Desperate for help - Student finance England

november

The_Old_Bag wrote: »

At one stage I needed a special code/PIN to complete parents section. When I phoned to ask what it is, they said I already had one.... from when eldest child went to uni 5 years ago.

That was what caused our initial problem. I needed my code back from when I went to university about 15 years ago :eek: After I had that I phoned for help in completing it online as I couldn't find a way to make things work and the information didn't appear to be entered. Then after following instructions it appeared to be accepted twice - making my info in both the 1st and 2nd sponsor place. I was told we couldn't correct this and they couldn't correct it - that once something was entered online it stayed Which just seems plain stupid to me. Why have a system where an error can't be corrected?

What is worse is even though we put in a paper application as advised apparently they still look at the online not submitted application as even if you don't complete it or submit it (as advised) it is still there and takes priority over the paper application ... or at least I think that was what he said .... hence us needing another Financial Assessment form for my DH.

Actually given that they say they got my DD's application in June and only contacted us to say they need more information in August ... and it will take me 7 - 10 days to get evidence from the tax office as SL lost my P60 ... and apparently takes about 2 months for them to process it ... I'm not sure we have a hope in hell but I'm still hoping

saber1 wrote:

The system is clearly not working - you don't speak to the same person twice!

And they all tell you different things and say the last person gave you the wrong information :mad:

liney

They keep sending me info saying i'm in year two, then when I call say, oh no you are definately listed as year 1, then sending me another confirmation with year 2 again... this is the 3rd time, and they have now sent me a change of circumstances form despite the fact it's a clerical error their end, and I have not changed circumstances! Apparently it's not possible to just check the origional forms... Aaarghhh!

ciderwithrosie_2

DS about to go into 2nd year, still waiting to receive final award from SF. Sent off a paper copy at the end of April, had an acknowledgment. Have received emails and letters since saying they need extra evidence but everytime we phone them up to ask what's needed, they're say 'No, it's fine we don't need anything else'??? Don't understand this at all. Had no problems like this last year, it all went through smoothly, never had to send anything with our application and despite having to do a change of circumstances reapplication as he got his insurance place in London. If anything it seems much, much more disorganised than last year. There will be huge numbers of very desperate students in a few weeks time when they have no money to go. Completely sours the whole new adventure.

saber1

November I agree with your comment regarding them all telling you different things. They received our paper application on 26 April and we are still no further forward despite numerous telephone calls! Somehow the supporting financial info was scanned on to computer and returned but application was lost even though sent together - didnt learn this until phoning them again on 28th July! apparently they spent 1st 3 weeks of July looking for the lost application! Application faxed 28 July - lost, faxed again 30th July and picked up 2nd August. Why was a letter generated requesting supporting evidence on 6th August (rec'd 13th) if they already have it and computer records show this. The last time I spoke to an advisor was told they would try and hurry it through but my son was told the 6 weeks would start from 2nd August even though they admit to losing the form on 26th April! Do I ring again to find out how far my son's form has progressed or by doing so does it put your case in another queuing system thus taking longer?! Is a success story dependant on what advisor you get on the other end of a phone? :mad:

saber1

ps. Been on studentroom.com. MissR09 has been in contact with the Sunday Telegraph getting together a list of people whose paperwork has been lost!

luke2008

They are awful despite me sending evidence off special delivery as they claim they didn't receive it many times before - I'm now sent

Thank you for your application for student finance.

Your application is on hold for the following reason(s):


Awaiting Eligibility Evidence
You can find out exactly what we need

I even phoned up before that and the guy on the phone confirmed that they had received them and where on their computer....WTH?!!???

november

We received our evidence back today with compliments - including my P60 which to date they said they hadn't received!

So back to the phone again to see if it needed sending back again!

The customer service rep we spoke to first spoke to the document checking dept (or whoever) and then ended up speaking to Head Office. She apologised as an assessor had made a mistake using the online app rather than the paper app (as I thought before).

The paper application my DD sent in was fine and all the evidence has been received. We were told Head Office would look at it and it should be complete within 14 days as it was their error. :T

Thanks to the person we spoke to this time for apologising .. twice .... for other people's errors. Much appreciated ...

and finger's crossed it gets processed within the deadline they gave as that will be in time for my daughter going to uni.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone else with their applications

november

saber1 wrote: »

Do I ring again to find out how far my son's form has progressed or by doing so does it put your case in another queuing system thus taking longer?! Is a success story dependant on what advisor you get on the other end of a phone? :mad:

I think it does depend on who you get on the other end of the phone to be honest. Am hoping ours is OK now as the person we got seems to have sorted it, admitted its their error and apologised (even though it wasn't her error).

If you do phone them again do feel free to quote at them what they told me about the 14 days as it was their error if that's whats needed to get it to your son in time

saber1

I think ours is sorted now. Telephoned Monday, 16th and was told it had been sent out that day! Today Thursday, 19th post been but still no letter, so hope I wasn't being fobbed off!? I am trying to remain positive. The lady seemed sincere but we have had broken promises before!

lucylollipop

Oh, my favourite company...! In the last 2 days, I've gone from...

- having everything sorted, so just wait to hear from us
- oh, oops, you're no longer independantly assessed, please get your parents to provide financial details
- what, you're lollipops parent? we don't want your info, we need more of hers
- oh, brilliant, thank you ms. lollipop, if you could just send us the information we lost we'll get everything back on track

It was all so much easier when it was done through LEAs!

I was at the understanding (before the fiasco above!) that SFE had all of my information, and were just processing... It turns out, when they told me they had everything, what they actually had was a record of it existing, because the financial information I supplied for my BA is actually held by my Local Authority, so, yes they know it's real, but actually, they can't work from it, because they've never seen it, and it was lucky I called them today, because it's really important they get it before they can complete my assessment, ready for my PGCE to start in 2 weeks!

What I can never understand with them is that how, even though they must have some kind of guidelines, not one of them ever tells you the same thing! Or, in the case of the person who decided I needed to supply parents financial info, also don't appear to be able to read notes that are already on the file... As far as I can work out, it's an excercise in patience and perserverance - if you keep at it, sooner or later, you'll get the answer. And if they give you an answer, feel free to double check it - because from my experience, it's only right about half the time!