Mature Student asking for advice from Uni : Basically told to take a leave of absence

Hi,

Just finished my first year (marks were all solid 80% + so well chuffed with that) not a trouble maker, but a mature student going to uni to help my career.

I have recently been told that Housing Benefit has mucked up my claim so having to repay lots of money when I am short at the moment. I applied to the uni for the hardship fund and i believe uploaded all the correct details, this was rejected for no reason, So I emailed the Student Support Team... oh boy, what a bad idea... the gist of the e-mail to take a leave of absence or leave followed by a virtual shrug of the shoulders.

Is this the sort of thing anyone else gets? I was desperate for help with a young family to support and although I loved Year 1 and my grades were good this has really tarnished it for me. Now I have no idea what to do.

And to cap it off the information I was given to leave the course is wrong!!

Reply 1

Ernie Lion

Hi,
Sorry to hear of the rubbish answer you got. It's never a nice position to be asking for help and just get told 'no, go away'. Sometimes, it appears that student support services at universities just give out the advice that is easiest for them. In part it is true and, if your uni is like mine, that's because they are so overwhelmed/understaffed. But that doesn't make it right - or better for you.

I just want to note, that it's also not easy to hear the advice of 'take a leave of absence' - even in situations when it is the entirely correct advice. (trust me...been there twice, at 2 different unis!). So, please, just double check that you are not missing something in what they've written; and ask yourself, honestly and as objectively as possible, would there be a benefit to taking a leave of absence?
(I'm not saying there is - in fact, I doubt there is...I just want you to see if there is actually anything in it - if they can see something that you can't!)

There will be advice available. Does your university have a finance support/advice service? (Might come under student fees...) try a general search on the uni website...
Was it them that you emailed?
What position does the person who responded hold?
Have you tried asking to speak to somebody in person?

Why not see if your student union can provide advice? Or speak to one of the student officers - see if they can help you find some advice.

Finally, and outside of the university, why not enquire at the citizen's advice bureau?

Hope you get things sorted.

Reply 2

999tigger

Original post by tomollany

Just typed out half the answer and it crashed.

1. Your situation is complicated and someone needs to interview you as well as see the documents so they can understand what has gone on with housing benefit and how such an overpayment occurred. They can also look at how HB can recover the money and whether there is any grounds for appeal or to change repayments. We also dont know the amounts concerned.

2. Go and see CAB as suggested above, but you will need an appointment and this will take some time, but you need to make it clear what your issue is and that you speak to an adviser with the expertise to handle HB claims and student finance. Also due to changes in the benefits system you may be dealing with Universal credit?

Another alternative could be a Law centre
https://www.lawcentres.org.uk/about-law-centres/law-centres-on-google-maps/geographically
Shelter might be able to help with the HB aspect
https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help

3. I would also suggest you contact the Gingerbread hotline and you can hang out on their forums as well.
https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/community/online-forum/
https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/what-we-do/contact-us/helpline/

4. You may also want to talk to stepchange and turn2us, one deals with debt and the other with benefits.
https://www.stepchange.org/
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/About-Us/Our-helpline
They also have asmall grants database.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/debt-advice-locator

5. In respect of the hardship fund, then you should ask them for reasons why, they should give that. It maybe because your situation is not covered or they have very little money. They dont reject for no reason.

6. I dont know whether a suspension of studies is going to help and thats why you need to see an adviser who can make sense of the figures or use some of the helplines above. When you cease to be a student you will also cease to be entitled to student finance. A debt expert will be able to identify which is the best course of action. You will also need to look at how student finances would work next year for you. It should be feasible, but then you need to tic the HB repayments so getting a job and having childcare might be the solution, but easier said than done.

7. You can look this up yourself by going to the library and checking they have the CPAG. Not to buy but to read.
Other places that might have a copy are your uni library, the student adviser a law centre or a CAB.
You may have to ring cpag to see which is the appropriate one. I dont know because I cant see the contents.

Possibly this one
https://www.shop.cpag.org.uk/financial-help-for-families-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.shop.cpag.org.uk/student-support-and-benefits-handbook-england-wales-and-northern-ireland-201819
https://www.shop.cpag.org.uk/welfare-benefits-and-tax-credits-handbook-201920

You are going to have to have a scan through those , be patient and determined, then piece together who will speak to you, who can see you and who has the expertise to advise. I absolutely do not know what the best course of action without knowing whats involved, thats why you need to tell the above.
Once they have all the numbers and looked at all the options then you can decide whether its possible to proceed or not and what options you have.
Obviously on the correct monies students survive, so it becomes a case of whether you can get this debt into a more manageable format.

Each one of the above are experts n their own niche aspect, but they may not see the whole picture.
GL anyway.