I'm so confused...help please =(

Okay so i'm going into my second year of uni.
Last year my application was linked to my sisters basically meaning my parents didn't need to send the same evidence twice and that Student Finance could use the evidence my parents sent across both accounts.

I got my money as stated on the letter on time and everything was fine.

2nd year.
I received the letter in FEBRUARY stating my entitlement and even though it was slightly less than last year I was expecting that. (We did the same thing again and linked the accounts).

Four weeks ago my dad received a letter asking for evidence...he was really confused because as far as we were concerned it was all sorted. He rang Student Finance the day he received the letter and they said they had no record of it ever being sent and that it was some odd scam letter.

Last Friday I received the same letter asking for evidence. This is when I checked my account and saw they've completely removed the grant (i'm eligible for the full grant). We rang them again and this is when they said they needed evidence from 14/15. After my dad argued this with them for a good two hours they said they needed evidence from 13/14 which was in the post that day.

Yesterday we received THREE letters each stating a new entitlement on them (the entitlements were all different.) In confusion we rang student finance AGAIN to be told that I ticked the box not to be means tested (Which I didn't and i know I didn't).

We've sent in all the evidence for a third time and today I received a letter saying I have to repay all of my grant.

My questions are...
1) If I got my entitlement letter 6 MONTHS ago why are they messing it about now?
2) Why are they ignoring all the evidence we sent them months ago?
3) Why is it suddenly not linked to my sisters anymore?

Also slightly random question but in this array of letters from student finance they've been using two different letterheads. When we asked them they denied it but we've sent them photos of all the letters with different letterheads.

I'm so confused =S

PS: In case it matters my sisters remains completely unaffected...

Reply 1

applicationa

2

Did your parents do a Current Year Income assessment for your Academic Year 14/15 because their income had dropped since tax year 12/13? That would explain it.

If your parents did a CYI for 14/15, then:

for AY 15/16, they would want figures for tax year 13/14 as normal (even if your parents do another CYI for 15/16, they would still want the 13/14 tax year figures)
for AY 14/15, they will need evidence of 14/15 tax year income to confirm the CYI assessment that was performed when you applied for first year (it is initially based on estimates because the current tax year is not finished)

If the CYI evidence is not confirmed within a certain time, then the application reverts back to the tax year that has confirmed figures (for AY 14/15 this would be tax year 12/13). If your parents' income was too high in tax year 12/13 for Maintenance Grant then this would cause it to be removed. As you're in-course, then any grant overpayment is taken off the subsequent academic year, so you end up receiving two entitlement letters with new amounts for both years.

Assuming I'm correct about the CYI (and I really don't know what else would cause this):

1) The reason for your 15/16 entitlement being reduced is an overpayment from 14/15 - they haven't messed with your AY 15/16 application but the overpayment from AY 14/15 has changed the entitlement.
2) They're not ignoring the evidence. You're getting confused between evidence for AY 15/16 and the Current Year Income Confirmation for AY 14/15.
3) This should cause an overpayment on your sister's account as well, unless she has actually been assessed as an independent student and your parents' income is actually having no affect on her account. Is she older than you? (Also, technically, your account is not linked to your sister's... both accounts are linked to your parents' accounts.)

As for the different letterheads, Student Finance England and the Student Loans Company are actually the same entity.

The person your dad spoke to on the phone four weeks ago was wrong. The letter he will have received will have been a Current Year Income confirmation letter, not a scam. The person he was speaking to on the phone probably couldn't see it because they were looking at your account instead of his account. Your parents need to return the Current Year Income confirmation with evidence, then your AY 14/15 will be reassessed to remove the overpayment.

Reply 2

Jackieox

OP

19

Original post by applicationa

Did your parents do a Current Year Income assessment for your Academic Year 14/15 because their income had dropped since tax year 12/13? That would explain it.

If your parents did a CYI for 14/15, then:

for AY 15/16, they would want figures for tax year 13/14 as normal (even if your parents do another CYI for 15/16, they would still want the 13/14 tax year figures)
for AY 14/15, they will need evidence of 14/15 tax year income to confirm the CYI assessment that was performed when you applied for first year (it is initially based on estimates because the current tax year is not finished)

If the CYI evidence is not confirmed within a certain time, then the application reverts back to the tax year that has confirmed figures (for AY 14/15 this would be tax year 12/13). If your parents' income was too high in tax year 12/13 for Maintenance Grant then this would cause it to be removed. As you're in-course, then any grant overpayment is taken off the subsequent academic year, so you end up receiving two entitlement letters with new amounts for both years.

Assuming I'm correct about the CYI (and I really don't know what else would cause this):

1) The reason for your 15/16 entitlement being reduced is an overpayment from 14/15 - they haven't messed with your AY 15/16 application but the overpayment from AY 14/15 has changed the entitlement.
2) They're not ignoring the evidence. You're getting confused between evidence for AY 15/16 and the Current Year Income Confirmation for AY 14/15.
3) This should cause an overpayment on your sister's account as well, unless she has actually been assessed as an independent student and your parents' income is actually having no affect on her account. Is she older than you? (Also, technically, your account is not linked to your sister's... both accounts are linked to your parents' accounts.)

As for the different letterheads, Student Finance England and the Student Loans Company are actually the same entity.

The person your dad spoke to on the phone four weeks ago was wrong. The letter he will have received will have been a Current Year Income confirmation letter, not a scam. The person he was speaking to on the phone probably couldn't see it because they were looking at your account instead of his account. Your parents need to return the Current Year Income confirmation with evidence, then your AY 14/15 will be reassessed to remove the overpayment.

They didn't do a current year income as far as I know because the income didn't drop, they sent the tax return that SFE asked for =S It wasn't too high though =S It's been exactly the same and my sister got the grant her first year and it hasn't changed since then =S

My sister hasn't had an overpayment and hers is completely fine. Yes she's older, she's going into her 3rd year with both Loan AND grant...

I get that they're the same company but all the letters are from Student finance just one says SFE in the corner and the other has Student Finance England across the top. The one i received about paying back the grant was from The Student Loans company so I get why that one was different =S

Reply 3

applicationa

2

Are you sure they didn't do a Current Year Income assessment for your first year? Because it's really the only reason SFE would normally ask for evidence for AY 14/15 at this stage, and around four weeks ago is the time of year that CYI confirmation forms go out (I know this from my time as an advisor). It's also the only reason they'd ask for anything from tax year 14/15, because 14/15 won't become the standard tax year for assessments until AY 16/17.

There are other possibilities, like if you had been awarded independent status in error, and this has only just been removed, but that's much less likely.

How much older is your sister? If she's 25 she'll automatically be classed as independent and get the full amount regardless of parental income. If she's under 25 she may still have claimed independent status another way (e.g. marriage, care of a child, 3 years of self support).

Reply 4

Jackieox

OP

19

Original post by applicationa

Are you sure they didn't do a Current Year Income assessment for your first year? Because it's really the only reason SFE would normally ask for evidence for AY 14/15 at this stage, and around four weeks ago is the time of year that CYI confirmation forms go out (I know this from my time as an advisor). It's also the only reason they'd ask for anything from tax year 14/15, because 14/15 won't become the standard tax year for assessments until AY 16/17.

There are other possibilities, like if you had been awarded independent status in error, and this has only just been removed, but that's much less likely.

How much older is your sister? If she's 25 she'll automatically be classed as independent and get the full amount regardless of parental income. If she's under 25 she may still have claimed independent status another way (e.g. marriage, care of a child, 3 years of self support).