SLC Overpayment advice needed please!

stupidspender

Ok I'm in a bit of a mess and I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice at all?

Situation is I started University last year and then dropped out about a month or so later for personal reasons. Then in January I had a bill come through from my University for my tuition fees, I hadn't yet applied for Student Finance as I'd thought I wouldn't be eligible due to dropping out so quickly.

I then applied for student finance as I thought well if i've got the bill for the tuition fees, I must be eligible for the other support, and so I had payments (Maintenance Loans and Maintenance Grant) which I didn't think I'd have to pay back until earning over 15k a year.

Then this September I applied for finance again as I restarted my course, and the application seemed to be taking a long time to go through so I phoned them up earlier this week and they said it has been blocked at the moment as they're sorting out overpayments I had last year (the full support that was paid). It seems I wasn't eligible for finance as I left university so early, and when I phoned the University to find out what had gone on it turns out they'd put the suspension start date as 2 days after the course started, so I wouldn't be eligible for tuition fees (although I'd already got the bill so assumed I could get student finance).

Now I'm told I could be billed the full amount I received last year before I receive the support I will be eligible for 'this' year.

I'm very worried as I don't have around £5k to pay off the loans and grants i'd assumed I was eligible for, and also, foolishly, i'd assumed the university would have informed the SLC I had suspended attendance on the course, which I know is my mistake.

Will I be expected to pay the £5k off in full before I receive the finance this year or will I be able to make monthly repayments? As I need the student finance from 'this' year to actually repay the overpayments from last year.

Sorry this is such a long query, I'm just very worried about it, any advice given is very much appreciated.

stupidspender

Any advice here would be really appreciated, very worried

A_fiend_for_life

Hi stupid spender I can't comment on this one as I have an older student loan with different terms and conditions.

Have you tried the student board?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=25

stupidspender

thanks a lot i wasn't aware of that forum =] will try there