Student Loans Company mistake

yevsk · 4 October 2012 at 5:14AM

Hi. I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me with this.

I applied to uni this year. Competition for the degree I wanted to do was fierce and in the end I didn't get a place. I'm repeating my A-levels this academic year and will be reapplying to start the same course next year.

I applied for student finance in March, expecting to start this year. I was told by the admissions department to hold on for a place on the degree right up until last week.

The thing is, the student loans company has paid made 2 payments into my bank account: a ~£1200 loan payment and a ~£1200 bursary payment. These payments have been made even though I am not attending the course, and I was told by Student Finance that they do not pay money into student bank accounts without confirming your attendance on your course with the college or university you attend.

My question is how to proceed with this now that it looks like I am definitely not getting onto the course this year. I understand that I will have to pay back the bursary, but what about the loan? Will that just be paid back along with the rest of the student debt that I will accrue over the years of my degree or will I have to pay it back now?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Taiko · 4 October 2012 at 9:23AM

You need to contact the SLC and return the funds, getting everything cancelled off. Your university have obviously confirmed your attendance in error.

If you don't do this, it is going to use up your +1 year on their systems at best, and at worst you'll be made ineligible for the full duration of your course when you do go due to being unfit to receive support by means of your conduct.

silvercar · 4 October 2012 at 10:26AM

I'd be tempted to make a quick phone call to the uni. Just in case they have counted you in their numbers without telling you.

apositivethinkingcat · 4 October 2012 at 5:13PM

There is a limit to how many years of loan they will give - so keeping this now may affect you later. They may also demand it back when their systems realise (probably the next year when they confirm attendance of the next year) that you aren't on the course. If you have spent it or put it into a locked ISA you might find that tough!

Also, it might (although I have no real proof) cause them to decide not to give you a loan in future if it looks on the system as if you kept this intentionally or were attempted to commit fraud... it is hard to tell but the safest way is to give it back. Get everything in writing and often going into meet them in person can help - I've had issues with the SLC before where they lost my repayments, had wrong amounts or changed my address etc and it was always quickest solved by face to face meetings if you can still do that

This is, of course, all assuming the course hasn't had a dropout and put you on the course and the letter is in the post. Good luck!

yevsk · 4 October 2012 at 8:50PM

Thanks for the replies.

I called admissions at the uni and they tell me they definitely don't have a place for me. I've not spent any of the money or moved it from my bank account. I only noticed it on Monday when I got my bank statement. I'll give them a ring tomorrow.

yevsk · 5 October 2012 at 7:21PM

I spoke to someone from Student Finance today who was worse than useless. She said their mistake would mean I would lose a year of future entitlement "because the computer says so".

Good lord, how do these people get jobs. I'm going to get in touch with my education board instead on Monday.

Taiko · 5 October 2012 at 10:38PM

Whoever told you that needs to be sacked. If you've got the time you may the call, I'd contact the SLC Complaints team quoting that time, the number you dialled (as some people don't dial the 0845 number) and the number you called them from. Hopefully that person will have a P45 waiting for them the next shift they work.

stesilc · 8 October 2012 at 7:45PM

do you have a phone number for complaints:mad: thanks

agrinnall · 9 October 2012 at 8:10AM

stesilc wrote: »

do you have a phone number for complaints:mad: thanks

First hit on google for SLC complaints is this (How to Make a Complaint), which includes a phone number:

http://www.slc.co.uk/media/225427/ppc008_2011_v7_online.pdf

I'm always a bit worried about students (if stesilc is indeed a student, although the same applies to anyone who is able to use MSE) who seem incable of performing the simplest query online for themselves.

devildog · 9 October 2012 at 6:46PM

yevsk wrote: »

Hi. I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me with this.

I applied to uni this year. Competition for the degree I wanted to do was fierce and in the end I didn't get a place. I'm repeating my A-levels this academic year and will be reapplying to start the same course next year.

I applied for student finance in March, expecting to start this year. I was told by the admissions department to hold on for a place on the degree right up until last week.

The thing is, the student loans company has paid made 2 payments into my bank account: a ~£1200 loan payment and a ~£1200 bursary payment. These payments have been made even though I am not attending the course, and I was told by Student Finance that they do not pay money into student bank accounts without confirming your attendance on your course with the college or university you attend.

My question is how to proceed with this now that it looks like I am definitely not getting onto the course this year. I understand that I will have to pay back the bursary, but what about the loan? Will that just be paid back along with the rest of the student debt that I will accrue over the years of my degree or will I have to pay it back now?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

They say that they don't pay money until attendance is confirmed by the Uni but this is obviously wrong as one of mine got paid too and their attendance was never confirmed either.Student Finance make it up as they go along(well when it suits them of course

)

yevsk · 14 October 2012 at 1:48PM

Just an update for those who were interested in this.

Trying to get this straightened out has been a complete and utter nightmare. I have spent probably a full day on the phone this week, being given the runaround by 4 different institutions: Student Finance NI, my education and library board, The Student Loans Company and the university i applied to. And of course every time I call any one of them I have had to explain the entire situation before I can make any progress.

I was told so many different and conflicting things by so many different people that I am honestly still not sure there are any rules for this. These are organizations whose job it is to provide student finance. Is it really so much to ask that they have a clear contingency in place for dealing with cases where funds are paid to people in error?

Another shocking thing has been how these institutions do not talk to each other, but make the student call around to sort things out themselves. I actually lost count of the number of different phone numbers I was given to call, only to be told by the people who answered the phone that they could not help me.

I am shocked at the level of incompetence I have had to deal with. I am an extremely patient person and I am never rude to anyone, but some of the people I spoke to on the phone would have tried the patience of a saint.

Anyhow, I have posted cheques to the Student Loans Company to pay back the money that I was paid. The main concern now is making sure that I do not lose a year's entitlement to student finance in future because of this. No doubt that will be an even bigger battle.

There was also a very obvious degree of bum covering going on when I did manage to get to the bottom of whose fault it had been that I was paid this money. I managed to get someone to admit on the phone that it had been a "computer error" at Student Finance NI, but they refused to give me anything in writing as a record of this, and are refusing to send a letter to my education and library board explaining that this was not my fault.

The older I get, the more it seems like nobody, anywhere, has a bloody clue what they're doing.

Student Loans Company mistake

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