Help With Student Loans - HERE!

Puddepha

I've been rejected for student finance for my PGCE as I lived abroad working for a year (getting experience with children in order to strengthen my application!). I have provided the company my contracts, which were a fixed term contracts and with my visa, which showed I was only entitled to stay in the country while I worked, but they have said that this does not prove I was only away temporarily.

Does anyone know a way I could appeal this decision?

[Deleted User]

Puddepha wrote: »

I've been rejected for student finance for my PGCE as I lived abroad working for a year (getting experience with children in order to strengthen my application!). I have provided the company my contracts, which were a fixed term contracts and with my visa, which showed I was only entitled to stay in the country while I worked, but they have said that this does not prove I was only away temporarily.

Does anyone know a way I could appeal this decision?

Why you where there and your eligibility to stay longer are not relevant. You need to meet the residence requirements. You could have got that experience in the UK.

sheramber

eligibility for student finance


Your nationality or residency status

You can apply if all of the following apply:

you!!!8217;re a UK national or have !!!8216;settled status!!!8217; (no restrictions on how long you can stay)
you normally live in England
you!!!8217;ve been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 3 years before starting your course

OwlTurbot

In August 2017 I telephoned SLC for a settlement figure as I believed I only had a small amount still owing of my loan after 14 years of repayments. They insisted that in fact I'd overpaid and was due a refund of around £500, which I then received in the post a short time later. Soon afterwards I checked my online account and it showed that the loan was fully repaid.


I celebrated and then thought no more of it.


Yesterday I received a statement in the post which indicates that my original maths was correct, and that they added the refund to my balance and it's been accruing interest over the last eleven months. I logged into my online account - which I had assumed would've been closed - and sure enough it says I now owe more than £675 and interest is being added to it. This is the first communication I've received since they notified me that my account was settled last August.


I have no idea where I stand now. I've been living/budgeting as though debt-free for the last year and this has come as a huge shock.

RobynMorgan

Has anyone managed to get SFE to give specific advice re the information they require re "allowable expenses"? I have a property I rent and complete HMRC self-assessment returns. For my application to support my son's loan application, SFE require information re income and they will match this up against my self-assessment return. The situation re property income and allowable expenses is now more complicated than it used to be due to the way that mortgage loan interest is being handled and I cannot get SFE to advise whether the 25% of mortgage interest payments that HMRC treated as a tax credit in 2017/18 rather than as part of allowable property expenses should be included in SFE's definition of allowable expenses or not. They initially said that I should consult an accountant about whether an expense is allowable or not but have now advised that I complete the SFE form and their assessors will work out how to assess me properly. I can't be alone in being in this position and I can't understand why they don't provide proper guidance on how to match up their definitions with HMRC's.

badmemory

OwlTurbot wrote: »

In August 2017 I telephoned SLC for a settlement figure as I believed I only had a small amount still owing of my loan after 14 years of repayments. They insisted that in fact I'd overpaid and was due a refund of around £500, which I then received in the post a short time later. Soon afterwards I checked my online account and it showed that the loan was fully repaid.


I celebrated and then thought no more of it.


Yesterday I received a statement in the post which indicates that my original maths was correct, and that they added the refund to my balance and it's been accruing interest over the last eleven months. I logged into my online account - which I had assumed would've been closed - and sure enough it says I now owe more than £675 and interest is being added to it. This is the first communication I've received since they notified me that my account was settled last August.


I have no idea where I stand now. I've been living/budgeting as though debt-free for the last year and this has come as a huge shock.

Do not ring - write headed complaint in big letters.

silvercar

RobynMorgan wrote: »

Has anyone managed to get SFE to give specific advice re the information they require re "allowable expenses"? I have a property I rent and complete HMRC self-assessment returns. For my application to support my son's loan application, SFE require information re income and they will match this up against my self-assessment return. The situation re property income and allowable expenses is now more complicated than it used to be due to the way that mortgage loan interest is being handled and I cannot get SFE to advise whether the 25% of mortgage interest payments that HMRC treated as a tax credit in 2017/18 rather than as part of allowable property expenses should be included in SFE's definition of allowable expenses or not. They initially said that I should consult an accountant about whether an expense is allowable or not but have now advised that I complete the SFE form and their assessors will work out how to assess me properly. I can't be alone in being in this position and I can't understand why they don't provide proper guidance on how to match up their definitions with HMRC's.

I can't see how they will do anything other than follow HMRC guidelines. I doubt they have the resources or motivation to decide to have a different definition of expenses than HMRC. This will of course mean that you lose out by the HMRC new definition and will lose out further by this definition being used by SFE.

EsmeTheRat

Hi, Out on a limb here trying to help a mate. He's been denied a loan for his teacher training course, as he has 4.5K outstanding on a previous student loan. It was taken out 1997-2000. Is there any way round this? Is that right? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you!

[Deleted User]

EsmeTheRat wrote: »

Hi, Out on a limb here trying to help a mate. He's been denied a loan for his teacher training course, as he has 4.5K outstanding on a previous student loan. It was taken out 1997-2000. Is there any way round this? Is that right? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you!

Has he been avoiding paying? Not passed on contact or something like that?

EsmeTheRat

Hi, Thanks for the response, Shel. He never earned above the threshold, but currently has a repayment agreement in place, which he is due to start repaying in two weeks. I don't know how much per payment.