Just got off teh phone to student finance.. these calcs cant be right?

brians_daughter

ok they lost some of my evidence so been trying to sort that out.

The person i spoke to went through all my loans/grants with me and i am shocked at the amount she is saying i will get. Not that i am doubting her (well, i am actually) but can someone qualify if it is correct?

Background....
I am single mum, 2 kids, no childcare to pay for.
I will be working p/t at around £7k per annum based on 15hrs
I get £1560 in child benefit per annum.
plus £1308 child support per annum.

She said i will be getting around £9364 per annum in student support broken down as below
4950 loan
2906 grant
1508 parents allowance
Plus tuition fee loan

Surely that cant be correct? it comes to over £19k per annum including my wages etc? (But not including tution fees) I do not claim tc as i have been able to struggle by without them - I got a massive over payment in 2003 which i had to go into debt to pay off,so said i would never claim again..

I am absolutely astounded at that amount of money and feel it must be incorrect. can anyone please let me know if it is or not?

She only asked basic questions like is household income under 25k, do i pay for childcare, do i have unearned income etc so feel it may be a generic calculation.

TIA

Lokolo

You get maximum support because you are a single parent who won't be earning much. Simples.

Sounds about right though.

Not sure what happens to Child benefits and stuff as I have no idea how they work. But the other stuff seems right.

I don't think you would be entitled to TC anyway as a FT student?

It will be a geneirc thing.

ALSO, have you supplied your info yet? I suspect you won't get all of that straight away. If you submitted 07/08 stuff it will be different to this year, as you earnt completely different amounts. So you may have to fill in a change of circumstances form to get those amounts.

brians_daughter

No, i dont think tc is payable to ft students but I just pointing out i dont get it so it isnt counted in my income etc.

She said my cb and child support wasnt counted as such, the support is unearned income but is at such a rate that it will not be included.

I am quite astounded as to how much help i will get. I was planning to live on 1/2 of that amount..

It will give me the opportunity to work in year 1 and then re address it in years 2 and 3

I assume that if i put it in savings i can repay it as soon as the course finishes if i do not need it rather than be in debt for years to come?

they didnt request any income details from me as it is classed as it is unearned income and i do not have a partner. They only requested birth certs, child benefit entitlement letter, 25% council tax reduction letter and info from csa to show what my maintenance payments are and the frequency of them

My info was supplied months ago but has been 'misplaced' between offices. its on their system but was passed to another office to process and now cant be located to send back to me

The way she said it was that it is paid in 3 parts same as student loan, so sept, jan and may (i think)

Lokolo

You can pay it back before you graduate if you want.....

Humphrey10

No don't pay it off sooner than you need to, see here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/student-loans-repay#should

Oldernotwiser

You can claim tax credits as a lone parent if you work over 16 hours a week; the fact that you're a student is irrelevant.

If you're worried about overpayments, save the money until you're sure they haven't made a mistake; you'll have a nice little nest egg!

nad1611

Quote; ""I got a massive over payment in 2003 which i had to go into debt to pay off,so said i would never claim again..""

I know this wasn't why you started this thread, but also remember if TC over pay you they have to allow you to repay it so that it is not going to cause you hardship. Going into debt as a result should never have happened especially if the fault was there which is highly likely.The chances are looking at your situation if you received no reduction in your Working Tax credit part of Tax credits this debt might have been wiped Look at these links just in case,; definitely claim it if you're eligible.Think how much easier it will make your life with your children while you're studying. Good luck to you.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/TaxCreditsandChildBenefit/TaxCredits/DG_073813
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/b_overpayment_of_tax_credits.pdf

eklynne

If you don't need it, don't take out the loan. Seems silly to run up a debt for no reason. I'm a single parent full time student and would LOVE to be in a position to not need my student loan.

Oldernotwiser

eklynne wrote: »

If you don't need it, don't take out the loan. Seems silly to run up a debt for no reason. I'm a single parent full time student and would LOVE to be in a position to not need my student loan.

This would be just plain daft! Why say no to free money that you may never have to repay?

eklynne

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

This would be just plain daft! Why say no to free money that you may never have to repay?

That's quite a naive attitude.

Lokolo

eklynne wrote: »

That's quite a naive attitude.

No its not. Its only naive of those who are refusing the loan when they don't know what profits they can make from it.