Means testing

tommytynan123

Having worked hard all my life and earned what I've got I get slightly hacked off, as I'm sure many do, with people who try every trick / deceipt to wangle money from anywhere but work ! Even worse when they openly boast about it to people !

The person in question is 32, mature student and getting student loans for a degree course. But - has approaching 10K banked in another account to the ''official'' account.
Q1 - are student loans for mature students means tested ??
Same person somehow got a 'hardship' payment from the Uni of £400 which they promptly used for a holiday !!!!
Q2 - How strict are the hardship rules ???

I feel quite angry about this deceipt so the info may direct me onto the correct path of 'ignore' or 'tell'

Dunroamin

No problem at all getting a student loan with money in the bank as savings (or debts for that matter) are irrelevant.

He must have lied to get a hardship payment but I doubt that universities have the facility to check bank accounts in the way that the DWP do for means tested benefits.

V_Chic_Chick

Savings and debts are irrelevant to SF, and mature students are judged on their own incomes, not their parents. There is something odd about the hardship payment though - are you sure it wasn't a field trip? And if it was actually a bursary, then that's not a hardship payment at all, and can quite legitimately be used for whatever fripperies the student wishes.

Emilys_mum

When I first applied for Student Finance three and a half years ago finance was means tested for students over the age of 25, and also for those who had supported themselves financially for three years prior to the application. I wasn't 25, but had been working for over three years. It took me fifteen months to get them to accept I was eligible for means tested finance, which meant a lot of being skint in my first year, but everything worked out ok after that.

I am not sure about the level of strictness when it comes to hardship loans. The advisor who helped with my case in my first year advised me to apply for the Access to Learning Fund, but in the end I just worked my !!! off in addition to uni, and then was rewarded when I finally got the right finance!

Helix

Emilys_mum wrote: »

When I first applied for Student Finance three and a half years ago finance was means tested for students over the age of 25, and also for those who had supported themselves financially for three years prior to the application. I wasn't 25, but had been working for over three years. It took me fifteen months to get them to accept I was eligible for means tested finance, which meant a lot of being skint in my first year, but everything worked out ok after that.

I am not sure about the level of strictness when it comes to hardship loans. The advisor who helped with my case in my first year advised me to apply for the Access to Learning Fund, but in the end I just worked my !!! off in addition to uni, and then was rewarded when I finally got the right finance!

I think you are confused you would have still have been means tested if you hadn't applied for independence but it would have been on your parents income and not yours.

Dunroamin

Emilys_mum wrote: »

When I first applied for Student Finance three and a half years ago finance was means tested for students over the age of 25, and also for those who had supported themselves financially for three years prior to the application. I wasn't 25, but had been working for over three years. It took me fifteen months to get them to accept I was eligible for means tested finance, which meant a lot of being skint in my first year, but everything worked out ok after that.

I am not sure about the level of strictness when it comes to hardship loans. The advisor who helped with my case in my first year advised me to apply for the Access to Learning Fund, but in the end I just worked my !!! off in addition to uni, and then was rewarded when I finally got the right finance!

Student finance has never been means tested on capital/savings, except for interest paid.

Person_one

Dunroamin wrote: »

He must have lied to get a hardship payment but I doubt that universities have the facility to check bank accounts in the way that the DWP do for means tested benefits.

To get money from the Access to Learning Fund the criteria is very strict and you do need to produce bank statements and other information. I'm taking this with a pinch of salt!

amiehall

It could just be a bursary though? An independent student without a partner is highly likely to receive maximum finance. Without wages from a partner, you'd need enough income from interest to put you over the means test threshold. We'd be talking hundreds of thousands of pounds in savings.

It doesn't sound like this person has done anything wrong necessarily. I take a student loan and use some of it on foreign holidays and refuse to feel guilty about it. If you were trying to make ends meet on a £5000 loan and some part-time work while you had full-time study commitments you'd need a holiday as well!!

To receive ALF money I will again confirm that you need to provide months of statements and they're all cross referenced. Any spending over £100 must be explained and they're all cross-referenced. All open accounts must have statements in support even if empty. Statements are cross referenced so any money moving in and out of savings would be picked up and statements would be requested for that account as well. You are required to sign to say you've disclosed all accounts, if this turns out not to be the case, this is a fraudulent claim and any award would be withdrawn.

Dunroamin

Person_one wrote: »

To get money from the Access to Learning Fund the criteria is very strict and you do need to produce bank statements and other information. I'm taking this with a pinch of salt!

But if you have a bank account or savings account you don't tell them about, I don't think a university can trace it in the way the DWP can.