Student finance... Such a joke.

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Reply 20

defuzion

they havent given my birth certificate back either

Reply 21

zammie1603

Original post by Snow841

Haha I'm glad it's not just me who considered going to Darlington :P :P Although I live in Bristol so it would be way more than 4 hours but I WOULD BE READY TO DO IT! My mum was like 'I will give you a lift and we will pick it up' lol.

Hey, just thought I'd let you know that this is the number for the Darlington office [Removed]
Their office has the passports so I'm assuming it's best to ring them up as they'll know.
Good Luck, hope you get it soon! :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 22

AreYouDizzeeBlud_x

I took my passport to them.

No way would I trust the Royal Mail or the council with my passport.

Reply 23

POLIS&RUSS

I had a similar thing asking for my original passport, but I was suspicious so rang them up and genuinely said "I'm going on holiday soon, so if I send my passport and don't get it back on time, I'm up the creek". The advisor was actually quite helpful and told me I should be able to alter those details online, which I was able to. But SF is an absolute nightmare, they caused me so much stress when I was trying to reset my parent's accounts. Also, does anybody else think that their "security questions" are actually a joke? The information that they ask for could be taken from anything!

Reply 24

Qasim_123

Original post by Snow841

So they wanted my original passport which is RIDICULOUS enough, but I sent it off over 3 weeks ago and I was told that I would have it back within 2 weeks. So it's been three weeks and still no sign of my passport. I've been calling them every day, yesterday I was told that they DID send off the passport three days ago via Special Delivery but... wait for it.... THEY DON'T HAVE A TRACKING NUMBER FOR IT cause someone couldn't be bothered to do their job and fill out the papers properly. Oh and btw Special Delivery is 'Next Day' quarantee and it's been three days. If I don't get my passport back by Wednesday I can't go on holiday and I will lose huge amounts of cash. Yes I know it's my fault for not sending it off earlier but when I was doing my application I had no idea that I would have to send off my passport as none of my friends had that.
Anyone else had problems with returning important documents from SF? I'm really nervous about all this, those people just don't care and I don't know what to do anymore.

When I applied I just filled in my passport details online. Why did they ask for your passport? I say get compensation, you get up to £500 with special delivery!!!

Reply 25

flipshot

They can check UK Passports because they have an agreement with the passport service in the UK to be able to check peoples details. If you don't have a UK passport then they can't check it electronically, I can't really see how they can get around that - other countries are not going to want to give the UK access to their passport databases and some countries will still be paper based.

The vast majority of people applying will have a UK passport or go down the birth certificate route so its not a problem. It does clearly state on the website that you will need to send in additional evidence if you are not a UK national (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Gettingstarted/DG_189552)

Reply 26

flipshot

Original post by AreYouDizzeeBlud_x

I took my passport to them.

No way would I trust the Royal Mail or the council with my passport.

Yeah you can do that because you are in Wales. In England the only option you have it to take it to Darlington or post it because student finance it no longer dealt with by the local councils.

Reply 27

zammie1603

Original post by AreYouDizzeeBlud_x

I took my passport to them.

No way would I trust the Royal Mail or the council with my passport.

You went all the way to Darlington? :s-smilie:

I need to ring them soon cause I'm leaving in 12 days! :frown:

Rang today about 10times and spoke to different people who said different things :angry:

Reply 28

Snow841

Original post by AreYouDizzeeBlud_x

I took my passport to them.

No way would I trust the Royal Mail or the council with my passport.

Oh I wish I could do that! Unfortunately I live in Bristol so doing that would be quite a way... =(

Reply 29

In2deep

They haven't given my Identity Card back yet, I sent it using next-day delivery about 2 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure they're stealing my identity now :colonhash:

Reply 30

AreYouDizzeeBlud_x

Original post by zammie1603

You went all the way to Darlington? :s-smilie:

I need to ring them soon cause I'm leaving in 12 days! :frown:

Rang today about 10times and spoke to different people who said different things :angry:

No, I live on the outskirts of Cardiff so I took mine to the local council office in Cardiff which is about 20 minutes away.

Bit of a joke if English students have to go all the way to Darlington. You'd think they'd be able to take a copy of them at your local authority and forward them on. Then send you confirmation to say its been received.

Reply 31

Snow841

Original post by Qasim_123

When I applied I just filled in my passport details online. Why did they ask for your passport? I say get compensation, you get up to £500 with special delivery!!!

I had to because I am not a UK national. Didn't expect them to request it, let's face it, it is a bit extreme and dodgy as hell. Wish I would have done it earlier, in the end it's also my fault but I didn't expect to have to send it off. And yeah they apparently sent it off 14th of July and it's now the 18th but yet they can't provide me with the tracking number for the special delivery so I can't track it online. And that's because someone at their end didn't bother with keeping that tracking number. That's their excuse anyway. I think they just lost it.

Reply 32

Snow841

Original post by In2deep

They haven't given my Identity Card back yet, I sent it using next-day delivery about 2 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure they're stealing my identity now :colonhash:

Yeah I'm thinking the same lol. You can't just trust strangers with your passport! They also requested the original P60 from my mum and dad to prove that they actually work.

Reply 33

tsr4life

why did they want your passport??? i only remember giving some details of it

Reply 34

Snow841

Original post by tsr4life

why did they want your passport??? i only remember giving some details of it

Because I'm not a UK national =(((((

Reply 35

tsr4life

Original post by Snow841

Because I'm not a UK national =(((((

ah ok, yeah i hate the system..i didnt get nearly enough :/

anyway hope it all goes well :smile:

Reply 36

Maigre

Student Finance never asked for my passport and my application has all been approved, why do lots of other people have to send theirs off?

Reply 37

Snow841

Original post by zammie1603

Hey, just thought I'd let you know that this is the number for the Darlington office (44 (0)141 243 3660)
Their office has the passports so I'm assuming it's best to ring them up as they'll know.
Good Luck, hope you get it soon! :smile:

Did you actually try calling that office? Were they any useful?

Reply 38

Taiko

In fairness, the applications have been open for several months now. Why did you not send it sooner, instead leaving it until the deadline, which is the busiest time?

Reply 39

Snow841

Original post by Taiko

In fairness, the applications have been open for several months now. Why did you not send it sooner, instead leaving it until the deadline, which is the busiest time?

Yeah I mentioned this before. I do regret not sending it off earlier, but I had no idea they would request my original passport, I only found it out after submitting my application and I was surprised - I sent it off literally the same day after I submitted my application. All of my friends only had to enter their passport detailes online. I did contact SF before sending it off though to ensure I would get it back on time, and they said I would be okay. They had over 3 weeks. And they (apparently) did send it off on the 14 of July via next day Special Delivery, yet it's almost been 4 days and I still haven't got it. And I blame them because they can't provide me with a tracking number for it so I can track it on Royal Mail website, because someone at their end didn't fill out some form properly (at least that's their excuse).