University admin error, is there anything I can do? 27 June 2018 at 12:56PM in Student MoneySaving 2 replies 1.1K views

amylb

Hi there
I'm looking for advise and hopefully this is the right place. Ive just finished my final year of a film degree. In May I got a letter from SF to say my finance for Music Technology year 2 course had been accepted. I know nothing about music! I called up Student Finance and they said the university had sent information that I was changing course. It took them about 18 days to change my course back to film, but in this time SF had sent me extra maintenance loan due to the error. I stupidly don't check my bank enough and didn't realise, now I owe SF nearly £500.
I accept I'll have to pay this back, but am so annoyed that this is not my fault. I'm want to put in a complaint to the university, but I can't find any information on my rights or if it's even worth complaining.
Can anyone think of any information which might help me? Hopefully this doesnt seem stupid, I'm sure the university can't just get away with this !!!128532;
Thanks

spadoosh

Never met a student that wouldnt pick up on an extra £500 in their bank account. :cool:

Write a letter of complaint to the uni finance team. Expect them to send a generic apology letter back.

It wouldnt be worth my time. But then an apology doesnt mean much to me from an organisation who employs hundreds and is likely to make admin mistakes.

Its a hard lesson but the reality is, it is your fault. Firstly you need to monitor your finances better if you dont notice £500 being deposited. Secondly you could budget. If you did budgets and stuck to them, the £500 would still be there if you wher eoblivious to its arrival.

Yes it was the unis mistake that resulted in you getting sent £500. At that stage it had cost you nothing at all. It was your mistake spending it. Whilst its still cost you nothing youve either spent the money on things you did need in which theyve helped you out, or youve spent the money on things you didnt need which is akin to using a credit card.

It comes down to you being responsible for the money you spend.

For future refernce (because things like this do happen) if you recieve money that you suspect isnt yours, put it ina savings account until the personwhose it is ask for it back. That way you earn interest on their money. That really free money. Unlike the free money you got from SF which theyve asked for it back.

Dobbibill

I agree with spadoosh - it's an error, it happens from time to time.
Imagine if it was the other way around, firstly would you notice you were £500 short? Secondly, what would your expectations be? I'm thinking along the lines of the SF company saying sorry, let us put it right and credit the extra £500 you are missing.

You have to take responsibility for spending money in your account. This is an opportunity for you to learn from this and create a budget which in turn will be one of the best life lessons.