Student Finance Complaints Process

devildog

I am not sure if there is an ombudsman, I am sure Taiko will know. I think that you would have to exhaust all other avenues first


If you would like to make a complaint via email,

• [EMAIL="customer_complaints@slc.co.uk"]customer_complaints@slc.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Letter

If you would like to make a complaint in writing,

Complaints Resolution Unit
Student Loans Company Limited
100 Bothwell Street
Glasgow
G2 7JD

Or get your MP involved

It can be a long winded process, you just have to keep on going at them(keep a record of all calls with times, letters etc) it can be pretty useful in backing up what you have done.

Taiko

No ombudsman, but what's the cause for complaint? Explaining the case might allow me to help.

scarlet-pimpernel

Well, customer complaints have finally acknowledged my complaint was not dealt with properly. They are no longer using fictitious figures but there are other issues so it is not all over yet. Not least, SF's underpayment of maintenance to both my sons so a refund is due.

The intervention of David Willetts office seems to have been the key, though they did need chasing up.

I am still poring over 2 years of SF notification letters (many of them for both sons) and trying to make sense of things.

I reckon we are still going to be nearly £3000 short (mainly universtity bursaries) unless I can get this sorted.

Appeals have still failed to convince me that I cannot appeal. I still don't understand what situations they can be used for.

"An appeal relates to decisions about your funding based on how we interpret
the law based on the information available to us."

Can anyone interpret?

Taiko

Can you do me a favour and maybe put in a Subject Access Request, wanting the full assessment history, including original and reassessments. Also include in the SAR a request for all file notes, both electronic and hard copy.

I think it's time to get the ball rolling on this.

scarlet-pimpernel

Thanks for taking an interest Taiko. I have had problems in the past as SF say they cannot share my sons' details with me so we all had to complain in concert.
My complaint has had to be limited to their use of the wrong parental income figures.

This is complicated by some share dividends paid to my husband. The company, in its infinite wisdom, decided to pay a dividend 2 months early so the seriously rich could avoid capital gains tax. (Not us). This put 3 dividends in one tax year (by 6 days!) and took us just over the £25k threshold.

With a supporting letter from the company secretary we pleaded to be allowed to declare this dividend in its rightful tax year. This plea was sent to SF Glasgow and passed on to our local council. The company secretary pointed out that the dividends did not reflect our true financial position and hoped that SF woukd take it into consideration. Our local council did and gave us a letter showing what figures they were using. We have emailed copies to various SF personel several times.

Having got SF to look more carefully at our records when the figures were so obviously wrong it transpires that they do not want to listen to iur plea and insist on being inflexible.

They have taken over my older son's student finances and over-ruled the council and clawed back grant from his payments.

My younger son has received 3 letters from Glasgow in the last 2 days. One with an extra grant payment of £71, thie difference between their wrong figures and their rigidly correct figures.The correct figures are now being applied but not the ones our council used.

So......

We are £143.75 over the threshold and the difference in maintenace grant is very small, but my younger son is missing out on an annual top up bursary of £800 for 3 years (current years assessment used for 2009-10 to 2011/12. 2010/11 we wanted to use the 2008/9 income figures as they were only around £12k but David Willetts prounounced that once you were on a current year's assessment it applied for 3 years. We fell in the gap created when they changed from previous year'sincome to the income of 2 years ago. Our son is missing out on £2400. If SF decide to inform my older son's universtities he stands to be asked to pay back £1800 (at least his universtities don't operate an all or nothing system.
Fortunately he will now get an NHS bursary and any SF maintence loan is non-income assessed.

Is this something I can appeal?

How would an SAR help?

Sorry about the wordiness

Taiko

Was going to say, an SAR from you and your sons would reveal the full assessment history as is, not just taking their word on things. I'll drop you a PM on something over the weekend, as I might be able to help with the Willetts situation.

scarlet-pimpernel

I contacted my MP about the problem of our low income year being disallowed and he did contact David Willetts. Mr Willetts reply stated that as a current year's assessment was used for 2009/10 it represented our income most accurately and should be used again for the 2010/11 year.

It was the year after my husband was made redundant and before his pension became payable. It seems that we could have done nothing at the time to avoid this scenario as the change from previous year to 2 years previous income skipped that year and caught us out. However, the decision to not allow our income for 2008/9 to be used (as required by the online form)was somewhat mean.

I will be penning a reply to customer complaints again to appeal to their better nature re the extra dividend payment.

Maybe this could fulfill the criteria for an appeal?

Thanks again Taiko for taking an interest.

scarlet-pimpernel

I have emailed a response to the Complaints Resolution Unit. I await the reply with interest.

scarlet-pimpernel

No response yet or even an acknowledement from her provided direct email address she said I could use.

Somewhat lacking in common courtesy.

Maybe it means they are busy considering my plea rather than dismissing it out of hand.

Some hope.

scarlet-pimpernel

Still no reply after 15 working days and a gentle reminder to the given email address. What sort of complaints department is it that ignores replies to their letters?

Next move is to send a copy of my email by recorded delivery then when that is ignored, back to David Willetts' team I suppose.