S.O.S Universal Credit and Student Finance

SweetCoco

Please help! I am losing my mind about this! I am a student, I receive UC and PIP I am in the limited work group.

I received the special support grant for uni, I supplied my paperwork to UC and they then began deductions at term time.

MARCH
When I received my second to last/last loan payment, I asked on my journal about what happens afterwards. I read on the Gov site that your deductions stop when you don't attend for full assessment periods. They concealed this information for a while by avoiding actually telling the date my deductions were due to stop by giving me very vague answers. I had to dig but I found they calculated that my deductions to stop August 28th. I finished my term May 17th.

I asked why this was and they claimed it's due to the information they received from SFE saying they weren't given the term dates so they went with the academic year. Then they said this:
"We can recalculate the deductions but since we've calculated for 12 months instead of 8, this will result in an overpayment". Cue the beginning of a life of anxiety and panic. I already have a big overpayment because they would not listen about my move from ESA.

I attended an interview in SEPTEMBER where I gave them all the information I had on my SFE. I was never asked for term dates. So I uploaded my uni timetable which included all the holidays plus my term days, first and last for the full year, so they could recalculate.

APRIL
Then the ignoring came. I pretty much went anxious out my mind about another possible overpayment, trying to chase this. My journal remained silent so I called up unable to take the stress anymore. The lady on the phone looked at my paperwork, she dealt with Student Finance before and advised I needed a breakdown of my entitlement. She said it looked fine, that she couldn't see any overpayment but they need that paperwork. She said that the calculations that I am deducted for longer than my term dates is wrong. I will not be deducted in the summer holidays.

I never got that loan breakdown from SFE so I called them. They said they had a deal with DWP that what I received is enough and they shouldn't be asking for it. I begged them and they authorised it and mailed it to me. 1 week of sleepless nights and checking my mail. It arrives, I call UC to upload it. This time, the man on the phone says again that there isn't any overpayment and I won't be deducted in the summer holidays and creates a link so I upload my entitlement breakdown.

MAY
Silence. Nobody responds to my journal for weeks. I call up again and the man on the phone says he'll put a note so someone will reply. He says it looks fine but politely says he doesn't want to give me hope. Someone writes in my Journal that they are looking over the calculations then more silence for weeks.

JUNE
I recieve my payment statement at the near the end of the month. This is my first statement with a full assessment period with no attending my course, so no deductions as stated at the Gov site. Still have the deductions. I put notes in my Journal using every option where I can write a message in to get a reply.
My main person who replies the most, says this:
The calculations are correct and there was no overpayment. I reply asking why I am still getting deducted when I am not attending uni. The answer the calculations were looked at and are correct and within the guidelines. And I was told that I would be deducted in March even when I had to dig to find this information.

What guidelines???!!! I called UC so many times and everytime someone on the phone would look at my account and say the same thing. No overpayment, no deductions over Summer holidays. Only 8 month period. Your account looks fine.
And then I check online. SAME INFORMATION.

THE PERSON ON MY JOURNAL IS DOING THE OPPOSITE!!!!

Whenever I ask a question regarding a matter like this on my journal, I 100% receive a vague answer with pitfalls that will mean something like this happens, i don't get the right papers or i miss a deadline to get the right papers, it is making me lose my mind seriously!!!!

And when I manage to ask or answer the right questions...CRICKETS, SILENCE, NOTHING!!!!

I have asked for the guidelines they used but since this question can help me in some way, I won't get an answer for days or at least a week.

To whoever is reading this, please. Help! Any advice on Universal Credit is welcomed. How do you deal with these people? What should I do about this?? Do you know anything about Universal Credit and Student Finance? PLEASE!

w06

What year of your course are you in?

Alice_Holt

Try contacting these people:
https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/helplines/disabled-students-helpline

huckster

Suggest you use this link to register a complaint.

https://makeacomplaint.dwp.gov.uk/

With student finance, you provide the document from SFE with details of the finance and a document about the course. Universal Credit work out the net finance amount that should be taken into consideration. They work out how many assessment periods are involved and divide the finance amount accordingly. Most courses seem to run from September to June/July so about 10 or 11 assessment periods. Your UC statements will show the deduction amount.

If you wanted to resolve more quickly than a complaint, you can book an enquiry appointment at your nearest Job Centre. Then go in with all of your student finance and course information and ask the Work Coach to speak to the Case Managers Team Leader to try to resolve this for you.