someone and then they where the most unhelpful person ive ever spoken too. just reading answers and apologys off a sheet! the number isnt a free one either :(
 
They mess mine up every single year, every single time, even though I fill it out correctly (I keep a photocopy), and on time. Last year I applied as a student out on placement, there is a particular box that you tick "Placement in the UK" and they still had me down as a normal student studying at uni that year, therefore they had me down for the wrong loan amount etc. Took them a month and about 5 phone calls to fix it....
 
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