SAAS are driving me mental.

pretzelnut

I never get a straight answer from them or even a duplicated answer if i speak to 2 different people.

Im not even sure if the money im recieivng is the correct amount and there is no way to double check.

I just spent an hour on the phone to them and im now more confused than i was before i rang.

All i get told is send in the paperwork AGAIN (cos they havent recieved it) and wait for it to be calculated.

As they have only send me a basic calculation.

I then asked the question, if i send this off and you dont recieve / process it before my course starts will my payments be put on hold delayed, and he wasnt sure. Just wait and see if the 1st payment goes in on the date is says it should. How is that of any use to me.


I live 60 miles from the college ill be studying my HND at, i live in a rural area with no transport, well it would be 3 bus changes and a 3 hour journey each way. Which is just not possible, i'd have to get the kids up at 5am every morning for me to be leaving the house at 6am and not returning home till about 8pm.

So we have purchased a second car so i can get there and back, can SAAS tell me if im entitled to claim travel expenes, NO they cant, again, claim, then wait and see.

All this wait and seeing is not helpful, i have 3 small children, im self employed and i would like to know before i start if i can afford to go or not, so im lucky that for now my mum will be looking after them but this might all chagne. I know they have a childcare grant buts thats only for lone parents and its only £1100 for the year which wouldnt even cover 1 months childcare fees for my 3 kids.

I also asked what the limits etc were for income as im self employed, i dont want to earn to much working hard outside college to find out my grants and loans are reduced as that just seems daft to me, as i need to put as much time as i can into my college work, again no straight answer.

I also asked what was the least i could earn, again no answer.

Just a case of tell us of any changes and well recalcualte.

I need to know all this stuff as my relationship is on the rocks so im trying to find out now, if my relationship breaks down if ill be able to afford to go to college or not, its all a massive mess.

And noone can give me a straight answer.

I bet none of that makes any sense, im just so baffled by it all.

The_One_Who

Have you used the online calculator? And looked through all of the grants and bursaries available? You should be able to work out what you are entitled to using the information on the website.

If they do not process it in time the payments will be backdated. Telling the college that you have applied for fees (and show any correspondence you have) should be enough for them to know you are a funded student.

They usually do not pay for private travel expenses, although they can make exceptions for some cases, such as living in a rural area. However, be prepared that the amount won't fully cover the costs, probably restricting it to the cost of the public transport.

stuckinmyflat

i know in the past SAAS only paid for public transport, not for someone driving. Before i make my next point i want to say that im in no way recommending this, and if caught out you could lose any funding from SAAS/SLC. But i know people who have claimed the cost of the public transport (took the journey a few times to get some proof i.e tickets to send to SAAS) even though they drive every day. Also remember they dont pay the full lot, only pay are 2/3rds of the amount claimed.

sacote

princesswoo wrote: »

I never get a straight answer from them or even a duplicated answer if i speak to 2 different people.

Im not even sure if the money im recieivng is the correct amount and there is no way to double check. As mentioned above you can use the online calculator at student-support-saas.gov.uk/anon_calc.htm.

I just spent an hour on the phone to them and im now more confused than i was before i rang.

All i get told is send in the paperwork AGAIN (cos they havent recieved it) and wait for it to be calculated.

As they have only send me a basic calculation.

I then asked the question, if i send this off and you dont recieve / process it before my course starts will my payments be put on hold delayed, and he wasnt sure. Just wait and see if the 1st payment goes in on the date is says it should. How is that of any use to me. If your case is re-assessed mid-year then you will have all money due to you back dated.


I live 60 miles from the college ill be studying my HND at, i live in a rural area with no transport, well it would be 3 bus changes and a 3 hour journey each way. Which is just not possible, i'd have to get the kids up at 5am every morning for me to be leaving the house at 6am and not returning home till about 8pm.

So we have purchased a second car so i can get there and back, can SAAS tell me if im entitled to claim travel expenes, NO they cant, again, claim, then wait and see. Just tell them that you are using the car when you submit your claim. There is a chance that you will receive reimbursement for your milage as you live in a rural area (include a covering letter with your travel app). But the worst you will receive is the public transport rate. You won't be left without any reimbursement for ussing the car.

All this wait and seeing is not helpful, i have 3 small children, im self employed and i would like to know before i start if i can afford to go or not, so im lucky that for now my mum will be looking after them but this might all chagne. I know they have a childcare grant buts thats only for lone parents and its only £1100 for the year which wouldnt even cover 1 months childcare fees for my 3 kids. Have you spoken to your college about access to the discretionary funds. Childcare is normally high on their list of priorities. But get in quick.

I also asked what the limits etc were for income as im self employed, i dont want to earn to much working hard outside college to find out my grants and loans are reduced as that just seems daft to me, as i need to put as much time as i can into my college work, again no straight answer. Money that a student makes from employment has no impact on your SAAS funding.

I also asked what was the least i could earn, again no answer.

Just a case of tell us of any changes and well recalcualte.

I need to know all this stuff as my relationship is on the rocks so im trying to find out now, if my relationship breaks down if ill be able to afford to go to college or not, its all a massive mess.

And noone can give me a straight answer.

I bet none of that makes any sense, im just so baffled by it all.

see answers in bold above.