No A-Level certificates - how do I verify my grades with my university?

I had a problem with my UCAS application last month - my insurance choice (Liverpool John Moores University) received all four of my qualifications from UCAS, while my firm choice (York St John University) only received three.

I have a D in Media Studies, a C in AS English Language, an E in AS English Language, and an OCR National Diploma in Business Level 3, graded at M1, the latter of which YSJ didn't receive confirmation. I contacted the university and told them that there must have been a mistake of some kind, since my total UCAS points are 320 and my course only required 240-280 (I chose to study Creative Writing and Media).

I was told to have my college head teacher send confirmation of my OCR to them via email, which he did. I then called a few days later in order to discuss applying again, this time through Clearing, as advised by their admissions team. My OCR had been verified and they'd updated their system - the university made me a verbal offer for a place on their Creative Writing and English Language course, since the single honours Creative Writing course (I decided to change my course from joint honours to single honours) had no vacancies.

I went onto UCAS track and updated my Clearing choice, and I was told that I'd receive an email from them detailing the offer and what I would need to do. I did receive the email, which said that I'd need to send my original certificates to them for verification. My first thought was that this was a stock email sent out to all Clearing applicants, so I ignored that part since I haven't actually been given ANY of my A-Level certificates from my college.

My Media Studies and OCR qualifications were obtained in 2013, so I no doubt should have been given them by now. I stayed a third year to get my AS English grades; I can understand not yet having those certificates as results day was only a few weeks ago.

I emailed York St John University and asked them when I'd hear back about my Clearing application (as Track hadn't been updated with their decision) and I got a reply today telling me that I do in fact have to send off certificates for them to verify, despite them already having confirmation from UCAS and my head teacher.

With no certificates, what should I do? I don't have the money to buy a set from the exam boards myself (extremely low-income background) to send off, and even if I did I wouldn't be able to get them and send them in time for my course starting on the 15th September.

It feels like my college has really dropped the ball on this (the administration is terrible; only the receptionist is actually any help). Am I right in thinking that I should at least have been given the OCR and Media Studies certificates?

I've already paid £100 out of a £300 deposit for a room in a shared house, and I don't want that money to have gone to waste.

If you didn't turn up to collect them at whatever ceremony your college laid on for this purpose, then they will have been kept at the college until you turn up to collect them.

My college (a sixth form, more accurately) doesn't hold a ceremony like that, as far as I'm aware. If they do, it was never mentioned - neither by the staff nor by any of my friends. :/

If they don't hold an event to dish them out, then they will expect you to go and collect them. They will still be there, unless they have taken the unusual (and expensive, and therefore unlikely) step of posting them out to you. If they do post them out to you, then they will tell you that's what they do and you will know they are lost in the post. As for this year's certificates, they aren't issued for quite a while yet, to ensure all the remarks have gone through and the grade is final. For this year's results, universities usually are fine with the statement of results you got on results day, because they know a proper certificate doesn't exist yet. For previous years, they will expect a proper certificate and you will have to buy them from the board.

The sixth form doesn't re-open until the 8th - would it be wise to check with the exams officer in the main school building to see if they know the certificates' whereabouts? The sixth form is an extension of the school.