Help With Student Loans - HERE!

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  • phild145
    phild145 Posts: 74 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Well that really depends.

    As far as I can tell the loan and grant if she get's it will be around 6K.

    My great niece will be looking for a part time job to help herself as well. Knowing her parents cant afford a lot to help with. I told them that as iI have some surplus cash I would cover the tv licence,buy her a new laptop and printer and cover the cost of her course material.

    I do think it will depend on your own circumstances. Of course she is going to need food as well as covering the rent. I would hope the loan and grant would be enough to cover the rent and a little toward the food
  • Ralphie10
    Ralphie10 Posts: 2 Newbie
    My son left school this summer,he is 16 and has got a full time college place for Motor Technician,there is a start up fee of £150 for workwear etc,is there anything we can claim ie a grant for him??
  • caughtinheadlights
    caughtinheadlights Posts: 3 Newbie
    Hi slcworker...I'm wondering if you can help me... I am getting blinded by science.

    The situation is that my son is due to start Uni this month. His father completed the financial details that were required about us on line.

    His dad earned approx 30K in the previous tax year and I earned approx 18k. His dad was convinced that collectively our income would mean our son would get the bare minimum and therefore opted to decline to give financial details.

    The twist is that in Oct 2013 his dad was made redundant. He received a redundancy payout, which was reflective of his age and 27 years service. He got a new job that started in January 2014 but he faced a considerable reduction in income to the tune of one third.

    I am sorting out my sons accommodation today (bit of a nightmare as my son thought he was doing OK sorting it out after clearing and told me to butt out... unfortunately he wasn't as proactive as he should have been... another story, but I'm picking my way through things and getting there).

    Anyhow the bottom line is I have realised that in opting to decline to supply financial info that we have reduced my sons maintenance level of his student loan, possibly considerably.

    I called student finance England and explained the situation and talked about the redundancy and reduction to the household income. They have advised me to complete a new PFF2 and submit evidence in the form of P60s, a recent payslip at the new lower income and also a letter explaining the situation.

    I am in the process of completing the form now and I am unsure about the redundancy payment. Is this something that I need to detail? The form doesn't seem to mention redundancy. Other income is questioned such as stocks, pensions, and interest but not redundancy.

    I may be being a bit stupid here but I'm cautious about penalising my son yet again by not getting it right.

    Sorry for the huge ramble :/

    Thanks in advance... advise and guidance gratefully received

    Amanda
  • caughtinheadlights
    caughtinheadlights Posts: 3 Newbie
    May I just apologise... I addressed the above to sclworker as he/she started this post and said they were an "expert" in this field. I h ave only just noticed that they only posted 18 times, possibly some time ago.. So really .... Can I readdress my request to all you knowledgeable people on here .... :o
  • flea72
    flea72 Posts: 5,392 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Redundancy is classed as income, so it has to be declared. It isnt a bonus for losing your job, it is an advance on pay you would have earned

    Where it asks for income, you put in details of all income you had last year.

    Yes, the biggest mistake you made was not declaring income. The difference between non assessed and a declared household income of £50k, is about £1.5k. Based on your reduced household income you arent actually entitled to that much more, about £500/yr, but every penny counts. Hopefully they will reassess your claim.
  • Froggitt
    Froggitt Posts: 5,904 Forumite
    Im sure redundancy doesn't need detailing, in the same way that it wouldn't be detailed on the P45 or P60. If they wanted to know about it, they would have a box on the form.
    illegitimi non carborundum
  • Froggitt
    Froggitt Posts: 5,904 Forumite
    Isnt redundancy payment (the kind you get £30k tax free) in lieu of income? ie instead of?
    illegitimi non carborundum
  • Trixitrig11
    Trixitrig11 Posts: 1 Newbie
    I got a student loan 10years ago when at uni in London. Now I only was in receipt of 2 terms worth from September to January as I had to quit uni due to my finances. My student loan only covered my course and accommodation. This left me with £40 a term! It was a total of £3000 that was left owing.

    Now I rang the student loan company in Glasgow and explained I am cancelling my loan. They informed me that there will be interest around £9-£20 a month on the account. Wen though I dot have to make payments until I earn £15000 a year! After droping out of uni I took me 4years to reach this wage. When I did they started takin. Payments from my wage for this. However the interest has built up. So a loan that was £3000 10years later with payments in the last 4-5years the owing amount is now £3900!!!!!

    My main question about this is are they able to change me interest like that at the beginning, knowing I had no job & was quiting due to no funds!!!!!! ?????
  • Taiko
    Taiko Posts: 2,711 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Yes they are. Did you not read your contract?
  • Advisor1
    Advisor1 Posts: 4 Newbie
    Trixitrig11 wrote: »
    I got a student loan 10years ago when at uni in London. Now I only was in receipt of 2 terms worth from September to January as I had to quit uni due to my finances. My student loan only covered my course and accommodation. This left me with £40 a term! It was a total of £3000 that was left owing.

    Now I rang the student loan company in Glasgow and explained I am cancelling my loan. They informed me that there will be interest around £9-£20 a month on the account. Wen though I dot have to make payments until I earn £15000 a year! After droping out of uni I took me 4years to reach this wage. When I did they started takin. Payments from my wage for this. However the interest has built up. So a loan that was £3000 10years later with payments in the last 4-5years the owing amount is now £3900!!!!!

    My main question about this is are they able to change me interest like that at the beginning, knowing I had no job & was quiting due to no funds!!!!!! ?????

    Basically Yes - everyone has this misconception that loans from student finance are interest free - they are not! Interest starts accruing from when the first payment is made to you. The interest is irrespective of your position at the time or now it applies to everyone.

    It is all mentioned on your declaration form that you either sign on paper or electronically. People should read these carefully.
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