Nursing Bursary

CharlieChocolate

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew where my sister stood legally and how she would get the correct help and advice?
My sister has just completed her nursing degree (so proud!!) Whilst training she was entitle to child care, which she claimed. Then in her 2nd year she changed nursery's. She completed the correct forms and sent them in detailing the change. However, she still continued to receive monies from them as per her previous year. She rang them several times and told them they were paying her incorrectly.
Just after she finished her degree she received a letter asking for the full amount to be repaid? They have now instructed the bailiffs.
Are they allowed to do this? It wasn't her fault they over paid her. They have records of her ringing to query payments and they also admit the form was entered incorrectly on to their system but when the mistake has been realised they are now telling her she has to pay it back in full?
She is heartbroken and doesn't have the money to pay it back.
I am so angry, it was their fault how can they ask her to pay it back when it was entered incorrectly in the first place?
She's been to the Citizens Advice Bureau and they have told her she doesn't have to pay it back? Is this correct?
Oh any advice would be gratefully received.

surreysaver

If she knew she was being paid money she wasn't entitled to, why did she spend it?

Lucky its just bailiffs that are being sent round, rather than the boys in blue and arresting her for theft/fraud or some such. That would bring an abrupt end to her nursing career....

dotdash79

She needs to offer a payment plan to pay it back.

ohreally

CharlieChocolate wrote: »

She's been to the Citizens Advice Bureau and they have told her she doesn't have to pay it back? Is this correct?

On what basis are they advising this?

QuackQuackOops

CharlieChocolate wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew where my sister stood legally and how she would get the correct help and advice?
My sister has just completed her nursing degree (so proud!!) Whilst training she was entitle to child care, which she claimed. Then in her 2nd year she changed nursery's. She completed the correct forms and sent them in detailing the change. However, she still continued to receive monies from them as per her previous year. She rang them several times and told them they were paying her incorrectly.
Just after she finished her degree she received a letter asking for the full amount to be repaid? They have now instructed the bailiffs.
Are they allowed to do this? It wasn't her fault they over paid her. They have records of her ringing to query payments and they also admit the form was entered incorrectly on to their system but when the mistake has been realised they are now telling her she has to pay it back in full?
She is heartbroken and doesn't have the money to pay it back.
I am so angry, it was their fault how can they ask her to pay it back when it was entered incorrectly in the first place?
She's been to the Citizens Advice Bureau and they have told her she doesn't have to pay it back? Is this correct?
Oh any advice would be gratefully received.

Spending it is never a good idea.
She knew she wasn't entitled to it so should have put it away and got the issue sorted sooner.

She doesn't really want to begin a nursing career with a bad debt and a dint on her Credit.

Tell her to pay it back.

Sncjw

I'm currently paying money back for some reason as apprently I got paid a month extra than I should have. I have paid back another month previously to be told a year later I had to pay back another month and the date the letter was sent was a year previous. Hate the bursary people now, despite me ringing up saying I was no longer on course they still paid me as the month I rang the payment had been released surely they could have cancelled it

Anyways I contacted them to say I couldn't afford to pay it back in one go. They sent an income and expenditure form for them to work out how much I can pay. I only earn £160 a month and they wanted 45.90 a month which left me after bills with only £8 left per week as I get paid weekly,

I have still got till April to pay this off and it's over 10 months. I am getting top up of income with jsa so that helps with money issues enables me to actually get gifts for xmas and birthdays, I don't know what I'd do with £8 a week. I would have to be stuck in house for 10 months.

Did your sister not get a letter to say contact them to arrange payment plan. You get a letter to say this is how much you need to pay and to call email or send back to agree to it. She can offer an amount to pay back.

Welshy81

surreysaver wrote: »

If she knew she was being paid money she wasn't entitled to, why did she spend it?

Lucky its just bailiffs that are being sent round, rather than the boys in blue and arresting her for theft/fraud or some such. That would bring an abrupt end to her nursing career....

Highly Unlikely she would be getting a knock from them or getting arrested. For theft/fraud there has to be an element of dishonesty or deception and seeing as she has informed them several times of their error she has taken reasonable steps to resolve the matter. The matter is therefore simply a civil one as opposed to a criminal one but she'll have to a arrange to pay back the money in some shape or form.

tea_lover

She knew it wasn't her money but spent it anyway - why??

surreysaver

Welshy81 wrote: »

Highly Unlikely she would be getting a knock from them or getting arrested. For theft/fraud there has to be an element of dishonesty or deception and seeing as she has informed them several times of their error she has taken reasonable steps to resolve the matter. The matter is therefore simply a civil one as opposed to a criminal one but she'll have to a arrange to pay back the money in some shape or form.

I was trying to get across the abuse of the trust that people place in professionals such as nurses that she has caused. If she cannot be trusted to handle money that she knows does not belong to her, can she be trusted to be a nurse? And the fact that she has demonstrated that she knows the money does not belong to her surely means that she has committed theft/fraud?

CharlieChocolate

When she rung them they did tell her that she was being paid correctly that's what's so unfair she queried it and they told her it was correct. So she hasn't stolen anything they told her that she was being paid correctly.

CharlieChocolate

ohreally wrote: »

On what basis are they advising this?

She has been to see them and they have told her its their error and therefore she shouldn't have to pay it back?